Like last time, to try and conserve space, I want to have one thread (this one) to reserve for out of character commentary--queries for additional detail, clarification, compliments for the DM or fellow players (always good for morale!) and the resolution of other issues. Likewise it's a good place for those reading along to post questions or the like. As much as possible I'd like to conserve the space on the actual game thread for posts--just so the action is easy to follow for everyone involved.
Anyhow thanks for playing/following along/whatever!
Well Fatespinner... it's been good knowing your dwarf. That ettin is going to cream us both... Especially with my poor rolling. Seems I only roll well when I'm the DM.
You'll be in good company fellas. Gengi won't fire into melee so He'll draw his ax next round and join you two.
How much does Genji know about ettins, oh DM. He has knowledge nature and studies giants. Not that I can think of any knowledge that would be terribly helpful right now, just curious.
Wow! First attack roll gets a natural 20. This is clearly a sign that Vaedryn wants me to continue as his faithful servant, so full cleric it is!
Also, I'm going to assume that we got my weight-carrying issues worked out shortly after leaving Kota. Either we've bought a donkey or something, or one of the burlier types may have volunteered to carry some stuff? The mule (or whatever is most appropriate for this region) is probably the best idea.
Oh, and about the confirmation roll- that's not counting penalties for firing into melee. I'm not sure off the top of my head how that works in this case, with the target being Large and the other combatants being Medium.
How much does Genji know about ettins, oh DM. He has knowledge nature and studies giants. Not that I can think of any knowledge that would be terribly helpful right now, just curious.
Well having them as a favored enemy, having a personal grudge against them, and devoting some time getting to know them gets you the following:
Ettins like to lair underground in cool, dark places that they rapidly turn into squalid, stinking pits. They speak a hodgepodge of orcish, giant, and goblin that's tough to understand unless you know all three languages. Their two heads are independant, sharing control over the body and having their own separate faculties and personality. While this means they're particulary hard to sneak around, it also occasionally provides opportunities to provoke disputes between the two heads. Ettins are notoriously foul tempered, normally crushing anyone who they come across. They do, however, tolerate orcs or goblins, so long as they prove useful and do not fail them. They will even go out of their way to acquire valuables in order to bribe orcs and goblins into their service. Very occasionally ettins will band together under a very powerful leader, but such mobs are volitile in the extreme and turn on each other at the slightest setback.
Oh, and about the confirmation roll- that's not counting penalties for firing into melee. I'm not sure off the top of my head how that works in this case, with the target being Large and the other combatants being Medium.
A pack animal might be more of a burden than a help in the jungles at present, though unless you have tons of stuff there certainly seem to be enough burly types to help you pack it out.
As for the confirmation roll (barring any official rulings on the issue) it seems that the penalty for firing into a melee would only be averted when fighting something so much bigger than your party that you don't have to worry about accidently hitting your friends. That doesn't feel like the case here. You still have to aim high enough that the arrow doesn't fall short and hit a friend in the back. This means you'll be aiming extra high--making it more likely you'll miss. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate the idea of having to confirm crits? Ah well...
I'll narrate what's going on so far. Don't let that dissuade anyone who hasn't posted yet from jumping in. I just want to keep the energy up.
I had a pretty good idea that there were two different scenes going on. I just added the bit about the glob of acid shooting by to reflect the rest of the battle. I thought I was pretty much on my own on this one, but thank you for the clarification anyway. Looks like Gillad had a different idea, though. :)
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
Well Fatespinner... it's been good knowing your dwarf. That ettin is going to cream us both... Especially with my poor rolling. Seems I only roll well when I'm the DM.
Bah, he hit me for a wimpy 8 damage. This ettin's got nothin'. I am, however, amazed that he managed to hit my 23 AC.
Oh, and he broke my shield. It's personal now.
I had a pretty good idea that there were two different scenes going on. I just added the bit about the glob of acid shooting by to reflect the rest of the battle. I thought I was pretty much on my own on this one, but thank you for the clarification anyway. Looks like Gillad had a different idea, though. :)
Yeah, it's always good to jump in and clear stuff like that up as soon as possible. I didn't realize the Edit and Delete options went away so fast. I thought you had like an hour to touch stuff up before it became permanent. Garg! It would be really nice if we could do little corrections like that without it gumming up the whole board. Ah well...
Does it seem weird to anyone that the ettin gets a +7 natural armor bonus and then +3 for hide? Isn't his hide what gives him his natural armor?? It feels like double dipping to me, getting two different bonuses from the same thing. Ah well. That's where his 18 AC has been coming from...
Does it seem weird to anyone that the ettin gets a +7 natural armor bonus and then +3 for hide? Isn't his hide what gives him his natural armor?? It feels like double dipping to me, getting two different bonuses from the same thing. Ah well. That's where his 18 AC has been coming from...
Pretty sure that means it is also wearing hide armor.
*sighs* Wow. That was a pretty simple answer...feel more than a little dumb about that one *shakes head*
Thanks.
P.S. Grim: You are actually playing by RAW with the flat-footed Dex penalty. Flat-footed creatures with Dex penalties do indeed keep the penalty while flat-footed.
True strike is still in effect, and a rolled another natural 20. However, I got a 2 on the confirmation roll. What happens? Does the +20 insight bonus apply there as well? I'm really hoping that it does, because if not, I only got a 1 on my damage roll, and that's just... crappy. :)
I hate it when my dice do these alternating high/low rolls.
EDIT- oh, that would be a THREE on the confirmation roll because of bardic music, and 3 on damage as well from point-blank shot (provided they're within 30 feet) and bardic music.
I was wondrign where this campiagn is located on this website. I wanted to take a look at it to see what play by post is ike.
True strike is still in effect, and a rolled another natural 20. However, I got a 2 on the confirmation roll. What happens? Does the +20 insight bonus apply there as well? I'm really hoping that it does, because if not, I only got a 1 on my damage roll, and that's just... crappy. :)
Well, according to the SRD:
When you make an attack roll and get a natural 20 (the d20 shows 20), you hit regardless of your target’s Armor Class, and you have scored a threat. The hit might be a critical hit (or "crit"). To find out if it’s a critical hit, you immediately make a critical roll—another attack roll with all the same modifiers as the attack roll you just made.
Emphasis is mine, so I would assume (with all the risks that the action entails,) that you score a crit for awesome damage. Besides, shooting the orc in the eye would just be awesome for intimidation.
Is the ettin technically Prone or just prone? That would have made the difference on Ajjira's last attack.
When we see words in your descriptions that refer to rule terminology, should we assume that you are using said terminology to imply bonuses/penalties rather than simply describing the action?
Oh! Now I get what you were saying, ToyMaker. No, I hadn't meant to put words in your mouth. What I had put in quotes was what Kutok was thinking - I guess I'll try to make that more clear with subsequent posts.
Hey grim, just wondering if Genji has enough time for a turn before those orcs show up. I've got a plan but I don't want to post anything until I know whats up.
Oh, and what happened to that orc that Genji attacked? The one that knocked him on his ass.
I was wondrign where this campiagn is located on this website. I wanted to take a look at it to see what play by post is ike.
It's in Campaign Journals. Names' like Shandura: Grimcleaver runs the World. I think that's it. Feel free to read along!
Is the ettin technically Prone or just prone? That would have made the difference on Ajjira's last attack.
When we see words in your descriptions that refer to rule terminology, should we assume that you are using said terminology to imply bonuses/penalties rather than simply describing the action?
I was coming up with my own penalties for him being prone at first (didn't think there were any RAW ones until someone else posted them in his technical stuff) and when I saw the official rule I liked it much better, so started going with that one. In all likelyhood you did get the extra hit on him. Too late to go back and change it, but yeah if the extra negative to his AC would have made your miss into a hit, then you got him.
EDIT: Oh, and to more fully answer your question, I try to have the description and mechanics mesh as fully as possible, but my knowledge of the core rules is hardly encyclopedic. I tend to run my games at home a lot more rules light and on the fly. This has been good excercise for me. But yeah, assume if I say something in the description and there's a rule about it, that the mechanic is in force too--and if I don't seem to be taking note of a mechanic, just mention it to me and I'll fix it. The hope is to be as RAW as possible.
Oh! Now I get what you were saying, ToyMaker. No, I hadn't meant to put words in your mouth. What I had put in quotes was what Kutok was thinking - I guess I'll try to make that more clear with subsequent posts.
Yeah I noticed that too.
Hey grim, just wondering if Genji has enough time for a turn before those orcs show up. I've got a plan but I don't want to post anything until I know whats up.
Oh, and what happened to that orc that Genji attacked? The one that knocked him on his ass.
He and the other orc fell victim to a sleep spell cast by Gallad. Interestingly so did the guard who was trying to buy you time by interposing himself while you stood up.
Wow...you don't check for a while and you miss a LOT of posts. *scratches head*
Sorry.
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
You know, now that Gary has provided us with the happiness of , you could discreetly hide your mechanics within those.
For example:
The wounded orc warrior spins towards Harumn in a blind , swinging his axe around and delivering a staggering blow to the dwarf . Meanwhile, Ajjira tumbles past the furious orc and it, delivering a lethal wound with her blade. The orc cries out in pain just as Genji trips him with his axe. Lying now, the orc is helpless to defend against Harumn's next devastating swing...
Obviously, I was a little excessive in that post, but you can clearly see what is imposing MECHANICAL rules and what isn't (notice that the term 'helpless' in not in OOC text) without breaking the flow of the description. Just a thought.
Yeah. Though I'm thinking of using the OOC markers mostly for incidental DM asides and such. Mostly the assumption I go by is that anything in the description is backed up by mechanics as much as I can make it. The biggest problem with going to huge lengths to put mechanics in as their own thing is the extra space it takes and the break of mood. Having two color posts feels like it destracts more rather than less.
By the way, I'm not intentionally avoiding having the interrogation be an all NPC deal. I just want to wait to see if any of the PCs have any questions they want asked and if not I will proceed with the summary of the gory details of the village's interrogation.
I've got some pretty good ideas about Kali myself, but Isaeldan is just a young clergyman. I'm looking for information about dogma and agendas and practices that would give some insight into the orcs actions.
There's a great bit on Shanduran Religion on the World page. That'd be the first stop I'd suggest to get a primer on all the local gods and whatnot. It's under Shandura in the geography section at the bottom in one of the related articles.
Interesting... just some OOC musings:
So, the orcs don't really worship Kali, at least not in the traditional manner. The barrels are delivered by humans that are frightened of the ettin and leave quickly, and smell of fish? Perhaps minor underlings who are frightened by their crude "ally?" Or maybe unsuspecting innocents duped into the deliveries?
There's no temple, and they kill the priests, so we shouldn't have to worry about fighting any clerics or druids when Genji tracks these monsters back. And it's a cave. With giant worms and clear skinned crabby things. Depending on the lucidity and intelligence of this orc, the "giant worms" could be a wide variety of things.
Luckily, we have characters with knowledge skills, and a bard! Can we get some info about what types of knowledge rolls would help here, or should we just roll whatever we can and tell you the results and see what we learn?
So, the orcs don't really worship Kali, at least not in the traditional manner.
Well certainly there's a crisis of faith between what you might call a traditional heirarchial worship and a more--ahem--charismatic practice of the faith.
The barrels are delivered by humans that are frightened of the ettin and leave quickly, and smell of fish? Perhaps minor underlings who are frightened by their crude "ally?" Or maybe unsuspecting innocents duped into the deliveries?
Maybe...though the fact that there's a black circle printed onto the barrels, and the smell of "fish" are info that should mean something to at least some of you guys. Though the character for whom this would mean the most hasn't posted since the end of the battle
There's no temple, and they kill the priests, so we shouldn't have to worry about fighting any clerics or druids when Genji tracks these monsters back. And it's a cave.
A little ettin research homework here might go a ways...
With giant worms and clear skinned crabby things. Depending on the lucidity and intelligence of this orc, the "giant worms" could be a wide variety of things.Luckily, we have characters with knowledge skills, and a bard! Can we get some info about what types of knowledge rolls would help here, or should we just roll whatever we can and tell you the results and see what we learn?
Well I'm not sure what you're looking for. Politics might help, Local Lore might help, Herbalism would definitely help, Dungeoneer would help, Religion might get more in regards to different questions. Certainly I'm open to discussions like this as a way of reflecting gears turning in character's heads as well. At the very least it gives me a chance to revise and clarify things that I've said so far to give you all a clearer idea of what's going on.
Hey grimcleaver. Since I noticed you were discussing Kali, I guessed you guys are still using Shandura. I added some stuff to her entry in the Shanduran Religions spot, as a test run for expanding the other gods info. Let me know what you think.
I guess I'll turn it around on you. We're playing in your little corner of the World. I guess the question is what do YOU think?
To answer your question though, I read your expanded entry on Kali. Cool. Adds kindova' Malar spin on her. It's nice to see her growing beyond her real-world roots into something that really fits in the setting. I like it.
Wow. People are back. Guess I better rip up that Campaign Obituary I was getting ready to send off to the paper and put my black suit back in the closet.
So from the tenor of the last posts I take it people are done with the interrogation. I'll give it to the end of the day before the tiger shaman does his thing, just so someone with an aching question doesn't post just after the big club comes down. Also if I can get a general heading for the party so I know what you're up to it'll give me something to describe. Heh. Hard to post if I don't know what you're up to.
PS. Good to have you guys back.
The way I understand it, we have concluded that we will track the attackers back to their lair in the jungle and destroy any remaining foes that we find there. We're just a little curious to see what we can get out of the captives regarding defenses and such so that we know a little about what we're up against.
If anyone has a different view of how things are going, speak now! :)
Well then suffice it to say that you're given vague but sufficient (especially given you've got your own tracker) directions to the cave. Apparently earlier creatures working for the ettin worked on certain "fortifications" go make the cave more resistant to invasion and to make best use of the native creatures that dwell there. Whatever these defensive measures its unlikely that they are very subtle or insidious, which is not to say that they could not be dreadfully effective. Unless anyone else has anything I'll type up my next post under the assumption that the interrogation is pretty much over.
PS. Good to have you back Kutok, though I'm afraid I failed my innuendo check reguarding your last post. Didn't quite catch your meaning...
PS. Good to have you back Kutok, though I'm afraid I failed my innuendo check reguarding your last post. Didn't quite catch your meaning...
Ah. Well, consider this: Kutok's tongue is missing, so he can't make a whole lot of noise. And he's got scars on his neck, similar to claw marks. He's got a bunch of old wounds other places, too. Perhaps the tongue removal was self-inflicted so that he would not make a sound when being healed? Perhaps he had a run in with a similar shaman who wasn't so... lenient... in tending to the wounded.
I'll let you take it whatever direction you want, but that's my idea.
What is with my dice? They've never rolled well for me as a palyer before! They only roll good when I'm DMing and DON'T want to kill someone, and then they go and make me slaughter them. Now they're trying to get all buddy-buddy with me... I on to them. During the first really scary fight we have, they are going to fail me and let me die. You all just watch!
|
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
What is with my dice? They've never rolled well for me as a palyer before! They only roll good when I'm DMing and DON'T want to kill someone, and then they go and make me slaughter them. Now they're trying to get all buddy-buddy with me... I on to them. During the first really scary fight we have, they are going to fail me and let me die. You all just watch!
Man, I rolled a THREE, okay? I forgot to roll for Listen but Harumn's helmet probably prevents him from hearing anything that would actually necessitate a Listen check anyway.
Your dice are saving their luck, probably. They'll wait to get that 20 until we're fighting a red dragon or something, and you'll save us all. Mine? They're probably going to roll high on meaningless things, and then when we're in that dragon fight, what am I going get? 1s. You just watch- I know them, and I don't trust this new "lucky streak" one bit.
Your dice are saving their luck, probably. They'll wait to get that 20 until we're fighting a red dragon or something, and you'll save us all. Mine? They're probably going to roll high on meaningless things, and then when we're in that dragon fight, what am I going get? 1s. You just watch- I know them, and I don't trust this new "lucky streak" one bit.
Trust me, I know the feeling. I'm more than a little unnerved by the way my dice have been treating me lately. Perhaps my threats of introducing them to the skillet have persuaded them to play nicely, but I doubt it.
Just OOC here- a bogun?
More than likely.
Methinks there's a druid about.
Nice. :P
Just OOC here- a bogun?
*wink*
I'll let you take it whatever direction you want, but that's my idea.
I've got a fairly elaborate backstory for your character, and it's become pretty central to the story. I can certainly shift stuff around to fit if you're interested in committing to the idea that your character was a victim of one of the tiger shamans. No problem. I just had my own take on things, and it's kinda' gotta' be one way or the other. The spoiler below has what I've been thinking so far. If you want to modify it then please give me your take and we'll call that one canon. Your character after all.
Your character has been recieving disturbing visions like the one he got when he touched the burnt cobra symbol. He doesn't know where the visions are coming from, but he's been sifting the clues together to try to make something out of it all. Unfortunately his investigations have made it seem, to some nefarious organization, that he knows a lot more than he does. They responded to his threat as they are wont to do. They scourged the crud out of him, cut out his tongue, and beat him savagely--leaving him for dead with the promise that if he keeps meddling in their business that they will slowly and painfully finish the job. The only thing he knows about them, is that they are predominantly humans and they dress like wealthy merchants. He knows their faces and would recognize them if he saw them--the faces are burned into his brain. His beggar persona, I've been figuring, has been a rouse to allow him to continue checking into things without seeming like a threat.
That's what I've got. If you want to add or subtract from it, or arrange things differently you are more than free to do so.
I like it. We'll go with that.
BTW, can I take ten on my sense and stealth checks?