* How's the difficulty? Too easy? Too hard? Just right?
I think it is just right, I like to be on the edge of dying every once in a while. I like the mix of some easy matches (like the vampire spawns) and some that really make you wonder if you are going to make it through. I also like that you haven't been making them unnecessarily stupid or just always having immunities to fire (in our case) or some such.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
* What do you think of the story? Do you want to continue to pursue it, or take more of a sandbox approach? Are there too many plot rails? Because now would be the perfect time to jump them.
The story is great, I think you are doing it at a great pace. I love it when you have "chapters" like this, letting us accomplish something on our way to saving the world. I also like dealing with more and more prestigious people as we get more powerful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
* Since all your characters were clearly designed to be fairly combat oriented, I've included a lot of combat. I think we've only had one session without fighting, and we average about two encounters per game. Is there anything you'd like more or less focus on? More social interaction, more traps and puzzles, more dungeon-delves?
I have played many different games in my day, and honestly, at this point in time this is what I am looking for. I love puzzles, traps, dungeon-delves, you name it. I have done much more social interaction before, and frankly with this new map system I prefer the more "board game" aspects of the combat. My new character will be a better trapfinder than Rick (as he isn't as spread out) and he is also a little better in combat. All that to say, I like the combat, its fun killing stuff!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
* What's your take on the whole "three free levels" thing? Is it a good idea? Is it balanced? Is it fun?
I don't know if it is balanced, but I don't care! Personally I like playing weird characters I wouldn't think of otherwise (as humans are typically a better optimization choice). I think its fun and as Galliard said, it will become less of a boon at later levels.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
* Do you feel you are advancing at about the right pace? Getting xp and wealth fast enough? You were behind WBL for a while, but I think you've started to catch up. And with the whole Lordship thing, I can give you a steady income to smooth things out if you are still behind where you think you should be.
I think we are doing good. I wanted to ask you what my wealth should be for my new character. I figured I could do WBL, but for what, my ECL? With or without the three levels? Also, he won't be a Lord like the others, but I assume they will support him or something.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
* Any suggestions in general? Is there a particular type of monster you'd like to face, treasure you want to acquire, setting you want to visit? Imbrius is a big place, I'm sure I can fit any special requests in somewhere. The point is to have fun, so I take these sorts of suggestions seriously.
Honestly I will leave most of that stuff up to you. If we all had good rollers to make things relatively quick and such, I have ALWAYS wanted to lead an army into battle. Most DMs avoid things like that because of the dice rolling needed, but really the rabble would just do their thing as you helped fight the captians and such. Other than that, its your show and you are doing an absolutely fabulous job, I look forward to it each week. (Which is why I am often really sorry when I have to flake out due to real life)
wee! more dingstuff! umm.. you gys kept saying that there was a class out there that the Monk was supposed to be like.. what was it, and where could i find it?
Swordsage from Tome of Battle. Magnetbox played one last campaign. I forget the name, started with a "V".
Late into the days of 3.5, Wizards of the Coast finally caught on to the fact that by mid level, the spellcasters could do tons of cool tricks and change the tides of major battles, while the melee types were just getting slightly better at hitting things every level. It got to the point where a 10th level wizard (if well made) can be more powerful than a 20th level fighter.
Their solution was the Tome of Battle, which gave warrior type characters options that are somewhat similar to spells. They gain "maneuvers", which are neat martial arts type combat moves, and "stances", which provide passive bonuses. And as they advance they learn more and more of these things, and more powerful ones, just like wizards get more spells.
It worked pretty well. The three classes in the ToB are head and shoulders above any other combat classes in terms of power. They might even have become as powerful as the casters if not for the fact that 3.5 came to an end with casters having about 50 books full of options and spells, while these classes only had one.
The three classes are as follows. Crusaders, who are holy warriors similar to paladins. Warblades, who are professional warriors like fighters and barbarians. And Swordsages, who are mystical martial arts masters like monks.
And since the Swordsages are so cool, and actually get martial arts moves like characters in a kung fu film, they are basically monks the way monks should be (i.e., a fantasy version of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, with maybe some Kung Fu Hustle thrown in). As opposed to the normal monks, whose one trick is hitting things extra times per round. There's even a variant that allow them to trade in their armor proficiencies for a monk's better unarmed damage, so you can be even more monk-like.
Incidentally, if you are looking for new ways of playing monks, Fax Celestis wrote a really awesome homebrew version, which is also much stronger than the standard monk. I've always really liked that homebrew, so it's approved if anyone wants to use it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnetbox
I figured I could do WBL, but for what, my ECL? With or without the three levels? Also, he won't be a Lord like the others, but I assume they will support him or something.
WBL without the three levels.
As for the Lord thing, yeah your character is a stranger to everyone at the moment. But I'm sure I can arrange for him to eventually do something heroic in the service of the kingdom, and earn a title like the others.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnetbox
Honestly I will leave most of that stuff up to you. If we all had good rollers to make things relatively quick and such, I have ALWAYS wanted to lead an army into battle.
Hmmm, never really thought of that. In a tabletop game that sort of thing is a nightmare to manage, but with Maptool and some decent macros, we could probably pull it off pretty easily. The tokens can be duplicated indefinitely, can keep track of their own health, and can be made as small (and the map as large) as we need.
I know Heroes of Battle has a lot of cool stuff for that sort of mass combat thing. I'll need to look into it, I've never really done more than glance at that book.
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Last edited by Starscream : 11-13-2010 at 11:53 PM.
hmm.. the swordsage looks pretty cool, as a prestige class type thing for a monk.. and i do like that homebrew version as well.. would it be possible to convert over to the homebrew version?
hmm.. the swordsage looks pretty cool, as a prestige class type thing for a monk.. and i do like that homebrew version as well.. would it be possible to convert over to the homebrew version?
EhhhhhhhOkay.
If you were actually switching classes I'd request that you make a new character, but since you just want to do a variant on your old class, I'll allow it.
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Guys I am really sorry, but apparently my wife signed us up to rake leaves at old people's houses this saturday. I'm afraid the introduction of my new character will have to wait another week. Sorry for the trouble.
Guys I am really sorry, but apparently my wife signed us up to rake leaves at old people's houses this saturday. I'm afraid the introduction of my new character will have to wait another week. Sorry for the trouble.
Fair enough. We were going to be down a player anyway, so I guess we'll postpone the session.
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Let's see... loots since the last time we were in a good spot to sell stuffs:
Quarterstaff (Medium) (+1 Weapon) (2000 gp)
Full Plate (Medium) (+2 Armor) (5650 gp)
Divine Scroll (Bull's Strength (150 gp), Eagle's Splendor (150 gp)) (total 300 gp)
Kama (Small) (+1 weapon) (2302 gp)
Oil of Bless Weapon (100 gp)
Potion of Barkskin (+2) (300 gp)
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds (300 gp)
Potion of Remove Fear (50 gp)
Potion of Shield of Faith (+2) (50 gp)
Wand of Bear's Endurance (31 of 50 charges) (2790 gp)
Masterwork Artisans Tools (55 gp)
+1 Undead Bane Sling (8300 gp)
Wand of Magic Missile (CL 3) with 26 charges - (585 gp)
Potion of Flying - (750 gp)
+1 leather armor - (1160 gp)
Art Objects/Gems/Cash:
Bolt of Rare Elven Cloth (100 gp)
Ermine Gloves set with Amber (400 gp)
Feathered Talisman (90 gp)
Lacquered Wooden Opera Mask (800 gp)
Platinum Framed Painting depicting a Griffon fighting a Unicorn (1000 gp)
Silk Ribbon set with Citrine (900 gp)
Golden Pearl (150 gp)
Malachite (10 gp)
Sardonyx (60 gp)
763 pp (7630 gp)
1683 gp (1683 gp)
437 sp (43.7 gp)
30 cp (0.3 gp)
A large diamond, approximate value (8500 gp).
A small platinum chest containing some saphires - (1600 gp)
As for the potions and such... we're at a level where everyone needs to be able to arrange to fly. If anyone doesn't have a method of flight yet, that person needs the potion of fly. I'd be willing to take the full plate, but as I just hit 8th, Magic Vestments would cover it, so it's not too big a deal. I'm actually cool with liquidating all of it. Anyone else see something in the list they could use?
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
i'd like to keep the undead sling, and, if i read the class rules for that monk variant, and it allows the use of light armor without penalties to abilities, keep the +1 leathers as well
Found your new Thri-Keen friend Therrak in the middle of the forest, fending off the attacks of a trio of ogres. Defeated them and brought him home to explain what was up.
Seems he was a victim of the nefarious Dr. Ghastly, the same guy responsible for sending Mr. Knock to assassinate Lord Russet. Ghastly was attempting some sort of regression experiment, which resulted in him devolving to a semi-monstrous (well more monstrous than a normal six foot mantis) form.
Ghastly wanted him back, however, and kidnapped a young lady as a hostage. Traveled to his hidden lab, navigated an acid trap, and confronted him. The Doctor hid himself away with his hostage and caused a couple of scorpions to grow to gigantic proportions and attack.
You defeated the bugs, arrested Ghastly, and rescued the hostage. You also learned about the six elements that make up the entire multiverse, and that the pyramid you have reacts to one of them. Other than that, no real connection to the main story in today's game. I just wanted a good way to introduce the new character, and tie it in a little bit with the mythology of the world.
Experience points:
3 5th level ogre barbarians: 1000 xp each
2 Huge Monstrous Scorpions: 900 xp each
Loot:
3 +1 Large greatclubs (6000gp)
3 +1 Large Hide Armor (3495gp)
3 Rings of Protection +1 (6000gp)
(Interesting. The Monster Manual says those monsters should have Standard treasure for their CR, including those items. Yet even by themselves, that stuff is worth nearly twice as much as their valuables should be worth. Oh well, helps make up for the fact that giant scorpions don't carry any treasure.)
While searching the place, you also found that the machine that enlarged the bugs was using a large ruby as a sort of focusing lens. Approximate value, 3250gp.
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Let's see... if we sell everything, we're looking at 20,093.5 gp total from the loots (stuff that sells for 50%), and 26,217 from the art objects / pseudo-cash, for 15436.83 each... well, unless we want to do something complex, and/or not cut the feral thri-keen in on the loots this go-round (did he did start at WBL?).
If we keep the diamond out of it (Spell component for Raise Dead, if it comes up), then that's 12603.5 each. Of course, if nobody has any deflection to AC, I'd advise keeping the rings, which cuts things down to 11603.5 each (and one Ring of Deflection each, as well).
So... who wants to buy anything out of the loot at, say, half-market (which is what we'd get from selling it, after all). Noteable items:
+1 Undead Bane Sling (4150), +1 Leather Armor (580), +1 Small Kama (1151), +1 Quarterstaff (apparently only +1 on one side...) (1000), +2 Full Plate (2825). Note that the calculations include today's loot in the listing, as well as my last listing.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
I think that is a great idea (regarding the diamond and the rings). I honestly don't need any of the weapons now that I am ranged and so all of that stuff depends on you guys.
I've got a Cholesterol test Saturday, and don't expect to be able to attend the game. Sorry.
OK, so, just to confirm:
1) We keep the diamonds as a party resource (MC for Raise Dead/Resurrection)
2) We each keep one of the Rings of Deflection
3) We liquidate the rest and divide evenly
Giving everyone 11,603.5 gp to spend, and a Ring of Deflection+1
All agreed?
Note: If so, I'm upgrading my Cloak of Resistance from +1 to +3 (8,000 gp commission) and picking up a +2 Periapt of Wisdom (4,000 gp)
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Last edited by Jack_Simth : 12-03-2010 at 07:55 AM.
I've got a Cholesterol test Saturday, and don't expect to be able to attend the game. Sorry.
OK, so, just to confirm:
1) We keep the diamonds as a party resource (MC for Raise Dead/Resurrection)
2) We each keep one of the Rings of Deflection
3) We liquidate the rest and divide evenly
Giving everyone 11,603.5 gp to spend, and a Ring of Deflection+1
All agreed?
Note: If so, I'm upgrading my Cloak of Resistance from +1 to +3 (8,000 gp commission) and picking up a +2 Periapt of Wisdom (4,000 gp)
i planned on keeping the +1 leather armor and the sling of undead bane.
*Shrug* doc your share by the sale price of the two items (4,730) and you're set.
that, and a wand of cure moderate wounds leaves me at 2430.5 gp
i'd like to use some of that to get a bit of land in the village, maybe on the road just north of the blacksmiths shop.. i'm thinking of setting up a dojo thingy, and setting up cheap, affordable classes (free to women and children, and members of the militia/guard!)
Session closed. I'll describe it in detail since Jack wasn't here.
Ornald was out settling a feud between two families of farmers, and while he was gone Madila and Therrak got a letter requesting their presence in the middle of the woods, at a cave that wasn't there before, to discuss the Obsidian Pyramid.
Arriving there, the two encountered some nasty resistance in the form of a hideous blobbish creature with eyes, mouths, and oddly enough a pair of butterfly wings, which refused to allow them entrance. It had powerful attacks, mind-bending spells, and the ability to turn itself invisible. Fortunately, our heroes were able to beat it unconscious, even under the effects of its Confusion spell.
Entering the cave, they found two individuals representing the Lower Planes. One was a devil named Felix, the other a demon named Bettie. They hated each other, but had arranged an opportunity to address the two together on neutral ground for one reason; they each wanted the pyramid for their respective masters (Mephistopheles and Orcus).
The two rekindled the feud between the farmers to distract Ornald, feeling that he would not be as agreeable as the others, what with him having a Neutral Good alignment and already being the servant of a deity. Madila and Therrak, a lawful and chaotic being respectively, seemed much easier to appeal to.
Felix and Bettie both bid on the pyramid, offering ever greater rewards for its ownership:
*Bettie offered 5000 Gp, Felix a crown from a lost kingdom he claimed was worth 10X as much.
*Bettie countered with a magic carpet that would allow the PCs to fly anywhere, and Felix with a helm that would allow instantaneous teleportation.
*Bettie put forth a contract that would sic multiple Assassin Demons on whoever's name was written on it, and Felix responded with the Last Will and Testament of a land-rich knight who was dying and owed Felix his soul, and would leave his lands to the PCs in return for escaping his debt.
*Finally, Bettie showed them a Philosopher's Stone, a very rare item from a place called the Necropolis, that even fiends don't know the method of creating. Felix, in desperation, claimed he would give them a Ring of Three Wishes.
This set off a row between the fiends, as neither of them had revealed to the other that they had access to such items, and violated the terms of their temporary truce. But even these precious magical items did not sway the PCs, who were now convinced that neither could be trusted. The demon and devil swore that the Pyramid would be safer with them, as unlike the Cult of Nerull they had no interest in destroying the world and populating it with undead (as it would stop the flow of fresh souls to their realms). Leaving it in the hands of mortals, however, would almost guarantee some future catastrophe.
Still Madila and Therrak refused to hand it over, and Plan B for the outsiders was to kill them and then fight over the pyramid themselves. Bettie was far from a formidable melee combatant, but managed to Charm Therrak into leaving her alone, and attempted to summon backup (which fortunately failed). She was eventually knocked out by Madila. Felix was a better warrior, stabbing Therrak multiple times, draining his HP with Vampiric Touch, and confusing his opponents with Mirror Image.
But Madila unleashed her breath weapon on the images, destroying all but the real one (who was immune to fire), and leaving him helpless. Knowing that he was doomed, with his last action he teleported to Bettie's unconscious body and stabbed her himself, ending the rivalry between the two because he knew her master would punish her when she returned (fiends only ever truly die if slain on their own plane), because she fell before a Devil. As the PCs finished him off, he simply said it was "Worth it."
The cave vanished shortly after both fiends died. Outside, the body of the blob monster was missing (and both fiends claimed they didn't know who sent it). In it's place was a note reading "Well done."
XP:
1 Advanced Half-Fey Gibbering Mouther: 1000 xp
1 Harvester Devil and 1 Succubus: 1000 xp
Treasure:
Bettie had +1 Slick Hide Armor (4915 GP)
Felix had a +1 Dagger (2302 gp) and an Amulet of Natural Armor +1 (2000gp)
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Last edited by Starscream : 12-04-2010 at 09:24 PM.
You know, you keep making it really tempting to call in the favor from the celestial... for purposes of "Please lock this up in your deity's vaults for the rest of eternity, would you?"
But I don't suggest it, as it seems like it's a rather plot-relevant item....
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
You know, you keep making it really tempting to call in the favor from the celestial... for purposes of "Please lock this up in your deity's vaults for the rest of eternity, would you?"
But I don't suggest it, as it seems like it's a rather plot-relevant item....
i was fingering that unicorn the whole time, just thinking that...
You know, you keep making it really tempting to call in the favor from the celestial... for purposes of "Please lock this up in your deity's vaults for the rest of eternity, would you?"
But I don't suggest it, as it seems like it's a rather plot-relevant item....
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galliard
i was fingering that unicorn the whole time, just thinking that...
You missed it, but even the demon and devil seemed to consider that the PCs might try something like that. They claimed that since the gods refuse to even acknowledge the existence of such an item, and didn't lift a finger to stop the apocalypse, they are no more trustworthy than Felix and Bettie.
At least the fiends were being honest, admitting that their masters had nefarious plans in mind (none of which directly threatened the world), and offered something in return. The gods (good AND evil) won't even return your phone calls if you ask about this thing.
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If Madila is going to set up a dojo I should probably get a job too (instead of just sitting around the manor eating all Ornald's cheetos. I was thinking maybe I should work with the border guard of the new land. After all, with the scout/ranger thing goin, I think it works.
*Shrug* when you're the local lords, food's easy - that's how most farmers pay their rent.
Ornald's a Cleric... I suppose he'd be looking into setting up a temple.
Although he'd also be regularly dropping by to grab an ale in the local thieves' guild HQ. He recognizes that a reasonable guild will prevent independents, and that the particular setup they're on works out to about a 3% tax on the locals (depending on which of the three weeks they lose 50%, but eh), which is likely less than they'd get from uncontrolled theft. The guild serves a useful purpose, so he's not reporting them to the constables (even though the constables are technically in Ornald's employ, and have stamping out theft as their job...). He does, however, want to make it clear that he knows where they live if they get out of hand.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
*Shrug* when you're the local lords, food's easy - that's how most farmers pay their rent.
Ornald's a Cleric... I suppose he'd be looking into setting up a temple.
Although he'd also be regularly dropping by to grab an ale in the local thieves' guild HQ. He recognizes that a reasonable guild will prevent independents, and that the particular setup they're on works out to about a 3% tax on the locals (depending on which of the three weeks they lose 50%, but eh), which is likely less than they'd get from uncontrolled theft. The guild serves a useful purpose, so he's not reporting them to the constables (even though the constables are technically in Ornald's employ, and have stamping out theft as their job...). He does, however, want to make it clear that he knows where they live if they get out of hand.
Could make em an official fire/damage/theft insurance company...
Could make em an official fire/damage/theft insurance company...
Nope. Would defeat the purpose (other than, perhaps, being able to tax them).
See, if they were official, they wouldn't be able to do the things that they do, we couldn't quietly point out that we know where they live, they couldn't go through and bully the independent crooks out of business, they no longer have the official opposition / competition of the town guard, and so on. You have to have an unusual slant on the world to see it, but as they're set up, they're useful. A local thieves' guild is much like a fire: If it gets out of control, it's a problem; if it stays within certain boundaries, it's beneficial (burning up trash that you don't want [independent thieves & thugs], keeping certain things warm [continual practice in Spot for the constables - making them suitable soldiers if war comes up], and costing a little firewood to maintain [they work out to about a 3% tax on the locals, give or take a bit]); if you get too close (aka, you don't know when to leave well enough alone), it'll burn you rather badly. When we arrived, to all appearances, the local guild was within reasonable boundaries. I'd much prefer to keep it that way.
Plus if they're official, the chaotic elements won't band up with them.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Got word from Gamon of some mysterious monks that he doesn't think are genuine. They go around killing the undead (cool) and collecting their remains (uncool) to take back for "purification".
One such group was digging into the burial mound of the Balcress Horror, a local monster that stalked the countryside ages ago, before being trapped in its tomb.
Tracked them to the burial mound, faced off against several swarms of plague-bearing ants (fortunately Therrak will have time to get a Remove Disease) and confronted the monks, who for some reason wanted the monster "alive" (for a given value of alive, anyway).
Beat the monster, beat the monks, captured one of them and questioned him. Seems his order serves a man called Kharis, the "Teacher" who was once dead, is now alive, and apparently achieved this feat without the aid of any magic. He hails from the Necropolis, which is located waaaay on the south side of the map, and believes in the destruction of all undead.
XP:
4 swarms of Plague Ants: 900 xp
1 Advanced Mohrg (and some monks who both helped and hindered): 1800 xp.
Loot:
+1 Arrow Catching Heavy Wooden Shield (Large)
+1 Humanoid (Human) Bane Greatsword (Large)
Extra big Portable Hole (10 feet wide, 20 deep), currently full of corpses
An odd tuning fork
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Oh yes, and of course, if we've got the 24 hours until the next adventure, applying a Remove Disease to the big bug that turns things it doesn't like into pincushions.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Hey guys, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to cancel this Saturday's session. I've had a crummy week. Managed to break my rib on Sunday, and then immediately caught a bad flu/cold combo. Which makes me double miserable because sneezing with a broken rib is painful.
I'm fine and getting better, but I need to take it easy this weekend, so I don't really have time to plot anything. And since next Saturday is Christmas, I guess I'll see you guys in 2011.
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