[3.5E] Heretic's Bane Dwarf Campaign OOC Thread

[Gorgondantess]

Originally Posted by Gorgondantess

Being of a lighter and leaner build than most other dwarves- in fact he'd been mistaken for an extremely burly gnome once or twice (and he always had wondered about his "uncle" Gimble), he fell quite behind the rest of the crowd.

Yeah, pretty much.

[Strangie]

This is what Wyatt looks like.



... okay, not really. But this is.

That picture is old, but is more or less what our halfling friend looks like. I draw perhaps slightly better now, so maybe I'll make a new one sometime. He carries a wooden buckler on his right arm and a light mace on his belt on his left side, which is covered over in green arcane runes. Those aren't displayed here, but there you have it.

[Chepe Nolon]

Nega is tall for a female dwarf has bright read hair and beard. She has her hair in short round pipe curls and her beard is braided. She wears a Red and silver full plate with Two silver rings on it. Think of her as a square bulky and tall for a dwarven woman. Everything she has on is red and silver the colors of Berronar with the silver rings interwoven. She has weird accent and is hard to understand by the party. She is slightly stubborn and not taken to flattery. She is Dwarfy McDwarvenstein. Right gorgondatess ;)

[Gorgondantess]

Originally Posted by Chepe Nolon

Nega is tall for a female dwarf has bright read hair and beard. She has her hair in short round pipe curls and her beard is braided. She wears a Red and silver full plate with Two silver rings on it. Think of her as a square bulky and tall for a dwarven woman. Everything she has on is red and silver the colors of Berronar with the silver rings interwoven. She has weird accent and is hard to understand by the party. She is slightly stubborn and not taken to flattery. She is Dwarfy McDwarvenstein. Right gorgondatess ;)

Damn straight.
But, really. I mean... she has a beard. She. Has a beard. How many even dwarven women have beards? I mean, more than elven women, but... goddamn...
And meanwhile you have Johannes, who is probably just as much elf as he is dwarf. Or something like that. As you can probably tell, the two get along swimmingly.

[ithildur]

I still can't get over that portrait of him. It's very well drawn, btw, just, so... unusual for a dwarf, down to the twinkling stars in his eyes.

Mike, I just rechecked Tal's sheet and caught a few things: I had a couple too many skill points so some tweaks to skills (perform is a class skill for him now with bladesinger, but they were not class skills in prior classes so they cost double).

Also, his saves have all been lowered by +2 each, because the insight bonus from Glimpse Peril (PHBII p.70) is not a constant effect but rather an immediate action usable x/day equal to his Int bonus.

I'm curious how combat is handled in this campaign; I do a good deal of juggling of movement, skills like tumble and jump, a smattering of low lvl spells, and every tactical advantage I can gain or give the party via flanking, cover, variable amounts of combat expertise, changing designated foe for Dodge feat, occasionally Total Defense, etc. to simulate playing a highly mobile and intelligent character. It gets a bit complicated at times, especially when throwing in a handful of ToB manuevers in the mix, but hopefully it'll be fun and interesting to play and to read.

Using a grid map I find to be tremendously helpful. I read something about Maptools or other aids earlier in this thread; it's definitely got some upsides for resolving combat. But a basic grid map is probably just as good for pbp.

The biggest question I have is how turns/initiative/movement/combat action economy is handled, the latter being especially valuable commodity in 3.5e. For the sake of simplicity and in the interest of not overpowering things, I did pass on the maneuver that gives an ally an extra turn. It's refreshing to be not locked in to ALFA degree of low power, but I just don't have the heart to make too ridiculous builds. *looks at his dmg output of 1d8+3 and grins* [edit] Oops, I do have a +1 longword; it should be 1d8+4, corrected.

[ithildur]

This is ooc, but I think not unreasonable to discuss here given Talamir's observations; let me know if that's not the case.

So, thus far what I've managed to put together:

-the goal is an attack on an Aurilte base
-we expect enemy numbers to be lower due to being diverted somewhere else
-they have a cleric
-there may be a white dragon of unknown age
-possibly water elementals in the river
-we're using the river as our main approach via boats
-we have some kind of a powerful, funky anti-magic device (which a big minotaur is playing around with, unbeknownst to most of our characters)
-the whole joint, which is on or near the top of a mountain, may blow up, possibly leaving some stranded even if victorious

scouts (Wyatt, Sable, Bundock? and a duerger)
mages (Arman, Arum, Carmard, Buna)
clerics (Nalrak, Magnum, Kelith) paladins (Nega, Hjalmar)
hybrids (Johannes, Thordek, Talamir, Buelyir is probably a bard)
pure melees (Grathalmor, Tasster & sons) plus Gore and minotaurs
Sonnlinor Stonebreaker (cleric) and the Duergar
the rest of the Black Company (a cleric and a mage among them)

A couple questions (I think Talamir would have seen or put together enough to wonder about)

1. how many duergar seem to be preparing to take part in the attack?

2. no one has Flight or teleportation spells and the like, apparently, from the discussion so far?

[mshady]

I haven't decided on exact numbers yet, but probably a couple dozen duergar, including two with flame throwers (yes, they had those in a medieval era. Oil, a blatter and an open flame, a pump, there ya go!).

The mages may have teleportation and flight spells. What they prepare will be based on the needs of the plan though.

[Melody]

Memorize Teleport.. memorize Teleport!!! Remember we have to get out of here afterwards.

[ithildur]

Personally, I wouldn't mind jumping from perilous height to escape the blast... and at the last minute, using lowly Feather Fall.

Much more dramatic and stylish than teleport imo, but that's just me. :) Problem is it's only good for one. Someone needs to come up with a Mass Feather Fall spell.

[mshady]

Well, the area of effect is Regional, so... might not work out :) But hey, we can roll for it if you want to try. Nice thing about feather fall... so long as you survive the blast, it'll let you down easy.. somewhere :)

[Melody]

*Watches the charred humanoid shaped lump settle softly into the glowing river of molten hot magma.* It's like Forrest Gump with that feather.. only it isn't a feather.. it's an elf.

I was thinking about the river as an escape, as a last resort.. My preference is

.. Instantaneous

Gate or Teleport

Running = dead

[Gryndel]

Originally Posted by Melody

*Watches the charred humanoid shaped lump settle softly into the glowing river of molten hot magma.* It's like Forrest Gump with that feather.. only it isn't a feather.. it's an elf.

no smiley funny enough to express my laughter at that!

Originally Posted by Melody

I was thinking about the river as an escape, as a last resort..

Indeed, and with some water breathing magic, the survivors of the battle/blast would avoid any residual flame damage.

Of course, teleport would be my first choice too, though I'm not sure Magnum would agree.

[ithildur]

Problem with the river is that it flows too fast in the wrong direction, no?

[Gryndel]

Aye, leave it to an elf to point out nature's hindrance.

Even if such current can't be overcome, the river does come out somewhere. As a last resort, its still better'n burnin' or bein' buried!

A thought occurred to me while perusing available spells. Is there a cleric going with the scouting party? If not, is there anyone among those going that Magnum would trust enough to use Imbue with Spell Ability? It would be his only level 4 spell for the day, but it might be worth the cost.

[ithildur]

Some more humble thoughts from the new guy: we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves anyway; until scouts get a good look at the layout, details, etc we're limited on the amount of planning we can do. It would be a good idea to see if viable ways of escaping the place might be discovered.

Even if we had four lvl 9 wizards each capable of casting teleport that's 16 folks total getting out maximum, and I'm guessing they're not all 9th lvl. Several Fly spells on say, a couple of reliable minotaurs and the strongest medium sized folks, might mean a dozen more getting out that way.

Depending on how many duergar there are, and how many of Black's Company survive (including Tal!), that still leaves quite a lot of folks unaccounted for. An evil group would say 'screw the minos and the mercs, let them figure it out' and maybe the duergar would get no love from some of the dwarves, but I'm guessing we should consider teleport/fly as a last resort. It's possible, I suppose, that enough die off that leaving folks behind might not be an issue, but I would think 'let's hope half of us die so the other half can get out' isn't an ideal plan.

So scouts, do your thing! I'm open to Tal going with them, except he's only got invisibility and untrained dexterity for stealth and might be a liability that way. On the other hand if something goes wrong, he'd be handy to have along in a fight while not being as noticable as a heavy armored dwarf or a minotaur. He's also got a couple of useful reconnoitering tricks besides invisibility.

[Gryndel]

I agree with what the elf... erum the guy playing the elf, just said.

For the (emergency) water escape, one water breathing spell from Magnum would last 14 hours divided by the number of recipients.

[Gryndel]

BTW, the link in your sig doesn't lead here... at least for me.

[Gorgondantess]

Originally Posted by ithildur

2. no one has Flight or teleportation spells and the like, apparently, from the discussion so far?

Well, I can fire off 2 fly spells today, if need be, and then I can alter self into something feathery. I was considering just rod-extending the fly spells and flying over there with Sable and Wyatt, but all the additions to the forward party kindof shot that plan to ruin.

[mshady]

It's possible to get away here, and some of you have mentioned some of the pieces of the puzzle.

The thing to bear in mind is that you have an hour before it goes off, from when you set the bomb.

Think about it.

[mshady]

In regards to the scouting... we can do that friday night. It will be a bit adhoc, but lets give it a go.

This will be done by MSN, so sign on and let me know. I can be found at mstaley1@rochester.rr.com.

The game is really open to anyone who wants to come. The stealthy types have their specific thing to do, but that's not to say other things won't... pop up along the way.

Mike

[mshady]

I fixed the signature. Thanks!

[Melody]

I have a potion of Fly and one of Jump. Though.. you know jump isn't quite as useful. If necissary I can put my necklace of adaptation on Wyatt and stuff him in my Haversack... heh. He'll keep in there until he starves to death with the amulet. Sorry for making you sound like a large messy pet Strangie.. but if the need arises.. in you go.

[Werewhale]

Let me get this straight. Does the problem lie in getting to the surface within one hour or do we need to get even further than that?

[thorgrim29]

Well, from what I remember, it's going to blow up, then open a gate to the elemental plane of fire for a while. So yeah, we need distance.

[ithildur]

An hour?? I thought we were talking about like, ten minutes. Is it possible to actually make it go off in LESS time?

I'm sure people know this stuff, but for reference an hour of hustling through trackless mountains at half speed gets you 2 miles for the short legged folks; factor in snow, slopes, other adverse conditions and we may be able to clear a mile in an hour with bursts of running when the conditions allow for it, which I would think is far enough. The trick is how long it takes to get to the surface once it's set to blow, and not getting delayed the entire time. Heck, if it's relatively smooth downward slopes we may even be able to pick up speed (lol, I think dwarves in heavy armor rolling down a snowy slope becoming giant snowballs would be hilarious) or improvise skis, etc. Now if there's sheer cliffs and such along the way, that's a different story; likely no way we'll know for sure unless Bueilyr is familiar with the terrain/layout of the outside, or with divination spells.

But if the 'fuse' is an hour, we may not need teleportation; fly might be occasionally handy if we come across a gorge and need someone to bring ropes across, etc, since, as we know, 'nobody's tossing these dwarves!'.

I think the key is diversion. Perhaps it's not necessary to fight/kill everything that moves in the place. I have more ideas, but probably should let you guys do the bulk of the planning since the character I play is a newcomer and really isn't deeply involved in the planning so far.

Let's see how the scouting session goes and what info it yields.

[Werewhale]

Yeah, the geography of the surface exit plays a part. I had this idea about improvised sleds and balls of steel.

[ithildur]

Originally Posted by mshady

In regards to the scouting... we can do that friday night. It will be a bit adhoc, but lets give it a go.

This will be done by MSN, so sign on and let me know. I can be found at mstaley1@rochester.rr.com.

The game is really open to anyone who wants to come. The stealthy types have their specific thing to do, but that's not to say other things won't... pop up along the way.

Mike

What time tonight Mike? Does MSN have a dice roller? Surprised you don't do this via irc

I've been waiting forever for my msn account password to get reset. Looks like it's time to finally make a new account. Grr..

[mshady]

I'd be happy to try an IRC account if others would like to, but its a little short notice for me to do so tonight as I may have to do a map. Go go random encounter underdark table! ;)

Huh, what's a Beholder again?

[ithildur]

Originally Posted by mshady

I'd be happy to try an IRC account if others would like to, but its a little short notice for me to do so tonight as I may have to do a map. Go go random encounter underdark table! ;)

Huh, what's a Beholder again?

Nooo....

Well... it was fun while it lasted.

Up to you; I've no idea how you ran things via MSN; if it's easier I've no problem setting up a new account. irc was just a suggestion, since some folks were telling me it's possible to get dice rolls with it and well, it's something at least several of us are familiar with.

[mshady]

If you can post a link to a client and instructions on a room I can use ASAP, I'll give it a shot. I'm not opposed to it at all; it allows posting of larger blocks. I generally used mIRC but I'll use whatever.