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The amounts of combat is great, but the difficulty is a bit too much. I retired from a game once because we were always being dropped into negatives and it just didn't feel like we were heroes. Every combat was skin of our teeth fights and it just got old quickly.
Besides that everything else is great!
Interesting. I tossed a different style of monster your way this fight as I thought you were breezing through the combats much too easily. Point taken, I will switch out a few of the encounters I have planned farther down the road. Feedback good!
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I’ve been trying to stay true to the overall bearing of the adventure while jettisoning most of the specifics. For instance, the undead in the caves gave me a real problem. They were slick, and they had like an entire page of back-story…, which you were never going to hear about. Why were they there, why were they hungry? Dunno (well “I” know); leaving me with the heccuva to bore you to death with exposition.
“It’s still talking? I hit it with my mace.” :)
What was that all about?
Anyway, I think things are going fine. I do have to agree with Fake Healer about the difficulty of the encounter, though.
What was that all about?
The back-story, or my soliloquy?
I do have to agree with Fake Healer about the difficulty of the encounter, though.
This latest fight is a real bear. I was sure you had it the first round again, until it ran you two down. Then things took an ugly turn fast. Seann would have killed it this round before it received another action, I was surprised he chose buff over damage. Them's the breaks. To compensate, I thought about it last night and jumped it up another CR for xp.
Have you considered any action points or a similar mechanic? It could help us in these tense moments.
Just a fyi...I'm heading out for the holiday this afternoon. I'll be out of reach of a computer until Sunday night. Feel free to add any snarky comments or butt-kicking goodness for Tyndal.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving!
You as well. :) Mine will actually be spent at work eating yogurt alone, but hey, it's all good.
Have you considered any action points or a similar mechanic?
I've never played with AP's, though I own the Eberron books. Might not be a bad time to start.
For those without the Eberron books, they are available on the SRD as well:
I use them for my table top game and they work pretty well.
Thought about it today at work, and that does sound like a good idea. Rather than making the combats easier, we'll just buff up the party a bit with better options.
I'll post the xp totals later some time this weekend, but let's start each party member off with 3 free 1d6's, and if it goes over smooth, we'll add then as normal next level.
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Are we just doing the 1d6 action points thing or are we doing the whole "use them to emulate feats" thing also. Here is the relevent text:
"Special Actions
A character can perform certain tasks by spending an action point. In addition to the actions described below, some prestige classes or feats (see below) might allow the expenditure of action points in order to gain or activate specific abilities, at the GM’s option.
Activate Class Ability: A character can spend 1 action point to gain another use of a class ability that has a limited number of uses per day. For example, a monk might spend an action point to gain another use of her stunning fist ability, or a paladin might spend an action point to make an additional smite attack.
Boost Defense: A character can spend 1 action point as a free action when fighting defensively. This gives him double the normal benefits for fighting defensively for the entire round (+4 dodge bonus to AC; +6 if he has 5 or more ranks in Tumble).
Emulate Feat: At the beginning of a character’s turn, he may spend 1 action point as a free action to gain the benefit of a feat he doesn’t have. He must meet the prerequisites of the feat. He gains the benefit until the beginning of his next turn.
Extra attack: During any round in which a character takes a full attack action, he may spend 1 action point to make an extra attack at his highest base attack bonus. Action points may be used in this way with both melee and ranged attacks.
Spell Boost: A character can spend 1 action point as a free action to increase the effective caster level of one of his spells by 2. He must decide whether or not to spend an action point in this manner before casting the spell.
Spell Recall: Spellcasters who prepare their spells in advance can spend 1 action point to recall any spell just cast. The spell can be cast again later with no effect on other prepared spells. This use of an action point is a free action and can only be done in the same round that the spell is cast. Spontaneous spellcasters such as sorcerers and bards can spend 1 action point to cast a spell without using one of their daily spell slots. This use of an action point is a free action and can only be done as the spell is being cast.
Stable: Any time a character is dying, he can spend 1 action point to become stable at his current hit point total.
Improving Feats
The use of action points opens up a whole range of possible feats. However, it’s easier on characters simply to improve existing feats to take advantage of action points — that way, characters needn’t spend their precious feat slots simply to gain the ability to use their action points. Below are a few examples of how action points can be used with existing feats. Unless otherwise stated, each effect requires a free action to activate and lasts 1 round.
Blind-Fight: You can spend 1 action point to negate your miss chance for a single attack.
Combat Expertise: You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus to Armor Class granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you gain a +6 dodge bonus to AC.
Dodge: You can spend 1 action point to increase the dodge bonus granted by the feat to +2. The effect lasts for the entire encounter.
Improved Critical: You can spend 1 action point to double your critical threat range. Since two doublings equals a tripling, this benefit increases your threat range from 19-20 to 18-20, from 17-20 to 15-20, or from 15-20 to 12-20, including the effect of your Improved Critical feat. This benefit stacks with the benefit from Improved Critical, but not with other effects that increase threat range.
Improved Initiative: You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on initiative checks granted by the feat, from +4 to +8.
Metamagic Feats: You can spend 1 action point to add the effect of any one metamagic feat that you have to a spell you are casting. The spell is cast at its normal level (without any level adjustment because of the feat) and takes no extra time to cast.
Heighten Spell automatically raises a spell’s effective level to the highest level of spell you are capable of casting. For example, if a 7th-level wizard with the Heighten Spell feat casts burning hands and spends 1 action point to heighten the spell, the spell is treated as if it were a 4th-level spell in all respects even though the wizard prepared it normally (as a 1st-level spell).
Power Attack: You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on damage rolls granted by the feat. For example, if you take a penalty of -3 on your attack roll, you add +6 to your damage roll.
Spell Focus: You can spend 1 action point to double the increase to save DCs granted by the feat, from +1 to +2.
Spell Penetration: You can spend 1 action point to double the bonus on caster level checks granted by the feat, from +2 to +4. The effect lasts for the entire encounter."
I'm comfortable with the entire range of options. I'm glad they left damage rolls out. Seems like a nice alternative. The only one I see that might have abuse potential is the CR increase, but..eh..ought to be ok.
I'M BAAAAACK!
Hey crew. So, the Job That Ate My Life is over, and I'm back from visiting family-in-law. Anders will be back to his old self, starting tonight or tomorrow. I need to do some travel decompression, and catch up on the play thread, but I'm back in the game.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Hey awesome! Glad everything is working out. I sorta..took...yesterday off because I wanted to see if Dosbox ran Star Control 2, and it did. *cough* Then I had to beat it again.
Doing laundry now, but I'll drop a room description for the resting area before bed today.
So, apparently the wife and I both got food poisoning from the in flight meal yesterday.
Today has been puketastic. I have not had the energy to do more than lie here and moan. I'll catch up tonight/tomorrow.
So, apparently the wife and I both got food poisoning from the in flight meal yesterday.
Holy hell, you just cannot catch a break. Get well soon!
I'm back! Hanging with family is fun, but am I glad to be home!
All holiday'd out, eh? Welcome back! :)
No biggie. I figured the holidays would be pretty relaxed anyhow. Hopefully it will give Sean time to get back as well.
How do you all want to handle the coming vacation period? I'll be at my in-laws over Christmas, but they have a wifi router thanks to me and I can use the laptop when I'm not socializing. I'm thinking... this Friday until...sometime of your choice... we should probably have a little hiatus, though I'll still be around for questions and gabbing.
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How do you all want to handle the coming vacation period? I'll be at my in-laws over Christmas, but they have a wifi router thanks to me and I can use the laptop when I'm not socializing. I'm thinking... this Friday until...sometime of your choice... we should probably have a little hiatus, though I'll still be around for questions and gabbing.
As I mentioned, my ability to post is going to be very limited for about two weeks - I'll try to look in, but can't promise much (unless things turn out differently to how I've planned).
If the game does continue, feel free to npc Eldin ... but considering the hols, and that we havent seen Sean or Mevers for a while, might be a good point for a break.
The crazy is practically leaking out of my nostrils on this one. I'd hate for you to miss anything; I guess we'll play it by ear.
It sounded perfectly sane when it came to me weeks ago, and I stand by that. I bet when I commit it to text it is going to come out all, "Why is that man not institutionalized?" though.
Hi. Not dead. But the wife came really close. The last month has been... let's just call it "interesting" and leave it at that.
I'm so sorry I vanished without a word, immediately after announcing my triumphant return, but life has a sense of humor like that.
We're all fine now, but I wouldn't ever want to go through that again.
We're all fine now, but I wouldn't ever want to go through that again.
Sean! What a great holiday present! Glad you and the wife are ok, I was worried about you!
So, I still haven't had a chance to read up on what I've missed. Can you give me a quick recap of everything that's happened since we escaped the exploding building into the sewers?
Can you give me a quick recap of everything that's happened since we escaped the exploding building into the sewers?
Sure thing. This is just off the top of my head but …
The party explored a little, found a toy soldier in the water, discovered a vibrating door sealed shut (chose to come back to it), located a room with a shrieking fungus under a boat, was attacked by a pack of killer rat-dogs, and everyone leveled.
Moving forward, they located a lost lotus thief with a wiped memory and a real penchant for strange behavior, attempted to fish a corpse from a submerged pond and was instead attacked by a gelatin creature.
Then they hid out and rested, discovered the rat-dog den and killed the pups they found there, then travelled soggy hallways until they located a dry spot with a body, which exploded when they attacked it. After being drug to safety by Vanthus, they again recovered and set off down the final hallway, through a deep pool with a possible escape route, and now they find themselves entering a room of unknowns filled with colored light and a living entity of some intelligence.
Shoot, I forgot, there was also a conversation with a man made out of bugs.
Ah yes, the "Coats for Kooks" program.
(Fakey smiles, thankful that this is a PBP and the Crazy DM doesn't know where he lives!);P
As much as it pains me, I have to admit we still haven't hit the part I consider odd.
So when are the "Sanity Points" gonna start coming into play?
;P
Seriously. This place is freaking me out man. And I don't think I want any of that stuff on me, temporary hit point or no. That's nasty.
So when are the "Sanity Points" gonna start coming into play?
I don't want to desensitize you guys too much; I have to get you primed to meet Penkus!
Going to give Blackotter a little more time for Tyndal's move, as the board was borked earlier.
Hmm, apparently still somewhat wonky.
Pretty sure, he acted in the last round (I think, hard to tell because due to the holiday it stretched out like a week), and I saw him post on another thread earlier today.
Maybe not....Mevers....yodalayhehoooooo....
Running behind a little today, and don’t want to give you guys a half-arse. Will advance things tonight after I get to work (sorry about the delay)!
This would count as the weird part, I think.
Okay, that is the most eff-ed up magic item ever.
Other people leave behind notes. Me, not so much.
Can’t tell you how hard it was not to post in the “How did you handle parrot island” thread, rofl. Didn’t want to spoil it!
Other people leave behind notes. Me, not so much.
I dislike "found notes" as a way to get information into the players' hands, no matter how pretty the handout looks. Unless they have to break a code, I'd rather find some other, more dramatically interesting way of revealing the information. Found note handouts are kind of a lazy way of doing it, and I've typically found handouts like that to somehow lack the importance or gravitas for the players that they're supposed to impart.
Can’t tell you how hard it was not to post in the “How did you handle parrot island” thread, rofl. Didn’t want to spoil it!
I think I posted in there how I dealt with Penkus in my RL game, but I like your method much better.
Freak.
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Ok, team. We just lost several potions worth at least a 1000gp because we can't open a friggin' lock. Traps are one thing, we can heal that stuff, breaking apart treasure is unacceptable.
Who is gonna multiclass into Rogue and take the skills we need? If Terin has to he will but it will blow his whole character concept.
We need a rogue or at least a lockpicker.
Terin could do it but I am gonna make a pretty poor rogue with only one level and a 10 intelligence.