Marvin the Strangler's page

Hi, guys. To all my games: sorry I've been such a butt lately.

Basically, I was away from the internet for a while, but before and after that, I've been writing so much for work that PbP just felt like a chore. And I've come to realize that while I love my job, right now it's just not leaving me the time and creative energy I need forPbP, so, while I've sort of been sliding down that slope for a while, I figured I should actually tell all my games that I've gotta drop out.

Sorry to disappoint and potentially leave a bunch of people hanging at the end there, and I hope I was generally fun.

-Thunderbeard

"Oh, joy," Marvin mutters, as he looses a crossbow bolt at the closest Triton not in melee.

What's our seeing range, if it's night-time?

Crossbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 1 = 29
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 7

Marvin shouts and stirkes back at the elemental, slightly stunned at how hard it hit.

Concentration: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 2 = 25

Arcane pool brand power attack: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 = 29
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 6
Confirm?: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 = 21
Bonus Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 8

Attack 2: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 6

Uh anybody else had trouble connecting to the website for the last few days? Might've just been my internet.

"I'm with you on that water thing, but it does seem to be susceptible to violence." Marvin moves to attack the next closest elemental.

Arcane pool brand power attack: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 = 17
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 8

Attack 2: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 7

Oh, shoot, missed that we were all awake already. Guess Marvin isn't.

Marvin climbed up from the hold, blinking and yawning. "Fish people?!" he shouted, eyes wide, "Why are fish people? Can they even get up onto this boat?"

And, jauntily, he moved to take a swing at the elemental.

Casting then 5' stepping

Arcane pool brand power attack: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 = 15
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 8

Attack 2: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 10 + 1 - 1 - 2 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 2 + 1 = 10

Marvin takes the book of maritime regulations, for light reading along the rest of the trip, as well as a few of the captain's teeth as a souvenir.

Marvin moved to whack a few more skulls with his walking stick—and then, seeing that the rest of the party seemed to be genuinely enjoying this, decided to sit down on a nearby crate and let them have their fun.

"Why didn't we just start with murder?" Marvin grumbles, as he swings his quarterstaff again.

Attack 1: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 1 - 1 + 1 - 2 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 8

Concentration (defensive casting) DC 15: 1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 2 + 4 = 19
Attack 2 (Brand): 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 1 - 1 + 2 - 2 = 14
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 11

Ugh sorry, my computer broke and is in the shop AGAIN (it turns out they replaced the monitor with a broken one)

Marvin muttered a word and his staff lashed out to trip the spearman in front of him.

Blade Lash trip: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (1) + 22 = 23

Action: Arcane pool, spell combat Brand, 5' step next to the (not, because oops, nat 1) tripped guy, then pummel him.

Power Attack 1 (from brand): 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 1 - 1 = 28
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 8

Power Attack 2: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 1 - 1 = 26
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 + 1 = 5

Hey guys! I finally have a working computer again. Ugh, it's been weeks. Sorry about all the absence.

Update: Computer is now in the shop. I have a bit of access to another one, but it's unpredictable.

So I'll be away at a conference for the rest of this week... but also my keyboard is broken. Will try to post if I can.

A drill also makes noise.

Why not just "Father" and "Brother Marvin?"

EDIT: I thought you were talking about sinking the ship after killing everyone on board. Is the plan to sneak onto their ship, then drill a secret tiny hole in it so they sink slowly? That seems like a really bad plan, because it gives them plenty of time to either throw out lifeboats or build makeshift rafts. If we're trying to disguise our way past them, it would be a much more convincing disguise if we just leave their ship intact.

Sorry guys, been slammed with work.

"Do I stay belowdecks, then? Or are we killing them?" Marvin asks bluntly.

"We'll need time to learn who on the crew represents what threat," Marvin suggests, "And whether we want help from the bugbears in killing them. If not, we'll need someone who knows how to land a ship safely, or risk the cargo—or whether we want to divide them up while they're busy unloading."

"And maybe keeps an eye on those filthy dogs so that they don't get any ideas about killing and robbing us when we're done with this," Marvin suggests.

"We're not hauling that over land, right?"

If anyone asked about his past—unlikely, sure—Marvin didn't open up. But the others, this misfit band of overly-chatty and under-disciplined soldiers, could dodge swords and hit harder than he could. So he practiced, mostly in silence, sparring and striking, reading any "holy" texts and spellbooks the others could provide him with.

Ah, for some reason I thought training was just something a few people posted while waiting for the story update for some reason (I was real busy at a LARP for most of the last week). Will do. Guess I'll go with Strike First.

@Talia: The equivalent feat is Cut from the Air, but that's a bit different mechanically (it also eventually lets you block spells)

Hm, I guess I thought the damage was lower. Sure, not that bad then.

@Rose, what's the point of that above level 2-3, though? The damage is almost negligible, and alchemical weapon DCs get obsolete really quickly—while useful, hybridization funnel requires immediate preparation before hand, which is rarely an option.

Now, hybridizing unholy waters, for 4d6 damage? That might be worth it.

Eh. Still a big enough rock to bash someone's head in, which Marvin sees as decent utility.

I'll be traveling for most of the next week with uncertain internet, feel free to bot me as needed.

Where do you find Shield Mastery feats? They never made it to any of the SRDs, and I wasn't sure if they're actually printed in any books.

To avoid redundancy, I'm going with either Quiet as Death or Strike First, but I could take either, and I guess I need to think about it more.

@Dr: I believe Healing Bomb is just a splash potion. So no throw anything/point blank. It gets good, though, because you can throw a bunch of them per turn (if you have fast bombs), and because your potions are the best (at higher levels, via Combine Extracts)

"Well, that's just gross," Marvin glares at Talia. And, seeing that the knight is no longer moving, proceeds to strip the armor off the headless body.

Oh uh... I think maybe my above attack should be +6 because it's against a prone, flanked guy? Not sure if I get the vs prone bonus, but definitely the flanking one.

AoO, disarm: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Marvin attempts to swat the knight's sword out of his hand as he stands up.

Perhaps the message is garbled, but Marvin, a bit overeager, was prepared to attack the second anyone moved suddenly; and so he did, barking a magical word that made his staff immediately reach out to coil around the knight's legs.

Blade Lash trip attempt: 1d20 + 10 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 10 = 35

Marvin shuffles around the room, leaning heavily on his stick, as he waits for the others to carefully surround the knight.

Martial Flexibility to gain Improved Disarm, just in case.

Marvin shakes his head. "Maybe next time, when the stakes are a bit higher than party games in a rich man's basement. I think I've got all I need to murder whatever's behind that last door."

Marvin considers asking for a charge from Kelvar's wand, just in case, but in the end decides he's willing to expend his prepared copy of the same spell.

Sure, moving to C6.

Marvin moves, and swings at another Draugr. "One per coffin, then? Is that the whole puzzle?"

Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 1 = 13
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 3 = 9

Round 3

Marvin moves to attack the closest draug still standing after the others had taken their swings.

Power attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 1 = 26
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 3 = 9

Whoops, got undotted.

Marvin takes a deep breath and swings hard at the Draugr near him.

Round 2. Move action to get power attack.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 8 - 1 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 3 = 8

I don't get a prepared attack, but I do get an AoO.

Marvin also takes a swing at the Draugr as it stands up.

AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Nope! It's a surprise round You can't move and prepare an action.

EDIT: oh looks like the GM followed up on this.

Just a note to everyone: this is the surprise round, so you can't move *and* ready an action, just one or the other.

Marvin moves to another position where he can take a swing at coffin 3.

"Sure, why not."

Whoops, losing track of some games. Catching up again now.

Marvin may have Prestidigitation on his spell list, but it didn't exactly seem like a priority in prison...

Marvin shoulders his stick, and shrugs. "I can hit something, I guess," he suggests.

Marvin shrugs and follows, glad to know he can count on the others to identify and smash things when necessary.

Marvin draws his crossbow, and suggests that he could fire from the door.

"Suffer not the fool," Marvin replied. "The cardinal simply said the pendant would be in one of the nine chambers, not the last one. By all means, check the room for traps, maybe shoot the necklace off the pedestal and see what happens, but this could be a test of our ability to act swiftly and confidently."

Ah, shoot, I completely missed a round. Guess I got confused by how little damage I'm doing to these things. My bad!

Round 3?

Marvin swung his stick again at the nearest snake.

To hit: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 8 - 1 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 3 = 8

Round 4?

Marvin moved to the other cobra and kept thumping away.

To hit: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 1 = 13
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 3 = 5

Marvin takes a second to catch his breath, Martial Flexibility to get Power Attack, then attempts to hit the snake with his stick again.

To hit: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 8 - 1 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 3 = 10

"Right. Poison snake golems. Gonna have to hit these really hard, I guess."

Marvin moves to attack cobra 1, attempting a likely-useless quarterstaff blow against the metal snake.

2H quarterstaff: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Edit: oh yay
Confirm?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Extra Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

"Yeah—let's not ruin this puzzle for the next recruits. I say we leave him here, and move on. We can use his wailing as an anchor if we get lost."

"Yep, and keep an eye out for some sort of poison snake golems. Alright, you think that's all we're getting out of him?"