Togo's Planar Adventure set partly in Sigil (OOC)

[Toliudar]

And Godot - gnomes in general, I'd suggest - is used to having her age underestimated by big'uns, who unconsciously equate short with childlike. So the "children" thing would just roll off her.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Just to explain, mainly towards Godot and Umbriel, Derk comes from a specific environment. He has always been a representative of the church, a knight and a man of authority. Everyone, including old(er) ladies , would adress him as sir, or lord or whatever title people deem worthy of a man of his stature. When a lady would fancy him, which happened seeing his charismatic appearance and his position, they would never be so straight forward about it. They might giggle and blush, laugh harder than his uptight sense of humour warranted or have their father put in effort to bring her together with him at some point.

He is just not used to be so 'common'. By all means, however, feel free to make fun of him and embarrass him. He is far too polite to ever get upset.

[Togo]

It is partly Derk's reserved formality that's made him a target for a certain chaos gnome.

[Toliudar]

Originally Posted by Autopsibiofeeder

Just to explain, mainly towards Godot and Umbriel, Derk comes from a specific environment. He has always been a representative of the church, a knight and a man of authority. Everyone, including old(er) ladies , would adress him as sir, or lord or whatever title people deem worthy of a man of his stature. When a lady would fancy him, which happened seeing his charismatic appearance and his position, they would never be so straight forward about it. They might giggle and blush, laugh harder than his uptight sense of humour warranted or have their father put in effort to bring her together with him at some point.

He is just not used to be so 'common'. By all means, however, feel free to make fun of him and embarrass him. He is far too polite to ever get upset.

That's...such a perfect foil for Godot, I don't think she could have created a better. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you!

[Cespenar]

Originally Posted by Autopsibiofeeder

Just to explain, mainly towards Godot and Umbriel, Derk comes from a specific environment. He has always been a representative of the church, a knight and a man of authority. Everyone, including old(er) ladies , would adress him as sir, or lord or whatever title people deem worthy of a man of his stature. When a lady would fancy him, which happened seeing his charismatic appearance and his position, they would never be so straight forward about it. They might giggle and blush, laugh harder than his uptight sense of humour warranted or have their father put in effort to bring her together with him at some point.

He is just not used to be so 'common'. By all means, however, feel free to make fun of him and embarrass him. He is far too polite to ever get upset.

There's a limit of what Rhion can help, you know. He can't stop a self-assisted suicide.

[Togo]

Originally Posted by Ifni

If I have one memorized, please assume Umbriel casts Nerveskitter (+5 init for all PCs) whenever the party rolls initiative.

Nerveskitter only effects a single target. Unless you're chaining it or something?

For the GM:

Spoiler

Umbriel takes 10 on her CL check (using her Arcane Mastery feat) to get 29. Succeed or fail, she'll learn something interesting

Succeed. Nephira has faint illusion and abjuration magic cast upon her. She does have spellcasting or spell-like abilities, they are arcane, highest level available is 6th.

Also, can you confirm my Contingency is okay? I basically want a Silence to go off (targeted on Umbriel) if the party is about to get hit with a Blasphemy/Holy Word/Word of Chaos/Dictum, or Wail of the Banshee. If possible, I'd also like to use my Extraordinary Spell Aim feat to exclude Umbriel from the effect of the spell, at the time that I cast it into the Contingency.

Um.. not really. Contingency has a single trigger condition. I'm happy with Blasphemy/Holy Word/Word of Chaos/Dictum since that's variations on a single effect, and I'd also be happy with a theme, like word-based spells, or similar, but Wail is an entirely different and unrelated spell.

Also, contingency only allows for spells that affect the caster. If you use extraordinary spell aim to exclude yourself from the effect, then the spell no longer qualifies for use with contingency.

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by Togo

Nerveskitter only effects a single target. Unless you're chaining it or something?

Doh I should not post from airports on 3 hours of sleep... sorry. My only previous character who knew Nerveskitter had five levels of Warweaver by the time he got it, and I'd honestly forgotten it's normally a single-target spell.

Nerveskitter will be targeted on Godot, unless someone else has something they really want to do on the first round of combat? (e.g. lots of sneak attack / sudden strike dice, or a critical buff they need to get active before they do anything else)

For the GM:

Spoiler

Um.. not really. Contingency has a single trigger condition. I'm happy with Blasphemy/Holy Word/Word of Chaos/Dictum since that's variations on a single effect, and I'd also be happy with a theme, like word-based spells, or similar, but Wail is an entirely different and unrelated spell.

Again, apologies for an unclear post. I meant to ask if you could check the version on my character sheet, which is currently set to trigger on "sonic effects equivalent to a L7 or higher spell". What I said in the post was just a summary of my intent. If "equivalent to a L7 or higher spell" is too vague or disallowed for other reasons (I'm mostly just trying to make sure I also block spell-like or supernatural Blasphemy etc), I'm happy to rephrase to just Blasphemy / Holy Word / Dictum / Word of Chaos.

Also, contingency only allows for spells that affect the caster. If you use extraordinary spell aim to exclude yourself from the effect, then the spell no longer qualifies for use with contingency.

This one I can't blame on being sleep-deprived: I have a friend who uses a very similar combo (contingent ESA'ed Antimagic Field), and I didn't think he'd do something unambiguously wrong by RAW - but on checking the wording, you are clearly correct. ESA makes one creature "unaffected", Contingency requires it "affects your person". So noted. I will leave the Silence contingency in place, and be prepared to spend an action dismissing it if it triggers. Can I ESA it to leave another PC unaffected at the time of storing it in the contingency? If I do, provided that PC is entirely within the Silence field, will they be protected from the sonic attack?

[Togo]

Answers in spoiler

Umbriel

Spoiler

Originally Posted by Ifni

Again, apologies for an unclear post. I meant to ask if you could check the version on my character sheet, which is currently set to trigger on "sonic effects equivalent to a L7 or higher spell". What I said in the post was just a summary of my intent. If "equivalent to a L7 or higher spell" is too vague or disallowed for other reasons (I'm mostly just trying to make sure I also block spell-like or supernatural Blasphemy etc), I'm happy to rephrase to just Blasphemy / Holy Word / Dictum / Word of Chaos.

No, ''strong' sonic effects is fine. Ordinarily I would hesitate to allow a contingency that acted as a divination (detecting the precise level of an incoming attack, something that you wouldn't ordinarily be able to do), but 7th level or higher happens to be the range for 'strong' magic', so that should be fine.

Originally Posted by Ifni

Can I ESA it to leave another PC unaffected at the time of storing it in the contingency? If I do, provided that PC is entirely within the Silence field, will they be protected from the sonic attack?

Um..

Ok - extraordinary spell aim allows you to alter the spells area of effect so as to leave one person unaffected. By my reading, that would only hold true after the spell was cast so long as they didn't subsequently move. (Happy to hear counter-arguements on that one.) The problem with using it with contingency is that you have to cast - and aim - the spell when you cast contingency. I'm happy for you to create a pocket the size of a PC at a certain distance and direction from you. Where that will be when the contingency is triggered, and whether anyone is in it, is another matter. In term of silence this would create a 'safe' zone where a spellcaster could move to and still cast safely.

Silence blocks sonic effects from moving through its area, so it would explicitly block wail, holy word etc. as these are spreads - they originate from a target point and spread outwards. It would also block sonic emenations, and missles (like sound lance) in the same way as if it were a solid object. Note that a person standing in a pocket would not be protected if the holy word or wail were targeted on their square for some reason.

[Toliudar]

Originally Posted by Ifni

Nerveskitter will be targeted on Godot, unless someone else has something they really want to do on the first round of combat? (e.g. lots of sneak attack / sudden strike dice, or a critical buff they need to get active before they do anything else)

Thanks, Ifni! Godot's first action will indeed almost always be a group buff (Inspire courage +8, or another buff depending on circumstances) so having her go early in the count may indeed provide dividends for all.

[Cespenar]

Inspire courage plus what now?

[Toliudar]

Well, inspire courage isn't THAT hard to optimize. Bard 10, Song of the Heart, Words of Creation and Inspirational Boost.

Oh. I guess this would be a good time to put in a pitch AGAINST mind blank, at least for those of you who care about attack rolls. As a mind affecting effect, Godot's bard 'song' (she doesn't sing) only works on you if you can be affected by them. Something to think about, anyway.

[Cespenar]

I know it's possible to optimize almost anything in the game, but +8 to everyone's attack rolls is still a funny thing to see.

[Togo]

Saffron [roll]1d20+8[/roll]
Glyda [dice]1d20+7[/dice]
Derk [dice]1d20+0[/dice]
Rhion [dice]1d20-1[/dice]
Umbriel [dice]1d20+5[/dice]
Penrose [dice]1d20+7[/dice]
Sthrer [dice]1d20+2[/dice]
Godot [dice]1d20+7[/dice]

NPCs [dice]1d20+4[/dice]

Remember, as discussed, anyone with an initiative higher than the NPCs may act now. You don't need to wait for another PC with a higher score to post first. Anyone with an initiative lower than the NPCs will have to wait, I'm afraid.

----

Edit - ok, can anyone spot why this isn't working?

[Toliudar]

Ooh. Spider riders? Much fun!

Initiative here?

Godot: (1d20+2)[14] - or +5 to that if Umbriel is able to Nerveskitter her.

And while we're at it.

Knowledge checks:

Nobility: Are there any insignia on the breastplates that she recognizes? (1d20+10)[12]
Local: Does she recognize the men as belonging to any of the factions? (1d20+10)[17]
Arcana: What are the funky rod-things? (1d20+22)[26]


Edit: sorry, I'd forgotten about group initiative.

[SPoD]

Originally Posted by Togo

Edit - ok, can anyone spot why this isn't working?

The code is "roll" not "dice".

Here's mine anyway: (1d20+8)[9]

EDIT: Ugh, apparently I really was too distracted following...

[Togo]

ok, if this works, use these...

Saffron (1d20+8)[24]
Glyda (1d20+7)[8]
Derk (1d20+0)[16]
Rhion (1d20-1)[14]
Umbriel (1d20+5)[20]
Penrose (1d20+7)[15]
Sthrer [roll]1d20+2[[/roll]
Godot (1d20+7)[23]

NPCs (1d20+4)[14]

Remember, as discussed, anyone with an initiative higher than the NPCs may act now. You don't need to wait for another PC with a higher score to post first. Anyone with an initiative lower than the NPCs will have to wait, I'm afraid.

[Togo]

At last! Thanks to SPoD and Toliudar for their help!

Right, anyone who's initiative is higher than NPCs, gets to act.

The market is a square area about 120 feet across. The roofs the spider riders are on are about 30 feet up.

Saffron, assume that you're in the far east of the square, near the road.

The funky rod things are just a weird description on my part - they're flaming brilliant energy two bladed swords. Think burning double light sabres.

Godot

Spoiler

yes you recognise the insignia on their armour as being from the Iron Tower - a mercanary group based on the Astral Plane - who often do jobs for people in Sigil. Most of them are githyanki. As a mercanary group, they're not formally aligned with any faction.

[Togo]

Trying again to get Sthrer's initiative

Sthrer (1d20+2)[9]

[Ifni]

Umbriel's Knowledge checks (pick out those which are relevant):

Spoiler

Arcana: (1d20+37)[49]
Religion: (1d20+37)[39]
Planes: (1d20+37)[46]
Local: (1d20+20)[34]
Nobility & Royalty: (1d20+20)[37]
History: (1d20+20)[33]
Nature: (1d20+20)[36]
Dungeoneering: (1d20+20)[38]

If Geography or Architecture & Engineering are relevant, let me know

I'm trying to identify the riders' race (if any indicators are visible) and the nature of the spiders they're riding, any guilds or factions they're associated with and anything I know about those factions' goals, or the riders/spiders themselves if they're notable entities.

For any of them within 120ft of me, Spellcraft is minimum 32 at the moment to see auras on them with my Arcane Sight.

Saffron, are you visible or hidden at the moment?

@Togo:

Spoiler

That's a self-consistent and reasonable ruling on Extraordinary Spell Aim, I'm happy to go with it. The aforementioned friend ran it as "this one person is unaffected by the spell no matter where they go", but I honestly don't mind. I won't put a hole in the Silence, and I've modified my contingency on my sheet accordingly.

[SPoD]

Definitely hidden, and not near my bat, either.

[Ifni]

SPoD, is Haste valuable to Saffron? If so, if you want to un-hide and you can get close enough to the rest of the group, my familiar can tag you with Haste before she commands herself back into Umbriel's pocket.

I am deeply tempted to ready a Reverse Gravity for when the spiders spring, but not sure that'll work quite the way I'd like it to Does Derk have a way to fly under his own power? I'd normally just open with Mass Fly + Haste, but if everyone who wants to can fly already, I might do something else with my action.

Teleportation magic doesn't work in Sigil since it goes via the Astral, right?

[SPoD]

Well, I'm unhidden as of now, because I just shot four times. I can try to get closer to the party next turn, but I'm not sure how far away you are.

And yeah, Haste would let me get another arrow in each turn. Flight isn't as important to me since I can hit them at range, but I'll take it if you're giving it out for free.

Also, started the battle out with a x3 crit! Go me!

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by SPoD

Well, I'm unhidden as of now, because I just shot four times. I can try to get closer to the party next turn, but I'm not sure how far away you are.

And yeah, Haste would let me get another arrow in each turn. Flight isn't as important to me since I can hit them at range, but I'll take it if you're giving it out for free.

Also, started the battle out with a x3 crit! Go me!

Indeed, very nice

Haste has an annoying targeting restriction that all targets need to be within 30ft of each other, so if you're on the other side of a 120ft wide square and full attacking every turn, it might be hard to get that to work. It sounded like the rest of us are all still pretty close together, though?

I'll wait for any results from my Knowledge checks before acting.

[SPoD]

Originally Posted by Ifni

Indeed, very nice

Haste has an annoying targeting restriction that all targets need to be within 30ft of each other, so if you're on the other side of a 120ft wide square and full attacking every turn, it might be hard to get that to work. It sounded like the rest of us are all still pretty close together, though?

I'm fine with you leaving me out of the Haste, too, if I'm too far away. Whatever's easiest.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Originally Posted by Ifni

Does Derk have a way to fly under his own power? I'd normally just open with Mass Fly + Haste, but if everyone who wants to can fly already, I might do something else with my action.

Derk has the Flight of the Dragon spell. Given his clumsy nature, he generally prefers to stay on the ground, though

[Togo]

Godot

Spoiler

I believe you should be taking some damage from Word of Creation?

Umbriel

Spoiler

The spiders are husk widowmakers, undead widowmaker spiders. While widowmakers are highly posionous, husk vermin lose their poison. However, husk vermin attacks can sap strength, or even life itself.
A living vermin of any size slain by a husk widowmaker will rise as husk vermin in 1d4 hours
Husk widowmaker attacks count as magical
the bite of a husk widowmaker does 2d4 points of strength damage as well as ordinary damage. For each such sucessful attack, the husk widowmaker gains 5 temporary hp.

Widowmakers are good at jumping. You're not sure if that translates into the husk version or not. (clearly you need higher knowledge skills!:))

The riders are humans

Auras - No active spells that you can see. However, their armour (breastplate) weapons (double swords and javelins), riding gear (reins, gloves) and cloaks are all magical. They may well have other, smaller magical items (rings and amulets etc.), but they're hard to see from where you are.

Swords - strong transmutation, moderate evocation
armour - faint enchantment
reins - faint transmution
spiked gloves - faint evocation
cloak - moderate abjuration
Javelin - faint evocation

You recognise the insignia on their armour as being from the Iron Tower - a large mercanary group based on the Astral Plane. Most of that group are githyanki. You would imagine they're quite expensive.

Derk

Spoiler

Since you disclosed the nature of their weapons in the OOC thread and I have the feat to make them as well as ranks in the tied knowledge skill, I am going to assume I know what I am dealing with.

Yes. It should be clear it's a double sword, which you'd recognise, at least in concept. It should be clear it's made of energy. I'm ruling it's pretty darned obvious what you're dealing with.

Note that, if it were a holy, spellstoring, axiomatic brilliant energy weapon that's on fire, I would have described it in the same way. I'm just telling you what your character would see.

Am I right that shield spell does not protect either against brilliant energy?

Yup.

[Togo]

Just Umbriel and Penrose to act, and then it's the NPCs turn.

[Obrysii]

Are we in the same area? We were at the ceramics shop...

[Toliudar]

Right! Nonlethal damage to Godot from words of creation: (3d4)[9]

[Togo]

Originally Posted by Obrysii

Are we in the same area? We were at the ceramics shop...

Yes...

*....***....*
*............*
*...........*
*...........n
*...........*********X*****************
*....HH.............23............................ ..........
*....HH................................S....20.... 20......
*...........................................****** ***
*....:..1..:..2..:...:..3..:..4..:...19*
X....:..5..:..6..:...:..7..:..8..:......*
*........................................18*
*....:.9..:.10..:...:.11..:.12.:......*
*....:.13.:.14.:...:.15..:.16.:...17*
*..........................................*
*....*********X*****21*.....*
*....*****************....* 22

1 Clubs and Licks
2 Fire works
3 On a stick
4 Wraps
5 Combat pottery
6 Tobias alchemical
7 Mirrors
8 Candles
9 Apothacary
10 Glassware
11+12 Painted plates
13 Locks
14 Toys
15 Fruit
16 Hot Sweatmeats
17 Sinners
18 Blackened Lizards
19 Juice!
20 Children's stalls

21 Half-elf cafe
22 Fine Elven Dining
23 Fire Jugglers

The combat pottery stall is marked 5 on the map. Kalinor and Nephira were talking at the mirror stall (7), and the glassware that got knocked over is at (10). Most people are at 5 or 10. Sethrer is at 16. Umbriel is just below the four Hs that mark the beer barrel. Saffron I've marked with an S. The surviving spider riders are marked with an X. The nearest spider rider to you is about 15-20 feet away horizontally, and about 25 feet up.