[3.5] The Refounding [OOC]

[moritheil]

The Wars of Antric have been costly.

Goblins, unified by the cunning Grashak into a single horde, pressed the human and elven nations for a land of their own. Months of battle have taken their toll on the surrounding countryside. The Demon Lord Derwydden attempted to seize this opportunity, bargaining with the goblins to open a portal and catch the good armies unawares between them, but an avatar of a greater power took offense at this interference in the war and smashed the plan.

With the goblins in disarray after this failed gambit, there is now a lull in the war. Many warriors gathered by the fighting have decided to take up new causes. One such group has determined that the legendary home of learning for swordsages, warblades, and crusaders, should be re-founded. Their first task is to find the remnants of the old temple where Reshar, the legendary Master of Nine, once lived and taught.

The world of Mori is hazardous. Grashak still dreams of empire. Demons still occasionally appear, survivors of the portal. Bandits, undead, and elementals are said to roam the countryside. Against these, our heroes have their wits, their blades, and a newfound purpose - rebuild the Temple of Nine Swords.

This is the OOC thread for the campaign. The 16, the DM Rulings, etc. are all copied to the wiki. You can drop OOC text in the IC channel if it is explaining what you are doing mechanically in character. Make all your rolls in the IC channel, sblocked if need be. Everything else OOC - discussions of strategy, player-to-player loot division agreements, and most especially Rules questions, should go here.

Player Characters
Cerran the Grey, Jade Phoenix Mage
Annabel Zarathi, Bloodclaw Master
Aer the Raven, Bard Warblade
Ran, Warshaper
Conner, Bloodstorm Blade
Imperious, Warblade
Oro de Wee, Ruby Knight Vindicator

[Oh My God]

Combat Tactics: Where Do You Want Your Corpse Today

So, before we actually get in to any combat, I think we should all figure out what we're going to be -doing- in it. As our characters are all trained deaths-on-a-stick, we should both 1) Know what we're doing in combat and 2) Generally work well in concert.

Imperious is a fairly straight forward Warblade with one twist (we'll get to that at the end). With Combat Brute and an adamantine two-handed weapon, he should do well at sundering weapons, and with improved trip he should be able to surprise a few enemies with saying hello to the ground. His maneuver selection is intended to make him a generalist; he can hit once, really hard or he can hit all of the enemies next to him. He can buff his allies, and (through the disgusting White Raven Tactics), cheat extra actions for his friends.

The twist? Its mostly negative. He's Aruntar! This means (among other things) that if he gets hit (and takes damage), I have to make a Will save to not be stunned. I've got both Wall of Blades and Moment of Perfect Mind to help with that; the flip side to being an Aruntar is that I get to double morale bonuses I receive. So whatever fun morale effects Aer the Raven can generate? I get twice as much benefit from it.

Needless to say, I'm hoping we can either talk Aer in to taking more Bard levels, or picking up a henchman bard to follow Imperious around.

[meemaas]

My plan is to keep myself where i can get maximum AoO's on the enemies. Mostly being in Thicket of blades stance, i'll provoke for any kind of movement within my range, along with normal provoking actions, and with mage slayer, spellcasting can't be done on the defensive. But i'll be keeping back a little, because my reach weapon is my major damage dealer, and that'll be what i prefer to use, but it won't hit within my regular reach, where only my natural weapon can strike. I'll preferably be keeping enemies from moving towards targets that aren't built to take it, thanks to stand still, but other than that, nothing special.

Plus side? Enemies won't know my reach is as big as it is until i use it, thanks to the Warshapers abilities.

[moritheil]

Originally Posted by Oh My God

The twist? Its mostly negative. He's Aruntar! This means (among other things) that if he gets hit (and takes damage), I have to make a Will save to not be stunned. I've got both Wall of Blades and Moment of Perfect Mind to help with that; the flip side to being an Aruntar is that I get to double morale bonuses I receive. So whatever fun morale effects Aer the Raven can generate? I get twice as much benefit from it.

Needless to say, I'm hoping we can either talk Aer in to taking more Bard levels, or picking up a henchman bard to follow Imperious around.

For those who didn't read that part of the homebrew, Aruntar are hardcore glass cannons, due to this:

Dazed by Pain (Ex): Whenever an Aruntar suffers damage, he must make a Will save with DC equal to the amount of damage he personally takes, or be unable to act in that round. If the damage resulted from a spell, the DC equals the spell's save DC plus the damage it caused. For each increment of 10 that he fails the DC by, he is unable to act for an additional round.

Evasion and Mettle help with that, if you can afford to pick them up. That said, it is dazing, not stunning (you do not become easier to attack and you do not drop your weapon.)

[meemaas]

So that puts you very clearly in the list of people who aren't allowed to be approached.

[moritheil]

I think if he massacres enough enemies at the start of combat, he can make up for his inaction later in combat. He can be left alone if the enemy is getting killed by the rest of the party - at 9d12 hit dice, he's got . . .

. . . hey OMG, did you ever roll those hit dice?

[Oh My God]

I've got a 20% miss chance on me, I've got one counter that'll give me a better AC, and one counter that basically lets me automatically pass the Will save. I'm not crispy glass, but I am glass.

Spoiler

(1d12)[5]
(1d12)[8]
(1d12)[10]
(1d12)[4]
(1d12)[9]
(1d12)[12]
(1d12)[8]
(1d12)[3]
(1d12)[6]

[moritheil]

Nice hit point roll!

Yeah, with the group packing as much offense as it does, it's possible most fights will end swiftly.

Btw, does anyone have a preference for where the group meets IC? I was going to use the barracks, or else a tavern room.

[moritheil]

Oh, I almost forgot. I'm proposing a Buddy System to keep things moving, since we have 7 players. I usually implement this for online games where I have 8+ players, so that one person running into a crisis does not hold up the game. Otherwise, one person gets sick, and then another person has crunch time at work, and then a third person has midterms, and before we know it the game has ground to a halt.

In the absence of the player, characters are treated like NPCs. That means that the DM runs them as convenient. Obviously they will be run as close to character as possible, but equally obviously, a player has no grounds for complaint if something happens with his or her character because he or she isn't there (or, as is likely, if nothing happens.)

Enter the Buddy System. Each player should try hard to find one other player capable of playing his or her character, should he or she be absent.

How does it benefit you?
- More spotlight time: another player is more likely to think of cool things your character can do, keeping the spotlight on your character (and keeping your character useful) even while you're away.
- More exp: a character run by the DM for you for an extended period of time usually does not gain any exp. A character run via the Buddy System will be allowed to gain exp.
- Better encounters: by freeing up DM resources, the Buddy System allows the DM to better simulate the world, resulting in a richer experience for players.

If you do not have a Buddy, the DM may assign your character randomly to be played by another player in your absence. If you have a declared buddy, you know whoever is running the character is someone you can trust to get the basic flavor right.

If you do not have a Buddy, the DM may randomly ask you to play another character as well as your own. If you have a declared buddy and they aren't the one absent, you're off the hook.


I'm not asking everyone to decide right away on a buddy, but as you play with other players I ask that you let me know if there is someone who you would prefer to be a designated buddy in case something unforeseen happens. (They must agree, as well.)

Also, feel free to debate the threshold at which the buddy system should cut in - 24 hours? 48 hours? 72 hours? I want this to be something you're all comfortable with.

[meemaas]

I actually saw that reading through your wiki, but for myself, the only reason I fail to post is feeling too crappy to keep up with anything. Other than that there's never a reason for me not to plat when i can, although I do usually refrain from posting in character from my phone unless I have to. That said, as a warning. I typically don't get much posting done in the morning, because that's typically when i have work, although I do do my best to keep up on whats going on when i can.

[Ithandor]

Buddy System

This sounds good to me. I've seen a couple of games stagnate now because one person can't post for a period of time and gives no warning. Regarding a threshold, I think 48hours might be appropriate? Or indeed sooner, if a person knows they'll be away.


Combat Tactics

Cerran was built in mind to be a generalist melee combatant, while sacrificing as little casting as possible given that I knew he could very well be the sole arcane caster. He's probably reasonably tough... although he has quite few hit points, he has DR 8/evil, (I think) one of the highest ACs in the party, Abrupt Jaunt to hopefully avoid eating too many full attacks, and the likes of Fly and Greater Mirror Image if stuff gets bad.

In melee offense, he relies on either Power Attack + touch attacks (Emerald Razor, Wraithstrike) or Full Attack with Burning Blade (and Haste, if available - I'll memorise two if Oro joins and we gain another dispeller). He has a minimum Knowledge Devotion bonus of +2, and can reach +5, so his damage output should be respectable (though I doubt I'd be able to match, say, Ran's). Most importantly regarding knowledges, I have 100' telepathy, so upon learning about what we're fighting I should be able to communicate it effectively to the party.

For spells, I chose a mix of self buffs with melee in mind, and Battlefield Control. However, I didn't realise we'd have a 30' Reach build in the party. I might shuffle that around a bit to include more ranged damage, if that seems to be what we're lacking.


Speech

Cerran will speak in Grey, as befits his name

EDIT: I'll use a combination of italics and << >> to represent telepathic messages, << like so >>


Beginnings

Originally Posted by moritheil

Btw, does anyone have a preference for where the group meets IC? I was going to use the barracks, or else a tavern room.

Either works for me.

[Oh My God]

Oh, and His Imperious Grace, the Notional King of Fwghwda, Duke Clarence Wilberforce Wallenstein, Third Viscount Penistone, Defender of the Reasonably Well Off," Will Speak in purple, for not only will his jolly good prose be such a color with its ostentatious ornamentation and oblique operations, but so too is that the color of his glorious, flowing locks."

[moritheil]

Servers are really lagging tonight. IC is up!

Trivia: "Feathered (Rooster)" is censored automatically by the boards. This resulted in the play on words (a coque is a hatter's ribbon.)

Decide amongst yourself who is present early, who comes in late, who knows each other, etc.

[Aeryr]

Originally Posted by moritheil

Buddy sistem

Perfectly fine with me Anyone wanna be my buddy?

Combat tactics
-Tactical movement: He might send his familiar far away and then use benign transposition to trade places with the raven.
-Singing: If combat seems to be approaching/possible (e.g. Aer enters a BBEG room) he will use Undersong before it.
-Dancing: most of the time Aer will activate his bardic music (he uses perform [dance]) before combat and keep performing. When activating it he expends a inspirational boost [most of the time a spell, but he also has a wand just in case] and a charge of the badge of valor [total morale bonus +4 (to attacks, damage and save vs fear)] In combat he just can keep dancing most of the time unless he wants to use benign transposition.
-Fighting: Aer is a melee guy. He uses diamond mind strikes (with his good concentration, or his even better perform [weapon drill]) for damage. He uses from time to time the stunning property of his weapon to force the enemies to drop items.
-Rev (the raven): The raven most of the time aids Aer with his skill checks (whistling happily in his shoulder). If an enemy drops a shiny due to being stunned Rev will surely pick it up (if it can). In really situational cases it might carry a wand or retrieve an item from battle.
-Out of combat: Aer uses a wand of lesser vigor to patch himself up. Aer uses a dark orange to speak. While the raven uses an italized version of the same colour (dark orange)

IC starting: I am thinking that Aer could had been there early, doing some dancing / swordplaying to raise the moral of the troops as a wandering bard.

[appending_doom]

Oro, as befits her training, is a prime dispeller. Divine Defiance allows her to do so without any preparation, and her ring of spell battle means she's aware of any magic close to her.

Due to her healing auras and Devoted Spirit strikes, she stays close to her comrades, usually within easy reach of those more fragile than her. This has the added benefit that if anyone thinks a member of the party is "easy pickings", they can run against her Foehammer/Mountain Hammer.

She can pull off impressive bursts of speed for someone in full plate, but only in combat, and uses that ability to help maneuver in a manner better than others similarly bedecked.

The Ruby Knight speaks in Dark Red, as befits her name.

She generally would be assisting with healing (sacrificing much of her 1st-level spells on things like CLW; and 2nd level on lesser restoration) during downtime. This could easily be within the inn (for problems not requiring long-term care) or at the field hospital.

[Ithandor]

I guess I'll try to kick us off then. (Edit: got midway through a post and then work interrupts :) )

An OOC question to moritheil:

Spoiler

How do you want me to represent knowledge from previous lives? Mechanically, I guess it's rolled into the JPM's +2 bonus to knowledge, but from a RP standpoint, is it ok if I remember trivial things from previous lives (eg. I had been here before when it was just a field near a river - a long time had past, and Feldham spread before me) and then Knowledge checks (I guess history/geography/nobility&royalty/religion?) for details?

Or should it be more vague?

[Beowulf DW]

The buddy system sounds great to me. I think we ought to get a little ways into the IC thread before we decided on who to buddy with.

As far as combat tactics go, I meant for Conner to be a front line attention getter. I don't know how hard he can hit compared to some of your characters, but my general idea was that he could wade into combat, use his attacks (both melee and thrown) to draw enemies to him. His AC isn't as high as some of the characters here, but his HP is fairly high-he can get hit so that the bad guys don't give up and move on, and he can take those hits. Conner focuses on the Diamond Mind and Ironheart styles. Diamond mind allows him to hit more often, and helps to make up for his bad will save. Ironheart lets me do more damage to more people at the cost of taking more damage myself.

I'll be using Dark Green for Conner's dialogue, to represent his time being raised among the hobgoblins and goblins.

[Aeryr]

Originally Posted by Oh My God

Needless to say, I'm hoping we can either talk Aer in to taking more Bard levels, or picking up a henchman bard to follow Imperious around.

Aer is going to take more bard levels, and probably invest most of his resources in music boosting items (atm a +8 to attack and damage, a +4 to will saves and a +8 to saves against fear that Aer grants you seems quite respectable). I just felt that he was to squishy to need to be in the front row. Maybe I should had just used a spear, but nvm.

By the way who goes frist? I hope that once we start it this will snowball itself.

[Ithandor]

Originally Posted by Aeryr

By the way who goes frist? I hope that once we start it this will snowball itself.

I'm writing up an attempt now.

[Lexin]

Originally Posted by Aeryr

By the way if anyone is lost.

In character post here

Out of character post here

Thanks for that.

Buddy system
Sounds like a good idea. Wanna be buddies Aeryr?

Tactics
Annabel is a crit fisher with 15-20 crit range and Blood in the water stance, taking lightening mace feat in the near future for more attacks.
She has Hunter's Sense and 40-minute long Detect Hostile intent power to avoid ambushes in dangerous areas.
She also has some mobility thanks to shadow hand and tiger claws jumping maneuvers.
Mostly count her as secondary melee, she can help bring someone down, and help as a flanker + Assassin Stance.
She also has some basic healing for herself (2 x lesser vigor)

Speech - will talk in Blue

Sorry I posted so late (I somehow missed the information about OoC thread)

[moritheil]

Originally Posted by appending_doom

Oro, as befits her training, is a prime dispeller. Divine Defiance allows her to do so without any preparation, and her ring of spell battle means she's aware of any magic close to her.

Just so we're on the same page regarding exactly how this works - I believe you do have to have the actual spells prepared (or dispel magic) and expend them as normal. The turning attempt replaces you having to ready an action to counterspell, meaning you're basically getting an extra standard action that you can retroactively declare. Let me know if this is not how you thought it worked (it sounds consistent with what you said, but if not, I'd rather talk about it now than in combat.)

Originally Posted by Ithandor

I guess I'll try to kick us off then. (Edit: got midway through a post and then work interrupts :) )

An OOC question to moritheil:

Spoiler

How do you want me to represent knowledge from previous lives?

Spoiler

I always thought it was like Patton claiming to have fought over the same field hundreds of years ago in a past life. So in short, it's totally fine to occasionally remember non-plot-critical things at your discretion. I may occasionally let you remember plot-critical details too.

Originally Posted by Lexin

Thanks for that.
...
Sorry I posted so late (I somehow missed the information about OoC thread)

Sorry if it wasn't clear. I put the links to OOC and IC on the wiki and in my sig.

Aeryr, thanks for making that post.


EDIT: Rulings page updated with latest rulings.

[Aeryr]

Originally Posted by Lexin

Sounds like a good idea. Wanna be buddies Aeryr?

Sure, lets see how we roll first.

Originally Posted by moritheil

Aeryr, thanks for making that post.

You're welcome.

BTW Ithandor, even if Aer has "bard" as a character class he doesn't have any instrument per se, he just dances really well.

Edit: My first post in a pbp is on (feedback appreciated)

[Ithandor]

Originally Posted by Aeryr

BTW Ithandor, even if Aer has "bard" as a character class he doesn't have any instrument per se, he just dances really well.

Clearly there must have been a red haired minstrel, unrelated to the story, obscuring Aer from Cerran's sight.

[Aeryr]

Originally Posted by Ithandor

Clearly there must have been a red haired minstrel, unrelated to the story, obscuring Aer from Cerran's sight.

Nevermind, I edited my post to acknowledge him, he is Skald, from the north, he plays the balalaika and drinks like a demon. I hope Mori doesn't mind that I name an NPC.

[moritheil]

So, Ithandor, I had to look up mindsight again to see how much stone you could see through. Turns out it's not a problem, judging from the similar LoM writeup of the elder brain's mindsight.

Incidentally, I may rule that magically warded areas interfere with mindsight, on top of things like mind blank and being undead. Mage's Private Sanctum blocks it, as it blocks detect thoughts and most divinations.

I apologize for the somewhat piecemeal presentation of these rulings. It's been years since I had to deal with a PC with mindsight.

[moritheil]

Originally Posted by Aeryr

Nevermind, I edited my post to acknowledge him, he is Skald, from the north, he plays the balalaika and drinks like a demon. I hope Mori doesn't mind that I name an NPC.

I don't mind. Skald sounds like a name given by someone who doesn't want to use his real name.

[Ithandor]

Originally Posted by moritheil

So, Ithandor, I had to look up mindsight again to see how much stone you could see through. Turns out it's not a problem, judging from the similar LoM writeup of the elder brain's mindsight.

Incidentally, I may rule that magically warded areas interfere with mindsight, on top of things like mind blank and being undead. Mage's Private Sanctum blocks it, as it blocks detect thoughts and most divinations.

I apologize for the somewhat piecemeal presentation of these rulings. It's been years since I had to deal with a PC with mindsight.

No worries... I was conscious when choosing it that it can cause issues - hence why I asked before taking it. I'll roll with whatever rulings you think fair

[Aeryr]

Can we post twice before everyone has posted, can't we?

Just making sure.

[moritheil]

Originally Posted by Aeryr

Can we post twice before everyone has posted, can't we?

Just making sure.

Sure, if you have something to say or respond to.

[appending_doom]

Originally Posted by moritheil

Just so we're on the same page regarding exactly how this works - I believe you do have to have the actual spells prepared (or dispel magic) and expend them as normal. The turning attempt replaces you having to ready an action to counterspell, meaning you're basically getting an extra standard action that you can retroactively declare. Let me know if this is not how you thought it worked (it sounds consistent with what you said, but if not, I'd rather talk about it now than in combat.)

Oh, yes. That's why most of her 3rd level spells are dispel magic.