I'm in - that makes three of us so far. What about Neil and Curn?
Berwick, don't worry about jumping in - just read back through the game posts and character creation and you will be quickly up to speed. We had just got started with the game.
I certainly appreciate the vote of confidence, but I would still prefer to hear from you all as far as a vote up or down.
I'm good with having you as the new GM. When David/Dr. Impossible started this game, he too hadn't run a Play-by-Post before, but he had lots of tabletop experience. He asked each of us applying for the game to give him an understanding of our expectations, and one of the things I told him was that I had an interest in not only playing in a campaign eventually involving the Serpent's Skull AP, but that I specifically wanted to help him become more experienced with what Play-by-Post gaming is like.
A bit of warning for you (which I also shared with him)...Play-by-Post gaming from the GM's perspective takes a lot more time and attention than you might otherwise think. In some ways, I wonder if David disappeared because he found that out the hard way and just couldn't keep up with whatever else is going on in his life. But despite that, I also believe Play-by-Post gaming can be some of the most rewarding games imaginable. The level of detail and characterization you can get into as a player and GM is much higher than what most people feel comfortable acting out at the table in a face-to-face game. If you take on this task, it will simultaneously be one of the toughest and most gratifying things you'll ever do as a GM. In my opinion, at least...
This seems like a first for me...a DM walking into an established campaign. So, I do not really know how to proceed.
Don't sweat it. As you can tell, we're already a pretty cohesive, experienced group of gamers. And, because David took the time to walk us through background creation, we had the luxury of knitting the characters together in a believable, supportive way inside the game itself. As far as walking into an established campaign goes, you've probably found one of the easier ones to take up.
Also, please explain the term eliding?
Yeah. Considering Eric referenced my character (Jonagher), I'm a bit curious about that, as well. :-)
Welcome aboard if you'll have us,
--Neil
Thanks so much, Lucendar! I hope I get a chance to game with you in the future, and I'll keep lurking your LoF game as it is top notch!
Good luck!
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Man, I didn't think the responses to our listing would come so quickly.
DM Berwick--I'd vote for you even if it weren't a one man race.
And I would echo that above all, keep the lines of communication open. If things gets a little crazy for you or the PbP DM thing is getting overwhelming and you need more time or more from us or whatever, just let us know.
Torden is getting very tired of standing in the same position for well over a week. His dwarven muscles are beginning to cramp.
That being said--since it seems to me that we have our man---where are we going to pick up or are we even continuing with Mwangi?
Bit of a threadjack here...
Hey Neil, Raven would greatly approve of Jonagher. :-P
Methinks I will be reading this merry band's adventures once they are again on track. All in all, pretty interesting and fun characters.
That will be all. You may carry on now. *Waves hand magnanimously*
Well then,
That seems to be everyone. I certainly appreciate your willingness to allow me this, and I look forward to having a whole lot of fun doing this.
One caveat before we start. I need Saturday, 8 May 2010 off from duties as DM. My grandmother died, and that is the day of the memorial.
Other than that, Saturday will generally be my most productive day, as I work a 12 hour shift and they allow me access to the Paizo site from work....foolish mortals....MUAHAHAHAHAHA....*ahem*.
I have some questions for you, and I will finalize them, and get them posted later today.
As far as a kick off date, I would like to get moving as early as Thursday(tomorrow), but certainly no later than Sunday.
I was assuming that y'all wanted to continue with MoM, so I have been reading through it, and almost have it grokked to a point where I would be comfortable running it. I have no issue with continuing on to the AP when it does come out. I am certainly not going to sacrifice the hard work everyone has done (including the good Doctor) for some foolish sense of pride or anything...what y'all have built here is amazing, and I am honored to have the opportunity to participate.
As this is the first time I would be running something in a PbP sense, I would appreciate the following two indulgences: 1)If I screw up, or miss a rule, please bring it up. Be polite as we are all adults here, but SAY SOMETHING! If I mess up in your favor, it stands, but if I mess up and it "hurts" the party it will be retconned. 2) If I ask you about a particular movement, character option choice, or action, please know that I am not questioning your ability to game, I am genuinely interested in how it works or what was the impetus behind something. No offense intended whatsoever.
If you have any questions, or need to contact me outside of game, please shoot me an email:
Please note, that I have changed my avatar to be in the vein of what Dr. Impossible's was. I feel that it adds something to the game. It is not exact for metaphorical reasons. I will add the caveat that if the good Doctor should return, I shall gladly bow out if that is his desire. I see myself as a steward of an awesome group and game concept, once we hit the AP, then you are mine....MUAHAHAHAHAHA!
*ahem*
Be back soon with my questions for you...
DM Berwick
Hey Neil, Raven would greatly approve of Jonagher. :-P
Hah! Yeah, the parallels are kind of interesting. For those who don't know I play a cleric of Milani in a Council of Thieves game with F.Caster and he's running a rogue. The two have developed a bit of banter between them over the course of the game, as they shared some backstory together, too. I've had a hankering to run a rogue myself for awhile and this was the first game to realistically offer that opportunity. But it's kind of ironic how I'm running a rogue in this one and he's already developed a bit of banter and backstory with the party cleric, Frik.
Methinks I will be reading this merry band's adventures once they are again on track. All in all, pretty interesting and fun characters.
Happy to have you follow along, Stavros! :-)
Well then,
One caveat before we start. I need Saturday, 8 May 2010 off from duties as DM. My grandmother died, and that is the day of the memorial.
My condolences, mate. Thoughts are with you and your family.
I look forward to running with you, though! Take your time, even though I'm anxious to get started again.
EDIT: I'm glad Frik has found a new home...I barely got him off the ground yet!
Well then,
After reading the discussion thread and the game thread, here are my questions for you:
1) Are you playing these characters expecting to receive PFS standing for them? Or was the PFS char-gen chosen to make building characters the most level across the field/fair for everyone?
2) What are the house-rules that y'all are using?
- Medium encumbrance penalty in post #49 OOC (No movement penalties, but AC penalty still exists.)
- Fighter Variant Mentioned in post #101 OOC
- Watchful/Eye of Danger Trait like Suspicious but for Perception #105 OOC
3) As we have a moment, and you have had a taste of combat, is there anything that you would wish to change about your characters?
I shall do some reading tonight and hope to sort out my last few questions regarding the adventure. We shall start soon.
And,
His dwarven muscles are beginning to cramp.
Bah! That's why Dwarves drink ale...muscular lubricant and for fortitude! Too bad you have to drink it with a fork...
As always,
DM Berwick
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Here is "elide".
Now that I have read the mostly negative ways in which the term can be used, I should specify that I meant "to cut short; abridge." By that, I didn't want to imply interference with Jonagher's roguish exploration; I was just hoping that when possible, solo jaunts by any character (e.g., the typical scouting run) should be handled without long series of spoilered posts.
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One caveat before we start. I need Saturday, 8 May 2010 off from duties as DM. My grandmother died, and that is the day of the memorial.
Sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences to you and your family.
As far as a kick off date, I would like to get moving as early as Thursday(tomorrow), but certainly no later than Sunday.
Great! I'm interested in continuing MoM.
As this is the first time I would be running something in a PbP sense, I would appreciate the following two indulgences . . . .
Sure. They seem very reasonable.
Please note, that I have changed my avatar to be in the vein of what Dr. Impossible's was....
"Apes. Why does it have to be apes?" ;-)
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1) Are you playing these characters expecting to receive PFS standing for them?
I hadn't thought about it, but don't care either way.
2) What are the house-rules that y'all are using?
I think those three are it.
3) As we have a moment, and you have had a taste of combat, is there anything that you would wish to change about your characters?
Nothing for me. Let me know if you have any questions about Origen.
I'm excited about restarting!
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In may excitement, I never addressed some of your questions, concerns.
1) Are you playing these characters expecting to receive PFS standing for them? Or was the PFS char-gen chosen to make building characters the most level across the field/fair for everyone?
3) As we have a moment, and you have had a taste of combat, is there anything that you would wish to change about your characters?
First, I don't think anyone could expect that everyone post on every single day. Life happens--and I'm sorry to hear about your loss, I have a sinking feeling that I will be going through the same thing shortly. I think the expectation is that we all make the best effort we can and allow that sometimes our character may get "pushed" along if we need to be away. I personally always allow the GM a little more leeway.
Second, I don't believe the intent was ever to get PfS credit for mists--it was just a simple standard everyone could follow.
Last, I have nothing to change about Torden--after all he's perfect, is he not???
Glad to have you on board, Berwick! And we can start anytime. However, since your grandmother just passed (my thoughts and prayers to you and your family) and this Sunday is Mother's Day, if you wish to put off starting until Sunday evening/Monday that will be fine with me. Plus, that would give you a few more days to get ready to roll.
My character is ready - no more tweaking needed.
My question is where do you plan to start? With the next round of combat? Or with a complete restart?
And I echo what the others have said - this is a good group of players; we haven't been together very long but we've already meshed somewhat and all of us respect the game and are eager to play. Like Neil, I love working with new PbP DM's - this is gonna be a damn fine game, brother! Once we get cranking, you're gonna have a good time.
1) Are you playing these characters expecting to receive PFS standing for them? Or was the PFS char-gen chosen to make building characters the most level across the field/fair for everyone?
I'm not expecting PFS "credit" for running through "Mists of Mwangi" or anything. It was just the adventure David thought would make the most logical lead-in to the Serpent's Skull AP. Something to help us all get our feet wet and if we still felt good with everything, the larger campaign would then ensue.
The chosen char-gen method was David's preference, but I would also champion it. It's far better to ensure everyone is relatively balanced with one another rather than random die-rolling each character. That helps make sure no single character dominates encounters because he's underchallenged. And it also ensures the other characters don't get overwhelmed by something the challenges the guy with the higher stats, etc.
2) What are the house-rules that y'all are using?
As far as I know, you've found them all. Some were suggestions that just came up on how to handle something. Some were David's preference. And at least one was a player request to include something that fit his PC better and David agreed to it.
3) As we have a moment, and you have had a taste of combat, is there anything that you would wish to change about your characters?
Not so far, no.
My two-cents,
--Neil
"Frik is ready and rarin'. My arms are tired from holding this sword, and I've got a channel on deck to hurt these undead buggers."
Ready to go here!
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My question is where do you plan to start? With the next round of combat? Or with a complete restart?
I think that some of the characters hadn't acted yet (e.g., Jonagher), so it would be toward the end of the first round.
I'd vote for continuing with the next person's action (one of the undead creatures), but am fine with a restart too.
My question is where do you plan to start? With the next round of combat? Or with a complete restart?
Actually, I think that I would like to take a moment, and repost the initiative order and all that jazz, and start just exactly where you guys left off. No need to do over, or anything from my perspective.
Thank you for the condolences all the way around for my family and me.
As far as start date, I really don't mind starting earlier than Sunday evening, but I now realize that I had glossed over Mother's Day with everything that is going on. I will post an update on initiative and where we are, and then you can continue as you see fit at a leisurely pace until Monday. I would appreciate it if after then you could at least check the game every 24 hours...if not no worries, but please don't be offended if I nudge things along.
The primary reason for asking about the PFS thing, is that character creation rule set does not allow for character created items really. Point buy is really the only way to fly in my opinion, but the PFS chargen rules can be somewhat onerous.
As always,
DM Berwick
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]This is not a big deal, but my internal editors winces a little at inconsistent text styles.
That's "editor," who was apparently asleep on the job tonight. Grrr . . . .
As for character-created items, Origen probably will not be taking any item creation feats soon unless I succumb to the allure of Create Wondrous Item. Much as I love cheap, customized skill-enhancing items, I think Weapon Finesse will become very useful at level 3 and fits better with his background.
By the way, do we stick with bolded conversational text or go to plain? I've tried both and prefer plain.
If you can't tell by now, my preference is plain text. ;-)
I've been using it since the very start of the game. It's faster to put together, because I don't have to include tags. It doesn't run the risk of screwing up the presentation, in the event that I leave off a tag or post an incomplete one. And, I just think plain text reads more like a book would. And, to me, play-by-post games are really more about storytelling, so I like duplicating text as you would read it in a novel. Lastly, it's a little easier on the eyes to not have bold text jumping out at me as I'm trying to read everything. Boldface is typically used to highlight a specific word to call attention to it or as a header for a paragraph. Having it used for several sentences of dialogue is just too much, visually-speaking.
But that's just my two-cents,
--Neil
I think that some of the characters hadn't acted yet (e.g., Jonagher), so it would be toward the end of the first round.
There were only two PCs who hadn't acted as of Doc's last post. He indicated in the initiative order who had already acted and who hadn't. You and I then followed up with posts from Origen and Jonagher to describe those actions. Bran posted an early action after ours (i.e., his action for next round). I believe hedgenight did that because he wasn't going to be around for the rest of the day and thought Doc might need his rolls to keep combat moving. Doc was then supposed to come back and post the actions of the last two remaining undead, but that's when he disappeared. And we tried to fill the void with some witty banter between PCs.
I'd vote for continuing with the next person's action (one of the undead creatures)...
This would be my suggestion, as well. The DM has two actions to post for two of the undead. He also already has Bran's stated action and die-rolls to start off the next round.
Okay,
One last question: Where you all interested in the faction sub-quests?
I will post an update on the combat round.
Jonagher, I will update the map, and the warchief skeleton goes before you. if you circle around the right (your-right, it's left) you will be able to only take on AoO from the Osirian Scarab Seer. Think about if this is the outcome you want, and let me know. There is certainly some leeway here as we need to adjust, but then we can move forward.
Don't feel pressured into posting just yet. Let's get this right, and then we will continue on in a smoother fashion.
Here we go!
DM Berwick
EDIT: Updated the map...but I have to figure out how to get it visible by you guys...do y'all happen to have gmail accounts? I could post it on google docs and then we could all update it with our movements (or still leave them to me, no worries or preference)...let me know.
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One last question: Where you all interested in the faction sub-quests?
As a player, I'm interested in seeing the Taldor faction subquest if you want to post it and have time. Given Origen's background, he's probably interested only if it's likely to serve his overall goals (most immediately, getting off the suspended list and getting on a ship to Sargava).
I will post an update on the combat round.
Booyah!
does happy dance
EDIT: Updated the map...but I have to figure out how to get it visible by you guys...do y'all happen to have gmail accounts? I could post it on google docs and then we could all update it with our movements (or still leave them to me, no worries or preference)...let me know.
I don't have an account, but can get one as long as they're free. I'll try to set it up tonight and then will post the address.
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I never really thought of a Faction for Torden. It might add some interesting RP. If you want to shoot them over, that'd be okay, but not necessary.
I don't have a g-mail account, but I do have access to google groups through which google docs can be accessed. I've done this, but don't know how to set it up.
Now I have total map-envy.
I am SO going to learn how DM Impossible did what he did. In the meantime..here is the neanderthal version of what he made.
It is usable for the time being...but looks horrible. Here it is.
Updated Combat Map, End of Round 1
Okay, don't need a gmail account to view it.
Paging Mr. NSpicer, please check out the map and tell me where you want to move. This map represents all movements to the end of round 1, but NOT, I say again not, your move. Please let me know which way you go, to account for any AoO. The Monster at H23 goes after you, so no worries about the movement there...it being there is just a figment of your imagination until after you move.
Also, please note that I have put in a different coordinate system on the map, and was not aware that Google Docs set that up for you. We will run the rest of this fight as is, and adjust in the future.
Sorry about this.
DM Berwick
Paging Mr. NSpicer, please check out the map and tell me where you want to move.
Nix Jonagher's move action. He's staying put. With the proto-Kellid war chief following after Torden, Jonagher would provoke an attack of opportunity if he attempted to circle around the Osirian scarab seer now. Given that he's already taken a hit, I won't have him risk further damage at this point. He will however hold out hope that Frik can circle around the Osirian scarab seer, thereby setting up flanking conditions for them both next round.
Here are the Faction Quests...check them all out. If you want to go for one, let me know...
Tender Supplicant,
You must prove yourself worthy of bliss: something strange is afoot at the Blakros Museum. Evil spirits vex the place and foul mists run its corridors driving men mad. Driving men mad is a deep interest of mine, as you well know. Find the source of this infestation of power and bring me a sample of it, so I might study it. DO this and you shall know Hell's most lustful delights.
Deeply Yours,
Paracountess Zarta Dralneen
Most Worthy One,
The Ruby Prince loves his subjects as you well know, but even he has enemies among Osirion's greatest families. The Matl family has long proven a thorn in his side, and indeed their duplicitous brood has plagued our great nation for centuries, ever since Lakma the Usurper claimed control over the family;s destiny. Thankfully the arm of history is long reaching, and we at court have long suspected Lakma's treachery.
The true ancestor of the Matl family was one Taltuma-Matl, a wise servant of the pharaohs. His true will was never discovered, and in it he most likely names a distant cousin as the beneficiary of his family's wealth and honors (knowing full well his closer kin, Lakma, was nothing but a vile self-serving wretch). It has come to our attention that Taltuma's remains are housed at the Blakros Museum, beyond our reach. We believe his last will was interred with him. Find it. If we can prove Lakma had no legitimate claim to his family's holdings, we can embarrass his descendants at court who vex the Ruby Prince, thus solidifying his power and perhaps even paving our way to glory.
In Unfathomable Gratitude
Amenopheus, The Sapphire Sage
Honored Servant of the Empire,
This Blakros Museum is possessed of a number of interesting pieces. Weapons are fine, gold is always amusing, but me, I am more intrigued by masks - the more exotic the better. They can prove most useful, especially with so many fascinating balls and parties approaching. Collect for me at least four masks unlike any to be worn by other dilettantes of Oppara this season. Do this and you shall bask in the beneficent radiance of my gratitude.
Honorably,
Baron Jacquo Dalsine
Firebrand of Freedom,
You light the way to a better age with your continued bravery. I can't express enough how grateful our nation is for your peerless service. We once more have desperate need of your talents. An agent of ours is in peril. His name is Sheg Wraithbane, a half-orc adventurer of note who was keeping tabs on the Blakros Museum for us, posing as a nightwatchman. We fear for his safety. A strange curse has befallen the place and we've no word from him.
Find him. If he lives, bring him safely from that accursed place. If he has perished, then you must bring his collection of keys to me immediately. He wears them on a ring on his belt. I would trust this task to no other. May your sword arm know no equal, may your wits prove thrice as fast as your foes.
Sincerely Yours,
Captain Colson Maldris
Golden Servant of Qadira,
We are, as ever, interested in the ebb and flow of great treasures. The Blakros Museum in Absalom houses some of the world's most interesting oddities and trades them freely with the world at large. Our satrap would know where these treasures flow to and at what cost.
As you pursue whatever dust devil of foolishness the Pathfinder Society would have you chase in Blakros, be sure to keep an eye out for the museum's accounts and records of transactions. Retrieve them for me and your glory will know no bounds.
A Fellow Servant of the Satrap,
Pasha Muhlia Al-Jakri
Otherwise these won't even be in there.
Let me know what you think,
DM Berwick
Here are the Faction Quests...check them all out. If you want to go for one, let me know...
No interest on Jonagher's part.
I doubt Frik would be much concerned, though if he was at all it would be with the Andoran faction.
He'll most likely pass unless something falls in his lap.
Nix Jonagher's move action. He's staying put. With the proto-Kellid war chief following after Torden, Jonagher would provoke an attack of opportunity if he attempted to circle around the Osirian scarab seer now. Given that he's already taken a hit, I won't have him risk further damage at this point. He will however hold out hope that Frik can circle around the Osirian scarab seer, thereby setting up flanking conditions for them both next round.
Hmm, I have always understood that you can move through an ally's square, in which case you could go J22->K21->L20->L19->L18->K17, and then next round you go J17->H-18. Certainly possible in my mind. By the way, you will NOT be required to list the squares you move though unless there are issues of AoO, and I will ask if you go through a specific square. I am really not that micro-managing...though that is smaller so...technically nano-managing.
Speaking of which, I found a house rule that I like and would like to run it up the flag-pole. You can be in the same square as an unconscious ally..as in standing over their body. What do you think?
Let's get this round all settled, and then we will begin with the next sometime monday!
Go team!
DM Berwick
Nix Jonagher's move action. He's staying put. With the proto-Kellid war chief following after Torden, Jonagher would provoke an attack of opportunity if he attempted to circle around the Osirian scarab seer now. Given that he's already taken a hit, I won't have him risk further damage at this point. He will however hold out hope that Frik can circle around the Osirian scarab seer, thereby setting up flanking conditions for them both next round.Hmm, I have always understood that you can move through an ally's square, in which case you could go J22->K21->L20->L19->L18->K17, and then next round you go J17->H-18. Certainly possible in my mind. By the way, you will NOT be required to list the squares you move though unless there are issues of AoO, and I will ask if you go through a specific square. I am really not that micro-managing...though that is smaller so...technically nano-managing.
Speaking of which, I found a house rule that I like and would like to run it up the flag-pole. You can be in the same square as an unconscious ally..as in standing over their body. What do you think?
Let's get this round all settled, and then we will begin with the next sometime monday!
Go team!
DM Berwick
I always have used that rule - you can occupy the same square as a helpless ally. I'm for it.
Not interested in any faction mission, but thanks for posting them; I enjoyed reading them.
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Here are the Faction Quests...check them all out. If you want to go for one, let me know...
Sorry; I misunderstood and had only looked at the Taldor mission before.
If Origen had heard about the Andoran mission, he would probably keep an eye out for the watchman and help him if possible. He doesn't care about the faction's approval.
From your description of Jonagher's attack on the Proto-Kellid Warchief (which I assume you had him target rather than the Qadiran Warlord, because Origen's acid brought that one down before Jonagher's action), I'm still unable to tell if the Proto-Kellid Warchief is still standing. You didn't indicate there were "Two down" yet, so I'm guessing he's still in action. If so, Jonagher won't move away, but will stay with Torden to help him fight it off instead, before eventually switching back to the Osirian Scarab Seer to help Frik next round.
I just assumed, sorry if that was overstepping. These are the things I need to know if you feel I am going to far. The Warchief is still standing. You hit 'em really hard though and I was trying to represent this in the description.
sorry it took my a while, the site was down and I couldn't get in. To be honest, I'm also a little lost as to where exactly we are, so if I don't react at the proper time, someone swing at one of these beasties for me. Thanks guys--I'll be checking in as regularly as the site will let me :)
No worries! That was my fault, I should have posted the round 2 order immediately. It is your turn. Also, go ahead and read the higher DC spoiler on that Knowledge check above. I forgot that Bardic Knowledge allowed for all Knowledge checks untrained at the higher DC's.
- / -
As a side note, do you want me to post responses to OOC questions from the other thread here or in the IC thread? These are the things that I don't know from lack of experience.
Also, do you want me to sum up/re-post the basic actions of the previous round at each new round?
Also, I am ready to continue when you are, so no worries my friends.
As always,
DM Berwick
re: responses to questions - post 'em wherever they are most needed; if asked in IC, then respond in IC with the OOC tag.
re: sum up/re-post of previous actions - not necessary IMO.
Doing a great job, man! Thanks for kicking this baby back into gear.
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[As a side note, do you want me to post responses to OOC questions from the other thread here or in the IC thread? These are the things that I don't know from lack of experience.
For my part, if you want to post shorter OOC notes in the PBP thread I'm good with that, and leave this thread for longer discussions or announcements.
Also, you don't need to repost events and stats from each round. I think the time lag is all that messed me up. As long as I can read everything and then see an updated map, I'm good.
Thanks again.
Curn Bounder/Torden Ironcask--I see the benefit of posting OCC under my original name, so I will keep Curn on this thread.
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I agree with hedgeknight and Curn's comments, but I have one minor addition regarding OOC posts. I'd suggest leaving them on the game thread for ease of reference, but spoilering them if they are long (i.e, as you've been doing so far).
However, I'd also be fine with the posts either all being on the game thread or (if long) being on the OOC thread.
By the way, I hope that the memorial service today gives you peace and comfort.
By the way, I hope that the memorial service today gives you peace and comfort.
Same here - sending a prayer for you and your family.
Thank you for your condolences.
I will spoiler ooc comments in the post in the future, and we shall continue on.
BTW, Curn please check the IC thread for a question I have about your post.
Thanks,
DM Berwick
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I will be out at church/Mother's Day stuff/studying for my Monday final tomorrow. To avoid holding up the game, I'm posting Origen's action in case any undead survive Frik's likely channel.
Origen will shoot another Acidic Ray at any skeleton still up, preferably the Osirion Scarab Seer. If he can ready the ray to disrupt the seer's next spell, he'll do that instead.
For DM Berwick (in case Origen can ready his action):
Attack:
Damage:
Or perhaps he'll just miss, instead. ;-)
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Let me mull on this a bit, and I will post something official sounding in the discussion thread, but the way I see it, using a spell or spell-like ability is specifically mentioned as taking concentration and being interruptable. A counterspell invokes different mechanics, but attack to disrupt would use the same rules regarding concentration and such as normal spell casting (i.e. Divine or Arcane), and is therefore interruptable under those rules.
I may need to clarify my question. I agree with you that spells and spell-like abilities can be interrupted by attacks: That makes sense, and it's explicitly stated in the rules. Can a caster also use an attack spell as a readied action to interrupt another caster's spell, or can characters only use physical attacks for this purpose?
I can see arguments both ways, and I don't have a strong preference. However, I want to know if Origen can try it (and has to worry about it when he casts).
...Can a caster also use an attack spell as a readied action to interrupt another caster's spell, or can characters only use physical attacks for this purpose?
I'd say yes. Here's why:
Rules Explanation:
On pg. 203, the Pathfinder Core Rulebook indicates:
Readying an Action: You can ready a standard action, a move action, a swift action, or a free action. To do so, specify the action you will take and the conditions under which you will take it. Then, anytime before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition. The action occurs just before the action that triggers it. If the triggered action is part of another character’s activities, you interrupt the other character. Assuming he is still capable of doing so, he continues his actions once you complete your readied action....
If you examine the list of actions that can be readied above, they include a "standard action." And, by looking at Table 8-2 on pg. 183, a standard action can include "Cast a spell (1 standard action casting time)"...which can include most offensive, damaging spells.
In addition...
Distracting Spellcasters: You can ready an attack against a spellcaster with the trigger “if she starts casting a spell.” If you damage the spellcaster, she may lose the spell she was trying to cast (as determined by her Spellcraft check result).
This section indicates a readied action (which as earlier established can include an offensive, damaging spell) can be used to distract or disrupt a spellcaster, because it doesn't designate any requirement other than "You can ready an attack against a spellcaster..." So, this should include an "attack" spell. And, if you damage the spellcaster, they'll have to make a Spellcraft check to avoid losing theirs.
Lastly...
Readying to Counterspell: You may ready a counterspell against a spellcaster (often with the trigger “if she starts casting a spell”). In this case, when the spellcaster starts a spell, you get a chance to identify it with a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). If you do, and if you can cast that same spell (and are able to cast it and have it prepared, if you prepare spells), you can cast the spell as a counterspell and automatically ruin the other spellcaster’s spell. Counterspelling works even if one spell is divine and the other arcane....A spellcaster can use dispel magic to counterspell another spellcaster, but it doesn’t always work.
This bit of rules text also makes it clear that you can counter another spellcaster via the counterspell action. Essentially, you're giving yourself enough time to not only recognize what an enemy spellcaster is trying to cast, but also "cast" your own spell to counter it...or cast a dispel magic to counter him. Counterspelling is a more direct method with a higher chance of success in disrupting an enemy spellcaster. But, obviously, non-spellcasting warrior-types can do the same thing with a readied standard action to inflict enough damage on a spellcaster to break his concentration, too. And that also extends to a spellcaster who wants to use a damaging spell in lieu of his own physical attack or a counterspell action.
Finally, it's also important to point out that you must use the ready action to do all this...not a delay action. In other words, you can't delay in order to see if a spellcaster is going to cast a spell and then decide to interrupt it. You have to specifically use the ready action to interrupt a single stated action you're looking to oppose...i.e., "if she starts casting a spell, then..." If that action doesn't occur, you lose your turn. If that action occurs, but you decide you'd really rather do something else, you're out of luck, as well. This is why some people choose to delay rather than ready an action. That way, although they can't interrupt what happens, they still get to react immediately after any action they perceive, making sure their own action proves as effective as possible.
This is covered by the explanation of the delay action...
By choosing to delay, you take no action and then act normally on whatever initiative count you decide to act. When you delay, you voluntarily reduce your own initiative result for the rest of the combat. When your new, lower initiative count comes up later in the same round, you can act normally. You can specify this new initiative result or just wait until some time later in the round and act then, thus fixing your new initiative count at that point....You never get back the time you spend waiting to see what’s going to happen. You also can’t interrupt anyone else’s action (as you can with a readied action).
Hope that helps,
--Neil