Over the next couple of days I will be running the following party through a handful of scenarios. If you would be kind enough to check the characters for potential errors before I start, I would be most appreciative.
Guymelef Dylandou (10th-level human stormlord)
Meredith Neresa (10th-level merfolk landbound aquatic sorcerer)
Milerna Nanneel (10th-level human halberdier)
Mister Owl (10th-level human gunslinger)
They are all created with 25-point buy, have 75% of the maximum variable hit points, and created their own gear (at crafting costs) whenever they had feats that allowed them to do so.
I hope that this playtest will show how the gunslinger handles himself when joined with three other party members and put into scenarios that could occur during actual games. Some of these scenarios will have "win conditions" other than "kill everybody."
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If it is meant to be a playtest, why 25 point buy and 75% hps? Why not 20 points and max hps at 1st then average hps? PFS, bestiary stats, and npcs are more in line with that challenge level. I gather that your group tends to play at 25 points but if you wanted a more representative test 20 seems like it would make more sense than stacking the deck above the average power level of PCs.
If it is meant to be a playtest, why 25 point buy and 75% hps? Why not 20 points and max hps at 1st then average hps? PFS, bestiary stats, and npcs are more in line with that challenge level. I gather that your group tends to play at 25 points but if you wanted a more representative test 20 seems like it would make more sense than stacking the deck above the average power level of PCs.
I'm doing it this way for a number of reasons:
1) It gives the gunslinger a little more staying power, which allows us to see his abilities in action longer.
2) It is the way I am accustomed to making characters and I am stubborn when it comes to change.
3) It is far less work on me to do it this way, as I can pull from pre-made characters, rather than make an entirely new party from scratch.
I would also like to clarify that only variable HP are placed at 75%. A 10th-level fighter with 14 Constitution, for example, would have 108 HP.
10 1st-level max
20 Constitution bonus
68 75% of 9d10's max result (round up)
10 favored class bonus
-----------------------------------
108 Total HP
Is it every one's intent to persuade me NOT to contribute to the playtest? Cause that's sure what it's starting to feel like.
And I have yet to see "an established baseline of testing." Every forum playtest I have ever read is different from the others. Most don't even try to duplicate real game scenarios, but end up being one on one tournament combat, which doesn't show much of anything.
Considering mine will be no more a departure from whatever imaginary norm you guys have dreamed up, I can't help but think I'm being targeted for some reason.
Contribute or go away. Excessive off-topic posting will only make it hard for the game developers to find what's really important in this thread.
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Is it every one's intent to persuade me NOT to contribute to the playtest? Cause that's sure what it's starting to feel like.
And I have yet to see "an established baseline of testing." Every forum playtest I have ever read is different from the others. Most don't even try to duplicate real game scenarios, but end up being one on one tournament combat, which doesn't show much of anything.
Considering mine will be no more a departure from whatever imaginary norm you guys have dreamed up, I can't help but think I'm being targeted for some reason.
Contribute or go away. Excessive off-topic posting will only make it hard for the game developers to find what's really important in this thread.
The DPR olympics thread has established something of a baseline that has currently dozens of results to compare with.
I'm aware of that LazarX. What confuses me is that these are conditions that I've ALWAYS created playtests under (and I've always been clear about them), and I have never had anyone make such a big deal about it (or how it may or may not effect the results) before.
The change in community response from previous playtests is...unexpected to say the least.
Is it every one's intent to persuade me NOT to contribute to the playtest? Cause that's sure what it's starting to feel like.
And I have yet to see "an established baseline of testing." Every forum playtest I have ever read is different from the others. Most don't even try to duplicate real game scenarios, but end up being one on one tournament combat, which doesn't show much of anything.
Considering mine will be no more a departure from whatever imaginary norm you guys have dreamed up, I can't help but think I'm being targeted for some reason.
Contribute or go away. Excessive off-topic posting will only make it hard for the game developers to find what's really important in this thread.
I think it's important to test things at different levels. As pointed out in just about every thread here, different people play different ways, and as long as you are having fun, it's not wrong. There might be problems that show up on a 25pt buy that aren't in a 15.
One thing that is important when you do change from "normal" is to note it. You do use non-RAW HP values, but as long as you are up front with that it's fine. Making chances like this might even be important. If you find no problems with the extra HP and everyone else thinks they are too squishy, a change might be in order (for example)
As you were up front with the baseline you are working with, I think this test would be very informative.
Hey guys, the point of the playtest is to play the way you play at your table. Thats what the devs want to see. Have we forgotten the standard playtest format we discussed a while back? Everyone house rules. Everyone uses different point buys or dice rolling systems. As long as you are up front saying "these are the potential deviations from the 'norm'" it is a valid playtest. Get off ravingdorks back and let him run the playtest of how things would fall at his table.
In essense it boils down to this..."you play different than I do, so you're wrong."
In all seriousness, I'm interested in your playtest. There is no standard, so what you use at your table is just as relevent as what someone else uses at theirs. Honestly, the changes you made sound more reasonable than some of the others I've seen.
You do higher stats than I use currently, though I've had players ask if we could use higher stats. You give more hit points than I do, though not by much. Your game doesn't sound far off from what mine is, so yeah...I wanna see your results.
As far as the developers...they've said they want a variety of scenarios...some higher powered, some lower. Some with Pathfinder only stuff, some with 3.5 stuff.
In short...forget about the whiney people and do your thing. No matter what people will whine, it's the net.
In essense it boils down to this..."you play different than I do, so you're wrong."
In all seriousness, I'm interested in your playtest. There is no standard, so what you use at your table is just as relevent as what someone else uses at theirs. Honestly, the changes you made sound more reasonable than some of the others I've seen.
You do higher stats than I use currently, though I've had players ask if we could use higher stats. You give more hit points than I do, though not by much. Your game doesn't sound far off from what mine is, so yeah...I wanna see your results.
As far as the developers...they've said they want a variety of scenarios...some higher powered, some lower. Some with Pathfinder only stuff, some with 3.5 stuff.
In short...forget about the whiney people and do your thing. No matter what people will whine, it's the net.
Yes. I should probably clarify that the following scenarios will use ONLY Pathfinder material, rather than Pathfinder/v3.5 material.
I look forward to reading the playtests, RD.
I for one prefer 25PB and am using it currently as well as in an up coming campaign.
-S
edit: Do you have them as spoilers anywhere rather than listed only as PDF's? The characters I mean?
I'm also looking forward to these playtests. I believe a lot of the Gunslingers vulnerabilities (namely Grapples) can be overcome by good party tactics. Happy testing!
I look forward to reading the playtests, RD.
I for one prefer 25PB and am using it currently as well as in an up coming campaign.
-S
edit: Do you have them as spoilers anywhere rather than listed only as PDF's? The characters I mean?
No I'm afraid not, nor am I willing to write them out in full at this point (I'm a little busy with other things at the moment). If someone else wants to download the PDFs and type them up in spoiler forum stat blocks, they are more than welcome to.
I look forward to reading the playtests, RD.
I for one prefer 25PB and am using it currently as well as in an up coming campaign.
-S
I feel so alone at my Table, I've been wanting to try 15 and 20 pt buys to see if there's a difference for Characters but EVERYONE I play with uses 25pt buy, and refuses to do it any other way =(
anyways, lookin' forward to readin' yer Playtests M(r/s).R.Dork.
SCENARIO ONE: THE ASSASSIN'S MASK
Scenario: The party must infiltrate a grand masquerade ball and apprehend a known criminal hiding inside. The criminal is an assassin hired to kill the party's host. The PCs have already stopped the assassin's boss, but now must save the host before it is too late. Due to their status as lower income citizens, the heroes were unable to get an audience or a message to the party host and are now forced to personally intervene in hopes of stopping a tragedy from taking place.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The party begins the scene hiding in the shadowy bushes a few streets away from the masquerade, watching guests hand their invitations to the heavily armed and armored gate guards.
Meredith the mermaid uses Alter Self on herself to don the disguise of a prominent noble woman known to the family hosting the masquerade. As she and her "entourage" then approach the guards, the guards lower their halberds to block entrance. "This party is by invitation only!"
Mister Owl moves up to the guard, placing his nose within an inch of that of the guards'. "You DARE speak to Lady Eiran with such insolence?"
As Mister Owl has both guards focusing on his scowling face, his hands subtly attempt to palm one of the other guest's invitations from the guards pouch.
"Oh calm down now," says Milerna, "please do forgive Mister Owl, he is Lady Eiran's new bodyguard and he can get quite carried away in the performance of his duties." (Bluff 16 vs. the guards' 8 and 16)
One guard, remaining suspicious of Mister Owl and the others stands his ground. "Nevertheless madam, you must produce an invitation. It don't matter if you're the mayor."
"Here you go," says the disguised Meredith, handing over one of the guards own invitations.
Still suspicious, the guards nevertheless let Lady Eiran and her "bodyguards" into the party. However, as per regulations, the party is asked to give up any obvious mundane and magical weaponry, leaving Mister Owl with one double barreled pistol and his dagger (concealed with DCs too high for the guards to have a hope of finding them), Guymelef with his magical gauntlet (not an obvious weapon), Milerna with nothing (she is later given Owl's dagger), and Meredith with just her spells.
As they walk across the courtyard to the open doors of the nearby mansion, Owl leans in to Meredith and asks "How did you get an invitation?"
Guymelef was kind enough to give it to me. Apparently, his unseen servant snatched it from the pouch while you two had the guards distracted.
Upon entering the party, the heroes find themselves surrounded by the wealthy elite. Everyone is wearing a mask of a different style, with only servants and guards wearing identical masks.
"Do you sense anything?" says Owl to Meredith. Meredith casts detect magic and begins concentrating on the crowd around her. Excluding the party themselves, she picks up on a number of magical auras, many seemingly from jewelry and other bobbles, likely abjuration items. The mix of auras makes it difficult to determine anything more specific. While she does that, the other party members fan out through the crowd, making Perception checks to see if they can spot a person fitting the description of the assassin.
Unbeknown to the PCs, the assassin has used a scroll of alter self in order to look like nothing more than a noble at the bar, passed out from one too many drinks. The assassin's Disguise modifier is +20 due to the spell, though he botched putting together a cohesive disguise (rolling a 1) for a DC of 21. However, the multitude of disguised people creates terrible conditions (+5 DC) and the constant interruptions from other party goers create a plethora of distractions (+5 DC) for a final Perception DC of 31. A successful check doesn't necessarily see through the disguise, so much as make the assassin stand out as extremely suspicious. What's more, the assassin has made use of a magic jar spell scroll, and is currently watching the PCs' actions closely from a nearby host body. (For simplicity's sake, all unnamed host bodies use squire stats with differing skills and equipment.)
Guymelef: rolls 6 for 16.
Meredith: rolls 16 for 16.
Milerna: rolls 10 for 21.
Mister: rolls 18 for 34. Success!
Mister Owl begins to make his way towards the bar, having noticed that there aren't nearly enough drinks on the counter for someone to be passed out drunk.
Half way to the bar, a beautiful young lady asks him to a dance. Owl refuses her advances and continues onward towards his target. Upon arriving at the bar, he finds the patron really and truly passed out, despite the lack of apparent alcohol nearby. First he checks the patrons cloak for any personal containers, which he finds none.
A few party goers look at Owl suspiciously, who then begins to be more careful about his apparent behavior. On a hunch, he checks the patron for signs of breathing and a pulse, but he finds none. The patron is already dead. He motions for Meredith and the others to gather round.
"Meredith, this man is dead. I think maybe he was poisoned. Use your magic and find out if any of his drinks are contaminated."
After a few moments of using her detect poison spell, Meredith finds that none of the nearby drinks or food have been contaminated. She shakes her head in confusion. "There's nothing here."
"Check some of the other drinks too, particularly that of the host," suggests Guymelef, "if the assassin has poisoned the food or the drinks, we need to know BEFORE people start dying."
The characters continue their discreet investigations of the body, but can't seem to find any apparent cause of death.
Before long a number of extremely sexy patrons attempt to pull them away from the bar, always one at a time to join in, in the festivities. Finally, the characters relent, realizing that continued investigation of the body will only draw undue attention to themselves.
As they mingle with the socialites or dance on the dance floor, they continue their search for the hidden assassin. Party guests (the assassin in ever switching hosts) seem to steer the characters farther and farther away from the dead body, though Mister Owl's suspicions never wavered. There was something he was missing, something he wasn't putting together--and he knew it. Every girl he danced with seemed like the last, though they all looked different.
By the time the party host tapped on a glass to get everyone's attention to the front of the room, Owl had chocked it up to "rich girls are all the same." He and the rest of the party, realizing that the assassin's strike was likely approaching, spread out in the crowd, ready to take on any threat from any angle. In addition to the heroes, there were also four alert guards at various points in the room, two of which were flanking the party host.
Finally, the party host concluded his speech having thanked everyone for coming, and momentarily turned his back to the crowd as he turned to leave.
23 Meredith (rolled 17)
19 Milerna (rolled 15)
13 Assassin (rolled 5); beats host
13 Host (rolled 11)
11 Mister Owl (rolled 2)
9 Guymelef (rolled 6)
6 Guards x4(rolled 6)
0 Crowd (ad hoc)
The assassin gets a surprise round, a round in which only Owl gets to act in due to his successful Perception check. She initiates combat when she draws out a slender dagger out from under her blouse.
Seeing the young woman drawing a weapon, Owl pulls out his concealed double barrel pistol and takes aim. Unfortunately, he is unable to fire it during the surprise round due to limited actions.
The young red headed assassin chucks the dagger at the party host's back, where it sticks from his shoulder.
Attack: rolls 18, result 30, vs flat-footed AC 16. Hit.
Damage: 1d4 plus 2d6 sneak attack plus 4 favored enemy plus giant wasp poison; 4 + 1 + 2 + 4 = 11 damage.
Poison: Fort roll 8 for 13. Fails and takes 1d2 (1) Dexterity damage.
Noble: 49 hp left.
Meredith pushes through the crowd to within 15 feet of the assassin and casts color spray. The red headed assassin goes down along with several other party goers (Will Save DC 19, rolls a 5, for a 6.).
Not seeing any other immediate threats, Milerna delays.
The assassin fails to possess the bartender (natural 20) from his magic jar.
The host retreats behind his two guards for cover and pulls the bloodied knife from his shoulder with a grunt. Fails another save against poison taking 1 more Dexterity damage (rolled 8 for 13).
Mister Owl, realizing that the drinks must be slowing his reflexes, delays.
Guymelef casts magic circle against evil on himself and approaches the host and his guards, offering to help, but the guards keep him at bay.
The two guards, seeing Owl with a pistol in hand and mistaking him for another assassin, fire their crossbows at him before drawing out their flails for melee. The other two guards in the room draw melee weapons and start moving towards him as well.
Attack: rolls 8 and 15, results 11 and 18, vs flat-footed AC 25. Miss.
Owl takes his action and fires upon one of the guards with salt shot cartridges, releasing both barrels. The lour bang and bright flash start a panic.
Attack: rolls 5 & 2, results 19 & 16, vs AC 10. One hit. Gun misfires.
Damage: 1d8+8; 5 + 8 = 13 damage.
Guard 1: 13/19 nonlethal damage.
Guards 2, 3, 4: 19 hp each.
Owl spends a grit point to use Quick Clear as a move action and reloads his gun with more salt as a free action.
Milerna takes her action next, chastising Owl for not improving the situation, but nevertheless moving to his side to defend him.
The crowd panics and runs for the exits. Everyone caught in the tide of bodies must make an acrobatics check DC 15 or get knocked to the floor.
Guards, rolled 17 for 10. The two not guarding the host are knocked prone.
Guymelef, rolled 5 for 5. Knocked prone.
Meredith, rolled 18 for 24. Holds ground.
Milerna, rolled 12 for 29. Holds ground.
Mister Owl, rolled 20 for 40. Knocks down the crowd. :P
23 Meredith
13 Assassin
13 Host (poisoned, wounded)
9 Guymelef (prone)
6 Guards x4 (prone x2, wounded x1)
5 Mister Owl
4 Milerna
0 Crowd (2 rounds to vacate)
Meredith moves to within range of the two prone guards, blasting them with color spray. They roll 8 and 11 for 9 and 12, both becoming blinded for the next 4 rounds and stunned for the next 5 rounds.
The assassin attempts to possess one of the party goers and succeeds (Will Save DC 17, rolled 15 for 16. Failed.).
The host pulls out and drinks a potion of invisibility. Makes a natural 20 on save to negate poison.
Guymelef stands up and casts fly on himself.
Having lost track of their charge, the remaining two guards move into melee with Owl and make melee attacks from flanking positions with their flails.
Attack: rolls 17 & 15, results 24 & 22, vs AC 22. Two hits.
Damage: 1d10+3; 10 + 3 = 13 damage, 1 +3 = 4 damage, 17 damage total.
Owl: 91 hp left.
Owl attempts to tumble away from his attackers (3, 6, 5, 2 for 23, 26, 25, and 22, versus DCs 15, 17, 19, and 21, respectively) and succeeds, moving 10 feet away from the nearest guard, rolling towards the exit. He then takes aim and fires both barrels at the already wounded guard.
Attack: rolls 7 & 12, results 21 & 26, vs AC 14 (soft cover). Two hits.
Damage: 1d8+8 x2; 3 + 8 = 11 damage, 2 + 8 = 10 damage, 21 damage total.
Guard 1: unconscious with 34/19 nonlethal damage.
Guards 2: 19 hp.
Guards 3 & 4: blind/stunned.
Mister Owl reloads both barrels with salt.
Milerna power attacks remaining guard with her mwk dagger.
Attack: rolls 1 & 13, results 13 & 25, vs AC 18. One hit.
Damage: 1d4+7; 4 + 7 = 11 damage.
Guard 2: 11/19 nonlethal damage.
Crowd continues stampeding toward the exits.
Assassin, 2 for 14. Knocked prone.
Guard, rolled 6 for -1. Knocked prone.
Guymelef, rolled 1 for 1. Knocked prone.
Meredith, rolled 6 for 12. Knocked prone.
Milerna, Auto-passes.
Mister Owl, Auto-passes.
23 Meredith (prone)
13 Assassin (prone)
13 Host (invisible, wounded)
9 Guymelef (prone)
6 Guards x4 (blinded/stunned x2, prone x1, unconscious x1)
5 Mister Owl (wounded)
4 Milerna
0 Crowd (1 round to vacate)
Meredith stands up and color sprays several pedestrians in order to give her some room, unknowingly catches assassin in the area, who fails his save (17 + 1 = 18, vs DC 19).
The Assassin returns back to the magic jar.
The host escapes through a secret passage.
Guymelef flies from prone up towards the ceiling to get away from the stampeding crowd. He then casts greater invisibility on himself, thinking it might be time to escape himself.
Last guard stands up, provoking from Minerva (natural 1). He attacks Minerva with his flail:
Attack: rolls 12, results 17, vs AC 21. Miss.
Owl fires a single shot at the remaining guard through soft cover, taking a -4 penalty for firing into melee.
Attack: rolls 4, results 14, vs AC 14. Hit.
Damage: 1d8+8; 6 + 8 = 14 damage.
Guard: 25/19 nonlethal damage
Owl reloads his one empty barrel with lethal shot.
Milerna screams "the target is gone and we can't find the assassin anywhere! We need to leave! NOW!" She moves towards the exit with the mob and gets within the doorframe when she sees a small army of city guard heading her way. She instead readies an action to shut the door after the last of the mob gets through.
Crowd escapes the building leaving only the wayward heroes and the bodies of several stunned patrons.
Milerna shuts the door.
23 Meredith
13 Assassin
9 Guymelef
8 City Watch
5 Mister Owl (wounded)
4 Milerna
Meredith searches for another exit.
Assassin attempts to possess a city guard outside the building, who fails his save (11 + 1 = 12 vs DC 17). He shouts to his "comrades" to bar all exits, who begin to do so.
Guymelef breaks a window to make an escape route, but the shutters are closed on him by the guard outside before anyone can leave.
Mister Owl growls in frustration and shoots the lock off the door to a side room with a grit point and his blast lock deed (6 +18 = 24 vs. AC 22).
Milerna moves into the new area of the mansion looking for an escape.
Everyone moves into the new room, some kind of library or study. Owl gets healing from Guymelef's wand (1 + 1 + 4 + 5 = +11 hp, 102 hp total). Milerna lights a lamp. The assassin, in the body of the city watch gets "his men" to start fires in order to "smoke the villains out" disappears around an alley corner and stabs himself in the heart (killing the watch captain and forcing himself back to the jar).
23 Meredith
13 Assassin
9 Guymelef
8 City Watch
5 Mister Owl (wounded, 102 hp)
4 Milerna
Party looks for an exit, but only find more locked rooms.
Assassin leaves the magic jar and re-enters his own (alter self'd) body, ending the magic jar spell. He leaves the ballroom and enters the doorway to the library.
Owl: "You're supposed to be de--"
Assassin: "Dead? Not as dead as you soon will be! Because of you Mr. Peabody escaped! I'll see to it that you do not interfere again."
Meredith reacts first lashing out with dominate person. The assassin rolls a 5 for a 6 vs. DC 23 and is dominated.
END FIGHT
Meh, I need to turn it up a notch.
In our next exciting scenario, the party will have to fight their way across a burning bridge while trying to rescue sacrificial orphan hostages from a vicious band of pyromaniac gnoll diabolist sorcerers!
Wow, awesome playtest. Mr. Owl seemed to be dominating the action. I think I like this style of playtest a lot more than the arenas. Arenas seem to be all about maximizing damage output while minimizing input. These scenarios allow the Gunslinger to really be a character rather than a build. Really impressed all around.
Out of curiosity how did you set this up? It seems like this would have taken a really long time to do. I'd eventually like to replicate something similar.
Wow, awesome playtest. Mr. Owl seemed to be dominating the action. I think I like this style of playtest a lot more than the arenas. Arenas seem to be all about maximizing damage output while minimizing input. These scenarios allow the Gunslinger to really be a character rather than a build. Really impressed all around.
Thanks! I set it up against weak enemies. The goal wasn't to kill everyone (which would have been REALLY easy), but to stop the assassin from achieving his goal.
Had the gunslinger not been around it would have been completely different. The crowd wouldn't have been so quick to panic and the assassin might have had whole minutes to possess people and either go after the host, or to force the party to fight innocent bystanders--thereby incriminating themselves.
Rolling randomly for magic jar when there's a hundred people nearby is a pain though. The assassin went after weak willed targets, but could just as easily gone after the PCs themselves. Had he done so and succeeded, then perhaps Mister Owl, et al, would have had to face one of their own.
EDIT: In fact, I think I will do just that!
23 Meredith
13 Assassin
9 Guymelef
8 City Watch
5 Mister Owl (wounded, 102 hp)
4 Milerna
Meredith continues looking for an exit, but only finds more locked rooms.
The assassin leaves the magic jar and attempts to possess one of the heroes (having failed his goals several time with the more weak willed crowd).
Roll 1d4 to see who gets targeted:
1 Guymelef
2 Meredith
3 Milerna
4 Mister Owl
Roll 3, for Milerna. Milerna make's a Will save vs. DC 17 and rolls an 11 for 17. Success!
Milerna feels a hostile tingle and asks Guymelef to detect magic.
Guymelef, still flying invisibly in the air casts detect magic and begins concentrating, while waiting on his comrades to come up with a plan of action.
City Watch starts the fires and smoke begins pouring into the mansion.
Mister Owl stands around and thinks about the events moments ago. Who was the dead noble? Why did the guests attack their host? Is there more than one assassin? Something didn't seem right.
Milerna begins searching for the source of her mental attack, walking back into the ball room. There she finds several patrons in various states of confusion and unsteadiness. No one appears hostile. Though with the incoming smoke, those capable of reacting begin to panic once again.
23 Meredith
13 Assassin (magic jar)
9 Guymelef (flying, invisible)
8 City Watch (outside)
5 Mister Owl (wounded, 102 hp)
4 Milerna
0 Party Guests (noncombatants)
Meredith casts see invisibility, hoping to find the source of Milerna's distress, or perhaps a hidden assassin. She finds only a floating magus.
The assassin tries to possess another hero. Rolled a 3 (Milerna), but since she can't be targeted a second time. Rolled a 1 (Guymelef) who makes a Will save of his own. Rolls 7 + 10 = 17 vs. DC 17. Success!
Guymelef makes a Knowledge: Arcana check to identify the spell that just targeted him. Rolls a 19 for a 37. He figures out what's going on. "Mister Owl. Go into the ballroom and shoot the dead noble."
City Watch keeps the fir under control, attempting not to burn down a noble's mansion in their pursuit of criminals.
Mister Owl stares at the magus with his one over-large eye in confusion.
Owl: "I thought he was dead?"
Guy: "He is. But I want to be sure. Don't worry. I'll pay for the bullets."
Owl moves into the ballroom and aims his pistol at the assassin's body's head.
Milerna points her dagger at the recovering guests and guards and orders them into the far corner away from the smoke.
The party guests comply.
23 Meredith (library)
13 Assassin (magic jar)
9 Guymelef (library)
8 City Watch (outside)
5 Mister Owl (ball room)
4 Milerna (ball room)
0 Party Guests (ball room)
Meredith deduces Guymelef's meaning and moves into the ball room. She casts detect magic and begins searching for the magic jar.
The assassin attempts to possess one of the two remaining heroes. Rolled a 2 (Meredith) who gets a 14 for a 24 on her Will save to negate the effect.
Guymelef flies into the ball room and sees the smoke billowing in through the cracks of the shuttered windows. He uses 3 arcane pool points to spontaneously cast wind wall in order to keep the smoke out.
City Watch begin choking as their own smoke is blown back in their faces.
Mister Owl loads a lethal round and coup de graces the corpse. 4d8+36, 4 + 7 + 6 + 6 + 36 = 59 damage or a DC 69 vs. death. Assassin rolls a 10 for a 17 and his body dies, though he continues to exist in the magic jar.
Milerna jumps at the unexpected gunshot, but otherwise continues watching the guests to ensure they stay out of trouble.
"Is that it then?" asks Milerna of Owl. "Was he the assassin all along?"
"Yes. It was he," responds Guymelef, "though I fear he isn't quite gone yet."
"Looks pretty gone to me," replies Milerna with a grin as she inspects the remains of the assassin's head from across the room.
The guests continue to cower.
23 Meredith (ball room)
13 Assassin (magic jar)
9 Guymelef (ball room)
8 City Watch (outside)
5 Mister Owl (ball room)
4 Milerna (ball room)
0 Party Guests (ball room)
Merefith finds the magic jar on the body of the assassin and asks Owl to destroy it.
The Assassin attempts to possess one of the captive party guests. The party guest rolls a 13 for a 14 on their Will save and fails. The assassin suddenly sees his real body and stifles a scream. When the heroes look at the "young girl" the assassin bluffs, sobbing "I want my mommy..." He rolls a 16 for a 21. He then bides his time, waiting for an opportune moment to make a death attack.
Guymelef rolls a 19 for a 19 on Sense Motive. Fails.
Meredith rolls a 12 for a 12 on Sense Motive. Fails.
Milerna rolls a 10 for a 11 on Sense Motive. Fails.
Mister Owl rolls a 19 for a 22 on Sense Motive. Success!
Guymelef, uses his gauntlet of lightning to blast a hole in the ceiling with a lightning bolt.
City Watch try to figure out what that flash of light was and what the hell is going inside. They start organizing for a raid.
Mister Owl fires salt into the little girls head from across the room causing EVERYONE to scream in surprise.
Using Dead Shot...
Attack: Rolls a 2 & 3 for a 21 & 17 vs. AC 10. Two hits (no misfire due to Dead Shot being used, which requires all rolls to be a misfire to misfire).
Damage: 2d8+9, 7 + 2 + 9 = 18.
Result: One knocked out little girl with a concussion and 18/5 nonlethal damage.
Owl: "Think I figured it out now."
END BATTLE
I was really hoping one of the PCs would get possessed, forcing Mr. Owl to fight his own, but everyone kept passing their saves by the skin of their teeth. Oh well.
Oh yeah, the Magus dispelled his wind wall and used gaseous form on everyone in the party to allow them to all float away with the smoke caused by the city guard, thereby avoiding capture. The raid team found only a single body and several extremely confused nobles. By the time the girl awoke from her concussion, the magic jar had been destroyed and the assassin's spirit had nowhere to go.
Very good playtest...I completely agree that this is a better format than the arena scenarios.
That, and your assassin gave me a great idea for a reacuring villan like in the movie Fallen.
Seems like the gunslinger was a pretty important contributer to the encounter here...half the time getting himself into just as much trouble as he got out of.
Why couldnt MR Owl shoot in the surprise round?
That is a good question. He drew his weapon as part of the initiative roll, since he had grit, and could use a standard action to shoot.
Why couldnt MR Owl shoot in the surprise round?
His weapon was concealed, therefore he was forced to draw it out as a move action (as per Quick Draw) which eats up his surprise round. He could not use grit or any of his other abilities to draw it out faster because such abilities specifically prohibit the fast drawing of any weapons that are concealed.
If you find any mistakes, please let me know. I was really surprised at how much backtracking I had to do during this playtest just because I wasn't familiar with the new class' plethora of abilities (I kept forgetting about them).
I did the best I could, but if I screwed up anywhere, I'd sure like to learn from it.
Awww, how about an alternate scenario where Mr Owl gets possessed?
Great stuff, keep them coming, I'm enjoying these a lot!
What? Aw man! I forgot Mr. Owl! I thought everyone had made a save against possession throughout the encounter. That's what I get for running it in the early AM.
I thought this was a great play-test, it was great to see the gunslinger trying some stuff outside of combat. I did notice that you had Mr. Owl using salt shot cartridges to deal non-lethal damage, unfortunately you can only use that type of ammo with a blunderbuss, dragon pistol or other scatter weapon, and because he was using a double pistol he could not use the salt shot.
I can't wait to see how your next play test turns out, maybe you can actually use a scatter weapon so we can see how that works?
I thought this was a great play-test, it was great to see the gunslinger trying some stuff outside of combat. I did notice that you had Mr. Owl using salt shot cartridges to deal non-lethal damage, unfortunately you can only use that type of ammo with a blunderbuss, dragon pistol or other scatter weapon, and because he was using a double pistol he could not use the salt shot.
I can't wait to see how your next play test turns out, maybe you can actually use a scatter weapon so we can see how that works?
lol. Oops. It would have turned out much the same with paper cartridges, albeit, with a few more fatalities (or potions spent to save them).
Alternatively, you can assume he has, and was using, a blunderbuss from his Gunsmith class feature (since technically, I neglected to give him his free gun).
Pistoleers have the cool factor.
Oo very nice scenario, looks like your next Scenario will allow for Milerna to use her weapon of choice, so we can compare the Gunslinger against another Weapon Specialist in a class Neutral enviroment.
also: Diabolist Gnolls?
:( those poor Gnolls.
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RD, I am immensely respectful of the amount of work these must have taken. The arenas I started were a deliberate cop out from having to do this much.
Did you develop these scenarios yourself or are they from something? If you have any or know of any that didn't make it into this test Id love to try my hand at running Roland through.
RD, I am immensely respectful of the amount of work these must have taken. The arenas I started were a deliberate cop out from having to do this much.
Did you develop these scenarios yourself or are they from something? If you have any or know of any that didn't make it into this test Id love to try my hand at running Roland through.
I pull bits an pieces from past games I've played in, some from a movie here, or a book there. All kinds of inspiration.
YuenglingDragon...if you're looking for quick and simple adventure ideas, from what I've seen the Pathfinder Society scenarios might be good to look at. Their fairly cheap, all the one's I've bought are well written, and ment to be played in a four hour time period.
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*bump*
Great read, seems interesting. It's definitely worth reminding people that the Gunslinger is supposed to be even with the Ranger and Paladin in terms of utility and flexibility; their damage isn't going to match a Fighter with a bow - for that matter, a gunslinger shouldn't match a Fighter with a gun, either.
Hmm, someone should write one of those up - test the gun rules, maybe even the advanced gun rules, independently of the gunslinger, and see what happens.
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Great read, seems interesting. It's definitely worth reminding people that the Gunslinger is supposed to be even with the Ranger and Paladin in terms of utility and flexibility; their damage isn't going to match a Fighter with a bow - for that matter, a gunslinger shouldn't match a Fighter with a gun, either.
The problem is that it doesn't really match the Paladin or Ranger in terms of utility and flexibility.
A Paladin has access to spells and spell-like and supernatural abilities like Detect Evil and LoH. He will typically be most adept with only melee or ranged attacks but with his buff spells and Smite can switch to the other style and still be effective.
A Ranger has access to spells, three times as many skills, and an animal companion adding things like scent or flight to his utility. The Ranger can also be quite good in ranged and melee combat.
The Gunslinger comes out behind other classes in utility, DPR, and in my opinion fun.
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The Gunslinger comes out behind other classes in utility, DPR, and in my opinion fun.
Yeah, but it's close. Make grit like Ki pool and similar abilities, change skills to 4+int, and a pair of bonus feats - either Rapid Reload or Quickdraw at level one, and another combat feat at level two - and I think the class will be competitive.
We need more playtests, though.
We need more playtests, though.
Working on it. These things take time. :P
Setup: A band of vicious gnoll bandits have been plaguing the nearby countryside for almost a decade. Last year the region's inhabitants were led by a band of young heroes in a series of highly successful skirmishes against the gnoll rabble. The remaining gnoll survivors fled.
A year later they returned, led by a new diabolical leader who has organized and brainwashed them towards a desire for bloody vengeance. Under this new leadership the gnolls have grown strong. They have made plans to terrorize the town in a manner far worse than simple slaughter.
Last night, the gnolls infiltrated the town, raided the armory, set fire to the orphanage, and kidnapped over a dozen young children. The townsfolk acted quickly, sending a magical message to the heroes who saved them yonder year. The heroes came via teleport within the hour, arriving to the anguished wails of the townsfolk and the tortured screams of the youth still not yet far away. None of the brave souls who chased after the gnolls, including the Halfling sheriff, have returned. It is now up to Guymelef, Meredith, Milerna, and Owl to rescue the captured orphans before their minds or their bodies break from the most horrific forms of torture known only to the depraved gnolls.
Player Characters:
Guymelef, Magus Stormlord
Meredith, Landbound mermaid
Milerna, Expert Halberdier
Mister Owl (Now with new stats!)
Non-Player Characters (CR 12):
Elite Gnoll Cavaliers (4) on Hyaenodon Mounts (4)
Gnoll Marauders (10)
Hyenas (4)
Paegin, Diabolic Sorcerer (Errata: Replace the listed phantom steed with fly and ignore all references to XP)
Scene:
The characters left the village with all haste, attempting to catch up to the gnolls before further harm can come to the orphans. As they move down the road into the county side, the sun begins to set, casting eerie shadows all around. The nearby wood on either side of the road makes for ideal ambush terrain, but the heroes are less concerned for their own safety and are simply focused on getting to their destination as fast as possible. To this end, Guymelef has cast fly on both himself and on Milerna (using his arcane pool for the second casting) while Mister Owl rides along in Meredith's flying fish bowl, taking great care not to get his alchemical cartridges wet. They are all about 20 feet from the ground about to breach a clearing when the ambushers strike.
Initiative:
18 Mister Owl (rolled a 9)
18 Milerna (rolled a 14)
12 Guymelef (rolled a 9)
12 Hyenas x4 (rolled a 10)
08 Meredith (rolled a 2)
05 Gnoll Marauders x4 (rolled a 5)
Perception*:
Guymelef, rolled a 6 for a 16. Failed.
Meredith, rolled a 6 for a 6. Failed.
Milerna, rolled a 10 for a 21. Failed.
Mister Owl, rolled a 12 for a 28. Success!
* Against DC 22, for the gnolls opposed Stealth checks; includes a +5 DC for distractions (screams of children being tortured), a +3 DC for distance, and a +2 for unfavorable conditions (twilight shadows).
Just as they are about to break into the clearing ahead, several hyenas dash from the surrounding wood towards the PCs while several gnoll marauders simultaneously leap from their hiding spots high up in the tall trees hoping to snatch and grab at the heroes with their filthy paw-hands.
Mister Owl not only wins initiative, but is also the only one to see the enemy ambush. Reflexes kick in and his blunderbuss is suddenly in hand. As he shouts a warning to his comrades he blasts a cone of pellets into two air-born gnolls.
He rolls a 19 and a 17 for a 35 and a 33, respectively, against touch AC 10. Two hits. Each gnoll takes 1d8+9, with the first suffering 8+9=17 damage and the second taking only 1+9=10 damage. The first gnoll is blown backwards back into the shadows of the trees, where he lies unmoving. The second gnoll is bleeding profusely from pellets in his shoulder and neck. Owl, not hesitating, drops his emptied blunderbuss on the rim of the bowl and quick draws both double barrel pistols.
Nevertheless, the remaining gnoll lands on the slippery slope of the flying fish bowl, clinging to the bowl's lip with one hand and trying to get a choke hold on Meredith with the other.
The gnoll attempts to grapple Meredith, getting a 19+3=22 against her 23 (flat-footed CMD). Sadly, neither Meredith nor Owl get an attack of opportunity (AoO) due to not having an appropriate melee weapon in hand.
The other two gnolls fly at Guymelef and Milerna, attempting grapples of their own. One misses Guy with a 11+3=14 against 22 and falls 20 feet after Guy shakes the disgusting claw from his ankle while the other gnoll misses Milerna entirely (9+3=12 vs. 34) and crashes into the other gnoll on the way down. Furthermore, Milerna gets an AoO due to Combat Reflexes, scoring a hit (12+20=32) with Power Attack, dealing 1d10+21 damage (6+21=27), and instantly decapitating the gnoll as it flies past her. Both gnolls take an additional 2d6 (1+1=2) damage as they hit the hard-packed dirt road 20 feet below.
The hyenas leap and nip at the heroes' feet to little effect.
Initiative:
18 Mister Owl
18 Milerna
12 Guymelef
12 Hyenas x4
08 Meredith
05 Gnoll Marauders x2 (one at 9 hp, another at 1 hp)
Mister Owl fires both barrels of lethal shot into the gnoll passenger's face. This provokes, however, and the gnoll attempts to disarm Owl of one his gun as it goes off (19+3=22 vs. 28). He is too slow, however, and one bullet goes through his reaching hand and catches him in the right eye while the other goes through his heart (11+11=22 and 20+11=31, 9+11=20 to confirm crit; 4+9=13 damage on the first and 6+5+5+6+36=58 on the crit).
Owl then turns and fires both barrels of his other pistol at the prone gnoll below. The gnoll never rises again (14+10=24 and 14+10=24, both hit for 1+9=10 and 2+9=11 damage). With nearly magical speed, Owl reloads both pistols, dropping one with his weapon cord as a free action, reloading the other as a free action with his newly freed hand, and quick drawing it up again while repeating the process with his as yet unloaded pistol.
Milerna dives down in a charge and cleaves one of the hyenas in half (nat. 20, 2+22=24 to confirm; crit deals 9+9+1+63=82 damage).
Guy reprimands Milerna ("Leave them! We need to get to the children!") but nevertheless shoots at a second hyena with an arrow as he flies onward. 3+12=15, hit; 3+7=11 damage. The arrow catches the hyena in the shoulder.
The three hyenas circle Milerna and attack, two of them from flanking positions. The first (non-flanking) hyena gets 15+3=18 vs. 21 and misses. The second also misses (nat. 1). The third, however wraps its toothy maw around her ankle (16+5=21 vs. 21 and 5+3=8 damage) and attempts to pull her leg out from under her (10+5=15 CMB vs. 40 CMD), but she holds fast.
Meredith calmly casts magic missile (4+2+2+3+2+5=18 damage) at the injured hyena, killing it, and wills her flying water bowl to continue moving forward. The bowl's sudden speed up in movement causes Owl's blunderbuss to fall to the road below.
Initiative:
21 Paegin (delayed from previous rounds, 200 feet above the battlefield, out of sight/hearing range)
20 Gnoll Cavaliers/Dire Hyenas x4 (delaying)
19 Gnoll Marauders x6 (delayed from previous rounds)
18 Mister Owl
18 Milerna
12 Guymelef
12 Hyenas x2
08 Meredith
00 Orphans
Mister Owl, Guy, and Meredith enter the clearing. A stony cliff gives way to raging river rapids in a ravine over 150-feet below, and the beginnings of a 30-foot-wide, 50-foot-long wooden bridge shine in the moonlight ahead. At the bridge's center are eight children surrounded by four fearsome gnolls on dire hyenas, each wielding a guisarme and wearing full plate. It appears as though a ninth child has already been killed by their terrible dire hyena steeds (actually the sherrif). In addition, 6 more gnolls with spears and leather stand on each end of the bridge, three to each side.
Not hesitating for a moment, Mister Owl takes aim with his pistols as Meredith's bowl carries him to within point blank range of the three "bridge trolls" standing in his way of the children.
Despite his quick reflexes, the three gnolls were waiting for the party (after hearing the ambush), and they hurl their spears at Owl, Meredith, and Guy as they enter the clearing. A moment later, a tall opaque wall of flame appears behind the three heroes, preventing an easy retreat down the road and setting much of the surrounding wood ablaze.
One spear misses Guy (4+1=5 vs. AC 25), souring off into the wall of fire; one misses Meredith (7+1=8 vs. AC 32), bouncing off her glass bowl; and the last one is easily dodged by Owl (13+1=14 vs. AC 29), sticking into the dirt below him.
Each of the three heroes take 3+1=4 fire damage from the heat emanating from the wall of fire behind them.
The four gnoll cavaliers hold the bridge, seemingly content to frighten the children with their guisarmes and drooling mounts.
Owl activates his boots of speed to haste himself and makes a full attack with both pistols against the three gnoll bridge guards (he stays hasted throughout the rest of the encounter).
Gnoll One: 16+14=30, hit. 6+9=15 damage. Gnoll 1 collapses holding a bleeding gut.
Gnoll Two: 19+14=33, threat. 12+14=26, crit. 8+3+6+3+36=56 damage. Gnoll 2 gets shot through the neck. The bullet ricochets off a metal bolt on the nearby bridge and goes through his neck a second time. The gnoll collapses, nearly decapitated.
Gnoll Three: 18+14=32, hit. 6+9=15 damage. Gnoll three is shot through a lung and collapses in futile gasps for air as he dies a slow and painful death.
He then aims his remaining shots at a dire hyena devouring what appear to be a child's remains 60 feet away on the bridge.
Attack 4: 10+12=22 vs. AC 15, hit. 5+8=13 damage.
Attack 5: 9+8=17 vs. AC 15, hit. 6+8=14 damage.
Attack 6: nat. 1, misfire. (Owl drops the gun)
The hyaenodon takes two bullets to the breast and collapses, causing its rider to tumble away (9+1=10 Ride, failed soft fall, takes 3 damage).
Milerna, isolated and alone on the other side of the wall of fire, hacks at the hyena holding her ankle (20+20=40, threat; 20+2=22, crit; 8+8+1+63=82 damage) decapitating it. She then turns towards the remaining hyena (stumbling over the head still on her ankle as she does so) and stabs her halberd’s spike towards its heart (16+12=28, hit. 2+21=23 damage.), killing it.
Guy drops his bow, and flies into melee with the prone gnoll cavalier attacking with his longsword and an intensified shocking grasp spell (via spellstrike). He hits (14+14=28 vs. AC 21), dealing 8+7=15 damage and 3+3+4+3+5+6+4+5+6+5=44 electricity damage (59 total damage), dropping the elite gnoll into negatives.
Meredith casts shield on herself and wills her bowl to hover over the bridge, directly over the three gnoll cavaliers.
The children take advantage of the gnoll cavalier's distraction and attempt to run away, only to be stopped by three gnoll marauders and their spears on the far side of the bridge.
Initiative:
21 Paegin (200 feet above the battlefield)
20 Gnoll Cavaliers x3 (delayed from previous rounds)
19 Gnoll Marauders x3 (delayed from previous rounds)
18 Mister Owl
18 Milerna
12 Guymelef
12 Hyenas x2
08 Meredith
00 orphans (non-combatants)
Paegin blasts Owl, Meredith, and Guy with a lingering selectivefireball from afar, making his elite gnolls immune. Each of the three heroes takes 1+2+2+1+2+6+1+5+3+2=25 fire damage (Ref DC 16 for 12 damage).
Reflex Saves:
Guymelef, rolled a 2 for a 11. Failed. 92-25=67 hp left.
Meredith, rolled a 16+2* for a 28. Success! 75-12=63 hp left.
Mister Owl, rolled a 20+2* for a 35. Success! 108-12=96 hp left.
* Circumstance bonus for being partially submerged in water.
The bridge catches fire.
The three gnoll cavaliers ready actions.
One gnoll marauder guards the kids, while the other two close the distance to the heroes, readying their spears for ranged combat.
Mister Owl leaps laterally out of the boiling water of the fish bowl out of the fiery area and lands on the bridge 20 feet below (auto-success on Acrobatics to reduce damage, taking only 2 damage and landing prone). Now 10 feet away from the lingering fireball behind him and 10 feet away from the three gnoll cavaliers in front of him, Owl goes to fire both barrels at the lead gnoll.
Before he can do so, however, the gnolls' readied actions go off and they partial charge/bull rush/aid another him 20 feet back into the fiery inferno (17 base roll + 10 CMB + 2 charge + 10 aid another from five allies + 4 attacking prone target = 43 CMB vs. 28 CMD) by batting him around with their longspears like a polo ball.
Owl rolls a natural 1 on his Reflex save as he re-enters the lingering fireball and suffers from 1+1+1+2+3+1+1+3+1+5=19 fire damage, as does one of his precious items!
Owl's four most likely items to be effected are his buckler gun (1), his armored coat (2), one of his two, two barrel pistols (3), or his cloak of resistance (4).
A 1d4 roll comes up a 2, causing Owl's armored coat to take 19 fire damage, or 9 on a successful save. As a CL 6 item, it has a save modifier of +5. 11+5=16. Passes. As +2 mithral armor, Owl's armored coat has hardness 19 and 40 hp. The fire damage (9) is reduced to 4 and then applies to hardness. Owl's coat is completely unharmed (mithral is tough stuff!).
Owl is now down to 94-19=75 hp and remains prone. Nevertheless, he tries to get a bead on the lead cavalier, though the hungry flames licking at his tender flesh make it extremely difficult (20% miss chance). He rolls a 15 on his percentile die and misses his shot.
Milerna takes the run action, shaking the hyena head from her ankle, and dashes through the wall of fire (taking 2d6+10 or 4+3+10=17 fire damage). She finds herself at the foot of the bridge, roughly 20 feet away from her allies and their makeshift sun.
Guymelef casts fire shield, hoping to use the inferno around him as cover from the cavalier's polearms. Due to ongoing damage from the fire, however, he loses any hope of defending against further fire-based attacks (Concentration 1+15=16 vs. DC 26).
What's more, the three gnoll cavaliers standing at the edge of the flames see the opening and swing with their guisarmes. Luckily, they do not get a +1 "higher terrain" bonus on their attacks because Guy is flying. Nevertheless, the gnolls land all three blows with Power Attack (19+7=26, 18+7=25, and 20+7=27 to hit; all beating miss chance with 32, 54, and 24, respectively; 8+7=15 no crit; 1+4+12=17, 3+2+12=17, and 3+2+12=17 damage for a cumulative total of 51 damage).
Guy is now on his last legs at 16 hp. Not wanting to expose himself by moving away, he instead pulls out his wand of cure serious wounds.
Meredith begins casting dominate person (succeeding on her Concentration check with a 12+18=30) on the nearest gnoll cavalier.
The orphans mostly cry a lot, though one particularly brave child kicks a gnoll in the shin, only to be knocked out with a spear butt to the head.
Initiative:
21 Paegin (200 feet above the battlefield)
19 Gnoll Marauders x3 (one busy torturing children, two approaching)
18 Gnoll Cavaliers x3 (engaged)
18 Mister Owl (75 hp, bridge center)
18 Milerna (83 hp, edge of bridge)
12 Guymelef (16 hp, above bridge center)
08 Meredith (63 hp, above bridge center)
00 orphans (non-combatants, far edge of bridge)
Paegin sends down another lingering selective fireball, this time targeting the weakened Guy and the prone Owl (Meredith being too high up to be caught in the same area) dealing 1+5+4+3+4+1+6+2+5+1=32 fire damage.
Guy gets a 9+9=18 on his save for 16 damage whereas Owl gets a 12+16=28 for 16 damage as well.
Guy: 0 hp
Owl: 59 hp
The bridge takes even more damage from the fireball as well as the spreading flames from the last one. It creaks loudly, alerting everyone to the threat of collapse.
Too stupid to recognize the danger, the two gnoll marauders move closer and chuck their spears at the weakened wizardly fellow floating amidst the flames. Their spears take 45 fire damage upon entering the lingering fire and are destroyed before they can reach their mark, however.
Two of the gnoll cavaliers and their mounts attack the prone and vulnerable Owl while the third attempts a stab at the wavering wizard.
Gnolls One and Two: 13 roll + 7 power attack + 4 prone + 1 higher ground = 25. Miss. 5+7+4+1=17. Miss. Owl rolls from side to side, narrowly missing being chopped by the guisarmes.
Dire Hyenas One and Two: The Hyaenodons have similar trouble hitting him, though one catches a fang on Owl's ear (narrowly missing his whole head). 6+11+4=21, miss; 6+18+4=28, hit; 51% roll; 3+3+6=12 damage.
Owl is now at 47 hp.
Gnoll Three and Dire Hyena Three: 6+7=13, miss. 3+6=9, miss.
All three hyenas take 5+1+3+6+1+5+4+4+2+4=35 fire damage from the lingering fire as they are not protected from the fire like their riders. The first two fail their saves (7+6=13 both) taking full damage and collapsing as their faces are scoured from their skulls, whereas the third takes only half damage (16+6=22), yelps, and springs backwards a few feet (having seriously burned half its face).
Mister Owl, while still prone, growls in frustration at the surrounding flames. He points his remaining pistol at the face of Cavalier One and open fires with both pistol barrels. 16+16=32, hit; 16+13=29, hit. 2+9=11 and 4+9=13 damage. Cavalier One is down to 21 hp with two lead balls buried deep in his chest. Owl then stands up and reloads his pistol, looking like Sephiroth in all his fiery badassness.
Milerna leans her halberd on the side of the bridge, draws out her bow, and arcs a shot over the miniature sun at Cavalier One (having seen his last location in between lingering fireballs). Her seeking bow hits true: Natural 20. 11+14=25, crit. 5+4+3+15=27 damage. With an arrow in his heart, Cav One goes down with a resounding thud.
Guy 5-foot steps into melee range with Cav Two and full attacks with power attack and spell combat, first taking the time to heal himself with his wand (3+3+6+5=17 cured). 15+12=27, hit. 2+7=9, miss. 3+11=14 damage.
Cav Three is dominated (11+2=13 Will save vs. DC 23). Meredith sends him a telepathic command before willing her crystal bowl to move towards Paegin (now 120 feet away).
The orphans cower and plead for help as their gnoll guard begins to lead them away from the scene.
Initiative:
21 Paegin (120 feet above PCs)
19 Gnoll Marauders x3 (one kidnapping children, two engaging)
18 Gnoll Cavaliers x2 (one dominated and the other at 31 hp)
-- Dire Hyena Mount (9 hp)
18 Mister Owl (47 hp, bridge center)
18 Milerna (83 hp, edge of bridge)
12 Guymelef (17 hp, above bridge center)
08 Meredith (63 hp, way above bridge center)
00 orphans (non-combatants, being lead into the woods)
Paegin, seeing an enemy caster approaching dives to within 30 feet of Meredith and attempts to blast her with enervation. 2+7=9 vs. touch AC 20, miss. Realizing his blunder, he threatens, "Come any closer, witch, and I'll see your friends dropped into the ravine with my next spell and the children butchered as well!" His lingering fireball from last round disappears, though the bridge continues to burn of its own accord. As if to accentuate his point, the bridge suddenly shutters violently, forcing everyone on the bridge to make Acrobatic checks (DC 20) to remain standing.
Cavalier: 17+6*=23. Cavalier's mount remains standing.
Gnolls x2: 13+0=13 and 3+0=3. Both fall prone.
Milerna: 7+18=25. Succeeds.
Mister Owl: Auto succeeds.
* Mount's check, not rider's. Includes a +4 circumstance bonus for being a quadruped.
The Gnoll Marauders each stand up and draw new spears.
Cav Three, turns his mount away from the heroes and charges across the far half of the rickety bridge past the two gnoll pikemen (who let him by) to impale the third gnoll marauder with his guisarme (natural 20, 2+2+7+1=12 no crit; 6+12=18 damage), splattering the kids with warm canine blood. Cav Three's head then twists mechanically to stare at the frightened children with blank eyes. "You have been rescued. There is another bridge not too far south of here. Flee now back to your homes and families," it says in Meredith's voice.
Cav Two, no longer with a mount, backs off a step, pulling out a potion of enlarge person from his belt as he does so, and drinks it. This puts both Owl and Guy within his guisarme's reach. The added weight of his enlarged full plate also causes the bridge to give way and fall a few feet before catching again on narrowing rock walls (DC 25 Acrobatics to remain standing, fail by 5 or more to go over edge).
Cavalier: 9+1=10. A hole opens up underneath the Cavalier causing him to fall. His lengthy guisarme catches on the hole, however, and he is left hang over the chasm by his hands.
Gnolls x2: 4+0=4 & 20+0=20. Both are pitched over the side and fall to their deaths.
Milerna: 14+18=32. Succeeds.
Mister Owl:18+20. Succeeds.
Mister Owl, barely able to keep his footing on the bridge surface breaking apart all around him, nevertheless stumbles over to the edge of the new hole at the center of the bridge, being careful not to fall himself. He aims his pistol at the gnoll's guisarme and open fires with one barrel. 19+18=37, threat; 13+18=31, crit; 8+8+3+3+36=58 damage; 58/2 (ranged attack against an object) - hardness 5 = 18 vs. 20 hp (large 2-handed hafted weapon). "It's been fun. Hope to see you next fall."
Milerna moves through fire to the near edge of the bridge and begins climbing the rock wall (taking 2 damage and [Ref 2+9=11] catching on fire as she does so). Climb check 16+16=32 vs. DC 25 to move up 5 feet this round (5 more to go).
Guymelef yells at Owl to vacate the bridge and flies over to give Milerna a hand (aid another, climb 4+5=9, failure).
"You shall not harm anyone this day!" Meredith screams as she casts rainbow pattern, hoping to keep Paegin preoccupied while her friends attempt to escape yet another dangerous predicament. Suddenly, the sky bursts open, revealing a myriad of wondrous color. Will save 8+9=17 vs. DC 22, failed. Paegin begins to float about dumbly trying to "catch" the pretty colors in an ensorcelled stupor.
She sends another mental command to her gnoll slave.
The orphans are well on their way home, scared and alone in a dark wood, but otherwise fine.
Initiative:
21 Paegin (70 feet above PCs, fascinated)
18 Gnoll Cavaliers x2 (one dominated and the other at 31 hp hanging on for dear life)
18 Mister Owl (47 hp, bridge center)
18 Milerna (83 hp, climbing rock face)
12 Guymelef (17 hp, above rock face)
08 Meredith (63 hp, way above bridge center distracting Paegin)
Paegin continues to chase after imagined butterflies, bubbles, and delicious-looking flying rabbits.
The dominated cavalier pulls its spiked gauntlet out of his mount's brain and, having completed its master’s latest order, turns towards the cliff face to stare blankly out at oblivion.
The hanging cavalier cries out in frustration before reaching down with one hand (causing the fingers of his other hand to slip slightly) and pulling out a small pouch from his belt. "If I fall...you fall too...meatbag! I shall dine on you flesh in the afterlife!" threatens the beast in stunted common. He then hurls his tanglefoot bag at Owl's feet. 12+5=17, hit. Ref 1+15=16, auto-fail. Owl is now entangled AND rooted to the bridge, unable to move from his square.
Realizing that he will never escape to make it to the cliff face in time, Owl simply grins, staring at the giant flailing gnoll with his overly large right eye: "After you, beast." *BLAM-BLAM!*
13+16=29, hit; 2+9=11 damage; 11/2 = 5-5 = 0
10+16=26, hit; 8+9=17 damage; 17/2 = 8-5 = 3 damage
Guisarme: -1 hp.
The splintered remains of the gnoll's guisarme explode violently, with wood splinters and lead balls both flying into the cavalier's grotesque canine visage. The beast's screams echo off the canyon walls until they come to a sudden decisive stop.
Milerna continues to climb, attempting to pull herself up over the lip of the canyon. However, being on fire doesn't help. She takes another 5 fire damage. Two climb checks (one normal, one for damage): 10+16=26 & 1+16=17, critical failure!
Milerna's great skill and Guy's outstretched hand are no match for a tiny loose rock. As she reach’s for the magus’ hand, Milerna's other handhold gives way and she slips off the rock wall, falling 10 feet and landing hard on the shaky bridge (taking 4 damage as she does so).
Milerna 92 hp.
Owl 47 hp.
Bridge 0 hp.
With a final shuttering snap, the bridge finally gives way underneath the force of Milerna's hard fall.
Owl, several dead and dying dire hyenas, and the flaming wreckage of the bridge plummet over 140 feet into the shallow raging river rapids and jagged rocks of the ravine below.
Guymelef uses his arcane pool and casts feather fall quickly enough to save Milerna. Unfortunately, Owl was affixed to the bridge and unable to benefit from the spell as the dead weight of the wreckage dragged him down into the ravine. He did not scream, merely looked over his shoulder at his friends one last time.
Will Mister Owl survive his plummet into the Fiery Pits? Will his friends be able to deal with the diabolical sorcerer Paegin before their friend's body is washed away forever or devoured by ravenous crocodiles? Will his grit be enough to see him through his terrible wounds to face the challenges ahead? Or will he pass on into the next realm and meet up with an old friend for dinner? Will the nearby town fend off the encroaching flames of forest fire?
Tune in again and find out later this week in the newest action adventure episode of our harrowing saga: A River Runs Through It!
Will Mister Owl survive his plummet into the Fiery Pits? Will his friends be able to deal with the diabolical sorcerer Paegin before their friend's body is washed away forever or devoured by ravenous crocodiles? Will his grit be enough to see him through his terrible wounds to face the challenges ahead? Or will he pass on into the next realm and meet up with an old friend for dinner? Will the nearby town fend off the encroaching flames of forest fire?
My bet is on him fighting the gnoll as he falls, continuing the fight along the depths, up the endless stair, upon the mountain top where they both die. Owl will then come back from the dead as "Snowy Owl, the White" and save them all in a time of need.
Fun read, thanks for doing these.
Bah! How dare you leave me with a cliffhanger!
I feel bad for being this entertained by a playtest, it was just so... cool. Read like a Michael Bay film novelization, just with a more impressive (and cohesive) storyline. And maybe fewer explosions.
Excellent playtest - it makes the Gunslinger's capabilities as an individual a little less apparent amongst his allies, but it does a good job of showing how his actions would impact the outcome of an actual scenario.
The only thing I'm wondering is what kind of action it takes to use weapon cords - Owl quickdrew his pistols after emptying his blunderbuss, but I was under the impression that it took some kind of action to tie them on/off, unless I'm mistaken.
The only thing I'm wondering is what kind of action it takes to use weapon cords - Owl quickdrew his pistols after emptying his blunderbuss, but I was under the impression that it took some kind of action to tie them on/off, unless I'm mistaken.
Drawing a weapon using weapon cords is a swift action. I'm operating under the assumption that quick draw overrrides that, making it a free action like normal. Untying the cord is a full round action. Cutting it is a move action.
The blunderbuss was never tied to him, only his pistols.
In hindsight, I don't think I once used Owl's deadly aim feat in this scenario. That might have changed things.
The only thing I'm wondering is what kind of action it takes to use weapon cords - Owl quickdrew his pistols after emptying his blunderbuss, but I was under the impression that it took some kind of action to tie them on/off, unless I'm mistaken.Drawing a weapon using weapon cords is a swift action. I'm operating under the assumption that quick draw overrrides that, making it a free action like normal. Untying the cord is a full round action. Cutting it is a move action.
The blunderbuss was never tied to him, only his pistols.
In hindsight, I don't think I once used Owl's deadly aim feat in this scenario. That might have changed things.
Interesting. Excellant and well detailed battle report.
Weapon Cords are interesting. I should read the miscellaneous equipment more often.
Weapon Cord: Weapon cords are 2-foot-long leather
straps that attach your weapon to your wrist. If you drop
your weapon or are disarmed, you can recover it as a swift
action, and it never moves any further away from you than
an adjacent square. However, you cannot switch to a different
weapon without first untying the cord (a full-round action) or
cutting it (a move action or an attack, hardness 0, 0 hp). Unlike
a locked gauntlet, you can still use a hand with a weapon cord,
though a dangling weapon may interfere with finer actions.
Reading this, isn't it impossible for the gunslinger to use the blunderbuss as you already had the double guns tied off?
Also, I do not understand how you think it is a free action instead of a swift action. Quick draw is in reference to drawing a weapon. This refers to "recovering" a weapon as a swift action. I guess I am challenging if this is legal. If not, you could not full attack with two weapons?
I admire your expertise at the rules and attempts to push them to the limit. I am no expert, so I was wondering if you could clairify this.
That's more or less what I was wondering. He drew the pistols as a swift action, but that would mean that they were dangling from his arms. Then again, it doesn't specify how that would affect his ability to hold the blunderbluss - it doesn't explicitly say he couldn't.
That's more or less what I was wondering. He drew the pistols as a swift action, but that would mean that they were dangling from his arms. Then again, it doesn't specify how that would affect his ability to hold the blunderbluss - it doesn't explicitly say he couldn't.
I would say it does. from this:
"However, you cannot switch to a different weapon without first untying the cord (a full-round action) or cutting it (a move action or an attack, hardness 0, 0 hp). "
As his twin guns were already tied up, he cannot use another weapon. He can use his hands for other purposes:
"Unlike a locked gauntlet, you can still use a hand with a weapon cord,
though a dangling weapon may interfere with finer actions."
So, if I interpret this correctly:
Say two pistols both with weapon cords, alchemical cartridges, attepting TWF:
Fires pistol one and two (full action),
drops one (free),
reloads the second (free),
fires the second (continuing full attack),
Reloads the second (free)
recovers the first (swift),
drops the second (free),
reloads the first (free),
Fires the first (continuing full attack)
reloads the first (free)
Now stalls, as he can't get the second pistol to get attacks #3 for both pistols (only one swift action allowed). He can with one of them. My brain hurst, seems overly complicated and I may be wrong. I think rapid shot and no TWF is simpler.
or
Just to make this all easier on the brain, take the feat tax for the unnamed feat that lets you reload with hands full if you want to do TWF. But that is a lot of feats.....
One other thing I am sligtly confused about but I think I have it, is that you can reload all barrels on a pepper box or twin pistol as long as you use rapid shot + alchemical cartiridges. As it is all free actions. Seems a bit unrealistic, but hey it is D&D.
3pp feat advanced options: alchemist has a "weapon juggle" feat that lets you reholster as a free action. This would allow the reloading free action thing there.
Weapon cords historically used tied pistol A to pistol B and the loop went around the gunfighters neck and hung just below belt line, like tie a kids mittens around her neck so she doesn't lose them.
This way both pistols could dangle and they wouldn't interfere with use of another weapon, like the blunderbuss. Weapon cord as written really applies to things like swords, and being tied around ones neck would prevent proper use of a sword in all it's arcs and movements, but not a pistol. So technically the equipment would be different, hopefully they either have an errata for this item concerning hand guns, or a new item.
Until then, the extra feat (either the 3pp or PF unnamed one) or the house ruled weapon cord will work. Either way, the final version of the gunslinger will be able to full attack and reload with two pistols as this is the intent of the Dev's, so it will be so.
Question: Why did Owl not use targetting and disarm the gnoll's weapon, instead of sundering it?
Another point, I saw two instances here, where modified suggestions I have made would have come into play:
1) Owl didn't get an AoO on the gnoll on the fish bowl, as he wasnt armed with a melee weapon. I think this is a good argument for the pistol whip feature to work as suggested (no grit for whipping, 1 grit for knock down)
this would have been perfect here, as well as appropriate for the theme of 'in the thick of it' pistol fighter, to backhand the gnoll. If I were the DM I would have suggested/allowed the spending of a Grit point here AS an AoO using the rules as written to knock the gnoll off with a bash on the nose.
2) Owl knocked on his back in the lingering fireball. Commando crawl (allows the gunslinger to use Rogue Crawl talent, identical in purpose and use). this would allow the gunslinger to move around on the ground and attack effectively from prone, which no other class can really do (except maybe a rogue with this talent hucking knives), this could be a gunslinger "thing".
these two tasty little things (and they are little) need to be int he final version of the class.