Search Posts
Thanks for all the fish! Running a couple PbPs is hard. Running five certainly is even more work!
"Ahl'right lads. Company's coming. Best ye all make yerselves ready." Kelgar nods to The Halfhand. "Ah din't suppose ye've got some sort o' surprise waiting for them if there's a big ol' group headin' our way?" Kelgar advances to interpose himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Hilde to square off against the oncoming guards.
"Ah don't like th' look o' those mirrors..." Kelgar, gripping his axe warily, advances into the room, keeping his eyes trained for tricks or hostilities.
Kelgar, fairly certain that their battle in the courtyard was no less loud than the opening of doors, nods to Hilde and begins to push one of the two open.
Kelgar kneels down and liberates the troll of his gold, holding the treasure up for the others to see. "Now, we jes need t' live t' spend it!" Ensuring all his weapons are ready, he steps back into the snow to the west, following Hilde before gesturing for the others to follow.
Kelgar, feeling like the guards are secure, sees little point in questioning them. Instead the old dwarf moves anxiously to a window to glance out at the courtyard and see who else they have attracted the attention of. "Best ye all get healed up real quick. 's just a matter o' time before we get inta our next fight."
With the first guard deposited in the kennels, Kelgar marches back into the snow, grumbling all along the way about missing other large barbarian-types with which to split the load. Grabbing the trow by an oversized leg, he turns and like a toddler carrying a teddy bear twice his size, drags the creature into the kennels. With a final huff of exertion, Kelgar finds something suitable to plant his rump onto and looks at the others like a grumpy grandfather before turning towards Bastagar. "Ah'lright wee lad, see what 'e 'as."
I know one local PFS player who build a witch and played it several levels (to 6th or 7th I believe) before finally retiring him out of frustration due to the limited spell selection. Unfortunately for him, he seemed to always be playing scenarios with undead, constructs, elementals, vermin/swarms and the like. I forgot what his patron was, but it wasn't one that gave him any interesting evocation spells to round out his spell list. I remember snowball and flurry of snowballs were both used, but without Precise Shot, it was a bit tough to land. I have yet to play one myself, which is something I should remedy one of these days.
Kelgar grabs the bound guardman, dragging his body towards the kennels and gives Hilde a nod indicating that she's welcome to follow his lead. "Alright lads n' lasses. Thar's no tellin' who's attention we've gone n' attracted. Best we hide these two and keep movin' before the whole tower's on our arses."
Round 5 Now atop the wall, Kelgar spots Hilde in combat with the lone remaining guard. Storming ahead, he once again unstraps his axe as he closes the distance to the man and readies a powerful swing. for
One more thought. In home campaigns, I universally use the hero point system which helps smooth the game out (in my opinion). So, the PCs get all the benefits of hero points, but I also use "villain points" for various named bad guys. Each bad guy only gets a single villain point, and only the bad guys that are meant to be "memorable encounters". Because of this, my casters are a little more wary, because as a GM I can choose to add +8 (before I roll) or +4 (after I know the result) to any roll. Certainly, any GM with a screen is free to fudge a saving throw to maximize his table's fun. It's not very cinematic when the group encounters the villain at the end of an AP chapter and they last a single round when our nightly gathering had an hour budgeted for an epic brawl. Thus, villain points have really solved this problem and made fights more exciting and drawn out and helped avoid a single shot death when everyone would be happier with a longer fight. Again, not every monster gets a villain point, just the ones that are meant to be interesting.
Hmmm. As a GM of Pathfinder Society, I've certainly seen Slumber hex abused in various encounters where the party encounters a single interesting enemy (which is not an undead, construct, elf, etc). The witch wins initiative and goes for the "I win" button that is slumber hex and it comes down to the dice, but usually it ends up feeling like a coin toss if the enemy falls asleep. Some times, folks have driven an hour to play a game for 4-5 hours and you can kind of see it in their eyes when their fighter/barbarian essentially loses the chance to go toe-to-toe with some sort of interesting melee opponent. It's those times I'm not sure about Slumber Hex, but in that same vein, the bard/wizard/etc could've arrived packing a Hideous Laughter, Color Spray, etc. I don't have an issue with Sleep or Deep Slumber so much since it's a full round action, and I play most bad guys as seeing a wizard doing a long cast and walking up and whacking them (where it's practical) so sleep comes with some risk. I think if I ended up with a slumber hex witch in a home campaign, I'd likely end up tweaking the encounters that were designed with a single big foe to ensure there were at least a handful of minions. Because after all, it just takes a single CR 1/2 minion to wake the big slumbered bad guy up and get him/her/it back into the combat. TLDR: I think slumber hex feels powerful when there's poor encounter design and it robs the other party members of feeling like they contribute. But there's plenty of one-shot mechanics. Kelgar could just have easily walked up to the troll and gotten a critical hit for enough damage to drop the troll in a single action. As such, I'd think we could easily keep going on and see how it plays out. In my mind, slumber hitting is just the same as Bastagar or Halfhand casting a save or suck of their own, or any of the melee types confirming a nice big critical hit.
Kelgar grunts upon seeing the guard before him drop to the ground, chilled but not shaken and brings his attention to the guards on the wall. Deciding his best bet to protect the others is to make himself the greatest threat to the wall-guards, he stows his axe and begins an attempt to scale the northernmost ramp .
Kelgar looks at the steep, icy ramp leading to the upper levels and grumbles a bit at the effort of climbing in the cold in his heavy armor. "Blessed forefathers, ah' almost forgot!" With an outstretched finger, Kelgar points at the guard on the ground, hoping to do just enough damage to knock the map out so the team can focus on the guards above. for
As an interesting note, I generally don't let folks read scrolls while invisible - my ruling being that you don't really see yourself with enough clarity to do so. It's a grey area as well, though!
FWIW, directing a flaming sphere while invisible is a printed tactic for bad guys that I've seen in at least a half-dozen scenarios or adventures published by Paizo. Although, it's always good to ask the GM when it's a bit grey. :)
Round 2 Kelgar grumbles a bit that the man was hardy enough to survive a dwarven waraxe and steps up to him again, realizing that if the guards get their hands on their weapons that they'll have worse problems than the troll. "Ah'm sorry lad, really ah am."
for
Kelgar's eyes reflect the orange of the fiery sphere as it springs into existence on top of the troll. He turns and gives the Halfhand a wide, toothy grin. "YES! FIRE!"
Grumbling that Bastagar's likely to get himself snapped in half rather than win over the trow's heart, the dwarf gives up his restraint and swiftly unfastens his axe and draws it as he steps up to the nearest guard. "Pah! A dwarf doesn't give in without a fight! Yarrrghhh!"
for
Kelgar frowns at the sight of the trow reaching out to strangle the white-haired gnome, his fingers itching to feel the comfort of his axe. His eyes dart about the camp nervously counting each of the three guards.
Bundled up tight for warmth, Kelgar continues to keep his eyes focused on the guard, half expecting a dozen more enemy guards to leap out from the nearest shadow and complicate their plan. Concentrating, he keeps his mouth shut and is somewhat surprised at the natural and convincing lies that the Halfhand and Bastagar both continue to weave.
Kelgar huffs quietly to himself upon spotting the troll and resists the itch between his fingers that can only be satisfying by holding an axe and swinging it at a troll's skull. He reminds himself of his family and their ruse and does his best to shuffle quietly and inconspicuously behind Snjorinn. "Ah'm gittin' ta' old fer .."
Kelgar also holds his tongue, but his gaze pierces into the backs of Bastagar and the Halfhalf, both of whom the dwarf knows have glib tongues.
Kelgar nods and huffs for breath in the cold air and pauses for a moment to catch his breath. He opens his mouth for a moment, but decides to practice keeping quiet and silently prays to Folgrit and Torag both that Bastagar's tongue and wit will get them through the gate and past any guards they encounter.
Kelgar gives Bastagar the look of a worried parent. "Alright, now don't ye go flappin' yer big mouth t' much. Th' best lie be a short one. Less things t' get tripped up or caught on." Kelgar tousles his beard a bit and then frowns. "Perhaps ye ken make meh resemble some sort o' duergar? I dun think there be much by way o' fey dwarves."
I'll miss Cearb, but happy to welcome in a replacement.
Kelgar grumbles a bit at the thought of dressing up, but upon seeing Bastagar's work, tugs his beard a few times and admits, "Well ah'll be damned, th' plan o' yers may just work." Turning sideways a few times in the mirror, he wonders aloud, "ahn' jess who'll be doin' th' talkin' when we're stopped?"
Kelgar shrugs at Hilde's inquiry. "Either, or. It's all th' same t' me. Moon might be best. Most o' the guards should nae be able t' see further than a stone's throw." Kelgar gestures out of the nearest window towards the horizon, estimating about how far sixty feet may be, imagining at best whatever guards the tower sees as well as he does himself.
Kelgar nods. "Aye, if plan t' see more trolls, we should bring more fires." The old dwarf sagely nods and pats his pack. "Ah've got a few. But tha' last one nearly laid us low due to the deep snow more 'n anything else. We need ah way t' counter 'tha - not in tha' tower but outseed 't."
Kelgar nods to himself sagely as he continues to eavesdrop on the interior of the cabin, content with the reconnaissance they are obtaining from Hatch detailing the various threats within the Pale Tower. He catches his stubby hand anxiously tugging on his beard and can almost hear Brundir's voice reminding him that such habits will leave him beardless unless he gets a handle on them. Ah'lright. Can't do much harm t' enter 'nah. If tha' Hatch is scared off, so be 't." Taking a few steps back in the snow, Kelgar intentionally coughs and makes several stomping sounds as he walks up the wooden porch to the cabin's front door and pauses for a moment to shake the snow from his clothes before pushing the door open. Face red from the cold, and a look of guilt on his face, he inquires to the others. "Sooo... what'd ah miss?"
Kelgar grumbles to himself from the far side of the door as no mention of ingress through a less watched avenue is described. He ponders the creature of heated water, and its relative strengths and weaknesses.
Ah' wonder... some sort o' elemental? A mephit?
Satisfied his axe's edge is sharp, Kelgar stands from the snowy stump and moves to join the others in the house, presuming his arrival will not scare off Hilde's "fey friend", or if it does, the bulk of questions have been answered. Hearing the sounds of Hilde's voice within, he stops and leans against the closed door to listen in on her relay the details of the Pale Tower.
Kelgar shuffles into the sun, attempting to extract whatever warmth he can from its rays, while giving Hilde free reign of the house. Grunting with effort as he rolls a firewood log over as a makeshift seat, he begins to examine the edge of his axe. "Ah know we're paying ah visit t' th' tower soon 'nuff."
Kelgar watches thoughtfully as Nadya comes to understand the full extent of her loss and the plan is formed to repay Nazhena in kind for the imprisonment of their hostess's lost daughter. His gaze is distant, and his thoughts are of his own children and their safety back at home. Home... Kelgar watches with some confusion as Hilde departs to the house in an effort to find "Hatch". Turning to look at the Halfhand, he wonders aloud - "Did ah miss who 'atch is? Some sort o' fey, or...?"
Team Slushee Purchases:
I have forgotten if we have picked up a wand for healing, yet? Given how much a pain it is to move in the snow as we learned, I'd think we all might want to carry potions of featherstep at some point, too.
Kelgar 3: I forgot to post this earlier... Level: +1 Inquisitor
Kelgar's pacing begins to wear down a path on the rugs in Nadya's home while he grumbles lowly under his beard. He is among the first to set foot out in the snow upon hearing the return of their hostess, forgetting to grab his cloak and hat as hustles across the white landscape toward the kennel. With a nod to Halfhand, he voices the inquiry rolling about his head that felt like an eternity coming since he made the hundred-foot journey from hearth to kennel. He leans against the door and talks just loud enough so his voice can be heard within. "Ach lass, dinnae not go as planned?"
The spear's good to sell. Kelgar's more of an axe-dwarf. The spear would sell for half that, right?
Spell Specialization?
Kelgar grumbles to himself under his beard as his brain works through some mental calculations at how self-sufficient the sledsmen may be if the evils of the Pale Tower decide the quickest way to get their goods is to simply butcher those who delivered them.
The talk of missing children having reinvigorated Kelgar, who wistfully remembers his own sons and daughter, he groans as he stands and begins to pace the room, yet never wanders too far from the fire. "Aye, ah'm not a fan o' ye headin' into this den o' evil alone, lass. How d'ye nae know it be a trap ye be walkin' in'ta? Perhaps ye should take at least one o' us along. T'would nay be tha' unseemly since with such supplies ye'd be a likely target en route?"
Do it!! I can totally imagine the scene, don't squander the opportunity! :)
Kelgar shuffles into the cabin and reluctantly parts with his overcoat before his eyes widen, his jaw drops and he scrambles like a child on a holiday eve to the fireside. Just as he is about to take the closest seat, he hesitates as the children rush past to greet Nadya. His eyes, buried deep in his face beyond ruddy cheeks, again buried beyond a mass of fur, wet themselves, as memories of his own children dance in his mind. Still gazing into the distance, he finally *plops* into a chair and pays little attention to the sounds about and allows the warmth and fond memories to return him home for a lone evening.
Kelgar's attention is drawn to the woman's words and her mention of lost children.
"Aye, if ye've lost a child and th' tower is t' blame - then ah'll say we'll do our best t' set 't straight." Kelgar likewise accepts .
|