OOC Chat

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Updated character and expendables. BRR, did everyone get healed over the number of days it took for us to analyze the rocks?

[BigRedRod]

Also, I'm planning on taking a few points of Knowledge (nature) over the next 2 levels so I can qualify for the Born of Three Thunders feat - is that ok with you?

You mentioned the feat before but I can't remember what it is, I'll look it up

BRR, did everyone get healed over the number of days it took for us to analyze the rocks?
I'll update the expendables thread with hp details before I post next. Are you happy for Collin to have been healing the group?

[BigRedRod]

McCrude map now in the handouts thread depicting your current location

McPost coming soon

[Gralhruk]

So long as we get some McFries with that I'm happy.

[BigRedRod]

We#re frying a fresh batch, you'll have to wait till they are ready. One of our fourteen year old grease buckets will bring them to your table. Have a nice day

[Kahluah]

And I want a Iced Coffee McShake to go with that please..

[BigRedRod]

For now I'm avoiding going in to combat mode, I don't think breaking everything down in to trounds will really help your final preparations before the lizards reach the wall. I've noted that Lynores is helping the crossbowmen and I'm factoring him in to their volleys

But here is a 5ft scale map of the area
Drop this text at http://www.irony.com/java/mmee
*BEGIN 0 0 rs 0
*s -1 1s 6p rs 0 0 1c 20 1c 3c 1s 3c 1s 20 1c 20 *s 5 51 8x rs 0
@*s 5 4z 86 rs 0 *s 5 6f 7n rs 0 *s 5 73 8f rs 0 *s 5 5q 88 rs 0 *s
@5 6b ay rs 0 *s 5 51 7l rs 0 *s 5 5o 9l rs 0 *s 5 71 aw rs 0 *s
@5 4y ac rs 0 *s 5 5o aa rs 0 *s 5 91 8c rs 0 *s 5 6d ab rs 0 *s
@5 7p 8z rs 0 *s 5 72 9q rs 0 *s 5 6e 8z rs 0 *s 5 8p 9j rs 0 *s
@5 7s ae rs 0 *s -3 7i 7u rs 0 V *s -1 1o 4c rs 0 9zabk 1o 4c 1o
@-4c *s -1 1o 6w rs 0 9zabk 1o 34 1o 6w *s -1 20 6w rs 0 9zabk 20
@6w 20 34 1c 34 *s -1 21 4c rs 0 9zabk 1c 4c 20 4c 20 -4c *s -1
@20 50 rs 0 0 20 50 20 4s *s -1 20 4g rs 0 0 20 48 20 4g *s -1 20
@4s rs 0 0 20 4c 20 4s *s -1 2x -a rs 0 0 18 1o 30 1o 30 c *s -3
@66 k rs 0 Co *s -3 6s 16 rs 0 Ca *s -3 65 2f rs 0 G *s -3 68 1s
@rs 0 T *s -3 3i 1v rs 0 L *s 0 3q a rs 0 *s 0 3q 2y rs 0 *s 0 3p
@4a rs 0 *s 0 3p 5m rs 0 *s 0 3p 6y rs 0 *s 0 3q 8a rs 0 *s 0 3p
@ab rs 0 *s 0 3q bn rs 0 *s 0 3p d0 rs 0 *s 0 3q ay rs 0 *s -1 24
@44 rs 0 0 1w 44 24 44 *s -1 24 48 rs 0 0 1w 48 24 48 *s -1 24 58
@rs 0 0 1w 58 24 58 *s -1 24 54 rs 0 0 1w 54 24 54 *s -1 50 o rs
@0 0 2c -o 2c o 50 o 50 -o *s -1 50 2c rs 0 0 2c -c 50 -c 50 2c
@2c 2c 2c -c *s -1 2w z rs 0 0 30 10 18 10 *s -1 2x 2c rs 0 0 30
@-c 30 2c 18 2c *s -1 2o 3o rs 0 0 2o 10 2o 3o 20 3o *s -1 2c 3o
@rs 0 9y6tc 2c 3o 1o 3o *s -1 2x 20 rs 0 9y6tc 30 1c 30 20 *s -1
@3o 1o rs 0 9y6tc 3o 10 3o 1o *s -1 3o c rs 0 9y6tc 3o c 3o -c *s
@-1 4c 3c rs 0 0 2s 1c 2s 3c 4c 3c *s -1 54 3c rs 0 0 20 1c 54 1c
@54 3c 48 3c *s -1 4o 3c rs 0 9y6tc 40 3c 4o 3c *s -1 30 5o rs 0
@0 10 5o 30 5o *s -1 30 6w rs 0 0 30 4g 30 6w *s -1 50 6w rs 0 0
@1o 4g 50 4g 50 6w *s -1 3c 6w rs 0 0 3c 4g 3c 6w *s -1 6c 60 rs
@0 0 3o 3c 3o 60 6c 60 6c 3c 3o 3c *s -1 6c 6w rs 0 0 3o 5s 6c 5s
@6c 6w *s -1 6o 6w rs 0 0 6o 5s 6o 6w *s -1 7g 6c rs 0 0 5w 6c 7g
@6c *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w 64 7g 64 *s -1 7g 64 rs 0 0 5w 64 5w 3o
@7g 3o *s -1 6c 2c rs 0 0 4c -c 4c 2c 6c 2c 6c -c 4c -c *s -1 6o
@o rs 0 0 40 -o 40 o 6o o 6o -o *s -1 7g 1c rs 0 0 6k -1c 6k 1c
@7g 1c *s -1 7g 30 rs 0 0 5w c 5w 30 7g 30 *s -1 7g 1o rs 0 0 5w
@1o 7g 1o *s -1 6c 3g rs 0 0 4c 1w 4c 3g 6c 3g 6c 1w 4c 1w *s -1
@30 6c rs 0 9y6tc 30 5o 30 6c *s -1 3c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 3c 60 3c 6o *s
@-1 6c 6o rs 0 9y6tc 6c 60 6c 6o *s -1 6c 60 rs 0 9y6tc 6c 5c 6c
@60 *s -1 6o 5c rs 0 9y6tc 6o 4o 6o 5c *s -1 6c 38 rs 0 9y6tc 6c
@2s 6c 38 *s -1 6c 1o rs 0 9y6tc 6c 10 6c 1o *s -1 6o o rs 0
@9y6tc 60 o 6o o
*END -88dmb6

Canace's house is the top left black box. The equals signs on the wall are ladders up and down. Solider figures are guardsmen, the rest are the miltia

[BigRedRod]

So everybody else is just waiting for things to kick off?

I'll take more silence as yes and post another few rounds by the end of the night

[Gralhruk]

Oops, sorry. Somehow I missed that this forum had been updated. I'll post Tolven's actions in a bit. Basically, he's going to do the same thing as Lynores - fire his bow at them from atop the wall.

[Cadrius]

There's little for Varidiir to do but wait until the fight comes to the town.

[BigRedRod]

Fire in the disco, Fire in the taco bell.
Fire in the disco, Fire in the gates of hell

Don't you want to know how we keep starting fires?

Etc.

I'm willing to assume that Tolven and Lynores are tired up with adding to the ranged defense. How about the others? Are you going to do anything before they close, quite possibly re : the fire

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sorry, not a weather priest, so Collin can't call in a rainstorm. And isn't this what these peasants get for building their home out of wood?

[Cadrius]

I say we cover the town in cement. That'll fix our fire problems.

[BigRedRod]

Hmm Kahluah seems to have vanished and I Could dow ith knowing if Canace will continue to throw spells at the lizards or help with the fire

[Gralhruk]

Hmmm. Fire + Air = Big Fire.

[Cadrius]

Nothing puts out a fire faster than Chain Lightning.

[Kahluah]

Sorry - Computer died without warning for a few days.

Will work on post at the moment.

[Cadrius]

I'm just glad that for once it isn't me that we're waiting on.

[BigRedRod]

Time for "combat mode" and to see whether I can two scenes simultaneously in the same thread before they rejoin

Fairly long post though, I'm not entirely happy with it, but we've waited long enough

[Kahluah]

the familiar form of Torin

Oh huz-fricken-zah.....

Hey TFF, Torin doesn't look so useless now, does he? ;)

[Gnarsh]

Because KILLING the MAYOR is real useful to us right now.

[Kahluah]

I never said he was useful to -us- at this moment..

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Because KILLING the MAYOR is real useful to us right now.Yeah, this will be interesting. Collin could kill two birds with one stone. :evil:

[Gnarsh]

And then what's left of the townsfolk after the battle rise up and destroy us because our teammate KILLED the MAYOR.

[Gralhruk]

Well, Torin is going to kill him anyway and he's a member of our party. Or at least, he was, though I doubt the townsfolk will appreciate the difference. It might as well be Collin who axes the mayor - that way we get some xp for it.

[Cadrius]

Bah. Didn't you know? Murder is okay as long as you claim to be a hero.

[BigRedRod]

The moral here is that I need all of my first batch of players to post before I can
*cough*
Gral

:)

[Gnarsh]

Well, we could always claim that Torin was a traitor (assuming Collin kills him) who betrayed our group, snuck away, and chose to KILL the MAYOR, and, even if Samson died, his best successor would be one of us, because, after all, we have the most levels.

...so do you think they'll just stone us? Or maybe a good old-fashioned lynching?

[Gralhruk]

I think we'd butcher the town.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Samson dies, so what. Collin raises him as a zombie and does the puppet master thing, controlling the town through the mayor. Think anyone would notice? :)

[Cadrius]

Varidiir is immune to lynch mobs, didn't you know? I took it as one of his bonus monk feats.

[Gralhruk]

It isn't easy for me to keep up the Tolven superiority complex when he keeps missing. Can you please keep that in mind when rolling for him?

[BigRedRod]

Heh, you may want to push your way down the wall then. The lizards around Lynores and Tolven are dead, the remaining three are further down. Which is a more difficult angle that just firing vertically downwards, as you are trying to fire parallel to a wall which is currently on fire

[itches]

It's not Tolven's fault that the arrows turned out to be of shoody workmanship. He shouldn't take it to heart, instead take it out on who sold him the arrows?

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Yes, take it all out on Itches. :)

[BigRedRod]

His eyes focus on the party's missing man and official commander

Once again, I feel I have to point out that in no way was Torin ever, nor is he now, your official leader/commander/anything like that

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Yes, but when introductions were made, there was a thing about him being an actual officer, which would have out ranked any of us.

[BigRedRod]

He was recruited from a military unit, you are outside that kind of structure as a group

This isn't a point you can argue, it is a misconception you've formed

[Cadrius]

Now I just went back over the thread and I'm a little curious about something. Why is there panic? Yes, the wall is ablaze, but aren't there only three lizards left? Have they even reached the top of the wall yet?

[BigRedRod]

Nope they're still climbing. The panic is largely due to there now being two fires, one of which would be best treated by opening the gate to get a bucket chain to the outer wall

[Gnarsh]

That's just what you want us to do. The second we open those gates, I'm sure the lizards will burst out of nowhere and devour our very souls.

[BigRedRod]

Cad, I need a post from you giving Varidiir's action so I can continue unfolding events at the attempted razing of Broken Gate

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sorry, but by previous descriptions I believe that Torin was the only member to actually hold a commission. As such, in a military unit he would technically be in command. And since Shadow Monkey wrote Collin's original background to reflect a quasi-military training and respect for the chain of command, Torin should have become the designated leader. Now if this isn't how the Vodalia armed forces works, I can't see how there'd be any discipline or order to attempt this huge land grab. But then again, lumping a half-fiend, tiefling, drow, half-dragon, azer and one human together as a special forces unit has got to be one of the lousiest military ideas ever. Honestly, I can't see how any military commander could ever put any amount of trust into Unknown, Charir, Tolven and Lynores unless they had some form of a leash or other means of control. For instance, the people at headquarters probably know Unknown's real name and demonic heritage. Though if they had this information and didn't share it when they sent us out to get him, somebody should lose their rank for the oversight. All four of those races are notoriously evil (two fiends, a drow and a red dragon) and can generally be counted to protect their asses before running an assignment to completion.

You're worried about three lizardmen going up against the VSF and a hundred townsfolk? Gee, I think it'd be safe to open the gates, or just send Vardiir out there. He's immune to fire and can stand inside them to help put out the flames. Go Vardiir! Stomp the fire out, yeah!

For shooting straight down I'd suggest using a crossbow instead of a long or short bow. Or better yet, have one of the group's mages cast a spell. Don't they have wands of magic missiles and such? A magic missile will ignore that concealment penalty provided by the smoke. The same can be said about using a true strike spell.

As an example of coolness, Vardiir could drink a potion of spider climb or levitation, walk or float down into the flames and proceed to beat the holy hell out of the remaining lizards. Or he could simply jump down and make his attacks. I'm sure he has enough jumping ability to do this without breaking his neck.

Remember a resource isn't a resource unless you actually use it! Besides, how often do you really need that level one potion that lasts one minute? Might as well use them if you've got them if it makes your life easier to live.

If BRR wanted to, I'm sure he'd have the ground errupt with a dozen umber hulks or something to that effect. "Look out! Duck! There's a red dragon coming our way!" :evil:

[Gnarsh]

Oh, I'm not worried about the three lizards. There's more! They're just invisible! You wait and see!

[BigRedRod]

Sorry, but by previous descriptions I believe that Torin was the only member to actually hold a commission. As such, in a military unit he would technically be in command. And since Shadow Monkey wrote Collin's original background to reflect a quasi-military training and respect for the chain of command, Torin should have become the designated leader

You are not in the Vodalian army, you are not a military unit, although you do take orders from a military officer. You are a group who operate for the good of the empire in a less than public manner
If you are trying to say that Collin holds the misconception that Torin was put in command of the unit, then I suppose that is something I'll just learn to live with. However, I get the feeling this is more of a breakdown of understanding OOC.
Torin was an addition to the team with a military background,Sacorn may well have chosen him in order to try and instil some discipline in the team, but he was never introduced as the leader, nor did he ever take that role

[Cadrius]

How far is Varidiir from the wall?

[Gralhruk]

Tear down the wall!

[Cadrius]

That's a move-equivalent action, right?

[BigRedRod]

How far is Varidiir from the wall?

The Map! The Map! Use the Map! ... Varidiir is currently stood twenty-five feet back from the wall

[BigRedRod]

While Dr Cole rambled incoherently into her dmagaed microphone about nuclear synthesis I came up with a forumula for xp earned. I think I'm going to try it at the end of this chapter

In theory it should be a little more fair, with categotries and allsorts. I'll see what happens though

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

For a moment I thought you were going to say you came up with your idea while visiting the head, loo, etc. :)

[Cadrius]

No, but I bet that's where he gets most of them.

Still waiting on me, eh? I'll post this evening.

[BigRedRod]

Gnarsh, Gral, you're up at the gate defense again

[Cadrius]

Did I read the post right? The one lizard that failed to climb the wall happened to be the one Varidiir readied an action against? Lovely.

[BigRedRod]

No...
I was slightly confused by Varidiir's action, I think something may have been miscommunicated. The wall is a town wall, i.e. around ten feet tall. Without jumping Mr Vardiir cannot peer over, nor does he have a good chance of attacking anything which is out of his threatened area (As he is at the base of the wall on the inside of the town and the lizard are climbing the wall from the outside)

[Gralhruk]

I thought Varidiir had climbed to the top of the wall. And I was waiting for Gnarsh, but that was really just a convenient excuse since his action is unlikely to affect what Tolven does. I'll post soon, but it's been hectic here today.

[Cadrius]

My intent was for him to get on top of the wall. There is a way to do that, isn't there?

[BigRedRod]

Ah, sorry you said "up to the wall" twice in your post which was my point of confusion. Time for some subtle editing

[BigRedRod]

There we go, edited the post to reflect your actual intent. But no Varidiir is still not in a position to have hit any of the lizards

[Gralhruk]

Can I fire at the lizards that are on top of the wall, or are there too many bodies in the way? I guess the real question is, what kind of penalty would that kind of shot generate?

[BigRedRod]

Cover + Firing into melee at the very least.

Essentially a -8 with a miss in that region meaning you've hit a friendly. 3.5 seems to have done away with the differing levels of cover, I'm tempted to up to +8AC to the lizards rather than +4. Depends just how many friendlies are between you when I check

[Gralhruk]

He does have precise shot, which ought to eliminate the standard -4 for firing into a melee.

[Gralhruk]

The cover is what bothers me. Although I'm not sure that Tolven would give a rat's ass if he hit one of the scrubs.

[BigRedRod]

Ah, well if it's 4 or fewer guards then we'll stick -4, if it's 5 or greater we'll say -8

[Gralhruk]

Fair enough.

[Gralhruk]

That is a ranged touch attack so hopefully he'll hit.

[Gnarsh]

You know, if you had just gotten Magic Missile, this would be much easier.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Doesn't somebody have wand that casts that spell? And you'd think that the villiagers would have been better prepared for this. If they die, it's their own fault.

[Gralhruk]

Tolven has a wand of magic missiles, but it's only at 1st level. I figured the better acid arrow damage (which lasts two rounds) was worth the risk of missing. Since it's a ranged touch attack and he has a good ranged BAB, chances are good that he will hit.

[BigRedRod]

Doesn't somebody have wand that casts that spell? And you'd think that the villiagers would have been better prepared for this. If they die, it's their own fault.

Collin's constant complaining and search to blame seems to have leaked out in to the ooc thread!

Also thewireless thingy at home seems to have broken so my posting will be sporadic for the next few days. I need to set my computer up and such things too

[Gralhruk]

Finally: I gamble and it pays off :).

[BigRedRod]

Upon closer inspection I was waiting for Kahluah who was waiting for me :)

[Gralhruk]

It's like DM/DMoria.

[Gralhruk]

Ah hah! I knew those ape-beetles were going to make an appearance. At least I didn't waste all of my pitifully small number of spells on lizards.

[Gnarsh]

How tall are the buildings next to the wall?

[BigRedRod]

Around eight feet in comparrison to the walls at about ten or eleven

[Gralhruk]

Just thought I'd note: the guards weren't doing so hot against the [arguably] easily slayable lizards. I highly doubt they will be very effective against the ape-beetle.

Don't take it the wrong way if Tolven completely disregards Lynores' advice :).

[Gnarsh]

It's expected. Hell, try and get on the other side of the thing for the sneak attack sandwich.

[BigRedRod]

Gral, I need a tolven post for this block of actions.

[Gralhruk]

Will do.

[Gralhruk]

So, how high are the buildings adjacent to the wall? If Tolven wanted to jump down onto the roof and then leap to the roof of the building across the street, would it be possible? I could get him within 30' of the creature and possibly gain a bonus for higher ground.

[BigRedRod]

Around eight feet in comparrison to the walls at about ten or eleven

As for the specific action: well you could try.

[Gralhruk]

Damn, Cadrius is rubbing off on me. And you've yanked away my last shred of procrastinative protection.

[BigRedRod]

Well if you're gonna stop procrastinating and post, then i'll have to and post, and then maybe i'll actually do some *gasp* work. Or... maybe I'll just hang about on the net all day hunting own April Fools jokes like wild animals and then stuffing them with special sand and putting them on my walls.

[Gralhruk]

Well, put down your sand and dead animals. I opted not to jump across the street, since my jump check is decidely worse than I thought.

[Gralhruk]

Missed again? It's a ranged touch attack, for heaven's sake. Point blank shot ought to give me a +1, and I was hoping for an additional +1 for shooting downwards.

And Grakus is just so smug. I ought to shoot him next. Not that I'll hit ;).

[BigRedRod]

VSF has been sponsored by the number two as of late. Reminds me of when I first started Roleplaying and I was having my players (Alcotroll was one of them) roll a d12 rather than a d20 to hit. I only noticed when one asked what they needed to hit, I told him fifteen, and he commented the dice only had twelve sides.

[Gralhruk]

Ah well. I guess now is a good time to be depressed that I didn't take rapid shot.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Speaking about touch attacks, I forgot to mention that Collin's Mace of Odo attack was also a melee touch attack. Though I'm not sure that would have made any difference since he isn't a very effective fighter in the first place.

[Gnarsh]

BRR, the wisdom of your familiar system is needed here (http://p222.ezboard.com/f3ebb85430frm7.showMessage?topicID=3820.topic)

[BigRedRod]

Feel free to provide them with linkage, although the system is elderly and in need of revision.

[Gralhruk]

*gasp*

I post before my initiative count! Tune in later to see how I manage to miss with Magic Missile!

[BigRedRod]

I rolled a -7!

[Gralhruk]

*makes sign of the evil die*

[BigRedRod]

Hmmm
Gnarsh? Come back, we miss you and I can't post without knowing Lynores' next plan.

[Gralhruk]

Make skivvies out of the umber hulk!

[Kahluah]

Just as long as they're not mock turtlenecks... *shudders*

[Gnarsh]

No! A hat! The thing's skull with one of its pincers gled on like a feather! Brilliant!

[BigRedRod]

You sold yourself short there Gnarsh, the militia are in positions to allow flanking. Meaning you get to deal sneak attack damage on the monster. Lucky I noticed, these things usually slip me by, now lets have a see if the dice are doing to play ball.

[BigRedRod]

Damn it all to hell. I get 3/4 of the way through a post and my power goes off. So then I have to trapse out in the rain to get some more.
And I Think my coffee has gone off too to make matters worse

[BigRedRod]

Beep beep, you're up Cad

[Gralhruk]

May I assume that you just forgot to incorporate Tolven's [relatively useless] action in that update?

[BigRedRod]

Nope. Tolven did nothing as Tolven hasn't had a chance to yet.

It started on Varidiir's action and we made to Lynores' in that last post.

[Gralhruk]

Ah, I had to go back and re-read the IC.

[BigRedRod]

Only TFF and Kahluah really need to worry aobut being in "combat mode" now

[Kahluah]

Of course, we could probably use a hand from everyone else now.... ;)

[Gralhruk]

I'm sure Tolven will get curious about where the others disappeared to now that he's unoccupied.

[Gnarsh]

Dammit Gralhuk, you stole my kill.

[Gralhruk]

Yes, and it will do wonders to bolster Tolven's wounded ego :).

[BigRedRod]

I think you may mean Whore there TFF. Hoar means frosty or bearded from what I remember.

Also, I have big plans to post in everything tomorrow after my exam. I also have plans to do some drinking. So we'll have a see which urge wins out, but I like to think both.

[Gralhruk]

May I assume that the pillar of fire would be visible and still likely to attract the attention of the remaining party members (or at least Grakus), despite the town being aflame?

[BigRedRod]

It makes sense, so yes.

[BigRedRod]

I'd like to allow TFF and Kahluah to post before the rest of you turn up at Samson's house to reflect the time it would take. It isn't quite as important as every threat you know about is taken care of now so we're out of combat.

[BigRedRod]

Collin cast both those spells, as he was pretty banged up. If the rest of you want to turn up on the scene, now is a good time.

[BigRedRod]

I'm happy for there to be a convient wheel barrow standing idle in one of the side alleys just out out of sight. I'm sure one of you can fill in this little detail without me rolling some dice and posting ;)

[Cadrius]

BRR, remember the guy who emerged from his home with a short sword at the beginning of combat? Did he survive?

[BigRedRod]

Yep, only one man fell and he was stabalised by another milita member

[BigRedRod]

Is that a go for a post from me containing a description of the aftermath and ending the next day with Collin casting speak with dead on the body while the rest of you watch on?

[Cadrius]

Fine by me. Varidiir will help put out the fire. Preferably by standing closer to it (or actually in it) than the others can handle and throwing water.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

I was thinking about using a Zone of Truth in combination with the Speak with Dead. Might even throw in a Discern Lies, just in case. I'll come up with something in a bit.

You want answers?
I think I'm entitled to answers.
You WANT answers?
I want the TRUTH!
YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH! :fun:

[BigRedRod]

TFF I'm confused by your last post. Where are you locking the remains?

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

By locking away, Collin is sealing himself up with the body in someone's home. He doesn't care who's it is. All he needs is a quiet place to work.

[BigRedRod]

Oh I see. I'll post after tea

[BigRedRod]

Gah, may be a bit later. I have to go to the pub for a bit

[Gnarsh]

You Englishmen and your alcoholism.

[BigRedRod]

I was lured htere under false pretenses! As it turns out that some crappy football was on and thus the pub was over crowded and extra smokey. Gah.

Anyhow, I have finally managed to get a post out. Everybody can assume that they are in the Jail house and with a full night's rest. In fact I'll need to go edit the hp accordingly.

[Kahluah]

By crappy football, I assume you mean the Chelsea v. Liverpool Champions League semi-final?

[BigRedRod]

Quite possibly.

[Kahluah]

*grins* I won't tell my other half you said that then ;)

[BigRedRod]

Soo.... Anybody doing anything?

You have a jailhouse and the scorched bones of a dead colleage, the mystery of the two pieces of condensed elemental matter and a lizard nest. Go nuts.

[Gralhruk]

It's like Jailhouse Rock, but for freaks.

[BigRedRod]

Well, in the absence of more constructive ideas I suggest:

http://www.famousfoto.com/tin-signs/878.jpg

*cough*

[Gralhruk]

Hey, I'm old.

[BigRedRod]

If nobody else has any immediate actions I'll post Samson's response along with whether the spell works later on TODAY!

*ominous lightning*

[Gralhruk]

Well, VSF should really be at the top of my games list. Although freeform isn't really far behind.

The road to hell is thusly paved.

But if I haven't posted by the time you get around to it, then it's my loss.

[itches]

The road to hell is thusly paved.
By me?

[Gralhruk]

By good intentions. Specifically mine, to post here. But then again, you do write Satan rather well ;).

[itches]

Even if he does say so himself.

[BigRedRod]

Time for the all important questions and what Lynores would like to do next.

[Gralhruk]

1) What is your name?

2) What is your quest?

3) What is your favorite color?

And if I said that previously, the repetition is intended to make it funnier.

[BigRedRod]

I debated long and hard about quite what the remains of Torin would be able to do, eventually I settled upon going with the WotC way which coincided with an initial thoughts,
If you cast "speak with undead" on a skeleton can the skeleton talk? It says that dead must have a mouth, they only have a jaw.

- The speak with dead spell states that the corpse must be mostly intact to be able to speak. A skeleton is a collection of bones, not an intact corpse.

Thanks!

*Please quote this e-mail in any reply.*

Darrin
Wizards of the Coast Customer Service Department
Wizards of the Coast
1-800-324-6496

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Okay, is there a way to regenerate dead flesh? Also, this would have been useful a week ago. :(

Now I almost want to raise dead/resurrect Torin, just so Collin could ask his questions and then of course kill him again. :evil:

[BigRedRod]

I can't think of a method, that doesn't mean that there isn't one though

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Yup, I'm going to look through some spells and see if there's something else Collin can do.

[BigRedRod]

Righty-ho, I need to know what Gnarsh intends to do next. And Kahluah I'll PM you the IC knowledge you need for Tolven's question.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

I've got a really grizzly idea. Would it be possible to sew new lungs and flesh over Torin's body in order for the speak with dead to function? Or would the new components interfere with Torin's memories, causing the memories of the new pieces to sometimes answer instead? And don't ask where Collin will get new organs and flesh.

[BigRedRod]

That is a pretty good idea. The way I'd see it you'd get answers but from a random bag of memories meaning you'd have no way of telling how useful the info is, you wouldn't even be able to force it to tell the truth. So possible but maybe not useful.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

That's what I figured. I suppose Collin is just too novice to be dealing with real corpse animation and control. Speaking of which, I wonder if there are any intact lizard bodies? :evil:

[Cadrius]

Although most of the beauty is no doubt lost upon the flaming dwarf and the subterranean elf.

Someone hasn't been paying attention to my IC posts.

[BigRedRod]

Ah, you've got me there. I may have to edit in order to hide my shame.

[BigRedRod]

As Canace, Tolven and Varidiir have a bit of a walk on their hands before they reach the cavern, I'd say go for the chit chat while walking. In trying to keep something resembling time I'll not be moving you forwards just yet.

[BigRedRod]

This is getting posted eveywhere,

I can't say when my next post will be as we're enterting exam country until thursday and then I'll be drunk for a bit and hungover until friday some time, at which point I've arranged with my parents that they should come down and cart all of my work related stuff away.

So yes, terribly busy week, so busy I should be being busy now rather than doing this. In fact I'm going to try and steer clear of the siren call of my computer except for work relatred stuff until my exams are over.

In short : I'll be gone for a few days most likely.

Although, you can all keep merrily chatting about possibly lizard motivations and TFF, if you want to just assume that the guardsmen are willing to let you borrow the hand cart, that you can fit three of the bodies in it, and that you can find fairly untrampled lizard bodies with only one or two arrow wounds in them, then go for it

[BigRedRod]

As soon as we find out Collin and Lynores' next steps I'll have the other three reach the cave. Sorry that fairly minor post took me an age too.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Sorry for my own delay. I haven't been around lately because of work. Anyway, a question for BRR; how many days are we moving up? I ask because the day after the battle, I'm going to have Collin animate the lizards as zombies and also start construction of some nicer facilities using walls of stone. If the town wants, Collin may even help fortify the defenses with the same spells, but only if Collin can get some converts. :evil:

[BigRedRod]

how many days are we moving up?
Well as half the party are currently doing something in real time, none.

[Cadrius]

I can't imagine we have much left to discuss regarding the lizards. Feel free to move us along when it's convenient.

[BigRedRod]

Yep, I'm planning to as soon as I'm clear what Collin and Lynores are spending the next hour or so doing. Are these lizards the first wave of zombie servants or are they for use with speak with dead?

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

They're the first minions for Collin to play with. I figure they can be used to fill in the holes, dig graves, clear rubble, all the lame back-breaking manual labor tasks.

[BigRedRod]

TFF, can you spell out for me exactly what you are planning to in the next hour or so of gametime. At the moment I'm up to post but I'm not exactly sure with what to fill you two in with.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Since it's the same day, he's going to prepare the lizard bodies for animation. Basically he cleans them up the best he can. This may involve sewing up wounds, removing the arrow shafts, etc.

[BigRedRod]

Finally! My long awaited post is made. Sorry it took so damn long, every force i the universe has been conspiraring to steal my time / make posting impossible as of late.

[BigRedRod]

I thought that spotting the end of a tunnel would be a sensible place for to debate plans and generally prepare yourselves rather than just getting pushed too far forwards in one post.

[Gralhruk]

Yes, let the planning commence!

[Gralhruk]

Swimming, anyone?

[BigRedRod]

*cough*

I realise it is kinda of crappy for Gnarsh and TFF to be stuck doing things "off camera" at the moment. My ears are open for suggestions to give you guys something to do while we wait for the other three to marvel at the secret underground world of the borrowers... I mean lizardfolk.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Collin's content with raising the beginnings of his undead army. Adding some more protection with walls of stone may not be such a bad idea either. Using the preserve corpse spell on Torin may also be in order. I don't think Collin has the components to either bring him back to life or animate his body.

[BigRedRod]

Kahluah? Gral? Cad? Helllloooo?
It's cold, I'm lonely and I'm certainly not loving the crawl that this game has slowed to in recent months.

C'mon, posty posty.

[Gralhruk]

I blame the giant wooden badgers.

And Cadrius.

I'll be sure to post something within the next 14 hours or so.

[Gralhruk]

As usual, your update leaves me wondering which details are important and which are mundane. Although I'm thinking the hand is probably important.

[BigRedRod]

As usual, your update leaves me wondering which details are important and which are mundane. Although I'm thinking the hand is probably important.
But that's a good thing right?

[Gralhruk]

Definitely.

[Gralhruk]

Aw, a cute little squid: how dangerous can that be?

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

"PH'NGLUI MGLW'NAFH CTHULHU R'LYEH WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN!"

"IA! IA! CTHULHU FHTAGN! IA! IA! CTHULHU FHTAGN!"

[BigRedRod]

Just a quick note to let you know that I've not forgotten about my games but that I'm unlikely to post in the next few days.

Some family stuff has come up and writing anything coherent IC is a challenge that I'm not up to right now

[Gralhruk]

No problem.

Now is as good a time as any to let you know that I'll be on vacation from Aug 11-16, so I won't be posting during that interval.

[Cadrius]

I'm beginning my thousand mile journey to grad school today. I should arrive late Tuesday, and provided I get the internet to work, could update sometime this week. However, on Friday I'm flying out to Seattle for a little over a week and won't have much chance to post then. So NPC Varidiir if need be.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Hey Cadrius! Let me know when you arrive. If you haven't been here before, I can show you around town and stuff.

[BigRedRod]

Ah squid diplomacy, the finest kind.

[Gralhruk]

Maybe he'll join up with Tolven - they could be Dastardly and Squidly when this game gets turned into a cartoon.

[BigRedRod]

Hmmm. So first I manage to isolate two of the party members from the goings on in the IC and then I twist things around to just one.

What game killing move will I take next?

Alos, I encourage Kahluah and Cadrius to voice opinions about stuff at this point. Largely as it always seems strange when it is just me and one player posting for extended periods.

[Gralhruk]

Yes, I was trying to wrap my piece of this thing up the other day, but then I ran out of steam. Trying to surreptiously pump a squid for information isn't terribly easy.

[Cadrius]

But you have so much real-world experience at doing that!

[Gralhruk]

A sucker joke seems appropriate about now.

[BigRedRod]

Currently we're two players down.

TFF and Gral are both having internet issues.

I'm going to have a think and then possibly NPC Tolven in an atempt to recombine the party. That way the active players will all be together and you can put together something of a plan

[Gralhruk]

That is probably for the best. Tolven was definitely starting to think we should probably get out of here anyway.

[BigRedRod]

I do dislike NPCing. Anyhow, that forced little post opens things up so that Cadrius and Kahluah can essentially choose what to do next.

[Gralhruk]

Sorry about that. I'm starting to get back in the swing of things though.

[BigRedRod]

If you have the time then feel free to post, that way we can pretend my horrible job of NPCing never occured.

[BigRedRod]

I'm moving back to uni tomorrow. So after doing a half arsed job of packing I kinda have to get things finished now.

Also, my house doesn't have broadband yet so I'll have to trapse up to the union or some other building in order to get access.

So if I vanish for a week then something in my plan has gone wrong and I've been rendered internetless. I can usually find some method of getting online though, no matter how painful it is.

[BigRedRod]

As time keeps passing I think we've all noticed something here.

The magic is gone.

I'm not just saying that things are moving slowly, this game has never been Mr Speedy but recently it just seems to have become a shade of its former self and it doesn't seem to coming back.

Leaving the plot unfinished is something which would annoy me but I think that we should possibly accept defeat and cast this into the archives.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

I feel as if I may have been part of this problem. Instead of trying to lead, I sat back to watch. I also had plans for the Collin character that requiresd game time to elapse, but then half the group went off in search of something to do, which isn't to say a bad thing. With the side adventure going on, I didn't want to make post that may have disrupted the flow.

[Gnarsh]

Likewise from me.

[BigRedRod]

I'm not sure that you two understand why I'm considering archiving this. It isn't because you haven't been posting, afterall you weren't involved in the current "action". That wouldn't make any sense.

The game has been in a slump for some time now and I'm asking whether you guys feel the same or if we should all give it one last try to bring back the certain something which has been gradually draining away.

[Gnarsh]

Give it another shot. I've been playing in VSF for a good four years now, and just ending it wouldn't do the game justice.

[BigRedRod]

Tragically Gnarsh, one player does not a game make.

Perhaps I could rework my plot points to let the others go on their merry ways and bring some new blood in. I'll ponder.

[Gnarsh]

Ponder away.

[Cadrius]

BRR, if you love the game, find a way to bring it back. I, unfortunately, have lost both free time and the drive to continue with Varidiir. If you know I'm out then maybe that'll help your decision.

Besides, the azer has been passed along before, why not do it again?

It's certainly been an interesting, and at times entertaining, ride. I'm glad to have been a part of it.

[BigRedRod]

Besides, the azer has been passed along before, why not do it again?
I think that the game has long passed the stage where a plot summary would be useful to a potential new player. Too much has happened with existing characters. And I've become far less fond of trying to use the same characters with new players after some experiences where it has failed.

This forces my hand to trying to form a new party around Lynores somehow or pulling a restart and picking up the story in the near future with a new group.

This is an old game and a big decision, but I'm still a-thinking between my sudden rash of being busy at inopportune times (such as my entire weekends and days when I should be going to lectures)

[BigRedRod]

Right, in order to continue with the existing plot threads minus most of the current cast and hopefully removing a few of the mistakes I've made along the way in this game, I've found one satisfactory solution.

It involves the not unheard of practice of starting the game again at a point a little in the future. The upside to this is that I should be able to make the plot slightly less epic in scope (one of the big issues this game had was that my plot notes failed to take into account the slow pace of PBPs and this lead to general confusion as to whether anything was actually happening).

The new group would most likely be a third special forces team. A new one established after the unexpected dissapearance and loss of communication one of the original teams. Charged with investigating the spread of a secretative religion through the infrastructure of Tylbaer, the game would pick up after a tenday or so into things.

[The_Friendly_Fiend]

Are you going to make the same mistakes as before? By this I mean handing out fantastic races and templates without cost? Or how about *gasp* having the group make sense in terms of melding abilities and personalities?

It's a shame that the old forum isn't around anymore; some of the early stuff was hillarious. The jabs and sniping between the characters was rather funny.

[BigRedRod]

By this I mean handing out fantastic races and templates without cost?
No races or templates were handed out without cost, the game started before anything resembling official or sane ECL rules existed so we played it by ear.
And yeah, that was one of the larger over riding mistakes that this game has been gradually trying to push into the background.