As far as distribution of abilities goes the current lineups are probably the best, from a story standpoint, Lyla prefers to have Bladud watching her back, just as he prefers to be able to keep her safe, but while not either one's ideal choice, they're both professionals so I don't really see either one complaining.
^^ yep yep.
Notes on the Cartographer's Tools
The book, cuffs and lens are an in-game representation of the information displayed on the map. It will let one group know where the other is, and give the dimensions of what has been explored.
The cuffs also allow groups to communicate with each other, and with Jonas (so long as they are in range).
The lens will allow a group to record archeological information, and to share images through the books in case you need help identifying what you are looking at (think of it like texting a picture to a friend).
When using the cuffs to communicate between groups, please use "Regular speech" in your thread, and then repost what you say in the other thread using Bold Italics to represent whisper speech. That will maintain continuity between the two threads.
Any questions?
Should we concern ourselves with time continuity between the two groups. Like if one team is just has a higher posting rate than the other, and gets a day or two ahead, should we still feel free to simply drop our Bold Italics whisper-speech into the other thread? Or post it in our thread, and let you transfer it over?
Don't worry about time issues. It can be explained away as the unpredictable amount of time it takes for the magic to "deliver the message"
The whisper spell notes that communication isn't instant, and can take a while for the magic to "find the path." That's good enough for me.
Magic does wonky things with reality. I'm fine with psudo-time traveling messages. I don't plan on letting one group get so far ahead of another for it to make much of a difference.
Quick question about languages. I have French listed, but thought perhaps using Norman, Breton, Middle Irish, or perhaps another Elvish might be a bit more interesting. Any problem with changing French to one of those I just listed? I wanted to ask the question earlier but kept forgetting.
Elvish is Arcadian, the language of the fae. (Essentially this setting's version of Sylvan).
As an Elf you get it for free. It might not really be your native tongue anymore, since Elves are exiles from the summerlands, but you definitely still speak it.
Arcadian is actually broken into two dialects (high and low arcadian). Think of this sort of the same way that japanese has different tenses and fixes based on the relative status of who is speaking.
High Arcadian is the dialect of the Sidhe, and is both flowery and full of subtlety, and also has fewer words than Low Arcadian. Double and triple entendre is easy in High Arcadian. It is considered a mark of prestige to have a commanding grasp of language. The Sidhe claim that High Arcadian is the original language of magic, and that the twisting of meaning to allow one thing to mean something completely different is how magic came to be developed int he first place.
Low Arcadian is the dialect of the "lesser fae" and is much less flexible. It was originally devised as a "contract language" for deals between fae (who are notoriously slippery about that sort of thing). Conceptually it is something like a cross between cockney english and the sort of "legalese" that lawyers are fond of.
Legend has it that Low Arcadian was first developed by the original Sidhe traitor, Rumplestiltskin.
Team 1 seems to be ready to roll out.
Does the book need to be held in hand for it to be recording or is it passively mapping?
Also do we then have to choose between High and Low Arcadian if we were picking Elvish as a language?
Should we Team 2 members be shifting to our own gameplay thread now?
The book needs to be held, but it updates quickly. A full round action will map out the basic dimensions of everything the person holding it can clearly see. For fine details, you'll need to get close to things and use the lens though. It will update the position of people wearing cuffs automatically.
No, they are the same language. As with any language, non-native speakers may need to make linguistics checks to decipher the nuances and subtleties.
Give me a bit and I'll have team 2 ready to go to the other thread.
ok, group 2, move to the other thread. Lets really kick this off.
This climbing is NOT going well.
Right, this shall be fun.
Anyone carrying a light source, please speak up and tell me what kind it is.
I asked for them to carry a few torches so this should be hilarious if they actually listened.
Nope, darkvision will do. Don't even carry torches.
I just cast light on my pendant to keep my hands free.
Darkvision 60ft.
Will cast light on something when asked to do so.
Any reason why Brak is hanging out with group 1 in the big room? (Not that I mind, just curious :))
Only one in our group who is in need of light to see something is Nisfeollyn. Not sure what he's using for it :)
Any reason why Brak is hanging out with group 1 in the big room? (Not that I mind, just curious :))
Stupidity on the part of the GM?
So the only one needing a light source is the only person writing stuff down and cataloging stuff, funny.
Nisfeollyn and Lyla:
Yes, the book needs to be open to work, but it works fast. As mentioned earlier, full round action to draw out the dimensions of a room and take basic notes about it's composition.
Dorian, Brak, the group 2 thread is waiting on actions from you two.
Really? I thought I was waiting to see how the rest of the party fares, as Dorian's fall was just discribed.
You're right. I guess it's just Brak.
Since we aren't in rounds, everyone should feel free to post however they'd like. No need to wait.
Still getting the hang of passive posting. But I'll see what I can do.
Guys?
It's the weekend. Games tend to slow down a bit.
I don't wan't to move. My movement skills aren't all that, and I am just afraid to make things worse, so I am waiting to see what Brak does. Unless it takes too long. Then it's just go for broke and heal up afterwards.
That's the spirit. :)
Strictly speaking, I don't believe you can ready an action when we're not in combat... though there's no reason you couldn't do the necessary prep steps (stowing your axe).
Well I thought it would be worth a shot. If not then I'll do it on my first round in combat (if combat happens)
And I'm fine either way. Just curious what will happen :D
Yep. I just see this come up a lot (people readying an action outside of combat), and I thought I'd toss in my 2 copper. "Readying" outside of combat is just what you've done... preparing the appropriate weapons/gear/whatever so you can take the desired action once initiative is rolled. :)
Normally you can't ready an action outside of combat, but I feel like there should be a mechanic for doing things like cautiously going around corners with a loaded crossbow to shoot the first thing that moves.
So, I handle Readied Actions as part of the Surprise rules. Essentially, that's what the Surprise Round already is. If you aren't surprised, you get a standard action as if it were readied.
Readying an action just lets you pre-set your surprise round action. Essentially, if you ready an action outside of combat, you can always act in the surprise round, but your action has already been chosen. No matter the situation, you pull the trigger (or whatever). If you are Surprised, you are still Flat Footed as normal, even after performing your readied action, but you still get to perform that action by reflex. Essentially, you've prepared to do something and trained for it so you get to do it before you brain has fully processed what's happening.
It's a good way for a low perception character to guarantee they can do something in a surprise round, even if they have to choose their action before they understand the situation.
Does all that make sense? Should I add it to the house rules for clarity?
I LOVE this house rule... Stealing it.
yes. please document the rule with your other house rules, so we don't forget. You can be lazy and abbreviate its description that acts as a link to your post.
It's a great one, and adds a nice benefit for slow reactors who are roleplaying being twitchy, a nice cinematic touch. And it looks like we've lost Brak, never reported to team 2 thread.
House rule added.
I'm updating the game threads now.
Oh man...
That was awful. Group 2, I'm sorry. I feel genuinely bad.
I'm also laughing my ass off. This combat is starting like an episode of You Can't Do That On Television.
Lotta actions at once there. Quite the clusterf#+$. Save me Jeebus! Or Nár, more likely. He is still up, waiting for the tangled mess to be resolved so he can climb down and help out.
Lotta actions at once there.
It's mostly just the setup rolls with all the perception and initiative stuff.
Once we got into the actual combat stuff, it was only 3 enemy actions. The issue was that they all required saving throws, so I had to roll 9 saves for you guys. I could have had you all roll yourselves, but this is faster.
*Headmaster's note: Many archivists use the Greywulf expedition as a prime example to current Surveyors of how not to undertake a mission. Sometimes a point can be better made through comedy, after all.
ROFLMAO!Nice.
BTW you may have just killed the party.
Love the house rule as well. Like Lyla said, adds to the cinematic touch :)
Dorian: Prone, Nauseated, Sickened (1/3), Dazzled
dot dot dot
Sorry for the delay, Team 1. I just want to make sure I understand the ramifications of my decisions... especially considering what happened with Bladud's earlier botched Acro roll not to collapse the ground on our entry.
Also, sounds like Team 2 is having some 'fun'! :D
*Headmaster's note: Many archivists use the Greywulf expedition as a prime example to current Surveyors of how not to undertake a mission. Sometimes a point can be better made through comedy, after all.
Hilarious :-)
Doom, can you post the bad guy stats like AC, saves, CMD, so we can determine if our actions are successful?
thanks
Doom, can you post the bad guy stats like AC, saves, CMD, so we can determine if our actions are successful?
thanks
Once the appropriate knowledge checks are made, I will link them. Until then, no one's really sure what the things you're facing are or what they're capable of.
A lot of the challenge to facing a relatively unknown enemy is figuring out what they can do.
I'll post enemy reactions reactions to your actions and let you know if you were successful in my round updates. (expect the next update in about 6 hours)
Nisfeollyn has made the knowledge(nature) check as far as I could tell?
Yes, he just did.
Nisfeollyn is definitely aware of what a scorpion is and what it can do, and has a pretty good working knowledge of its abilities.
He can pull from the bestiary information as part of his tactics, and he can give in-game advice on how to best deal with it, but I'd prefer that the rest of you not peek at its stat block.
Just leave your attack descriptions open-ended rather than describing if you hit or missed.
I'll fill in the results.