Lina Longlegs's page

Oh, I whole-heartedly agree with what Johnathan Drain says! Kyuss creatures are most formidable opponents!! All classes of characters need to play carefully. But that's what makes it all so much fun!

So far my monk has been the only one to be initially infected with a worm ... almost went the way of Kyuss. But our party cleric was able to dig the worm out with his dagger ... and I dare say he enjoyed it far too much!! Lina was pleased to watch him die a most horrible death in the Spire of Long Shadows ... he recieved his just desserts! But of course, we resurrected him, and he has been much more subdued since meeting his diety face to face! Mwahahahaha!

Lady Aurora speaks true ... monks are not tanks! Monks are more like tomahawk missiles. Think stealth, mobility, and guerrilla tactics! With monks it's all about finesse, not brute strength. Give me a wise and experienced monk over an intelligent wizard or muscle-bound fighter any day!

2 clerics and 2 paladins (2 pair).

or 1 cleric, 1 wizard, 2 paladins (1 pair with ace high).

maybe 4 paladins (4 of a kind).

perhaps 1 cleric, 1 wizard, 1 barbarian, and 1 paladin (flush).

seeing the set of intersecting values?

of course, 4 monks could be fun! (another 4 of a kind - if done right)

basically, whatever the players have fun playing.

I play a straight monk in our AoW campaign. Our party is presently delving in the Spire of Long Shadows. Lina is, so far, the only original member of our group who has not perished through the entire course of the campaign.

A monk can easily be played to good effect in the AoW. As a few others have said, the monk is a very tactical creature, and there are ways to make her more effective. Definitely take advantage of party magic users or clerics ability to buff the monk!

We also have been able to include Weapons of Legacy in our campaign, and my monk has been "crafting" her very own WoL that provides her with abilities to help make up for deficencies. I'm also saving my gold pieces in order to have a vrey high level "greater magic fang" with "permanency" cast on her open hand ... she will smack hard for sure then ... almost as well as our main fighter!

I would say that one feat that has helped my monk out has been "spring attack". With the monkish ability of enhanced natural movement, you can move in and out of close combat and slowly whittle the bad guys down, and they cannot touch you! It doesn't always have to be a "stand your ground slug-fest"! I have also invested in a "ring of freedom of movement" ... this allows my monk to move around completely unhindered.

My monk also focused on "hide in shadows" and "move silent" ... she is even more sneaky than our groups' rogue! A most perfect scout. Lina doesn't deal phenomenal damage during combat (yet), but she can sure help the party from being ambushed! She also has "improved disarm" ... coupled with "spring attack", she can move in, take a handheld weapon away (which many of the "intelligent" undead use), and move away without being attacked.

Let's see, what else ... oh yeah ... another person made mention that at levels 12+ the monk gets much better ... believe it! At level 13, and wearing no armor (except a pair of +2 bracers and a cloak +2) my monk actually has the best AC of our group (28), especially flatfooted (24), and touch (25), and practically the best saves. I've concentrated on increasing her wisdom as she goes up in levels. Pump up the wisdom!!

Another thing that has helped my monk is that she is Lawful Evil. I'm not advocating being "evil", but the "law" portion has made her eligible for using specific items laying around through the campaign that the neutral, and especially chaotic, characters cannot take full advantage of! And actually, the "evil" portion has helped get her through some aspects of the undead encounters that are just pummeling the "good" portion of the party. However, it is very difficult to play an "evil" character.

I suspect that further on in the campaign, Lina will mostly be played as a "support" character, but even the "little guys" can help swing the tide against ultimate "Chaos and Evil"! Our party fighter keep saying he can bash me down if I get out of line ... I just tell him to try and catch me ... Mwahahahaha!!

Oh, I very much agree with what you say there Jeremy. By all means, if a dragon has an item, it's going to use it (if it can). As you mention, they're smart, and wise, and they don't live to a ripe-old age of many hundreds of years by being stupid! My only point is that the nature of the beast is not to take all of its hard fought-for, glittery horde of cash, gems, and jewels and trade it in on magic items. However, if silly humanoids just happen to be dragging along some nifty items with them when they try to outsmart the wiley dragon, and they just happen to "leave" them behind upon their demise at the claws and teeth of the most crafty dragon, then I would certainly make sure that the dragon used those nifty magic items to its best defense and offense! Long live the mighty dragon!!

And if it can get hold of a Freedom of Movement spell, you betcha the dragon would use that to great effect!

In the end, and as far as I'm concerned, a dragon is the penultimate creature in the D&D universe of monsters!!

Someone a ways back mentioned in this thread that dragons would likely have a large horde of cash (pretty, shiny, metal coins - silver, gold, platinum - and heaps of glittering, shiny, light refracting gems and such). I should dare hope so! They then went on to say that a "smart" dragon might take chunks of that horde and "convert" (which I would take as "buy") some nifty magic items (since dragons can pretty much use any magic item that a humanoid could). However, as a DM I would be very careful about this. Dragons, as we all know, are very, very (need I reiterate, VERY) greedy and are loathe to part with even one tiny piece of their pile of goodies. After all, they have labored long and hard to build up this stash of glittery baubles ... a nice nest/bed to lay on and revel in!! Yes, these creatures likely have quite a stash of cash tucked away, deep and safe in some underground lair, that any sane character-type would convert to items of power ... but dragons do not think that way ... after all, they are already more ancient and powerful than any mere humanoid! In their way of thinking, they do not "need" the silly "crutches" of magic items that character-types rely on to survive! Dragons rely on thier ancient cunning, and their sheer size and strength to defeat those pesky character-types. And really, as any Paladin or Ranger worth his meddle knows, dragons are just greedy cowards at heart. Mwahahaha!!

Adventure:
Spire of Long (very long) Shadows

Location:
Tunnels below the Ziggurat

Deceased:
Wargon AxeGripper (Male Dwarven Fighter/Kensai/Bar Room Aficionado)
MT (Mysterious Traveler, Female Bardic Dragon Disciple)

Catalyst:
Cheap Naga-hide Parlor Tricks

Long Story:
The Black Company entered the maze of fetid tunnels bored into the dead rock beneath the dark ziggurat, deep in the hot, humid jungles of a lost land. Wargon AxeGripper bravely led the way, stomping slowly down the moist, rough-hewn tunnel on stout dwarven legs. MT, the Mysterious Traveler followed close behind. Both held their deadly mercenary weapons of trade at the ready. The rest of the party straggled further behind. Lina, wisest among the wise, bemoaned the fact that the narrow tunnel made all of them perfect targets for ill-begotten lightening bolts and other spells. Alas, lightening was the least of their worries, as they would soon learn. Calen the Green, well learned in the ways of Divine Teachings and Arcane Arts clattered along, followed close on his heels by the hired “Hand of God”, Kelfgar, a dwarven cleric. Ara, silent as a mouse, and elusive as a shadow on a moonless night, crept along not far behind; her bow was strung and an arrow lay at nock. Shandor the Magnificent, a young child-prodigy in the Sorcerer’s unfathomable art walked with confidence, and a certain air of arrogance further back. Finally, the vulnerable rear of the party was covered by the graceful strength of Lina Longlegs, a perfect disciple of the “One True Way”.

The party was soon accosted by a single bloated, foul, snakelike being - a single Naga, twisted and malformed by a corrupt evil. Wargon and MT rushed to face it, while the rest of the Black Company readied for combat. As the creature was beaten and fully trounced, it let loose with a last, desperate tactic and laid a magic curse upon Wargon and Shandor, reducing their mental faculties to that of a common lizard. The creature was ultimately defeated, and Kelfgar laid his holy hands upon the two who were cursed, and revived their intellect. And so the Black Company continued down the dark and lonely corridor.

Not far down the hall a group of three Nagas were encountered, and the Black Company laid into them with a vengeance. Wargon’s axe cut deep; MT used her sword to excellent effect, but it was the magical abilities of both Calen and Shandor, coupled with Lina’s supernatural ability to form herself into living lightening and to toss untold beams of searing heat through the air, that sent the group of three antagonizers to their doom. But alas, Kelfgar had been rendered blind! And his standing as a clerical entity had been reduced by some foul magic that emanated from the accursed beasts!

Yet, the Black Company forged deeper through the corridor. Lina, brooding in the back, wondered why she and her friends continued this trek. This excursion had begun to take on the guise of a fools’ folly. What was to be gained? What was to be learned? And as she pondered these things, a second group of three Nagas emerged from the darkness before the Company!

Again, Wargon and MT maneuvered themselves to face the foes, while the others ranged themselves, staggered and behind, in order to sling magical assistance to the two stalwart fighters. Wargon once again felt a wash of magic crawl over his skin, and again his mental faculties were reduced to that of a common house-sparrow! And yet he continued to swing his axe, and it bit deeply into the lead Naga’s corrupted scales and skin. Arrows from Ara’s bow flew with deadly precision, fire sprouted from the labored gesturings of Calen, Lina let fire flow from her hands, and Shandor let loose with a variety of magical conjurings. Although damage was dealt, and two of the foul, bloated worms fell quickly, the final creature flicked out its’ tongue and gently touched Wargon and MT. It was difficult to see clearly, but certainly some foul magic was placed upon them. Both Wargon and MT crumpled like sacks full of starch-tubers … dead … completely and utterly dead. No wounds were made, no hot dwarven blood was spilled, no strong blows fell upon their bodies. The two heroes simply dropped dead in their tracks. Their very souls had been severed from their bodies. The rest of the Black Company stood their ground and dealt a final death knell to the remaining Naga without further difficulty.

Afterward, Lina stood over the lifeless bodies of both Wargon and MT and muttered under her breath, “Never get into a fist-fight with a Naga, especially when death is on the line”! Shandor called the group to his side, and used a finely tuned thread of magical weaving to instantly transport the surviving members of the Black Company, and the now lifeless corpses of their fallen comrades, to a safe haven not far from the desecrated ziggurat. Wargon had left a will (of sorts), and so his body and spiritually imbued war-axe were cremated in a funeral pyre (fit for a dwarven warrior-king!) outside of the ziggurats’ enclosing wall. However, after a long period of rest and recuperation, the soul of MT was coaxed by the two divine warriors (Calen and Kelfgar) to re-inhabit the lifeless husk of her body.

And so, the Black Company was in a single moment both defeated, and victorious. Now, alone among the original members of the Black Company, only Lina could worry that life had never completely ebbed from her physical temple. But for how much longer would that claim hold true? Only endless, and tireless time holds the answer to that question.

PC: Jensen Bane (Paladin of Pelor)
Adventure: SoLS
Location: On road from Diamod Lake to Mage Point
Catalyst: Bravado and Devils!

Long Story:
(First of all, I just had to make a post on this, of all days!)
As the adventurers were happily travelling down the road, they were waylaid by a couple of true devils. Of course, the Paladin saw this as his "reason for living", and charged the pair of devilish brutes! And, being a Paladin, he felt that he was "protected" by his deity. Our monk foolishly joined the Paladin, while the rest of the party began to disperse in order to "buff-up" before aiding the two brave fools. The devils tried some whacky magic on the two attackers, but being "lawful" in alignment, the spells had no affect on them. Meanwhile, physical attacks by the two fools proved to be almost impossible to land, the AC of the devils was really high! However, to Jensen Banes' credit, his first attack laid one of the devils out hard on the ground! Ah-ha, we believed this was going to be an easy encounter! Except ... as the fray began, each of the other party members found themselves suddenly enveloped in a dome of magical ice, with a devilish creature of their own to contend with! Brilliant use of tactics by our DM!! The Paladin and monk fought on, slowly chipping away at the mean brutes from the nether planes of evil, when suddenly the Paladin was severely thrashed about the head and shoulders and his brains leaked out all over the ground (he sustained enough damage in a single attack to take him to -16 hp). Bummer. Needless to say, the monk finally defeated one of the beasts, and with very little life left, withdrew to a safe distance with a "dimension door" in order to do a considerable amount of healing! The rest of the party finally defeated their singular attackers, broke free from their icy prisons, and together the group defeated the last major devil. Afterward, we decided that the Paladin was enjoying his new status as the "Footstool of Pelor", and (after looting his corpse!) the body was burned and its ashes tossed into the wind. We will miss Jensen Bane. He was a true Paladin, and gave his life in the ultimate battle with Evil!

After a particularly painful encounter, the monkish character relished (with delight!) the cool, tasty, invigorating, effervescant cure light wounds potion that had been acquired "somewhere" earlier. The worm went down easily ... but the DM allowed a "spot" check for the character to notice that "something" small and solid went down as well. That was all for the moment. No ill effects ... until the next morning, when the monkish one felt somewhat off balance, overly tired, and weak (loss of 4 con points). And there was a little "rumbly in the tummy" effect going on. Again, not much other than that. However, being a very paranoid group, the monkish one begged the party cleric for a cure disease spell. "Sorry, not today", was the answer. (We're not exactly all that chummy as a party, and there is somewhat of a "rivalry" going on between the LE monkish one and the CG cleric!) So, at some point the worm began its migration toward the brain ... the monkish one was in a panic and described the situation to the party ... something terrible, and painful, was happening! So, the cleric, not too fond of the monkish one, took out his wickedly sharp dagger, and began "delicately" digging the worm out. It definitely hurt (and quite a bit of damage was sustained by the monkish one), but the creature was extracted, observed, and dispatched. Afterward, the cleric did a few cure light wounds spells on the monkish one, bringing her back to full vim and vigor. The cleric was just "returning the favor" to the monkish one, who had gleefully set the cleric on fire in an earlier adventure ... reputedly to help eliminate some nasty creepy-crawly thing that was attached to the cleric. Such is the way of the world!

We are, indeed, the one and only "Black Company". Of course, Silent, Goblin, Croaker, and the "Lady" approve. So far, we've done them proud ... abusing, I mean "bending!", the system as far as possible without sending our DM into apoplectic shock.

Well -
This isn't exactly a PC death, but it was such a great use/abuse of the system that I thought it might be fun to share.

Name: Madtooth the Hungry
Adventure: Champions Belt
Location: Arena
Catalyst: Enfeeblement, Well-placed Coupe'd Grace, and a foggy Monk
Long Description: OK, here it comes ...

The creaky, herky-jerky motion of the elevator platform rose through dust and beams of sunlight. The Black Company hastily cast several spells upon various members of the party in expectation of meeting a new opponent on the floor of the Champions Belt Arena. As they were lifted fully into the sunlit arena grounds, the crowd gathered in the stands roared with excitement ... the Black Company never seemed to disappoint their need and lust for chaotic mayhem and unrestrained bloodshed. The Black Company was prepared to meet their new challengers .. yet there was nobody, or nothing, present. The crowd continued to roar, but after a few minutes, as the Black Company stood alone and unopposed, the noise began to wind down, and then to change and rise again to a cacaphony of resentful jeering ... a riot seemed apparent ... the crowd can be fickle, and if not fed on time can turn nasty!

Time continued to wear on, the crowd grew in size, and it's temprament continued to grow proportionally larger and more nasty. Spells wore off, and Lina Longlegs, the wise monk, wandered across the arena, sat near the far end, away from her fellows, and began to meditate. She began to shut out the noise of the crowd, letting the sunshine fill her with warmth. She began to contemplate the events of the previous night, when she and her companions had battled some odd undead creatures, and she had almost been infected, yet again, by those singularly pesky parasitic green worms. She was beginning to tire of those creatures, and their spawn. And then came the "Outsider" ... he was not necessarily the most difficult challenge the group had yet faced, but one of the more interesting. But in the end, he fell, as did his summoned scorpion ... Lina felt bad for the creature, after all, it did not choose its' way. But something tickled in the back of her mind. The "Outsider" had carried scrolls upon his person, and the group had been asked to find a certain set of scrolls. Had anyone yet investigated the scrolls closely? Lina remembered them being scryed for magic (and they were), but she was certain that not one of the party who were learned in magical inscriptions had actually looked closely at those items. She must remember to mention this to Calen.

Suddenly, as Lina was coming to this realization, the doors to the arena, closest to where she sat, burst open. A group of men-at-arms hastily dragged in a massive, wheeled iron war wagon, and quickly let loose the restraints that held the doors tight. The noise of the crowd, which had grown quite ugly, was suddenly hushed, and as the men-at-arms ran for their lives, the creature, the abheration that had been housed inside was loosed! It let out a deafening roar/scream that sent a collective shudder of fear and trepedation through the huge crowd. The Black Company, on the far side of the arena (except for Lina), stood their ground and took stock of this monstrosity. It's form was indescribable, something from a nightmare with more arms than necessary, like some kind of twisted land-borne octopus. Lina quickly rose, with the beast a mere few feet from her position. The Black Company quickly began to heft weapons and recast spells that would make some of their party more formidable, but from Lina's vantage, this seemed almost comical against a creature of this size.

In an instant, and in what felt like slow-motion, Madtooth the Hungry (as the beast was known) spat forth a long thick tongue that struck Lina forcibly, wrapping securely around her. As spells were finished, the rest of the Company began to move toward Madtooth, except for Ara, who moved obliquely and began loosing well-targeted arrows at the foe. Lina tried to free herself from the grasp of the tongue, but to no avail, and was easily lifted into the air, and pulled effortlessly into the gaping maw of the monsterous Madtooth. What seemed like possibly her final thoughts were, "You've got to be kidding?!"

The Company staggered for just a moment, seeing Lina disappear into the gullet of the giant foe, and yet, they did not completely falter, but came on, even against all hope. That is what the Black Company is all about - the task is not finished until it is finished. A couple of seconds went by as Wargon (our stalwart dwarf) and MT (quick and dark) moved close enough to begin hacking and slashing with their specialized weaponry. Ara continued to stick arrows into Madtooth, but they neither appeared to harm the beast, or to enrage it .. it just didn't seem to notice. Calen the Green held back, trying to decide on the best course of action, while the non-plussed paladin, Jensen Bane (yes - the one and only paladin - Jensen Bane of legend!!), bade his celestial warhorse to appear and assist!

Lina was sucked deep into the belly of the beast, and unbeknownst to the rest of the party was actually in fair shape, alive and not too terribly cramped within a dark, moist, warm chamber. Stomach acid burned her skin, eyes, and lungs ... her lungs. An idea flashed quickly into mind, and she reached into her belt pouch, pulled forth a small bottle, and let its effervescant liquid bubble down her throat. "If nothing else", she thought, "I will not die this day." Her body immediatley began to tingle, and it felt as if all of her molecules were dissolving - but not from acid - she felt no pain, only a significant lightness of being. Lina sublimated, her solid body forming a concentrated foggy mist. Lina had become a sentient gas, mobile, and manueverable. Now to the task at hand!

Outside, the battle did not at first appear to be going well for the Black Company. Calen managed to enlarge Jensen, and a few carefully placed blows had been delivered by both Wargon and MT. Ara's arrows were protruding all over the hide of the beast, giving it the appearance of an underdeveloped porcupine, but it did not seem phased. In fact, Wargon and MT were suddenly enveloped in grasping holds, and rendered completely useless. MT had earlier been enlarged, and as such did not appear to be in danger of being ingested; however, Wargon went the way of Lina, and was swiftly sucked into the maw of Madtooth.

The crowd was beside itself ... as a body it was "oohing" and "aahing" ... gasping as arrows continued to sink into Madtooth's flesh, roaring wildly as the dwarf disappeared into the mouth of the monster, cheering as Jensen suddenly grew in stature. They really didn't care who won or lost, they were here for the action, for the spilled blood, for the intense rush of being able to watch a scene of undescribable horror unfold before their eyes. To a person, they envisioned themselves as the players, as the victors ... this was what they lived for!

Lina began to move through the creature. As a gas she easily wafted back up through the esophogeal tube, into the mouth of the creature, and then following the bronchial tube down toward the lungs. It was not difficult, as being in a gaseous state she just followed the natural movement of air into the creature's body ... it literally inhaled her into its lungs.

Outside, Jensen began to charge, in order to engage the creature. Bravery, or folley, it was not readily apparent, especially after witnessing what had quickly befallen three very compentent comrades. Calen deliberately pulled a wand from his belt and began to let loose rays of sickly, pale, yellow-green light ... magic that sapped the strength from Madtooth. And, yes, arrows from the bow of Ara continued to sink into the monster.

The next things occurred so rapidly, the crowd, afterward, were not quite sure what exactly happened. But what did transpire was such that even great-great-grandchildren would still be talking about it many years to come.

The magical light from Calens wand sapped the strength from Madtooth, and he collapsed under his own weight, unable to even lift his tentacles in defense. Jensen strode forth, and with his mighty great sword, and with a singular call to his diety (sacrificing some of his own life-energy in order to increase the efficacy of his blow) he sunk his blade deep into what he guessed was the head of the beast. And within its left lung, Lina materialized and began hacking with small, sharp blades, scything them through the soft, moist, spongy material, causing significant, mortal damage to the delicate material. As well, Wargon had consumed a similar potion, but before he could wind his way into the lungs, the beast fell, dead, and with its dying breath expelled Wargon into the arena where he rematerialized. Lina burst forth from the body of the beast, a bloody, foaming mass of whirling energy as the crowd went from deafening silence to a thunderous crescendo of cheering and applause. The Black Company stood tall (MT and Jensen literally!) and quiet, basking in the glory and soaking up the moment.

This challenge was over, the heroes gathered together and let the men-at-arms fall in around them to escort them to their gladiatorial quarters once again. Lina took a mental snapshot of the event, and then allowed herself to think, "A long hot bath is in order. And after that, I think a bit of brandy."