[OOC] world's transformation

[Archmage1]

so... I was thinking about buying a bag of holding for storage space, but How would it interact with a handy haversack?

[ji9zo]

So adding on the 4000 from that one guy we sold corpses to, that's a total of 8301 or 2767gp per person, assuming we're splitting the gp evenly and that my maths isn't completely off (by maths I DO mean my ability to type numbers into a calculator). I guess Faelon will take the gloves to protect his fair elven hands from all the pummeling they get up to, Jephton gets his metric ****ton of evil sand and we either sell the breastplate or melt it down to make daggers and piss off MageofMystra. Or we could stick it on Chad to make him more handsome, I'm easy.

Also, we're on 13108xp now, right?

[Archmage1]

So, about identifing items. Are we just going to use the gloves to find out what they do? and the cost for identifies should probably come out of the party gold. Are we going to assume we went back to a tavern and rested after the end of the last session?

[ji9zo]

Well I'll give you 100gp to identify them and hope they aren't actually caster gloves or something. Seeing as you've got 4 hours to kill while Jephton is sleeping as I mentioned earlier you could identify both the cloak and the gloves then.

[Archmage1]

ok then. So we are making the assumption that we are/will be resting. Unfortunately, memorizing magic still takes 8 hours, even with revery, and Ariel can't perform any significant actions during that period. So with the two identifies, we would need 10 hours of rest. Given that, Ariel will cast identify on the gloves and on the cloak.

[MageofMystra]

From what I understand, the trance is actually explicitly worded to say that it confers the same benefits as 8 hours of rest for a human--so that's not an issue. Spell preparation only takes an hour, so in total, it's about seven hours (I think) to get absolutely all of that done.

If you guys aren't resting after those encounters, then I'd be alarmed. At any rate, since I am assuming you are going to be resting, here are the results of your identifies:

The red cloak is actually a super spiffy Cloak of Resistance +2!
The gloves seem to be some variation of Gauntlets of Ogre Power [+2] There is a bizarre effect where anyone without Improved Unarmed Strike will find the glove to be extremely stiff, and nearly impossible to ply.

EDIT: Also, the ring in the inventory claim is completely mundane.

[Archmage1]

Nifty. Does anyone want a cloak of resistance +1, or will it be sold?

[DMofDarkness]

I'd take the +1 cloak.

[Archmage1]

then consider it yours.

[Archmage1]

ok. So, With DMoD's kind loan, I can memorize endure elements to deal with cold. Is it only me with the problem, or should I memorize it more than once?'

In other news, is there anything else we need to work out?
For example, would it make sense to create a 4th split in the gold for party expenses, like teleporting, utility scrolls, healing, that sort of thing

[MageofMystra]

Righto, this is a really late response, I realize, but I think you're the only person left for whom the cold'd be a problem.

As for everything else, it might be advisable to sort out how you're going to feed yourselves--survival checks will be a not-so-viable option in this case. Granted, you don't need to work out a meal plan for the next stretch of time, because that'd be silly.

For splitting expenses, I'd expect that the party'd have to decide on that. Besides that, see you fellows tomorrow!

[Archmage1]

Do we know how much time it will take to get there? If so, can we have brought enough rations/everlasting rations for the trip?

[MageofMystra]

Try and figure out a solution for 7-10 days. As always, time is more of an abstract thing, but the general plan in my head was about a 10-14 day trek, if one goes by foot.

[Archmage1]

Does a solution involve filling up a handy haversack with food? With the 3 of us, if the entire trek takes 14 days one way, we would need 90 rations(an extra day for caution) 90lbs is a lot of weight. Ariel could fit it all in her pack, however, assuming the rations are fairly dense.

[ji9zo]

Everlasting rations would probably be a reasonable solution here. Probably.

[MageofMystra]

Rations probably won't come up again after this. For the sake of simplicity, we can say that the 90-100 rations would totally fit--everlasting rations are also an option, but they're about 7x more expensive than simply buying rations in bulk.

If you do spring for everlasting rations, you could probably sell them again when you reach the dig site.

[Archmage1]

Issue is that, once again, Ariel is broke, and would need to buy rations, and she does have the space to store them

if we only need rations one way, we will only need 50 lbs of them to get to the dig site.

[Archmage1]

so... my internet died there...
Sorry

If you feel that Ariel is too overpowered, I can create a T3 caster character.
However, at this point, her damage output is a fireball, followed by 1d8 damage per round. All she can do de-buff enemies.

[MageofMystra]

Really, I don't want to say "yes, do reroll", since it feels lame in multiple ways. On the other hand, I'm genuinely having a bit of trouble thinking up dozens of encounters that'll be challenging without making it save or dies/avoid the insta-gibs.

To that end, I'm going to go ahead and not request a reroll at the moment, but to also suggest to the entire table that we adopt the "Death Flag" rules. For those who don't have a link to that handy,

Spoiler

Originally Posted by The Enworld E6 Thread

The death flag is definitely designed for campaigns where characters can't come back from the dead. This lets those campaigns get rid of random lethality without eliminating death altogether as a possibility. This is done with a change in the "social contract" between players and GM. Whereas in standard D&D the player is at the mercy of the DM and the rules, with the death flag the player decides when the stakes of a conflict are life and death.

As an Immediate action, a player character can choose to raise his Death Flag and gain 6 Conviction instantly (even if this brings their total Conviction pool above 6).

When the death flag is raised, the normal rules for death apply. If the death flag has not been raised, then the character, if killed, is treated as reducing the player character to 1 hit point above death. The Death Flag can be lowered by spending 6 Conviction.

Of course, since we're not using conviction, we should maybe figure out what the benefit of the death flag is instead of that--I'm thinking we just turn that into 4 or 5 action points.

It'll let me take it a bit more easy with encounters, so with any luck, we can see a difficulty boost with that rule adopted, since I don't have to worry as much about insta-gibs pretty much messing things up.


Any thoughts?

EDIT: And while I've got you here, I'll be putting up experience gained throughout the encounter, a roster of the traveling people, and some other information up later in the week.

[Archmage1]

Well, that does seem a reasonable way to make encounters difficult without making them stupid hard. I suppose the other option would be to boost the enemy's saves, making it less likely that my save or sucks will work. Still, another way would be to throw undead at us, since they are immune to most of my spells, or throw several encounters at us, forcing the expenditure of spells.
When you get down to it, I really don't mind re-rolling Ariel, as it would make the game more fun for everyone else.

Well, to change characters, all I would need to do is change the class to beguiler, redo skills, replace rod of extend with some armor, and modify feats. None of which would be a problem. Would take me around 1/2 an hour. Spent around 2000ish on spells, so add that in as well, letting me get better armor.

[MageofMystra]

Jephton can turn undead--turn resistant enemies (or just a load of undead) is certainly an option, but it doesn't always work, nor do I want to keep that as a constant "out", ya know? Masses of encounters would last over multiple sessions--it's certainly an option, but the game might slow down a bit.

At the end of the day, perhaps we should have an opinion from everyone else at the table first.

[Archmage1]

Well, I will re-post my edit, but basically, switching to beguiler would be really easy.
Well, to change characters, all I would need to do is change the class to beguiler, redo skills, replace rod of extend with some armor, and modify feats. None of which would be a problem. Would take me around 1/2 an hour. Spent around 2000ish on spells, so add that in as well, letting me get better armor.

[DMofDarkness]

Originally Posted by MageofMystra

Jephton can turn undead--turn resistant enemies (or just a load of undead) is certainly an option, but it doesn't always work, nor do I want to keep that as a constant "out", ya know? Masses of encounters would last over multiple sessions--it's certainly an option, but the game might slow down a bit.

At the end of the day, perhaps we should have an opinion from everyone else at the table first.

Just sayin'- there are Turn Undead enhancing feats to be grabbed with Action points, Command Undead is a rather nifty spell on the DN Spell List, and there are a selection of DN spells on the list solely to deal with undead. Undead are probably not the way to go...

As for my opinion on the matter- if I'm going to be completely honest, I'd say that I feel somewhat outclassed by Ariel. My save-or-suck spells impose weaker conditions (fear/fatigue effects instead of Nauseated), or are touch range, and aren't very shapeable for the ones that apply a significant penalty to multiple enemies.

To be perfectly honest, some of those complaints go completely out the window next level with the arrival of Black Tentacles and metamagic'd Enervation, but each of Ariel's spell slots can do quite a lot more than mine can, pound for pound. A single Glitterdust in an area is several Blindness/Deafness spells cast by me all at once, at a distance, at the same spell level, for example.

In the end, the feel of the game changed very dramatically after Ariel entered, going straight from start combat to cleanup skipping over the rest of the encounter two rounds later, rather than the slightly more dynamic combat we got as a Tier 3 party. I would very much support the change to Beguiler.

[Archmage1]

Alright then. I will switch Ariel to Beguiler, as 3 of 4 seem to support this.

[Archmage1]

rolling for hp(4d6+11)[33]
is a belt of healing an acceptable item?
Will we need a skill monkey?(if not, I will drop disable device, and get knowledge arcana instead)
Well, here is Ariel, the Beguiler. If you see any issues, let me know.
@DMoD: Ariel still gets Glitterdust :) just all of her saves are will now, so much easier to nerf.
I suppose the thing that I am saddest about is the loss of the firey burst reserve feat, giving Ariel some decent damage. Sadly, beguilers don't get fireball, so no 3d6 fire fire burst for me

[DMofDarkness]

Originally Posted by Archmage1

rolling for hp[roll0]
is a belt of healing an acceptable item?
Will we need a skill monkey?(if not, I will drop disable device, and get knowledge arcana instead)
Well, here is Ariel, the Beguiler. If you see any issues, let me know.
@DMoD: Ariel still gets Glitterdust :) just all of her saves are will now, so much easier to nerf.
I suppose the thing that I am saddest about is the loss of the firey burst reserve feat, giving Ariel some decent damage. Sadly, beguilers don't get fireball, so no 3d6 fire fire burst for me

Eh, it's better than Stinking Cloud, and I still have Kelgore's Grave Mist, so it's a wash, overall.

[Archmage1]

Well, her role in the party has not changed, just her spells. She will still be casting saves or sucks in combat.

[Archmage1]

so, doing a bit more thinking, I need a way to get endure elements. I can do it by taking arcane disciple, and taking the sun domain, but would searing light be a fire spell?

[MageofMystra]

Well alright, then. I'll need to look over the Beguiler spell list to try and figure out what I should be expecting. Searing Light doesn't seem to do fire damage, or make reference to fire in any capacity, so I can't really see how it'd fit in a fire spell. An Eternal Wand is another option--820 gold for two Endure Elements/day. Granted, it might not be the best usage of gold, but it could conceivably be sold later.

On a slightly unrelated note, do we have any opinions of still adopting the death flag rule[s]? I'd still like to at least try the rule for a session or two, but again, you guys'd have the final call.

[Archmage1]

I was sort of thinking that the description is of a ray of light that does damage, which makes me think laser, which makes me think fire. As far as I can tell, there is no reference in the srd as to what sort of damage it does.

We can still try the death flag. it seems like an interesting rule, and it would allow you to create more interesting encounters