[Benevolance]

Chatter box!

Edit: I was wondering what happened to the Chapter 1 thread and OOC, before I realized it didn't survive Pimptania 2.0. A moment of silence, yo! :(

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 14 November 2007 - 12:06 PM

[Kishi]

This post intentionally left blank

[Kishi]

Aw, hell, Xeno's character sheet hosting is down... <_<

[Benevolance]

Alright. I'm back from my unanticipated sabbatical, having rediscovered that writing and D&D can be fun. For those who failed spot checks, I've decided this is a good point to start the Third Chapter of the adventure.

[Fugu]

What kind of traffic is there in and out of the fortress, if any? And what manner of dudes are down there? Goblins only?

[Kishi]

Also, how often patrolled are the walls? What sort of light sources do they use at night? I assume there's a gate on the river.

[Benevolance]

There is a good deal of activity, mostly the kind you would expect from a prosperous city. There are guards patrolling the walls and patrolling the streets, but the city is not in a heightened state of alert.

It looks like chains can be raised across the river in times of emergency. They are currently lowered and access is unrestricted. There are small boats that ferry along the river. The boats are traveling to the north only, deeper into goblin lands - to the south (that's the direction you guys arrived from) a series of waterfalls make passage more difficult.

The races are a mixture of monstrous humanoids. Owlbears, minotaurs, hobgoblins and orcs dominate the mix, but you spot harpies, gargoyles, barghests, drow, and the occasional giant. Very cosmopolitan. There are fires at night, but the purpose seems more for warmth than illumination. Siscero informs you that most of those creatures can see in darkness without the benefit of light.

Traffic is moving in and out of the city fairly steady. Access seems restricted only to the main fortress on the hill. Monsters move in and out of that fortress, still, but there is only one entrance and the guards there are screening entrants.

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 17 November 2007 - 06:05 PM

[Siscero v2.0]

Benevolance, on Nov 17 2007, 04:05 PM, said:

The races are a mixture of monstrous humanoids. Owlbears, minotaurs, hobgoblins and orcs dominate the mix, but you spot harpies, gargoyles, barghests, drow, and the occasional giant. Very cosmopolitan. There are fires at night, but the purpose seems more for warmth than illumination. Siscero informs you that most of those creatures can see in darkness without the benefit of light.

Just to be crystal clear -- monstrous humanoids, but no humanoids?

[Benevolance]

Technically, drow are humanoids, I think. Hobgoblins, too?

[Siscero v2.0]

Benevolance, on Nov 20 2007, 02:16 PM, said:

Technically, drow are humanoids, I think. Hobgoblins, too?

Fine, fine.... But no humans, elves, or dwarves....?

[Benevolance]

No, none.

[Fugu]

So.... is it unclear whether or not Siscero actually misunderstood Exseo? He's reasonably adept at understanding folks--I just want to know if he'd feel prompted to clarify his question.

[OverdrivePrime]

Exseo has picked a terrible time to develop a craving for Old Toby.

[Siscero v2.0]

Fugu, on Nov 21 2007, 11:10 AM, said:

So.... is it unclear whether or not Siscero actually misunderstood Exseo? He's reasonably adept at understanding folks--I just want to know if he'd feel prompted to clarify his question.

Siscero's feeling that all the rest of you want to go charging in. Exseo was asking for plants that he can breathe through -- or so it seems to him -- and the only reason he can think of for that is to use it as a snorkel. That'd be crazy, but the regular military types are kinda crazy.

Siscero also thinks he's pretty smart, so he's sure he's figured out Exseo's intentions. If not, then he'll be embarrassed but try to bluff his way out of it, probably.

This post has been edited by Siscero v2.0: 21 November 2007 - 01:20 PM

[Siscero v2.0]

Fugu, on Nov 21 2007, 11:10 AM, said:

So.... is it unclear whether or not Siscero actually misunderstood Exseo? He's reasonably adept at understanding folks--I just want to know if he'd feel prompted to clarify his question.

Oh, crap. Just re-read your post. I took the "pinching thumb and forefinger" to mean "making a circle with thumb and forefinger", and breathing through it. Not as if holding a cigarette and taking a puff. My bad.

Uh, why do you want a cigarette?

[Benevolance]

Sure, Siscero can find some sort of herbal refreshment in the area. He can find reeds to breathe through, too, though those are located along the banks of the river.

[Benevolance]

Let's hope Behror's blind protects you from goblins better than it protected the Federation from the Mintakans!

Actually, after consulting the PHB, the Survival rolls for this sort of thing are so ridiculously simple, a third level character could wage guerilla war!

Do you guys actually want me to report the troop movements and stuff, or shall we just say that you analyze the comings and goings in the fortress and note any patterns or lack thereof? I have no idea what would be realistic. It's a fortress city that houses thousands of people. You establish that a substantial amount of the buildings are for barracks, and that this place appears to be a hub of military activity.

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 23 November 2007 - 05:33 PM

[Kishi]

I think we're just setting up to gather info to take home, so we don't so much need to know specifics, just so our characters do.

I think we, the players, are more likely to need to know movements on the river, particularly if any boats catch our eye as being good targets to attack and capture for purposes of plundering interrogating the crew.

Also, Lance, your sig is broken. I keep trying to click Yes or No, depending on the post, but nothing happens. You should look into fixing that.

This post has been edited by Kishi: 23 November 2007 - 05:38 PM

[Benevolance]

There is quite a bit of riverboat traffic, so finding a suitable boat to plunder is just a matter of time. There are several ideal ambush points that put you out of sight of other traffic on the river for some minutes.

[OverdrivePrime]

Plundering a boat and taking it home, along with prisoners, would be excellent.

[Benevolance]

Keep in mind that the river traffic travels deeper into goblin territory; the falls lie along the river between your current position and home.

Kishi: You need to click harder. You're just not clicking hard enough.

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 24 November 2007 - 01:08 PM

[Kishi]

Okay, step one: Figure out how to sail a boat up a waterfall.

I leave that to our spellcasters to work out.

[Siscero v2.0]

Quote

Okay, step one: Figure out how to sail a boat up a waterfall.

I leave that to our spellcasters to work out.

More random encounters and finding some discarded spell books just lying around.

When Siscero was looking for smokes, did he find and spell books? :P

[Benevolance]

I've heard that hydras keep spellbooks in their bellies; should I send some hydras your way? They're some good eatin', too. :)

[OverdrivePrime]

please, no. :(

[Siscero v2.0]

Mmmm... Hydra steaks....

[Benevolance]

I don't think I gave you guys experience after the last encounter, like I intended to. I was too busy enjoying Jon's interrogation. You have all gained a level.

[Nyoibo]

We have?

Sweet.

[Kishi]

Woooh! Now if only I could get to my character sheet to level up.

You want I should rebuild? I've got his equipment.

[Benevolance]

Go ahead. I guess we don't have a ETA on Xeno's site being back up, do we?

[Kishi]

Nope, haven't heard anything on it. Which sucks, 'cause I had a bunch of characters up there.

I was 12th level, right?

[Nyoibo]

Can I have a shiney new d6 HP please?

[OverdrivePrime]

Dammit to hell. Yeah I think talked to Xeno yesterday and it sounds like his 3E Profiler database is pretty fucking hosed. I've got heaps of characters on there that I'm hoping to recover, if just to grab their XML files and port them elsewhere.


Anyway, Leveling up is hot like suns! Thank goodness we posted our characters in this thread already. Good job thinking ahead, Lance! Anyway, I'm snaggin' another level of Occult Slayer. Lance, could I get a d8, please?

[Siscero v2.0]

Mystic Theurge, d4 please.

Actually, belay that. I want to think this through.

The original idea was to go Mystic Theurge, right? That's what Valrus was working towards?

This post has been edited by Siscero v2.0: 29 November 2007 - 01:05 PM

[Kishi]

I believe so, yes.

[OverdrivePrime]

You should now get three levels of Psion.

And after that three levels of warlock.

And then three levels of bard.

And then druid! Just think of the versatility!

[Kishi]

Then put 2 levels of Swordsage on top of that, and you've got... Well, you've got a mess.

[Siscero v2.0]

Jack of all, master of none? :)

[elliott20]

while you're at it, you should throw on several levels of the complete warriors samurai!! really!!

*leaves thread before anyone notices he's not actually in this game*

[Siscero v2.0]

I'm gonna go with another level of cleric. 4th lvl cleric is a good one.

d8 HP please.

[Fugu]

I think I want level 6 of fighter, bonus feat Improved Critical: Longsword. If there's a better way of going about this here next level, feel free to tell me.

[Siscero v2.0]

elliott20, on Nov 29 2007, 01:21 PM, said:

while you're at it, you should throw on several levels of the complete warriors samurai!! really!!

*leaves thread before anyone notices he's not actually in this game*

That'd be level 22 -- and I might actually have a BaB of 6 by then!!! :D

[OverdrivePrime]

Fugu, on Nov 30 2007, 12:23 AM, said:

I think I want level 6 of fighter, bonus feat Improved Critical: Longsword. If there's a better way of going about this here next level, feel free to tell me.

Fugu, I'd take fighter to 6, but certainly no higher than that. You might want to look at taking a new class, or seeing if there are any prestige classes that fit your fancy (Kensai maybe? How about Champion of Correlon Larethian?) Also, I think you should be level 7 by now, since I think we all started at the same level and have leveled up at the same rate.

[Fugu]

The character sheet left by Flynn was at level 5. Lance, do I need to level up once or twice? Kensai looks cool, but I can't seem to find the class details in full. Does someone have them?

This post has been edited by Fugu: 30 November 2007 - 09:44 AM

[Benevolance]

You guys should all be level 7 now. I think Flynn might have updated to 6, but not updated the level. He tended to do that. I'll take a look at that and do HD once I get to work.

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 30 November 2007 - 10:38 AM

[Benevolance]

Nyoibo: 5
ODP: 5
Kishi: ??
Siscero: 4
Fugu: ??

[Kishi]

Give me a d8. The temptation of a bonus feat, bigger hit die, and a BAB bump has lost out to the deliciousness that is Evasion and an extra skirmish damage die.

[Benevolance]

Kishi: 8

[Fugu]

It looks like Flynn did level up, but forgot to mark his class level as 6. So I will advance to level 7 with a d8 of Ranger. But does the multiclass XP penalty mean I don't level up for a little while longer? Or something? I can't find the multiclass xp rules in the SRD; maybe they aren't OGL content.

This post has been edited by Fugu: 02 December 2007 - 02:49 AM

[Benevolance]

You would take an XP penalty henceforth.

Fugu: 7

[Fugu]

Every time I look closely at my character sheet I get a headache. And usually correct an error that's still in there. For example, in my equipment I have "tent or portable ram". Does that mean I have both? Or do I have just one of them safely tucked inside Schrodinger's backback, and which one I have is still a mystery? :doh[1]:

I put 2 ranks in Ride, 5 in Concentration, and took Combat Expertise. I now have the prerequisites for Kensai. What subtype composes the bulk of the Oligarchs' forces, as far as Exseo knows? Not just in the keep, but generally? Orcs? Goblinoids? Monstrous humanoids? I need to choose a favored enemy.

[OverdrivePrime]

So far we've been seeing a nice mix of different freaks. But as for the head honchos, I do believe they're goblins. Somehow. :blink:

Also, I'm totally going to make a Schrodinger's backpack magic item. That's too awesome to be passed up!

[Benevolance]

ODP has the right of it - it's a pretty messed up place. But you have heard that the goblins are the overlords, and that they are rather intimidating to the other races.

Edit: So have you guys got a plan in mind? Return and report? Scout further? Invade?

This post has been edited by Benevolance: 07 December 2007 - 04:04 PM

[OverdrivePrime]

Watch.

[Nyoibo]

How tough can they be if they're intimidated by goblins?

[Kishi]

Jon wants to skirt around the city and scout up and/or down the river for a bit, get an idea of how busy traffic is, what's getting shipped in, etc, and scouting along the river for a bit, with an eye towards where it might be feasible to stop the shipping. After that, he's likely to vote for return and report. They've located what looks to be a decent sized settlement that has some military value to their foe- scout's job is to get back and tell officers so that the army can come in and burn it down.

Quote

How tough can they be if they're intimidated by goblins?

Yeah, I was wondering that, too....

But then I recall fighting damn kobolds at the start of the game. I believe these people aren't intimidated by goblins- they're intimidated by goblins with PC levels. <_<

[Nyoibo]

Can someone explain to me how Empower works exactly? I read the description but I'm still not sure how it works. :doh[1]:

[Kishi]

As I understand it, anytime you empower a spell, you take the variable effect (magic missile damage, cure light wounds, etc.) and multiply the dice roll by 1.5 and round down.

So, say you're seventh level, empowering a Fireball. You roll your 7d6- say you roll 1,6,2,4,3,5,3 for a 24. You multiply that by 1.5, and your empowered Fireball does 36 points of damage.

I think the change is just on the dice rolls- so, for a empowered Cure Moderate Wounds, say you're sixth level, you roll 2d8 say a 4 and a 7 for 11. That is multiplied to be a 15, and then you add your level. Same sort of thing would apply with, say, Magic Missile or the like.

This post has been edited by Kishi: 07 December 2007 - 05:14 PM

[Nyoibo]

Ok, so is it each dice roll that's multiplied by 1.5, or the total.

I'm just checking for when I use it, I like sudden spell thingys.

[Kishi]

It's the total.

This post has been edited by Kishi: 07 December 2007 - 05:23 PM

[Benevolance]

Jon is certainly able to collect that information during his observations. While there are guards on all the walls, patrolling in and around the city, it is not the security that typifies a city expecting attack anytime soon.

Also, I think Kishi summed up Empower correctly.

[Nyoibo]

It strikes me that spontaneous casters with sudden Feats are very dangerous.

[Kishi]

Damn right they are.

[Fugu]

Another point in favor of scouting only: anything we could do offensively, even if it succeeded, would be meager compared to a fully manned attack. The benefits would be far outweighed by the cost of putting these dudes on their guard, making the full attack less effective.

Exseo won't make that argument IC, because just watching and going home is lame. But OOC, I think we should just be scouts.

[Kishi]

I do have a slight modification to my previous OOC sentiment- Jon isn't voting on anything. He's on a scouting mission, he's not actually attached to your squad, and this isn't a democracy. He's headed back with reports, and hopes you guys are coming back with him.

[Nyoibo]

If it's not a democracy then it's anarchy, and if it's anarchy the strong rule.

If so I nominate myself for leader, Mr. Empowered Scorching Ray would like to second my vote.

:D

[Kishi]

Hmm, an interesting point, Nyoibo. But as head of the I'll Murder You in Your Sleep Party, I'd like to introduce you to a few of my friends- Mister I Only Sleep Two Hours a Night, Captain I. Can See In The Dark and his brother, Colonel U. Can't See In The Dark. Besides, you don't have enough Empowered Scorching Rays for all of us. :P

Also, the strong? Are sitting back in Pandessa, telling us all what to do.

Which reminds me, in a twisted, roundabout, "I'm awake at 4:45 am" sort of way, regarding Exseo's "tent or portable ram" issue: As I recall, when we built characters, Lance gave us a standard, military issue field kit. It included rations, rope, blah blah, and one of the things was that, for every two party members, one would carry a tent, and the other would have a portable ram. We never really worked out who had which, since it didn't seem to make that much difference. So, there you are then.

[Nyoibo]

Bah, we don't need tents, not when I've got, Tiny Hut on my spell list.

[Benevolance]

You can tell that the farmers are monstrous humanoids, but little more at this distance. The crops are currently about knee height and would provide a little bit of cover to move closer, albeit not much.

[OverdrivePrime]

Do we have anything in the way of "Kill On Sight" orders for intelligent monsters?

[Benevolance]

You're Pandessan, so...pretty much. If it ain't human, elf or dwarf, it should be killed or enslaved. That's how the leadership of the city would treat it. But it's up to you guys to establish your morality in that regard.

[OverdrivePrime]

Behror is iffy on this. Kind of like how he wouldn't kill a cow for just standing there, but might kill a bear or wolf if it seemed to be a potential threat. These farmers don't seem to be a threat to him.

[Kishi]

Jon is rebuilt and posted- though that did make me think, did we have any treasure worth splitting up after the fight with the elves?

[Siscero v2.0]

Benevolance, on Jan 17 2008, 05:57 PM, said:

You're Pandessan, so...pretty much. If it ain't human, elf or dwarf, it should be killed or enslaved. That's how the leadership of the city would treat it. But it's up to you guys to establish your morality in that regard.

Screw the morality. :D Our job is to get important intelligence back to HQ. Stopping to kill every monster we see along the way will only make that more difficult.

[Fugu]

Hear, hear.

[Siscero v2.0]

The next chance he gets Siscero is going to memorize/pray for different spells.

[Benevolance]

Go ahead and do the change. You guys will be traveling for a few days before your next notable encounter. Time enough to adjust your prepared spells.

[Siscero v2.0]

Siscero will spend any free time he has studying the spells he has on his scrolls that are not in his spell book. It takes "a day" to study each spell (DC 15 + spell level Spellcraft check). I'm assuming he's already deciphered all his scrolls? Or cast read magic on them?

Once studied he can begin copying, but he needs "24 hours" to do so. Oh, and 100gp (or one of the pearls we've been hording). :D

The scrolls in question are, in order:
Daze Monster
Spider Climb
Darkvision
Rope Trick
Detect Secret Doors


He also has a scroll of Comprehend Languages, but it is a divine scroll, so I'm not sure if it translates into something he can put in his spell book. It is a wizard spell too.

This post has been edited by Siscero v2.0: 13 February 2008 - 02:39 PM

[Benevolance]

No, the divine scroll is a divine version of Comprehend Languages. He could not use it to learn the arcane version of the spell. :P

[Siscero v2.0]

How far away are each of the Kobolds, and where are they in relation to each other?

[Benevolance]

#1 and #2 are about 40-50 feet away, #3 is 60 feet away.

Edit: And each are about 15 feet from the others, though #3 is fifteen feet over and ~15 feet higher, so use your trigonometry!

[Siscero v2.0]

I didn't realize Behror had so many anti-magic-user abilities... <_<

Siscero doesn't like that... :nono:

[Kishi]

Yeah, Siscero doesn't like a lot of things, it seems. :P

[Nyoibo]

Can I get an idea of where these guys are in relation to each other, it'll help decide on which spell I'm using.

[Benevolance]

Quote

#1 and #2 are about 40-50 feet away, #3 is 60 feet away.

Edit: And each are about 15 feet from the others, though #3 is fifteen feet over and ~15 feet higher, so use your trigonometry!

:)

[Nyoibo]

I was just checking that they hadn't broken formation or anything.

Quote

And each are about 15 feet from the others

I believe that's just begging for a Fireball.

[OverdrivePrime]

Word the fuck up on the fireball. Scorch they asses, Talon! :rock:

Siscero v2.0, on Feb 25 2008, 08:48 PM, said:

I didn't realize Behror had so many anti-magic-user abilities... <_<

Siscero doesn't like that... :nono:

No worries, chummer. Behror's damn loyal to Siscero for constantly saving his ass. But just because one can't cast doesn't mean that one shouldn't prepared to fight casters.

[Siscero v2.0]

Kishi, on Feb 25 2008, 07:20 PM, said:

Yeah, Siscero doesn't like a lot of things, it seems. :P

Nah, it's not that. He just feels piteous contempt for those mortals who lack magical abilities and understanding. That's all. ;)

You see, there's a natural order to living things. There's humans (including elves and dwarves) with magical ability at the top, followed by mere humans, followed by magical creatures not out to destroy Pandessa, followed by mundane creatures, followed by pond scum, followed by DMs, followed by Pandessa's monstrous neighbours (who all look the same to him).

As for Behror, Siscero's just not overly comfortably with people who train to kill mages. Hits a little too close to home. Sure they have there uses, but it's kind of like having an overly large and aggressive guard dog -- if you can control the dog it's great, but you have to be aware that it could turn on you at any time.

No offence, Behror! :D

[OverdrivePrime]

Just be happy that Behror has trained against the mind control of Pandessa's enemies! :dance:

[Nyoibo]

I like to stradle the line between caster and fighter.

[Siscero v2.0]

Nyoibo, on Feb 26 2008, 11:46 PM, said:

I like to stradle the line between caster and fighter.

As long as you can cast -- that's the important thing! :D

[OverdrivePrime]

Behror can cast... his enemies into the pits of Hell! :o

[Siscero v2.0]

OverdrivePrime, on Feb 27 2008, 12:06 PM, said:

Behror can cast... his enemies into the pits of Hell! :o

Well! Apparently Siscero misjudged you! That's an impressive feat. All Siscero can do, apparently, is fire off a single, miniscule glob of force.

And effectively interrogate comrades. :D

[Siscero v2.0]

Lance, let me know when the riders are close. Plus I'll need to know where they are in relation to each other.

[Benevolance]

How close is close? Those lances look awfully sharp to Siscero's soft, baby flesh...

They riders are in a reverse V formation, coming towards you. The two up front are 20 feet apart, the second is fifteen feet behind and roughly equidistant between the forerunners.

[OverdrivePrime]

I keep intending for Behror to pick up cleave, but does he actually get it? Noooooooooo! :doh[1]:

[Siscero v2.0]

Is this round 3 or a new combat with new initiative?

[Nyoibo]

I'd say it'll be a new combat, but it hasn't started yet.

On another note, w00t fireball, I haven't used one of them before, I like. :D

[Siscero v2.0]

Benevolance, on Feb 27 2008, 01:59 PM, said:

How close is close? Those lances look awfully sharp to Siscero's soft, baby flesh...

They riders are in a reverse V formation, coming towards you. The two up front are 20 feet apart, the second is fifteen feet behind and roughly equidistant between the forerunners.

30' - 35'. But if we get to the gulley or some other hidden place first, then my options will be different.

[Kishi]

Oh, Exseo is just covering for the fact that he can't run any faster than the dwarf in his armor. :P

If Jon had needed to fight the party, he would have been most worried about Talon and Siscero. He can't outrun magic.