Ten Dumb Things D&D Won’t Change
January 15, 2013 | Chris Dias | Comments 11
Oh sure, there are certain mechanical decisions other games have done better. I’m not even talking about some of the philosophical choices made. I’m talking about weird mechanics which the designers appear to refuse to deviate from, concepts not only carried over from past editions, but ones recent editions, including D&D Next AND Pathfinder still insist on adhering to. There are many staples of D&D, ones which we know will never change, but the following list are issues which I wish they would address.
ATTRIBUTE BONUSES
Beyond the statistical flaws present in comparing a D20 die roll against 3D6, your actual attribute value means very little. Think about it, when is your attribute score ever used? Back in the old editions, every numerical increase gave you something, but that stopped nearly 20 years ago. In 4th Edition, your Constitution score was used to generate hit points at 1st level, but that was it. Everything else was derived from your attribute bonus, which is itself derived from said attribute score. But if that’s true, why have an attribute score in the first place? It does nothing anymore other than give you another fixed number. Oh sure, there’s that mechanic indicating that you only gain another +1 attribute bonus from 2 increments of your score, but that’s easily worked around. Other games don’t bother. So someone has a -1 to Charisma instead of 8. It means exactly the same thing and the -1 is applicable to rolls while the 8 is not. At one point, there was some reason for it, back in the old days, but it hasn’t in a long time.
WIZARD SPELLS
Isn’t it unusual that a wizard gaining his knowledge from reading spellcraft is cursed to forget his spells at the beginning of each day? I’m aware of the need for limiting the uses of spells, but inventive writers have worked around this dilemma for decades. The best idea D&D can come up with is that magic somehow wipes its knowledge from the guy who spends the whole of his life trying to remember it. Ironic? Yes? An annoying meta-rule to work around logical problems? Yes. Necessary? No. This is another Wheel of Fortune conundrum—you know of that I speak; when choices are limited, people eventually just pick the same options as everyone else. Since Wizards need to select certain spells to use each day, it precludes them from doing anything actually clever. They’ve tried to work around this with the use of rituals, but even D&D Next and Pathfinder have still wrapped their heads around this obsolete concept that magic acts likes a dick. Wizards require a long rest and are then forced to select which spells to memorize, even if they might’ve cast said spell a thousand times by that point. Christopher Lee is 90 years old; he’s memorized the Lord of the Rings, every G#~-d$@ned page, so I’m pretty sure Gandalf should be able to recall magic missile whenever the hell he wants.
MONKS
D&D Next put Monk front and center with their core classes, because it makes perfect sense. There isn’t a single work of high fantasy that doesn’t make the mistake of excluding bare-fisted kung-fu flying magic men from their setting. It reminds me of a famous Gardner Dozois quote where he said (paraphrasing) there was no problem within a science fiction story which couldn’t be solved by putting dinosaurs in it. And now we have magic monks. Not just martial artists, I’m talking G&&-d#%ned immortal teleporting indestructible flying men wrapped in robes that can throw fire from their hands. Why bother being a fighter wielding a clumsy sword. A rust monster could reduce his armor to dust. But a monk could punch your colon through your throat and be naked doing it. It’s like lining up the characters from the Fantastic Four film and thinking to yourself, okay, these make sense. We got water, earth, air, fire…and…bad ass armor with lightning? For once, I would just like a martial artist, and not some ridiculous retreading of an increasingly annoying cinematic cliché.
SAVING THROWS
Someone made an argument that saving throws were intended to be a last ditch survival roll to prevent something horrible from happening. Unfortunately, it evolved into the single die roll you were given to prevent the instant and utter eradication of your character. One random number generator disregarding your AC and hit points which would wipe your character from that plane of existence. At least with 4th Edition, nothing could ever kill you dead unless you were already close to dying. Some people will applaud that brutal nature of the game, but there’s a point where that stops being fun, especially when it’s your character. I wouldn’t mind saving throws if it truly was a last ditch effort. A monster fires its hex vision, rolls to attack and hits, and THEN you get your saving throw—a double chance to avoid petrification. I haven’t even gone into the mechanics themselves, a topic I’ve ranted about previously. Why does a melee attacker have to roll to attack but a spell fall to the defender to roll? This was another point 4th Edition got right. D&D Next goes half way, crystallizing the problem while simultaneously only partially addressing it. There shouldn’t be a separate mechanic for spells and melee attacks; die rolls should fall to the attacker. If saving throws are required, make it for extreme spell effects, and only after an attack has succeeded. This also leads me to my next issue.
ARMOR CLASS
So let me get this straight. I get hit with a fireball and I wear no armor. My AC is entirely Dex based, but I still make a Dex-based saving throw, which is not connected to AC. If I wore armor, said armor should provide protection against fire…because stuff you wear just does that; it’s one of the reasons why we wear clothes. And yet it doesn’t, and said fireball is entirely based on a separate mechanic to my claimed primary defensive statistic. Armor Class has always been an obsolete concept which should have been abandoned with the eradication of THACO. To then create a separate saving throw or defense for avoiding things and what you have is this clumsy set of situations which are arbitrarily categorized to affect only certain situations. So when said dragon breathes fire, our poor fighter has no hope, because apparently being draped in four layers of cloth and metal provides zero protection. And what annoys me the most is that the solution has been easy from the get go. AC should be about avoidance and armor should be damage resistance. It’s called hardness, a mechanic the game already has!
ANNOYING DEATHS
In order to prevent players from utterly crucifying DMs when that solitary saving throw versus death is failed, D&D placated the masses by making death…well…annoying. Dying means very little. Don’t bother with tears or burial rights. Just make sure the body is intact until you can FedEx it to Miracle Max, ensuring the corpse is only mostly dead. Let’s get the obvious out of the way; there is no society in any reality which can function with commonplace resurrection. When mortality and economics combine, what you have left are legions of suffering peons which would hold every cleric to the fire to bring their dead wife or child back to life. And yet death and resurrection is a staple of gaming…well actually it’s not. In fact, few games outside of MMOs really involve true resurrection with little to no penalties. Most games actually feature save games, meaning the situation just becomes a giant do over. You may think that’s a jarring mechanic, but consider how valid the alternative is to a legitimate fantasy setting. Death should mean something more than a slight financial burden.
TOO MANY SPELLCASTERS
Sometimes, I think Wizards have their oddball mechanics in order to justify other classes. Nearly every edition of D&D has had a huge spells chapter encompassing in some cases half a book. No matter what spellcaster you make, they all tap from this same list with many sharing the same spells. But do we truly need all of them? And what fantasy world would take them all? Most settings only permit one, maybe two; do we really need a cleric, wizard, sorcerer, druid, bard, paladin, ranger, and in some cases even warlock. Sorcerer and wizard are basically the same class with some clumsy mechanics separating them, thus also proving the mechanical limitations on each are meaningless. Second, do we really require our paladins and rangers to be spellcasters? Do we really need a bard spellcaster? And then to have every one of these function with the exact same mechanics, tapping the same spell list, often sharing identical features from other spellcasters…it makes the whole ordeal…well…an ordeal. I’ve not run a game without outright banning most of them. I don’t mind wizard and I don’t mind druid. I have separate feelings on cleric, but most of the others could fall between the couch cushions.
POWER GAMING
Do you want to make a dwarf druid? Well don’t, because you’re stupid. Apparently that’s the argument from power gamers everywhere. Unlike human beings, fey races (you know, the halflings, elves and such) are skewed to specific roles, clichés, even stereotypes. This can almost be considered racial profiling; this ethnic group is populated by terrorists, while this ethnic group are all thieves…just like halflings. And why wouldn’t you make a character this way? Bonuses from being an elf generally boost your Intelligence and Dexterity, so why be anything other than a class using those attributes. For a brief time, 4th Edition played with the idea of customization, but D&D Next runs right back into static boosts, something Pathinfer is still stubborn to change. Despite creative gamers trying concepts purely out of some private fantasy; hardcore gamers are always smart enough to find the killer combination of class and race to make one clearly superior to another. Fantasy worlds may wallow in cliché, do we have to create mechanics for it?
ALIGNMENT
Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. I hate alignment so much, I ignore it utterly in every game I play. 4th Edition tried to downplay the system somewhat but my perspective is that it should go completely. I find it irksome when people try to categorize me in real life, so I find it annoying and unnecessary when a game implements it as a rule. I don’t mind holy and unholy dichotomies, but good and evil is at its basic philosophical level quite nebulous. To then impose mechanics around lawful and chaotic ideas and then make abilities based on them is unwanted and unneeded. I simply tell my players that they have to play heroes and let them define for themselves what that means.
MAGIC ITEMS
Do you remember that famous fantasy book where a band of intrepid heroes went on a quest wearing a million gold coins worth of magical items which they purchased at a nearby bizarre? Of course not, because that’s insane. I’ve always wondered about any game where plucky heroes are walking around with magic items worth more than the kingdom they are trying to save. You couldn’t even assume one was a family heirloom since after four levels, you’d have to sell it to acquire a better variant. I’ve actually seen adventurers with polished perfect armor and magical sporting rings, cloaks, amulets, and periapts ride into town in a rickety old caravan. They wear all of this, ignoring the sensible alternative of perhaps trading in all that magic in exchange for a castle made of solid silver, in order to slay a dragon for the sole purpose of acquiring more gold and purchasing slightly better magic. It makes you question the sanity of the adventuring profession. They sleep in the mud under the stars, and then put on their +5 armor to kill some trolls. Peasants would look on and ask themselves, “Why did they buy magic armor? Why didn’t they buy food?” The constant drive to acquire better magic items is something we tolerate in ridiculous video games, but even some of those create mechanics allowing you to keep the same weapon for the entire progress of your character. The items in particularly simply get better as characters do.
Readers may imagine certain mechanics they would want to add to the list. Some people criticize classes. I don’t generally. This is one where I don’t mind filling a mold. As for deities, yes, I admit I hate them, but I also understand its part of D&D canon. I just cut them out of my own personal settings. What would you like to see gone from D&D even though you know perfectly well it never will be?
Does anyone have a list of 20-30 Arcane spells that are anywhere from 1st-5th lvl that are best to use against a general line up of PC classes?
I have done some searching online and have come up empty handed. I very rarely use spells or even play a spell caster its just not my type of class I like to play so I need some serious help.
So I was looking in U Camp and I can not find the range of range attacks. So did some more research and looked at Ultimate Battle and War. I did not find anything there as well or maybe I missed something. Can someone help me out to understand how the distance in mass combat works and what the ranges are? Is it if you can see it you can hit it or what?
So I have been searching for how are Dungeons, Undergrounds and Underdark Lite. I know there are torches and the light spell, But what other means can they be lite with both magical, chemical, mechanical, and natural possibly. Any help would be appreciated. Also is the any list of different of types of hazardous terrain as well.
I am looking for Jpeg images of all the pathfinder monsters. I don't want to have to take snap shots of all the PDFs. So is there a link or site that has them already.
There was an artical in dragon magazine about too many magic items having strange effects around each other. I can't find the artical. I want to allow my players to carry a lot of magic items but with a hidden draw back. So I read on a forum about this artical that is in a dragon magizine but I can't find it. Please help me out.
The first number is the Book's Spell Resistance value. The second number is how Spell Resistance is calculated Challenge Rating + 11 the third number is the difference between the two. Can someone please explain way these do not match and calculate I have looked over many sources both in the official book and SDR?
#1 So here is the deal. My DM is playing a dragon and will not make it land on the ground. It is very high in the air and is using strafing attacks. We have a archer and a wizard. What Is or would be the best tactics to handle this now or in the future.
#2 How would you handle flying creatures and what tactics have or would use.
#3 Is their any spell out their that is best suited to use against flying creatures or a spell like dragon rend in skyrim.
So I had a friend stop over this weekend and we were discussing traps, locks and bindings. He had a suggestion that I never would have thought of he suggested that I use those mind puzzles that you can get for like 3 bucks the ones that are made of metal and wood. He said that he uses them in his campaigns all the time. He times that player to solve the puzzle before 2 minutes after the 2 minutes that is considered one fail (example #1 so let’s say that player “Mike” is playing Fador the rogue, and there are 3 other players that get separated by a wall that is slowly closing in on them. So now “Mike” has to save the party by figuring out the puzzle and he gets 5 fails before the wall starts to crush his fellow player’s characters. Now “Mike” can not get any help from the players to solve the puzzle. So you know what that’s going to sound like at the table a lot of yelling and panic oh the stress). (Example #2 “Mike” our rogue I now faced with a trapped treasure chest and must disarm it. He gets 2 minutes to solve a new puzzle. If he fails to solve it in the allotted time it goes off. In essence “Mike” is trying to save his own character that helps involve the player in another way in the game.) Now as for the skills that perform these tasks they would still be very valuable because for like every 10 ranks or every 10 total points you can get additional time added to each attempt so like if Fardor our rouge has a total of 23 in his “lock picking skill” then he would get a bonus of lets say for every 10 points you gain 30 seconds so now he would have 3 minutes to solve the puzzle. Now there are other scenarios that you could use the puzzles in like anyone that is tied up just toss them a puzzle and say you have X amount of time before the guards get back to escape you bindings again you can add time for every 10 points they have in the escape artist skill. So I hope you like this idea and if anyone else has any other suggestions please post them in detail who knows what might be out their.
So the gunslinger is going to be a great class, but what about the flavor of the class. Is their going to rules in the ultimate combat for gun showdowns i.e. (the ok coral or high noon gun duals)? I mean if you are going to have a gunslinger then you have to have some of the unique flavor of the classic archetype.
I read in a book awhile ago I am not sure witch one. Traps and treachery or dungeonscape something along those lines. It spoke of when to spring a trap and the initiative order of a trap. I rember reading something like you should let all of the players move after they have moved the trap becomes active or is triggered. How would you determine who is affected and who is not. Does every on get a reflex save or do I just make an attack roll. I am not sure of the proper way of using traps and would like more input and suggestions.
Can Attack of Opportunity be used for anything else other than an Attack? Could it be use to cast a defensive spell. Or to perform some sort of skill check like tumble behind the target that provoked the AoO.
When calculating a monsters attack for primary you use their BAB + Relevant Abi Score + Size and for secondary the same but 1/2 of the Abi score and -5. As for creature that have only on natural attack the use all the same as the primary but get 1 1/2 the Abi score. So 2 claws do not classify as 1 attack it would only have to be on claw correct.
On page 295 of the bestiary for adding racial HD on step 2. It says that when you increase/decrease the CR to use table 2-1. Now if I want to create a veariant monster like the tiger shark. Is says in the shark discription on page 247 take the base shark and add the giant template. The giant template list the fallowing changes. +1 CR, increase the size, +3 to Natural AC, increase the dice rolled by one step, +4 to Str and Con, -2 Dex. Now I have done all that. Does its HD go up by it con only via bonus hp or does it get the bonus hp from con and from the chart 2-1. Because the chart 2-1 says that the hit point change is 10 and to use the chart 1-5 on page 293 a d8 equals 4.5. So the shark has 4d8 would that give him 6d8 or 7d8 do you round up or down when changing the CR.
How come half of the monsters in the bestiary do not match up with the charts and the stats that they are given. Fore example the Fire Giant by using the create a monster rules I try to re-create the Fire Giant. What I have come up with is that the saves are of according to the chart Both the Fort and Ref saves. The damage is off as well according to the chart a large creature slam damage should be 1d6 but the Giants is listed as 1d8. So any help figuring out all of these discrepancies would be appreciated. Like I said before almost half of the monsters in the bestiary have their saves, BAB, and attack D# damage wrong according to the chart in the book.
the group decides after that fight it is about time to take a rest. They settle in to this room as it is large and defensible, if a little creepy with the half-finished blood ritual and aging pit.
They are just making their camp when the Warden appears again, in her old woman guise.
"well then. It seems your intentions were indeed upright. You have slain the leader of these interlopers, and saved us from the great evil they tried to uncover.
I apologize for the roundabout conversations we have had. I am bound by certain oaths that kept me from offering more direct aid or something much worse could have happened.
But no matter. You have cleansed the heart of this fortress, and I believe I have something you need!
She pulls off a necklace, and hanging from it is a golden nugget. she presents it towards Letitia.
Hey all sorry for the really bad lack in posting here.
2 weeks ago I got laid off from my job (first time I've gone through that), and it has been all I could focus on for quite a bit of time there. I am working on gtting back into a good routine now, and I have adjusted a bit. I should be able ot start regularly posting in here again now.
Ashling peppers the centaur a few more times. Llewellyn gets some more mirror images up, and Letitia puts a poison cloud on the enemy.
Callix uses one of her spells to get Samuel back in the fight.
The gunslinger quickly sizes up the remaining centaur and fires one more shot. it hits squarely in the humanoid chest of the centaur, dropping him like a sack.
suddenly the room is quiet. after a few moments the ice storm subsides.
End of combat
so sorry for the delay just to post an end of combat post... real life has been a _____ this week. layoffs and other fun stuff. my appologies.
the conversation you can hear is not particularly long or interesting. you do pick out comments like "How much longer do you think he'll be?" ... "How should I know? Do I look like a priest?".... "What do you think he needed Durg and Kellor for?" with periods of silence between comments back and forth. they sound like they have been waiting for a while and are getting bored.
GM rolls:
1d20 ⇒ 12 1d20 ⇒ 5
Samuel eases down the stairs. He can see into the next room, which is about 50 ft by 50 ft.
Samuel:
The remains of a giant wooden statue, carved to resemble a stooped and ancient beldame, lie broken and scattered across the floor of this chamber. A set of massive iron double doors stands in the south wall, their faces engraved with a procession of humanoid figures. At the top of the doors, the figures are young women in the bloom of youth, but as the parade continues down the doors, the figures age, turning into pregnant matrons, stooped crones, and finally, at the bottom of the doors, into capering skeletons that vanish into a gaping tomb.
The group feels refreshed after making such a big step forward. it's been a while since a level up, so as a reminder I run leveling up to give you back full HP and spell slots as if you had just taken a night's rest. also please be sure to update any modifier increases as well as your HP in the party tracker, as I will not be auditing all of those. it's up to you to make sure I'm using the right values when rolling saves for the party!
The coven should be significantly weakened even if the others still are around to cause toruble. The party decides it probably makes the most sense to deal with the giants next to keep them from causing trouble with a Demon Lord.
Llewellyn thinks back to tales he has heard of frost giant leadership and society.
Llewellyn:
Frost giants are among the most feared giants, as their wanton destruction, battle lust, and fearless demeanor push them to ever-increasing displays of brutality.
Frost giants survive on hunting and raiding alone, as they live in desolate, frigid environments. Frost giant groups are split almost evenly between those that live in makeshift settlements or abandoned castles and those that roam the frozen north as nomads in search of spoils and provisions.
Frost giants are brutal, superstitious warriors among whom only might makes right. The title of jarl inevitably falls to the strongest and most worthy warrior of the tribe, who leads her people to glory through intimidation and violence. At any time, a jarl may be challenged in combat by one of her peers. The winner of such fatal duels is deemed the rightful ruler of the tribe—at least until the next challenger approaches.
The influence of a particularly charismatic jarl can often extend to clans outside her own tribe. In such cases, the leaders of the lesser tribes are typically known simply as chieftains or warlords. These allied tribes often meet to trade goods and arrange marriages, and especially organized collaborations have been known to form massive war bands for devastating campaigns that can span entire mountain ranges before disbanding.
A few frost giants have magical powers and can use runes, sorcery, or foul rituals to cast divinations or bring ruin to their enemies from afar. Such individuals serve their tribes as shamans, earning great standing among their peers second only to the jarl herself. Frost giants take a serious view of their heritage, and in addition to their more oracular duties, shamans are responsible for teaching the tribe’s children about their ancestry and the tribe’s oral history.
Given their generally warlike nature, frost giants show unusual reverence for their dead. Warriors are buried beneath icy cairns on the battlefield where they met their end, and are placed in their grave alongside their favored weapons. Particularly favored chieftains and jarls are taken back to the Frost giants’ encampment or base, where a small ceremony is performed before the deceased is buried next to grave offerings such as gold and even live slaves, tributes meant to ensure she is given proper station in the afterlife. In contrast, those who challenge their current jarl in combat and lose the duel are treated as little better than traitors, their bodies desecrated and some part of their skeleton mounted on the jarl’s throne or the hilt of her weapon.
Frost giants possess a particular fondness for slavery, and whenever possible take captives from their destructive raids. Bands of frost giants usually keep at least one or two humanoid slaves shackled to a slave handler—a feared and respected position of authority within frost giant society. Slave handlers are responsible for making sure slaves don’t escape, as well as arranging slave trades between other tribes and warlike cultures or divvying out slaves for meals in lean times.
In addition to humanoid thralls, frost giants are quite fond of monstrous pets, including winter wolves and young white dragons, though virtually any creature native to their preferred domain are prone to capture and crude domestication. Mammoths, yetis, and even remorhazes and linnorms can sometimes be found battling alongside frost giant barbarians, as well as guarding frost giant encampments when their masters are out pillaging.
Letitia examines the items from the trunk. the potion is potion of protection from arrows, the scroll is Flame Strike.
Letitia recalls the path that was taken previosuly to get to the Crone, and can lead the group back to the passage that took them there the first time.
Someone has indeed reset the items that made up the puzzle to this passage, but it is easy enough to recreate the solution and continue on.
you find yourselves back in a room with 4 doors and very little else. this is where you spoke with the old woman Warden and found the scroll of age resistance.
the door that you came in from is marked with an arrow pointing in. the last time you came through here you went out the door marked with an arrow out.
Letitia examines the magical symbol, and decides it is a phylactery of negative channeling
Samuel looks around the room, and finds a few trunks. He opens them, finding:
various feminine clothing, some Large size
a black star sapphire worth 3000 gp
800 gp in coins
a scroll
a potion
a small wooden box of what appears to be a collection of small scalps... gross
There is some debate on where to go next. Try to find the other hags? Deal with the Giants? report back to some of the (more) friendly people they have found so far?
however you decide to proceed you feel that you have made a big step forward by killing this hag and weakening the coven's schemes for the fortress.
Human Ranger 8| HP 47/53 | AC 19/14/15| CMB +10| CMD 24| F +8| R +11| W +6| Init +4 Per +12| Longbow +15 (1d8) arrow count: 17 regular, 16 +1
Jonah kicks the hags lightly with the tip of his boot to make sure they are dead
"what a mess these three have made. in the end I suppose they just pushed things too far and had a bit too much of an opinion of their own skill. at least now the region will be safe. or safer anyways..."
He looks around at his companions.
"So what will all of you do now? This has been quite an adventure, but has brought me quite further from my home than I had ever planned to go. I think it is high time to see about putting some earnings into a more permanent home. with a wonderfully large trophy case after all of this!
Hello Kragg! Unfortunately I cannot tell you the current day or time. In fact i was hoping you could tell me how long i have been dormant.
As for my role, I serve the priests of Amaznen. I am, or was, the personal assistant of the astronomer-priest Imosele.
Lolito interjects his own questions, and Aoinse attempts to answer him as well
Azlant:
"Ancient Azlant you say? So... it has been a long time then. I have near-perfect memories, from the time that the Azlanti Empire was the dominant nation in this region. I remember my service here, to three generations of priests.
“I remember the cataclysm. It was late afternoon. The sky was on fire and rocks burned through the atmosphere on their way to the ground. There were earthquakes and forest fires. The Kelveth River that flowed between Shaval-Kehn and Kalas-Ti was choked with burning debris. It swelled beyond its banks and rushed back upstream. Ash and deadly gases filled the air, killing many of the priests. Some of them were able to leave the cathedral in time, but since they never returned, I can only assume they perished, too. I couldn’t feel my connection to Amaznen—I still cannot—and I suspect it was the same for the other priests.”
"I know nothing about this Aboleth, but that is dire news indeed. to have such evil in my temple! you must root it out at once!
There are indeed secret ways inside of this temple. it goes down much further than it looks. the ritual room downstairs opens into more areas, but I do not know much about what is kept down there. It was not my role to see past that one room."
Lolito moves quickly through the explored rooms looking for changes.
C9: there is a loud humming noise in this room. Pulling the lever next to the forge ignites it! it quickly builds up heat from a jet of blue flame that ignites in the hearth.
C7: the broken clockwork construct is still in here. Nothing seems to have changed, but you now have access to the forge for repairs and the programming station, which Kragg points out.
Alyn and Lolito work together to bring the semi-intact golem into the forge room for Kragg to begin working on. Then Lolito continues to the other two rooms
C3, C2: nothing seems to have changed in these rooms. the sounds are fainter here, and you don't think that anything in them is powered by the activated room.
Kragg begins working on fixing the construct. there are a lot of parts in the forge room that could be used, along with broken pieces off of the soldiers that you fought.
make a craft check
Alyn walks around trying to find other areas that might be activated, by listening to the walls. when walking in the hallways and in the library he hears more humming and gears. It sounds like soemthing has changed in the flooded area, in C17
The hag listens to your conversation for a moment, but interjects when Letitia comments about Jadrenka
"Oh no, Jadrenka is no hag. that's what caused the whole mess, you see. Her mother Caigreal is a powerful annis hag. Jadrenka is a changeling you see. Her mother wants her to turn to a hag and join Caigreal, giving the mother power in these towers. But Jadrenka has no desire to be a hag, and has served Baba Yaga dutifully as warden. if she breaks her oath as warden then her mother will gain power over her as the Great Witch's protection will fall.
Caigreal assembled a coven with two of Artrosa’s other hags, Grishelmuk and Silyzil, to ensure Jadrenka’s failure as warden. They fought. Silyzil was slain, though she returned as a witchfire. the three have stopped fighting as openly, but still are looking for ways to disrupt Jadrenka's authority.
The coven is three hags, an Annis, a Green and a witchfire. does that answer your question, half-orc?"
"Indeed, it sounds like Elvanna has done something that has called Baba Yaga away to deal with it. I do not know what such a mere human woman could do to be a threat to the Great Witch, but she certainly seemed worried.
Llewellyn:
Llewellyn tries to think about those named places. He has no idea what the Eon pit could be. the Thrice-Tenth Kingdom sounds familiar from a fairy tale he heard told sometime in his recent travels. As a children's fairy tale it was light on details. In the thrice tenth kingdom beyond the thrice nine lands flourishes a vivid world full of talking wolves, shimmering firebirds, immortal soldiers, and capricious fairies. It is said to be the home of Baba Yaga, or a land created to mirror whatever her true home might be.
The woman continues
"The eon pit is here, in this fortress. it is the womb of the Crone, a place that is used for the rituals of coming into the full power of the witch. decending the stairs of the eon pit will cause your life to pass before your eyes as the pit itself ages you through the span of your years. It is dangerous to go through unprepared.
I believe it is also what the Giants are here for. There are rumors that it was involved in sealing away an ancient foe of Baba Yaga's, built as a seal to a prison for a demon Lord. It will be dangerous to approach.
I cannot come with you, or I would be putting myself in grave danger. I am trying to stay out of the infighting that is going on with the Coven. that's why i was hidden here, waiting for a sign that the Riders had returned. Jadrenka's mother is making a power play, and trying to take control of the place for herself and for her Coven. If you want Jadrenka's help, and if you want me to be free to aid you, you will need to deal with the upstart hags."
Alyn and Trick, finally in position for a full attack lay into the green robot, smashing it to pieces. they then continue to hit it a few more times to make really sure it is dead. then trick bites it.
Lara puts two accurate arrows into the magic-using clockwork machine, and then Kragg finishes it off from behind.
Derym uses another spell through his sword and plunges it into the final machine. The metallic foe is very conductive which makes the hit critical and does a bunch of extra damage, killing the thing in one shot!
Suddenly the fight goes from being a bit dangerous to being done. all three automatons are badly damaged and lie still.
Kragg moves in, giving the party the bonus to hit and smacks the green golem for a little damage
Lolito hits the magical construct twice, doing some damage and defending himself with a flourish.
Lara heals herself
Derym moves to help with the mage. he lights up his sword with a spell and hits! the blade and magic together do significant damage, and the electricity runs along the metallic frame of the creature doing extra damage.
botting Alyn
Trick flies up and around getting to a flanking position as Alyn moves in, swinging his fauchard.
Fauchard, PA:1d20 + 15 + 2 - 3 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 2 - 3 = 26 damage:1d10 + 15 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 15 + 9 = 31
The magic-wielding construct steps back and fires off a magic missile volley at Lolito
damage:5d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 3, 4, 2, 2) + 5 = 19
The green construct swings its halberd at Alyn, and the black one attacks Derym
halberd v Alyn:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 confirm??:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18 damage:1d10 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 halberd v Alyn:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Samuel hangs back while Letitia and Llewellyn speak to the woman. Most of the party can tell this woman looks very much like the younger woman they met earlier. Samuel does not see much else, but thinks perhaps this room is another illusion.
The old woman laughs, a crackling and slightly shrill sound
"Ah young witch, you seem to have it all figured out then! yes, yes we spoke before didn't we? unfortunately there is more going on in here than you realize, and I am not able to aid you directly. My counsel is this: The cancer grows in the womb of the Crone. To face the Curse of Eons, you must have time on your side."
With that she once again vanishes, and the illusion of an open field turns to a rectangular room formed from chiseled granite blocks. Carvings of lifeless cornfields adorn the walls, and withered cornstalks and dead ravens litter the floor. A simple sleeping pallet lies on the floor against the north wall, next to a small trunk and a nightstand holding a basin of fresh water and a few candles.
Lolito has deduced that they must have left the Aboleth for last, and that this big door is the end of the road.
He warns the others and opens them quickly. But he does not find an Aboleth, or any creatures waiting for him. instead there is a short flight of stairs, then Three fifteen-foot-tall cylinders of polished bronze each stand on a dais in a long, curved room. The bronze shells look sturdy and heavy, and sizzling arcs of lightning can be seen and heard dancing along the surfaces of the containers. Silvery lines set into the floor connect these containers, and tiny embedded crystals pulsate with a dim light every few seconds.
Fully recovered, the group moves back through the room that once housed the gem of light, and is now a very plain small chamber.
Llewellyn takes point this time, moving to the north. he does not travel down the passage at all before he sees tiny pieces of quartz forming an inlay of a crescent moon in the floor of the passage, surrounded by a ring of runes. A few yards beyond the inlaid symbol, a small round table stands in the middle of the tunnel. A wooden bowl filled with fresh wildflowers sits in the center of the table.
linguistics DC 20 or ability to read Iobaran:
the runes translate to: “From one stage unto the next, let my light always guide your path.”
looking in the bowl of flowers:
there are 4 wooden carved figures inside the bowl along with the flowers.
Each figurine depicts a nude maiden performing a different task. One is standing, holding a bouquet of wildflowers. Another is kneeling, and seems to be washing her hair. The third one holds a triangular knot in her hands, and the last figurine is sitting with her head gazing upward.
After some discussion it is decided that as nasty as this room is with the blood and dead giants and all, it is probably more safe than anywhere else they have seen so far and easily defended.
The group settles in for the night, and sure enough nothing comes this far in to bother you. in the morning Callix is able to easily take care of her own blindness along with Ashling's and then Letitia's hearing.
it cost several important blessings from her god, but it makes everyone able to function at full capacity again.
Sorry for the slow posting lately y'all. It has been a very busy season at work which has left less time to focus on all my online games. We had some big layoffs a couple months ago and everyone is recovering from that. less people = more work for the rest of us now.
I am hopefully getting back to a more normal schedule now and will be trying to keep things moving at a better pace. thanks all for your patience on this game!
The hyenas follow Letitia's order and go down the hallway. They bark and bray as normal for hyenas, but the group doesn't hear any sound of them getting into another fight. Of course Letitia doesn't hear anything else either.
The group examines the nymph and verifies that she is indeed dead. the shot that took her down was quite accurate, and the cold iron burned the skin where it hit, which still sizzles slightly.
Searching the body is quite fast, as the nymph was not wearing any clothing at all, and has no gear.
Samuel heads back to the room where they first found the nymph. There is a lot of blood, it looks like most of it was from the giants still strapped to the menhirs. Skulls with glowing eye sockets are hung from chains around the ring, giving a flickering dim light to the room.
detect magic in the room:
there is one skull light that is giving off magical auras. The menhirs themselves give off a strong magical aura as well.
I just realized that these maps are supposed to be 1 square = 10 feet. It hasn't mattered much yet since most rooms have not felt too cramped and you have mostly encountered smaller enemies. I have shrunk down your icons a bit, just keep in mind that each square in the map is really 4 squares so align yourself to a quadrant of a square and we should be ok.
There will be some fights in the dungeon against large and huge creatures, so it will make more of a difference as we continue on
The group has some difficulty getting to grips with the little fairies, but they are able to do just enough. Callix and Ashling both hit their targets, dropping them.
the combat is over. the gem radiating light is still under Letitia's cauldron, and Letitia is deaf.
Alyn hangs back, badly wounded and waiting for some help.
the final skum tries to escape, but is quickly cut down by the party.
the standard skum don't have much of interest on them, just masterwork weapons (underwater crossbows and long spears)
The giant skum has a good handful of magical items on him
4 potions
large-sized repeating crossbow
Amulet
2 rings
The room is still now, dominated by the altar and odd metalic devices that don't seem to be working. possibly because they are underwater?
perception DC 40:
you find a small compartment in the mechanical workings of the machine. sliding the cover back you see what looks (based on all the experience you've had so far on these islands with similar tech) like a slot sized to fit an Ioun stone.
you know that nymphs are incredibly beautiful creatures, so much so that their appearance can drive men insane. They are known to be guardians of nature, defending nature's most beautiful or rare locations fiercely.
A debased nymph is formed when a nymph is corrupted by an evil force or the pursuit of power. they no longer defend nature and in fact bring decay and corruption to the places they were meant to protect. They are still beautiful but use their beauty to corrupt and manipulate.
Maris shakes her head at Letitia's question
Sylvan:
"I do not know this particular woman, but there are many in these towers that serve in a variety of ways, some more willing than others. Depending on how long she has been here it is quite possible she came after I was closed off in this room.
Jadrenka is seen as cruel or monstrous by some. She is not very forgiving, and her methods are harsh. But she has a difficult job and rules over a place full of powerful and often angry people. But under it all she is a good woman.
she is definitely not a hag, but could someday become one. she is a changeling, her mother is a hag and lives here in Artrosia. Caigreal has been trying for many years to get Jadrenka to join her and embrace that side of herself. So far she has held strong though.
Assuming no other questions, the group goes over their inventory of cold iron and decides it would be worth confronting Kyrisjana.
Samuel leads the way back to Anna's quarters and through the door to the left as instructed. another hallway leads down.
Ahead the light is much brighter, spilling out into the passage you are following. as you get closer ot the room the light is uncomfortably bright.
anyone entering the room needs to take a DC 15 fortitude save
you hear whispers coming from inside the bright room but the words aren't clear
sorry, definitely missed that. probably easies to just move on and not count it as one of your stunning fist uses for the day, and not redo the spinning kick or the stunning blow
Derym and Kragg work together to finish off Black, and Kragg pushes forward into the room. unfortunately as he moves forward he steps on a trap, some coral spines set up where they would be tripped on by an unwary creature.
Reflex Kragg:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
unfortunately due to his large size Kragg is not able to avoid the spines as easily as he might have as a smaller creature.
Kragg is now bleeding, and will take 3d6 damage on the start of his turn bleed damage:3d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 3) = 11
Lolito moves towards red, provoking an attack from the green one with the long spear.
spear AoO:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16
the monk dodges at the right moment and the spear misses wide.
Lolito lands a spin kick on the red skum
Alyn moves up to attack, but Black is already dead
as a note, you cannot take a 5-foot step while underwater without a swim speed. is something giving you a swim speed atm? since black died already, you can retcon your action in your next post to move against a different enemy and make an attack.
Yellow attempts to grapple Derym
CMB:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Derym is held by the skum
the red skum attacks Lolito with tooth and claw
bite:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29 crit??:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 damage:1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Human Ranger 8| HP 47/53 | AC 19/14/15| CMB +10| CMD 24| F +8| R +11| W +6| Init +4 Per +12| Longbow +15 (1d8) arrow count: 17 regular, 16 +1
Jonah finishes his spell, and a wolf comes bounding out of the brush nearby. It is not a creature the group has seen before with Jonah, but it seems to be more than happy to join in the fight. it flanks the giant sludge monster with rosemary and bites down.
I don't know if these are immune to flanking or not, so subtract 2 from both animals' attacks if it is.
sorry for the delay, had a long weekend of travel for a convention, and then my daughter's birthday. I am back now!
Great roleplay scenes in this area! I like how the party is talking things out in character more than some groups I have been in that do more of that in the OOC chat.
Well aren't you direct? I suppose that's refreshing after being surrounded by so many schemes and lies and half truths in this place.
Your questions will all be answered in due time. But first I would know who I am speaking with. Who are you, and how has a man found himself in this bastion of female power? And one speaking the language of a far away land at that.
You do not seem to be with the Giants that have broken in to this domain, and you are certainly not a witch. Though that one has the gift she nods over at Letitia "so what are you doing here?
Samuel:
You do not spot a ring, though you can't see one of her hands clearly right now. the one laid across the bull is bare.
yes my intention was to allow you to rest here, the discussion with Anna has taken a while, but the space is still safe to spend a night recovering and prepping
Anna doesn't seem bothered by you speaking in another language but clearly doens't understand what you're saying.
When asked about the body she shakes her head I do not know. she took it away after casting her spell, and i have not seen the body again
To Samuel she says
I do not know where to find her. She has the ability to transport herself throughout this fortress. I haven't seen it all but know it is massive. you will need to find a way to get her to come to you or trap her or else she can escape.
Sense motive DC 30:
You get the feeling she is not telling the whole story about her friend's death, she seemed to have carefully chosen her words about the body
She laughs when Letitia asks her if she is a princess. "No, I am not a princess. My father is a Duke, lord of Orost. As a daughter of a duke, I do not have a title of my own, but you may refer to me as 'mistress' or 'my lady'
She looks directly at Samuel, her hand still on his arm. "or you can just call me Anna" she says with a smile.
Letitia:
You have heard of the city of Orost. it is a trading town in between Mirnbay and Orlov, which has been growing in importance to those vying for control of the region.
She ignores the jabs about how the work she is put through doesn't sound all that horrifying.
When Samuel mentions a hag she shrugs
"That may be what she is. I don't know much about them, other than stories for children. but since coming here and seeing monsters first hand I believe a lot more of those fairy tales. She takes several forms, sometimes an old woman, sometimes one much younger. her true form is a hunchbacked creature with green skin and an ugly face. but what makes her a monster is her cruelty and spitefulness.
The creatures here are a weird collection. they serve the witches, some because they want to and some because they are forced. there are evil spirits, poisonous plants, hyenas, a giant spider, creatures from other planes...
Down that hall to the south is a nasty fey creature obsessed with blood. To the east is a bull that can spew poison gas when it is angry. to the north is a nasty flying goat man and his giant plant. They make me feed the bull and plant regularly.
The woman looks over the group
"but you all look worn out. Perhaps it is best if you rest here a moment before we carry on. I have food, and there is enough room here for you to sleep. Surely we have a better chance of escape if you are well rested.
You all level up to level 8! Posting usually slows down a bit at the end of the year, use that time to get your sheets in order!
The woman seems a bit thrown off by Letitia's cool manner.
"well, yes, perhaps I am trusting you too quickly. But you are the first outsiders I have seen here yet, and I am feeling a bit desperate. I heard you speaking in Taldane, which is not so common here. Besides, just you telling me I shouldn't be so trusting makes me think you're more likely to be trustworthy. Otherwise you would just accept my faith and betray me, right?
She slows down for a moment and tries again.
"my name is Anna. I am the daughter of a minor lord in a kingdom to the west of this land. I was given away by my own father in barter to the witches of this tower, in exchange for some boon.
Now I am forced to do unspeakable things... things well beneath my station as a princess. cleaning, cooking, mending, feeding horrible beasts... it's terrible. And I have not seen sunlight in what feels like years. in truth I don't know how long I have been here, or even if it is day or night.
The warden keeps us here, not letting us see the outside. Many here serve the witches in payment for some debt or another, not out of our own volition. The warden is a horrible monster that can change her shape. she appears human, but she is a beast under that facade. If you see her you must kill her before she is able to take control of your mind, or force you into your own debt of servitude here...
She stands close to Samuel, lightly placing her hand on his forearm.
"please, free me from her imprisonment and take me from this place! I will see that you are well rewarded"
Llewellyn:
You feel like she is telling the truth. She is probably exaggerating a bit, and she is clearly not afraid to try to use feminine charm to get her way but she seems to be telling the truth.
Alyn determines that the symbol with the three circles is likely a section on magic, and how magic interacts with the divine. He also thinks the watchtower symbol might relate to wartime history, but doesn't know enough about the timeframe to guess what wars it might focus on.
Trick spots some danger, realizing that there is something in the spot marked 'x'. it appears to be a magically infused mold! if you keep your distance it shouldn't cause too much trouble.
Lolito and Kragg spend some time collecting items from the room.
in the interest of time and with the holidays coming up I am going to shortcut the spellcraft checks and just list what is here
insightful scroll case which contains a scroll of resist energy (electricity),
a scroll of water breathing,
a page of spell knowledge containing dispel magic,
a blessed book,
and a scholar's ring.
This room seems to be a safe enough space to rest for a moment, and the group finally has a moment to think and talk through all they have found on this island so far. You feel refreshed and energized, ready to take on whatever lies in the depths of this temple.
everyone levels up! I was planning on doing a level up on the next rest, but the group has been pushing forward without needing one, and with the holidays being a generally slow posting time I want to let you use that time to get your sheets in order!
Try to keep your pawn locations updated as much as possible. there are a lot of rooms without enemies in here, but when a combat does break out you don't want your character to be all the way across the map!
Letitia knows this is a Tendriculous. It is not particularly weak to fire, but acid and bludgeoning weapons shut off its regeneration. It can swallow a creature whole.
She fires a blast from her wand at it
reflex:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
it avoids half the damage but is hurt a little bit.
Callix throws her axe, harming the plant but the fire does nothing special.
Llewellyn and Samuel attack the satyr with cold iron, both hitting with their strikes.
Ashling still has an action, go ahead and take 2 rounds of actions when you post for round 2
the Tendriculous moves towards Callix and bites her with it's branchy maw
bite:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
Luckily it is big and lumbering, and Callix sees it coming, dodging easily out of the way.
The satyr flies away from the cluster of people and hides behind the plant
It casts a spell, the ground beneath the group turning dark and evil energy pushing against them.
Will Ashling:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Will Letitia:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25 Will Llewellyn:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 Will Samuel (+2 vs divinations):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11 damage:4d8 ⇒ (3, 5, 1, 7) = 16 rounds:1d4 ⇒ 2
Letitia takes 4 damage
Ashling take 8 damage
Llewellyn and Samuel take 16 and are sickened for 2 rounds
The party may act. Ashling has 2 rounds of actions, Llewellyn has an AoO
Samuel shakes off the magic and immediately knows that he was targeted by a compulsion. He raises his rifle to shoot, knocking the pipes out of the creature's hands
The Satyr is quick to respond to danger and flies up in to the air, pulling out a bow. He shoots at Samuel
shortbow:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
His shot is not nearly as accurate as the gunslinger.
The music stops, and the party realizes they were under its influence.
Unfortunately, they were not the only ones being lulled to a state of comfort by the pan pipe... behind the group the mass of vegetation rises and begins to writhe its vines like tentacles... The mass has a huge maw filled with thorns and sharp branches that act as teeth.
This is likely going to come up a lot with the way i need to make this map one room at a time and the way they are almost all connected by these long skinny pathways.
I need to know what your marching order will be inside of this dungeon. I arranged you in a way that made sense to me on the map now, but please let me know in here how you would like to be arranged for future door openings.
Lolito checks on the bodies and looks around the room with a keen eye while Kragg heals the party
The stalkers do not hav much in the way of equipment, just simple longswords with no magical enhancements. The lizard has nothing.
However, Lolito's eyes pick up some discoloration in the wall and disturbance of the rubble and dirt on the ground, leading him to find a secret doorway on the eastern wall near where he fought the lizard.
He points it out, but before looking into the two doors off of this room he backtracks to check the double door in the hallway to the south.
he finds no traps and so opens the door slowly
The smell of oil and grease fills this room, where armor- plated statue heads, limbs, and torsos as well as gears of all sizes have been placed on stone shelves. A nearly complete body consisting of similar gears and armor plates lies face down on a stone table with a large key embedded in a clockwork mechanism in its back.
The body parts in the room once belonged to clockwork creatures. Beautifully crafted plates of platinum and intricately gilded steel covered their bodies like armor, giving them the appearance of roughly human (albeit emotionless) faces and musculature, but their exposed backs revealed hundreds of fine gears of chrome and steel.
I am sorry for the delay. glad to see some really interesting role play happening while you waited.
I am in the process of selling a house in one state and buying in another, so I am a little pressed for itme IRL. I will try to post later today to keep things moving along
The giant grunts and gestures to the small confines of the hallway
Giant:
"you're lucky you're small, human. this stupid hallways is way too long to be crawling along like this!
I'm not alone, but they sent me off alone to check down this passage. it's very long. and it feels funny. I think I've been going in the same direction for a long time but haven't seen anything. until you of course. sure is good ot see a friendy face.
Can you tell me how to get back to Vsevolod? I'll be expected back soon but I am pretty lost
The party rushes forward, almost all spending a round to buff up. Alyn drinks, Kragg casts, and Derym splits into 7 copies.
Lolito puts his efforts into a single big attack, hitting a stalker with a spinning kick that connects for good damage.
Lara tries to shoot past Lolito but overcorrects and misses.
The giant lizard moves up a bit, and screams. the scream is a horrifying noise that reverberates deep inside of your bodies as it washes over you causing intense pain and internal damage
sonic damage:8d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1) = 24 Reflex Derym:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 Reflex Lara (+3 luck):1d20 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 3 = 17 Reflex Kragg:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 Reflex Alyn:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 Reflex Trick:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
No one was prepared for the big lizard to have a sonic attack and no one avoids the damage...
The stalkers move to attack
Red attacks Lolito back
longsword:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
but the old man spins out of the way.
the rest move up to threaten the party but are too far away to make attacks. they all double move to get in the way.
The party returns fire with a devastating round of attacks.
It takes all of his attacks (with one miss) but Lolito takes down the gray stalker in front of him.
Alyn finishes off Yellow with one swing, then works with Trick to deal with orange easily.
Derym steps up and adds some shocking magic to his weapon and buries it deep in the cyan soldier. the blade digs deep into a vital spot and electricity fries the enemy from the inside out, killing it instantly.
the stalker swings back at Lolito, but misses
sword:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
shortcutting here, one stalker is no longer a real threat to this group. even a pile of them didn't present a lot of challenge
the last stalker is quickly cut down by a combination of Lolito and Alyn, leaving the hallway silent, except for the sound of dripping water coming from up ahead.
