Oliver Veyrac |
Started the first book tonight and saw that no obituary was posted.
Ghoul decided to roll a nat 20 to break free, and it aided her in getting some fresh flesh. The saving grace was the befriended the ghoul in the other room who helped them and got the second ghoul on their side. Sadly 3 players died. Only survivor was an elven druid, and her avian animal companion "Kraw"
Jay - Alchemist - Death by Doctor Othsday, fainted critical hit.
Daniella - Kineticist - Death by Doctor and ghoul team work.
Jake - Ranger - Death by ghoul coup de grace in the laundry room.
Abandoned Arts RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 32 |
Balgin |
Only one post so far?
The obits are always my favorite page...
Well ... it's kind of in the queue for me for now. I'm going to finish running Giantslayer first (and that would involve finally getting to start Giantslayer ... there's been some delays). I'll probably end up running both AP's simultaneously alternating books because most of the players who want to take part in both can't arrange times to all be available together twice a week.
I swear it's like trying to herd cats.
Monatae |
I'm running Ch. 1 this weekend and I'm really concerned about ** spoiler omitted ** killing some over-confident players in my party.
There are plenty of opportunities to warn the the party to be wary of that one. If they choose to ignore those warnings, then the blame lies on their heads.
OatsMalone |
I have had a death in my play by post!
Our halfling cartomancer witch was in the front of the party formation for the combat with the zoog and 3 rats in the boiler room. The zoog got two full attacks on him (and critted three times!) such that his own measly cure light wounds healing 2 wasn't enough. Then a lucky rat dodged two att-ops to score a coup de grace on him, and one failed fort save later we were down a halfling.
shoggothweightlifter |
Death in my Google Hangouts game by the sleeper enemy of the module!
Draigo Raizen - 2nd level aasimar witch hunter (Rogue Genius Games class) was crushed to death outside of area E7 by three pernicious ghouls who caused the loose wall trap to collapse on him and the party Slayer, who nimbly escaped with minor cuts and bruises. This party has sailed relatively unscathed through multiple battles, only to have a fellow PC bleed out ten feet away from them under some rocks while they fought off the ghouls. RIP Draigo, we'd literally just found out your name.
Stazamos |
Salix - 3rd level half-elf druid. Briarstone Asylum (E6). Coup de grace while paralyzed by a ghoul's touch.
Brakrana - 3rd level human cleric. Briarstone Asylum (E8). Coup de grace while paralyzed by a ghoul's touch.
Honorable Mention: Belka, 3rd level human monk. Succeded on the fortitude save to avoid dying from, you guessed it, a coup de grace while paralyzed by a ghoul's touch. Narrowly escaped after being assumed dead by the ghoul squad.
gustavo iglesias |
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Ghouls are MVP of the obituaries threads.
For GMs worried about them, Desna's magic altar gives 10' movement and +4 to saves against things that restrain your movement, such as paralysis. It could help, in particular of your party composition is weak vs them (few chars with good FOR saves, for example).
Stazamos |
Ghouls are MVP of the obituaries threads.
It's the sheer number of attacks, and in my case, that the party composition didn't have any heavy hitters, meaning the ghouls stay around for longer, so failing that save was rather likely to happen eventually. The druid rerolled to a greatsword-wielding slayer, and subsequent ghoul encounters ended rapidly.
Oliver Veyrac |
Key to fighting ghouls is avoiding the full attack. I taught my players when dealing with creatures to not allow a full attack unless they can do a damaging full attack (most of my player's love spring attack because of this). To do this they make a single attack, and roll an acrobatics check to get away. Ranks in it or not, as the full attack may kill. It's very important to do this as well as you never know who might be a rogue, and getting swarmed is very bad.
P.H. Dungeon |
Character: Vorlin (human, rogue- eldritch scoundrel)
Adventure: In search of sanity
Cause of Death: while searching for sanity, Vorlin and his party ran into some ghouls. They burst out from behind a weak wall. He took damage from the wall falling on him. Upon getting to his feet, he got a little separated from his companions. He ended up facing down a ghoul one on one. Unfortunately, he didn't take it down in time, and the ghoul slashed him real good with its claws and bite. He was KOed and his allies couldn't get to him before the ghoul ate his face.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
Not quite real deaths, but:
The tiefling spiritualist and elf rogue/barbarian both got swallowed and digested by the Formless Spawn in the Forsaken Caravan. At the end they were trying desperately to wake up, but to no avail.
The gnome bard managed to escape the beast's stomach with a lucky roll, only to get smashed to bits by the ooze's tentacles immediately thereafter.
All three awoke with lesser madnesses (one a claustrophobic, one suffering hallucinations, and one falling into a deep melancholy).
Deicidal1 |
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Had our first death last night when a certain ghost guarding a star stelae in book 5 rolled 2 nat 20s and near max damage on her force punch. The gnome didn't know what hit him as he was launched off the top of the building after failing the fort save in the surprise round of combat. After defeating her, the party managed to find the puddle that used to be their friend and used their only raise dead scroll on him (my party has no spellcasters, so that scroll was one of their only lifelines).
'Sani |
Today my parties witch had her head ripped clean off by a Tree Tiger Smiledon in the Enchanted Woods.
As it was a Dreamlands 'death' it means I got to roll on the lesser madness chart to see what she is inflicted with! I've been looking forward to giving them insanities for months! I can't wait to see what fun and different madness she will suffer! I rolled 28, which is...
...Fugue.
Dangit
Rakeleer |
2nd-level Kayal Id Rager died in the Briarestone laundry room when Oathsday and Latchke double teamed him after he tore down the sheet with the minor illusion on it. Flanking death.
First death in the second session of the game, and I think my players understand that Strange Aeons is 'serious business' now.
Sadly, the backup character for that player is a Human With Hunter (Slayer) with poorly rolled stats (the party were asked to make two characters, and choose for each either random stats (roll 4, drop lowest, 6 slots) or 15 point buy). Sanity threshold of 0 on the Slayer and no modifiers higher than 1 will probably mean either a gibbering pile of madness or death when the party ventures past the chapel.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
A two-fer today in the dreamlands.
8th level human wizard Mirous Astrapi died in the Enchanted Forest after getting jumped by a pack of tree tigers. Madness contracted: Paranoia.
That same wizard died a second time, in the Plaza of Bones, first getting paralyzed by the bite of a necrophidius and then getting coup de grace'd by said necrophidius. Madness contracted: Moral Insanity.
The player is now plotting to murder the two "scholars" (read: nefarious spies) who boarded the Sellen Starling with the party back in Thrushmoor.
Rakeleer |
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2nd-level Kayal Id Rager died in the Briarestone laundry room when Oathsday and Latchke double teamed him after he tore down the sheet with the minor illusion on it. Flanking death.
First death in the second session of the game, and I think my players understand that Strange Aeons is 'serious business' now.
Sadly, the backup character for that player is a Human Witch Killer (Slayer) with poorly rolled stats (the party were asked to make two characters, and choose for each either random stats (roll 4, drop lowest, 6 slots) or 15 point buy). Sanity threshold of 0 on the Slayer and no modifiers higher than 1 will probably mean either a gibbering pile of madness or death when the party ventures past the chapel.
Update: Not an obit but of amusing value. The Witch Killer was inflicted by a madness after his first sanity roll. The haunt in the visitor's chamber that levitates you has created in him a Delusion. He now thinks he can fly. Naturally the party gifted him with the Greater Talisman of Beneficial Winds as soon as they found it.
I effing love this AP.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
Stazamos |
Dream Avatar of Drinnal Roe, 7th level fetchling sorcerer. Killed by the formless spawn in the Dreamlands Caravanserai. The trauma of the dream death will cause him to soon develop mania, with a fixation for immersing himself in water.
Dream Avatar of Nuzira, 7th level half-orc bloodrager. Killed by the formless spawn in the Dreamlands Caravanserai. The trauma of the dream death will cause her to lose memories (again), as she slips into a sub-fugue fugue.
Moonbeam |
I'm reporting three PC deaths today, one that took place a few weeks ago, and two that happened in the last session.
All three are for the same unfortunate character, who still survived thanks to hero points and the fact that two of the deaths happened in the dreamlands.
Name: Quinn
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Investigator L6
Adventure: The Thrushmoor Terror
Location: G11: Court of the Unspeakable One
The Gory Details: The great battle at the end of the module pitted the PC's, Winter, Cesadia Wrentz and her agent Lucky Joslyn against Melisenn, the Byakhee and the Hound of Tindalos.
Unfortunately, the hound proved especially deadly in this fight (having narrowly avoided death in the manor's entrance hall previously), killing both Quinn and Lucky Joslyn.
After the fight, it was decided that Quinn miraculously survived, thanks to using two hero points.
Name: Quinn
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Investigator L8
Adventure: Dreams of the Yellow King
Location: "Bokrug arrives"
Catalyst: Low concentration bonus
The Gory Details: On the battlements, the companions were able to survive the Priest of Bokrug's Horrid Wilting and kill the creature, causing the green idol to fall to the ground.
Bokrug's arrival caused all PCs to suffer from his unspeakable presence. Figuring out that they were doomed if they remained, the companions rushed for the idol and all tried to wake up. Sadly, Quinn, with his mediocre concentration bonus, failed to wake up before being annihilated by the 4 remaining Ib shades, while the rest of the group all managed to wake up...
Name: Quinn
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Investigator L8
Adventure: Dreams of the Yellow King
Location: K2: plaza
Catalyst: Not high enough armor class
The Gory Details: Quinn has the group's best armor class, so he thought he would protect his comrades from the attacks of the Gug. Sadly, his armor class, while quite good, wasn't good enough to allow him to survive two rounds of full attacks from the Gug.
In the real world, Quinn is, mercifully, still alive, but he has developped two separate phobias regarding reptiles and gugs.
Moonbeam |
Yikes, this adventure is proving quite deadly, good thing that all these deaths are happening in the dreamlands instead of the real world!
Name: Vissiliane Marsh
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Paladin (Divine Hunter) L9
Adventure: Dreams of the Yellow King
Location: P10: Cells
Catalyst: Angry prison wardens
The Gory Details: The party sneakily entered the prison via Dimension Door (appearing straight in the Maenads' room), with everyone under the cover of Invisibility. Thanks to this and Vissiliane's repeated use of Smite Evil, they pretty easily defeated the Maenads, Orsephellius and Ahkrh-Nar.
When they activated the lever to move the huge stone block to access the rest of the prison, though, all wardens of the eastern section were alerted. The PCs waited for a few minutes to see what would happen after the loud noise of the moving stone, unwittingly giving the enemies time to group up.
The party interacted with Kelvetta Brix in P10, but then, when they approached the south section of the room, they ran into a patrol of angry wardens from the east section: Yath-Kheph, Valmina and three Denizens of Leng, who were ready for a tough fight, thinking they would be facing their counterparts from the western wing.
The ensuing battle did not go well for the PCs, between Confusion affecting the Witch and the Investigator, and Searing Light wands almost killing the Magus. Vissiliane was badly wounded as well, and affected by a Slow effect from the Chaos Emerald's Chaos Hammer ability.
Her allies retreated and eventually re-sealed the exit with the lever upstairs, leaving only two of the Denizens of Leng on their side of the prison, but alas, by that time, Vissiliane was so badly wounded that those two denizens were able to finish her off... while her allies fled and gibbered insanely.
clgarret |
Character: Zo'lash (Dwarf, Barbarian) L7
Adventure: Dreams of the Yellow King, On the Oukranos
Cause of Death: Heroically grappled Captain Vadrack and heaved him into the river while another party member spider climbed along the ship mast and stretched out his arm to steal the Captains Tricorne hat. In the water the Captain discharged a Shocking Grasp and that was the end of that :)
NobodysHome |
Yep. The revenant was as bad as advertised.
Name of PC: Helden
Race: Human
Classes/Levels: Rogue 4
Adventure: The Thrushmoor Terror
Location: The building next to the new chapel in Thrushmoor
Catalyst: Guarding the door when a revenant is after you
So I'd warned them of an undead creature wandering the night muttering, "Helden, Helden," but it didn't keep Helden away from the door.
As briefly as possible, the revenant entered the building, did NOT go into the tanglefoot bag traps because Helden was off to its right and not deeper into the building, and screamed. In a moment of beautiful luck, the bloodrager made her save. The shaman made it as well, but in a moment of horrible unluck, the necromancer didn't, nor did Helden.
The rest of the fight was pretty much pre-ordained. The bloodrager ran over and missed the revenant, and as it went after Helden she got another swing but rolled horribly again (two 5s in a row). It hit and grabbed Helden, the shaman moved in, and the bloodrager moved up and finally got in a resounding blow. Its double claw (Hasted) sent Helden to -11 hit points. The shaman healed him to -4, the bloodrager hit it a second time, and I ruled that a revenant with an unconscious foe in its grasp would obviously coup de grace. The third hit from the bloodrager plus a crit from the shaman dropped it to 5 remaining hit points, but that was enough to complete the coup de grace...
...except, we're playing with Hero Points, so Helden's player quickly burned 2 Hero Points and declared that the wood in Helden's neck from his peculiar diet (it's a LOOOOOONG story) saved him.
The bloodrager, finally sick of the whole thing, criticalled the revenant and sent it into oblivion.
And of course then the necromancer woke up and asked for the body so he could turn it into a necrocraft.
Sheahan |
Name: Zintus
Race: Dhampir
Classes/levels: Wizard (Necromancer) 4
Adventure: The Thrushmoor Terror
Location: Reading Room
Catalyst: Negative constitution modifier, poor initiative, gullability, a rogue, and a penchant for rushing ahead when books are mentioned.
Two details to set this up: First, the party had bypassed the normal route into the fortress by way of the investigator's monkey climb extract and a rope, so Zintus had not been able to control one of the juju zombies. Second, the wizard's player had unknowingly taken the esipil from ISoS as a pet and it hadn't had a chance to betray him earlier due to the wizard's player missing a few sessions where that would have worked well (the only opportunity when he was there was while the wizard was being attacked by the phantom fungus earlier in the book with the rest of the party out of support distance which seemed a bit too dangerous).
The party had previously been run off by Tilsitari and, not wanting to deal with the soulsliver, had climbed the battlements. The first room they explored was the reading room. The investigator scouted ahead, came back to the group and told them what he'd found (a stack of books and a mirror). Having previously identified soulslivers due to the random encounter table in ISoS, the group was reasonably uncertain about the mirror but Zintus was too intrigued by the pile of books that contained a few magical signatures. He went in accompanied by no one but his pet "cat", with the rest of the party staying nearby but outside the room. As he found and identified the scrolls, Tilsitari took the guise of the investigator and stepped from the mirror, walking up to Zintus and asking him what he'd found. As Zintus turned to respond, Tilsitari used the surprise round and hit Zintus with a sneak attack. Initiative was rolled and the rest of the team came in, but the esipil and Tilsitari both had higher initiatives than Zintus (in the neighborhood of a 4). The esipil revealed itself, attacked Zintus for largely inconsequential damage, and was killed by a critical hit from the party's phantom blade spiritualist. Then Tilsitari went before Zintus and rolled near maximum sneak attack damage, which was enough to kill the wizard with an 8 constitution outright.
Benchak the Nightstalker Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8 |
Name: Andorel
Race: Half-elf
Class/Level: Rogue 10/Barbarian 3 (both unchained)
Adventure: What Grows Within
Location: The Oraculum
Catalyst: Olkoshim the Moon Giant and his obsidian dagger
Meanwhile, the rest of the party decided to linger at the foot of the stairs so the bard could teleport them up into position. Despite clearly seeing their friend take Forbiddance damage, none of them made the connection that there might be a Forbiddance effect in place, nor did they ask for a Spellcraft check to identify the source of the damage, and with a party of five at 13th level I don't hold their hands anymore. :D
After the teleportation effect failed, the party cleric tried to move up and heal Andorel with a reach Heal, but the rogue was far enough from the edge that the stairs were blocking his line of sight. One last big attack from the giant brought Andorel into dead-dead negatives.
One further piece of irony: the cleric would have been able to Breath of Life Andorel back into the positives had he not, earlier that day, burned his only prepared Breath of Life on one of the Exscinder Archons (against the urging of the rest of the party).
catdragon RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32 |
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Name: Mina Harker
Race: Dhampir
Classes/Levels: Sorcerer 2
Adventure: In Search of Sanity
Location: C12 Ruined Office
Catalyst: keeping the secret that she was a dhampir....
So battle ensues between Ratch Mamby and his dire rats. Ratch was in the corner using the desk for cover. Mina decided to go into the room, jump on the desk and use jolt from above on Ratch. Ratch spider climbs up the desk and grabs her ankle wth a shocking grasp. Mina drops from 3 to -12 and Mina has a 12 Constitution (house rule, you don't die until you drop below your constitution). The paladin drops her bow, charges into the room, and lays hands on the stricken sorcerer to no avail. Next round Mina is dies and the paladin is upset. Even the player was upset because he didn't want to be the cause of Mina's death.
NobodysHome |
Name: Mina Harker
Race: Dhampir
Classes/Levels: Sorcerer 2
Adventure: In Search of Sanity
Location: C12 Ruined Office
Catalyst: keeping the secret that she was a dhampir....** spoiler omitted **
(1) I love the house rule that at exactly negative CON you have one final round. It's saved 3-4 of my PCs over the years, and the players love it.
(2) I am brutal on dhampirs, as most people see that "immunity to nagative energy and permanent negative levels" and start drooling. Sounds like your player was doing a nice job RP'ing his or her dhampir, but it still always cheers me to see 'em die...'Sani |
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A little background information on this one. The cleric in the party I GM for is a horn dog. If it is female, or a particularly good looking dude, he hits on it. ANYTHING. Humans, non-humans, gnolls, ash giants, a ghost, a night hag, an otyugh, ANYTHING. He makes a serious effort to have sex damn near constantly.
So in book 6, Black Stars Beckon, he finally meets a beautiful woman who seems to be receptive to his efforts. She is naked in a bathtub, covered in bubbles, beckoning to join her with a huge smile. In a Carcosa Nexus with the decadence influence. He isn't even trying to fight it, and heads right over to her.
She, of course, is an undead Sayona Antipaladin. With a +7 initiative modifier, two claws and a bite attack, plus bleed and paralysis, Smite Good, and blood drain.
She crits.
Twice.
She didn't kill him outright, but came real close. Luckily the rest of the party heard his strangled cry before the paralysis took complete hold, and saved him as he stood there paralyzed for the maximum time.
The cleric survived, but has since, finally, realized that he should be listening to the brain in his head and not the one in his pants.
So RIP, our Clerics Libido.