Runcible Misthrax's page

I expected someone to go off the rails, someone to do something surprising, or someone to attempt to claim power for themselves, but the end result was pretty much, "All of us are more or less honorable and play by the rules."

I didn't play by the rules (catapults!), but I got one-shotted by a ridiculous crit, and then Harron and Verix got pretty murdered by Chreos. I'm not sure what plans you had for the campaign going forward, or if it was originally supposed to end with the new empire being chosen. Given Chreos's goals, I was assuming the next stage of the campaign might be "stop an alien invasion"

Eh... have no idea what Harron's plans are, and Verix might not be too friendly about the whole "Emperor and Lucielle working to kill him" thing.

Yeah... don't know if Harron or Verix have actually joined us lawful folk over here, just figured Harron might want to sightsee in hell.

Whichever you prefer. Just figured it could be a fun way to use the soldiers, since nobody's actually used theirs yet, unless they'll be doing something later.

I mean we don't *need* to team up; but yeah Runcible wants to bring Verix back to life to repay his debt if he gets a chance.

You could also just have us fight through a few waves of low-level fiends/undead as a very low-GM-investment mission.

So... do we have a story to move forward on, then? (It could be a weird one, and we could do something else instead)

Hmm, that is a good point. If bringing Verix back means the Empire falls into chaos (because fighting through Hell is the only way), that's not a good solution.

However, I see two alternatives...

1. Lucielle becomes Empress, just temporarily (because Runcible needs to recover, and then shoot some demons), with Runcible or someone else swearing to take the power from her after a certain amount of time, so that she's only saddled with Interim Empress (which she might be okay with).

2. Runcible becomes Emperor. His lieutenant, Sir Rosencreuz, is the only one of his men who escaped Hell with him last time, and will remember the way.

In either case, the party could consist of:

-Runcible OR Lucielle
-Runcible, Verix, and Lucielle's lieutenants
-Possibly everyone's soldiers, or some small fraction thereof (say, the five bravest soldiers per person, chosen as they please, because cavalry might be useless in Hell)

If Harron's men need some component from the underworld to bring him back, they could send a lieutenant along as well.

This would give the whole party a mission to work on together (although hopefully we wouldn't come up against any Pit Fiends etc.)

Err, yeah. His position was "I'm really really injured now, leave me alone old man"

But if you put the rock back, it leaves the country without an emperor, which is pretty problematic.

Yeah—Verix, you also have a lieutenant and men who can express opinions.

@Lucielle—Runcible would still *prefer* being emperor to leaving it with Ol' Murderface Chreos. This "build a spaceship" plan for him is more a contingency in case he doesn't get picked (which is totally fine), sorry if I wasn't clear about that.

We went from a breakneck pace to a normalish PbP

To be fair, some of our characters broke their necks in the process... o.O

But weekends are always slow, so, eh. I assume we'll see something new and interesting in a few days.

Hmm. I could go either way—level 6 means Runcible gets a whole bunch more attacks per round, but nothing else.

"I would be willing to help... but perhaps we can talk further at a later time, when my bones have been given time to heal, and my men and I have had time to brainstorm what technology might be useful."

"So you would seek other worlds, not merely studies the mysteries of the cosmos. Fair enough—but what aid do I provide to such a task?" Runcible asks, his voice again beginning to carry a hint of pain.

Hmm... is part 2 going to be an "Independence Day" scenario? o.O

"You're not just going to ascend into the sky with protective magic and become some sort of immortal wanderer?"

"And for this, what... did you need help with?"

Is this a spherical world? Is there a solar system, or do stars orbit it? Runcible would probably know.

"In everlasting divinity... that sort of thing?"

"I sought the throne for a reason, and that reason has not changed," Runcible replies slowly, as though his lungs are recovering from a collapse. "But I do not believe in making a decision rashly, without hearing the other options. Father, what is your proposition?"

"I fought with him in Hell, General, and if anything was tainted in those decades of fighting, it was the place itself."

This should have probably been enough time for Runcible's lizardman monk to return from the tower, carrying the unconscious Runcible, though his lieutenant quickly revives him to consciousness in a burst of holy magic.

Lay on Hands 1: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11
Lay on Hands 2: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10
Runcible Cure Light Wounds 1: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Lay on Hands 3: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11
Runcible Cure Light Wounds 2: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Lay on Hands 4: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4
Runcible Cure Moderate Wounds 1: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (6, 8) + 3 = 17
Lay on Hands 5: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8

[ooc](and that should bring him most of the way to full, except for the whole "snapped spine" thing)[/dice]

In any case—it seems like we have *something* to work with, when part two hits. Harron's men may have a way to revive him (if nobody else does), and Runcible will devote his forces to finding a way to bring Verix back out of some sort of duty/honor, which should help reduce the tension between characters in the future. Worst case scenario, I figure it's definitely backstory-based world hacking, but Runcible blows a hole into the netherworld and drags Verix back out kicking and screaming (paying 5k gp in explosives instead of the typical 5k in diamonds, or something like that).

Huh... so I could've hit ol' Emp'ry on less than a 20 (though at one attack vs. six attacks, probably not worth it)

Also... while Runcible's lieutenant isn't going to say it in front of the emperor who clearly hates y'all now, Verix spared Runcible's life, and he and his men absolutely intend to repay that by doing everything he can to try and repay that. (Which involves either finding a caster capable of Raise Dead or Reincarnate, or sending another squadron of soldiers into Hell to try and fish out his soul).

Harron—do you want to follow whatever plans you might have to bring yourself back to life? Otherwise, we could probably hit you with some sort of Raise Dead/Reincarnate, which would bring Harron back to life as a *living* person again, and the inconvenience of life is the sort of thing Runcible would see as an appropriate check on Harron's dark ambitions. (And Runcible would be alright bringing you back—evil or not, Harron is capable of magic/science that nobody else in the kingdom can pull off, and that's valuable).

If Lucielle decides to dub Runcible with the power of Emperorness, that's his plan to bring y'all back (though, Verix: Reincarnate, if it's the only option, does turn you into a random race, which is entertaining). Leaving Runcible temporarily unable to walk, with a magical/clockwork wheelchair to carry him around as Emperor, could also be entertaining, and potentially a check/balance against whatever power being the Emperor confers, forcing him to rely on the aid of more mobile generals like Sir Rosenkreuz and now Lucielle and a humbled Verix/Harron.

"He'll recover—eventually, though it may take the aid of the kingdom's best healers before he can walk again. Commander has blasted his way out of the afterlife once before, and that's given him the resolve and skill not to walk back through that door. He may still be able to talk, now, but only with difficulty."

And, smiling, Sir Rosenkreuz adds, "But there aren't a lot of candidates left."

"Is it?" Lieutenant Rosenkreuz calls out, gesturing to the three assembled forces. "Were you aware from the beginning that the rules of this competition were all a lie? Because you could have taken your brothers out in much less dramatic ways, were that the case."

Kind of curious about his touch AC, though, and whether I would've been able to hit him without a nat 20 if I still had my commander.

Hmm. Fair enough... but my whole army was designed to give my main character immense support and offensive/defensive boosts in combat, and it looks like nobody else played around with that.

Hmm... surprised nobody's armies are stepping in to provide flanking or other bonuses...

Hmm... curious what he *is*, then. I'm assuming something heavily templated...

Wait, does Harron have lightning immunity? At level 5? Is that even possible?

Also: I don't think Verix is necessarily turbo-dead, just regular dead. Unless the emperor has some extremely special ability, spell damage is ALWAYS x2 on a critical hit, even with spellstrike.

That reduces damage by 40 points, so he's only at... -48.

HOWEVER, if the emperor has moved past any of my monks (who would be standing on the front line of Runcible's troops), Bodyguard would reduce his attack by -2, reducing the crit to a regular hit that leaves Verix at -2 HP.

It's unlikely that Verix would let Runcible's troops within 10' of him, though, so that's probably not the case. Dying by a margin of 60 hp is also a bit different than runcible's margin of 1 single hp, so we might just need to find a way to rez him.

I'll jump in when I have some idea what piece I want (which is distinctly Not Yet), though I guess I can roll initiatives now in case it becomes relevant later.

Yeomen: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Tacticians: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Kata Masters: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Sir Rosencreuz: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Well... we'll see. It's not as though my soldiers have a reason to fight anyone just yet.

"And who exactly wins here?" Runcible's lieutenant asks, looking first at Chreos and then Lucielle, as the twenty men behind him reach for their weapons but do not draw them.

"You're not dead?" one of Runcible's men calls out, incredulously.

"Well, this explains the strangeness and simplicity of the challenge—and why Commander Misthrax found the whole tower idea troubling," Runcible's lieutenant responds. "And yet you marched up the stairs without a thought, while we took a shortcut that, we hoped at the time, would end the contest quickly and with less fighting."

"Still... the current situation puts us all in a troubling place, doesn't it?"

And, after a bit of conferring, one of Runcible's strategists stands forward and speaks for the group. "There is a third option, though. Leadership of empire can be conferred, as our Emperor has decreed. And with it seems to go great skill at golemcraft, beyond much of what we've seen in our travels."

"The inheritor of the Empire could be temporary—someone who sits on the throne only until a perfect replacement can be crafted, a creature of science and magic, built without any of the flaws you generals see in each other."

"Just observing. We are all, indeed, grateful that you chose not to kill him—or anyone else—today. But yes, we have no intention to drop our bid, though Commander Misthrax is far too injured to fight on... it seems that now, finally, you understand his belief that skill at personal combat should not determine the fate of an empire."

"Well—what did your challenge mean, then? What did you hope to win, and are you still willing to surrender it now that you forced a withdrawal from the fight?"

"You fought recklessly, because you could see no other path to victory, refusing to stand by the terms of your challenge when they proved difficult," Runcible's lieutenant calls out, having watched the battle from where the armies stood nearby.

By the way—I realized Runcible's lieutenant isn't actually strong enough to carry him, so his men would've sent one of the monks into the tower. Battle lasted long enough that he might be on his way back down by now, though he's too injured to really speak or move.

And Verix—you still rolled a LOT better than I did (six attack rolls, only one of them higher than a 9)

No, you can't, Mr. Three Natural 20s in Three Attacks... :p

P.S. A mutagen is a regular natural armor bonus, which doesn't stack with the +2 from being a skeleton, if that's what's happening here (natural armor sources don't stack, like armor bonuses, unless they say they "increase" natural armor in the order applied).

Barkskin is +2 enhancement to natural armor, which doesn't stack with any other source of natural armor enhancement (e.g. amulet or scarshield). Which means that he has at least 5 nonmagical natural armor... and I can't think of any way to get that at level 4 (a skeleton lizardfolk only has +4, and all the monk/barbarian archetypes that give NA bonuses require being unarmored)

Hmm... so Verix's "real men fight one-on-one" thing was only a held belief when he felt that would win.

This could still get interesting.

Runcible's man will start carrying him down and out of the tower, then, describing what he saw as an impending battle between Harron and Verix.

Well, I rolled well below average on my six attacks...

Harron—most sword-like weapons threaten a crit on a 19. However, if your horse falls, you typically must make a DC 15 ride check or else take 1d6 damage and be prone—and standing up from prone would provoke an AoO from Verix.

Nope... it's a League of Legends laugh.

Basically, though, I totally feel better about being improbably-crit if it happened to someone else as well.

Uhm.... I didn't check after I had posted... I am cooking dinner... But yeah apparently I did... Verix IS destined to become Emperor it seems...

Ehuehuehuehuehue...

Advance, yes, but with weapons sheathed and flying a flag of truce, and only the Lieutenant stepping forward to enter the tower.

Runcible awakens enough to cast a single spell—though he's still too injured to move. With Minor Image, he sends an illusory scroll out the window and into the hands of his lieutenant, instructing his men to fly a flag of truce and send someone to retrieve him from the tower.

Right. One way or another, I'm not fighting again. (My personal preference would probably be "Verix snapped Runcible's spine with the blow, and he's paralyzed until he can get major magical healing—but then you slap him until he's awake so that he can send a message to his men to stand down, stop fighting, and maybe come get him from the tower")