Jiangu OOC 6

[Linklegacy77]

Before we plan some kind of raiding party, we should make sure the emprorer is actually in the palace, and where in the palace he is. That means scouting, or possibly scrying. Do the ministers have any diviners who could attempt to locate the emporer? Unlikely, or they would have already done so, but worth asking.

[crueldespot]

Didn't the henchmen bring a prisoner with them from Merak Hoi? If I missed something, then point me to the post that describes what you did with the prisoner. or post something IC to clarify.

Ya'll are definitely in a phase of the adventure that requires the players to drive the story. NPCs will react to your actions or questions. If you don't do anything then nothing will happen.

[Boomlaor]

Sorry for the AFK, I announced it in the tournament, so BP should have known at least, but I realized that I forgot to post here. I've been camping for the last several days. I'll be here every day now for a while.

[Black Plauge]

I know I've made a suggestion as to what to do with the prisoner, but I believe it was OOC, not IC. I'll have Fugen make the suggestion IC in the next post.

[Black Plauge]

Oh canter... Termix needs to make some sort of response.

Oh, and in case people are wondering, the Sor/Wiz spells that would be most useful in this situation are fly, invisibility, and invisibilty sphere.

For the cleric in the party silence will come in handy (though Fugen hasn't asked about it).

For the druid air walk would come in handy (but is 5th level).

[Linklegacy77]

I don't know what schools Termix has banned, but it would suck if illusion was one of them.

Nimdor could possibly sneak in by himself and get some information.

[crueldespot]

I should spell it out in game terms: Termix' banned schools are illusion and enchantment.

[Black Plauge]

Thanks much. That was what I needed to know.

[Boomlaor]

Sounds to me like strolling in guns blazing is looking like a better and better option.

[Canter_shadow]

Sorry about the lack of posting, I have indeed been having connectivity issues.

[Boomlaor]

I've never played a druid before. I'll welcome advice as to which spells to prepare.

[crueldespot]

Could have fooled me. You seemed to have a good handle on the druid tactics, esp in that first combat in your solo thread.

[Exarzun]

I'll be honust, planning and tactics really arent my forte (as i think you guys know by now) so i'm sorry i'm not much use here, though being with the RP giant that is BP i doubt that even if i did have any skill it would be able to match up with anything he comes up with... That siad, i'm not quite seeing the problem with letting Nimdor sneak in, scout the place out, find out where the emperor is (perhaps Fugen and Kierna acompany him depending on there sneaking abilityes ) and then doing a surgical blitz strike...

[crueldespot]

I just updated the map of Dian province to show the location of Takeshi's imperial gardens. Here's another copy for easy reference.

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4821/dianhd5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Black Plauge]

Looking for Canter to confirm (or deny) that Termix can cast detect thoughts. It's a 2nd level divinination wizard spell, so there is nothing preventing him from casting it, except maybe him not having it in his spellbook.

[crueldespot]

Termix, do know the spell that Golock used to read the thoughts of those he interviewed? Can you cast it?"

Also, the Ministry of Rituals can provide NPC spellcasting or resources to learn spells that are directly related to the mission of saving the emperor.

[The Alcotroll]

Sounds to me like strolling in guns blazing is looking like a better and better option.

I'd second this, if only we had guns.

As it is, I think we'd better do some creeping. Am I to assume that the Emperor's palace is now enemy territory? Are we likely to be attacked by people (or things) while we're in there?

[Canter_shadow]

Sorry, not on the spell list.

Have Golock's spellbooks been taken? Or are they still around?

[crueldespot]

Dear Henchmen,

I regret to announce that there will probably be a 1 week delay before the next installment. I'm leaving tomorrow on a church trip to New Orleans to rebuild houses. I might get lucky and be able to find some computer access once or twice - or not.

In the meantime, please figure out the questions you want to ask the prisoner and other plans for the next mission. I'll post the answers in my next installment.

Regarding the zone of truth spell, I don't see any rules to indicate that the caster is aware of whether the subjects succeed or fail in their saving throws. So the spell makes it more likely that the prisoner is telling the truth- but no guarantee.

For the detect thoughts spell, I agree with you that the caster would know if the save succeeded, because the caster would not detect any thoughts if the victim saved. So here is the prisoner's save vs the NPC spellcaster's detect thoughts spell
[roll0] vs DC 15. If that save succeeds, the NPC caster will try again. Second try: [roll]1d20+2[roll] vs DC 15.

[Black Plauge]

The rules on knowing the results of a saving through are under the Magic Overview: Saving Throws (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#savingThrow) section of the SRD. In particular, they state:
A creature that successfully saves against a spell that has no obvious physical effects feels a hostile force or a tingle, but cannot deduce the exact nature of the attack. Likewise, if a creature’s saving throw succeeds against a targeted spell you sense that the spell has failed. You do not sense when creatures succeed on saves against effect and area spells.
Emphasis mine.

[Canter_shadow]

Zone of Truth isn't a targeted spell.

[Black Plauge]

DOH! http://www.mnvibe.com/forum/images/smilies/smack_forehead_ani.gif

Damn, we'd need discern lies for that (a 4th level spell). Should we try to obtain a scroll of it from the Ministrey?

Anyway, I've really only got two questions for the prisoner:
Do you know where the Emperor is?
If yes, where?

Beyond that, I say we leave the prisoner tied up in the dungeon and head for the palace. We can take him back to Merak Hoi after freeing the Emperor.

CD, how much did the loot net us?

[crueldespot]

Here is are the treasure items from the Temple of Stone. Was there some other loot that you wanted to include? Also, please remind me which items you intend to keep vs. sell.

bastard sword x18
12str comp long bow x9
360 arrows
breastplate x9
jar of alchemist fire x9
potion of CLW x9

I never told you what the total worth of the gems and coins from the Temple of Stone added up to. It was 2,050 gp

[crueldespot]

OK, I have found access in New Orleans. I would be posting the next installment, only none of you have contributed anything for me to reply to.

You guys talked about casting spells to assist with the interrogration. Now is the time if you are going to do it. Any questions for the prisoner? Going once...Going twice...

[Black Plauge]

I posted my questions in my last OOC post. Since Fugen can't actually ask them, and Gizerak is in "suggestable" mode, I figured that was enough. You can write dialogue for Gizerak as easily as I can. Either way it won't be coming from his player.

[Exarzun]

Ok, i tallied up the price of everything, dunno if that'll help or not. I'm fairly sure that everyone will agree on selling the weapons and armor, so unless anyone protests i say we sell the bastard swords, the bows, the armor, and all the arrows that Kierna hasn't taken (which i believe is the majority of them). The CLW Pots and the Alchemest fire's we might want to keep, but i'm not sure if we want all of them or not.... I'm going to say we keep all the CLW and distribute them throughout all of us, and sell all but like three of the alchemist fires, which i assume Fugen would take since he seems rather good with them. That sound good to everyone?

18 Bastard Swords - 630gp
9 12str Composit Long Bows - 900gp
340 arrows - 17gp
9 Breastplate - 1800gp
9 Jars of alchemist fire - 180gp
9 Potion of CLW - 810gp

[Black Plauge]

The list I posted here should include all the loot we have. (http://online-roleplaying.com/forums/showpost.php?p=264358&postcount=877) I think CD's numbers are for every enemy that was at the Temple of stone and doesn't take into account that some got away. We only killed or captured 6 of the mercs by my count in that battle (not 9). (http://online-roleplaying.com/forums/showpost.php?p=259597&postcount=132)

Thus far 50 of the arrows, the harversack, the sunrods, the alchemist's fire, and the potions have been claimed. The gems and gold listed at the end are what needed to be valued. Since our counts on the dead and captured differ, I'm wondering if the 2,050 gp that CD just quoted is correct.

[Black Plauge]

Okay, after looking again at that post, I realized that the mercs still in the iniative list at the end of combat were the 3 captured concious and were listed twice.

The ones killed or captured unconcious are in other posts.

By my count this was the disposition of the mercs at the end of the battle:
01 - Dead
02 - Captured alive and unconcious
03 - Captured alive and unconcious
04 - Captured alive and unconcious
05 - Dead
06 - Captured alive and concious (Fugen grapple)
07 - Escaped
08 - Escaped
09 - Captured alive and concious (web)
10 - Dead
11 - Escaped
12 - Escaped
13 - Escaped
14 - Escaped

That's a total of 8 captured or killed. Still not the 9 that CD claimed, but not my 6 either. Did I miss anything?

[Linklegacy77]

CD, when Nimdor levels up, if he does, can I just spend 2 skill points to understand Fugen?

[crueldespot]

Yes. It is like any other language, so 2 points to acquire if languages are cross-class for you.

I recounted and agree that 8 mercs were defeated. That means that the gold is only 1,900 instead of 2,050.

[trendel]

I will be back from paternity leave on Monday, then I will be back posting in full capacity. Thanks for "suggesting" things for Gizerak.

[crueldespot]

Saves vs zone of truth DC 15
Nimdor [roll0]
Takeshi [roll1]

Note that the characters are also within the zone of truth spell. Everyone should have rolled a save as soon as the spell was cast, so please roll a save vs the spell before your character attempts to make any false statements.

I am ruling that you cannot make a promise that you do not intend to keep within the zone of truth. And Takeshi's idea to "release" the prisoner to other guards goes beyond evading the truth since he is agreeing to the prisoner's proposal to be "freed", not just released.

EDIT: Both made their saves, so they are able to lie -ergo no need to revise their false statements.

[crueldespot]

Nimdor bluff [roll0]
Flarrgj intimidate [roll1]
Takeshi bluff (to assist Nimdor) [roll2]
Nimdor and Takeshi get a +2 circumstance mod due to the zone of truth spell.
Prisoner sense motive and modified level check rolled offline.

[Black Plauge]

Revised Loot List:
Loot (packed on the horse listed herein): 2x Longsword MW (8 lb), Shortbow MW (2 lb), Whip (2 lb), Dagger (1 lb), Bloodstone (0.01 lb), White pearl (0.01 lb), Riding saddle (25 lb), Saddlebags (8 lb), Arrows (100) (15 lb), Lance (10 lb), Heavy steel shield MW (15 lb), Heavy warhorse, 2x Hand mw crossbow (4 lb), Sap (2 lb), Heward's handy haversack (5 lb), 8x Sunrods (8 lb), Grappling hook (4 lb), 4 Piton (2 lb), Hammer (2 lb), Miner's pick (10 lb), Portable ram (20 lb), Small steel mirror (0.5 lb), 3x Breastplate (90 lb), 3x Heavy crossbow (24 lb), 3x Greatsword (24 lb), 3x Throwing axe (6 lb), 170 platinum, 198 gold , Bit & bridle (1 lb), 16x Bastardsword, 8x +1 Mighty Composite Longbow, 320 Arrows, 8x Breastplate, 8x Alchemist’s Fire, 8x Potion of cure light wounds, 1900 gp worth of gems and gold.

Haversack Contents (packed on the horse listed in the loot): Leather armor MW (15 lb), Masterwork manacles (2 lb), Masterwork thieves' tools (2 lb), 2x Antitoxin (vial) (1 lb), Bolts (140) (14 lb), Silk rope (50 ft.) (5 lb), Signal whistle (1 lb), Chain shirt MW (25 lb), Full plate MW (50 lb), 3x Whetstone (3 lb), 2x Short sword (2 lb)

Claimed items: All potions (party), all alchemical items (party), MW thieves' tools (Nimdor), 50 arrows (Kierna), harversack (party)

Anything else people want from the list?

[Exarzun]

I'd like to claim the Heavy Warhorse. Were always blowing money on renting em, cant hurt to have my own. I'll take the saddlebags, riding saddle, and bit and bridle with that.

No one want that +1 mighty composit longbow? That looks like it could be good in the right hand...

[Black Plauge]

Didn't Flarrgj already buy a heavy warhorse at some point? Or rather, didn't Golock buy one for him? I thought the only two people renting mounts at this point were Linus (who is no longer with us) and Gizerak.

As for the bows, I think Kierna's already got one that's appropriate to her and none of the rest of us are really interested in that kind of weapon. Fugen, for one, doesn't have the strength to use it.

[Linklegacy77]

Sell it, the money would be very valuable.

[The Alcotroll]

Sell it. Kierna has a +3 bow.

[Black Plauge]

It? We have 8 of them.

As I said, though, I don't think anyone can really use them well.

Of there's nothing else on that list that people want to lay claim to, I'll start working up a sale value.

[trendel]

And when all is said and done, we should probably look at spending coin on some sort of healing wand....I have a feeling Gizerak will go through spells quickly on this little trip.

[Black Plauge]

Oh, no doubt.

I'd also like to see about getting either several potions of mage armor or some bracers of armor for Fugen. Something tells me that he's going to be playing the same kind of role he played in that battle with the "outlaws" on this trip and preventing him from getting hit will go a long way towards minmizing the amount of damage that Gizerak has to heal.

[Linklegacy77]

If Nimdor could use any of that fighting equipment (I.E. were it small sized), I'd take some.

[Canter_shadow]

Note to self: buy some scrolls of banishment.

[Black Plauge]

Note to self: prepare will.

[The Alcotroll]

Maybe when we sell off all this gear, we could hire an army?

[Canter_shadow]

Or an epic assassin, my votes on the assassin.

[trendel]

I have a feeling that there is a way through/around this. Perhaps not, but maybe....we'll need to really look at the maps of the palace.

[Linklegacy77]

Note to self: Buy a goddamn crossbow.

[crueldespot]

If nobody has any more questions, I'll narrate the end of the interrogation in my next installment (tonight after my f2f game)

[Black Plauge]

No questions here.

[Black Plauge]

Saleable items (with sale value)
2x Longsword MW - 315
Shortbow MW - 187.5
Whip - 0.5
Dagger - 1
Riding saddle - 5
Saddlebags - 2
370 Arrows - 9.25
Lance - 5
Heavy steel shield MW - 85
Heavy warhorse - 200
2x Hand mw crossbow - 400
Sap - 0.5
4 Piton - 0.2
Hammer - 0.25
Miner's pick - 1.5
11x Breastplate - 1100
3x Heavy crossbow - 75
3x Greatsword - 75
3x Throwing axe - 12
Bit & bridle - 1
16x Bastardsword - 280
8x +1 Mighty Composite Longbow - 800
Leather armor MW - 80
Masterwork manacles - 25
140 Bolts - 7
Signal whistle - 0.4
Chain shirt MW - 125
Full plate MW - 825
3x Whetstone - 0.03
2x Short sword - 10
Bloodstone - ?
White pearl - ?
3798 gp worth of gems and coin.


That comes out to 8423.1gp worth (except for the value of the bloodstone snd the white pearl, which I don't know). Before the sale of all that becomes official, is there anything else on the list that people want taken off. As a reminder:

Already Claimed items:
8x Potion of cure light wounds
2x Antitoxin (vial)
8x Alchemist’s Fire
8x Sunrods
Masterwork thieves' tools
50 Arrows
Heward's handy haversack
Grappling hook - .5
Silk rope (50 ft.) - 5
Portable ram - 5
Small steel mirror - 5

[Black Plauge]

Hmm... Looking at the list, does anyone else think that the ram and the mirror might come in handy while tearing through the palace?

Oh, and we should plan on purchasing and bringing with us some incense when we head to the palace. The last think we want to have happen is to rescue the emperor only to find out we don't have the needed supplies to perform the ritual right away.

[crueldespot]

On the other hand, that would be hilarious.

[Linklegacy77]

Are you sure a +1 composite longbow has a sale value of only 800 gp? Assuming a str rating of 1, that's a market value of 2,600, so it should be 1,300 sale.

That is, if the sale value is 1/2 market value...

[crueldespot]

I think he means that it has a +1 "mighty" bonus to damage.

[The Alcotroll]

Probably wouldn't hurt to keep the rope and the grapnels.

[Linklegacy77]

Ah, I misunderstood based upon how he wrote it, sorry.

[Exarzun]

I agree with the rope, grapnals, rams, and mirror idea's. Other then that i have no other points to throw in.

[The Alcotroll]

What are the odds of us persuading the Imperial Army to mount a diversionary assault on the palace, either to help us get in, or to support us when (if) we make our escape?

[crueldespot]

The province is haunted and the spirits come out at night. Anyone other than the PCs (who have the protection aura from the 5 martyrs) would be killed for sure if they stayed in Dian past sundown. The bridges out of the province are covered with deep piles of the corpses of residents who were trying to flee on the first night that the haunting commenced. So forget about trying to convince anyone to go into the province farther than they could retreat back out before sundown (unless you can overcome the diplomacy DC to sign up someone for a suicide mission)

But You might -might- be able to persuade them to mount a diversionary attack a short distance into the province during the daytime.

Which reminds me...to remind you: On the henchmen's first adventure (which Kierna and Termix would remember) they were flown into the province to rescue some people who were taking refuge in a cathedral that was protected from the evil spirits by spells of hallowing and forbiddance. It was a race against time to lead them out of the province before sundown. As they were leading them out of the province, the PCs had to evade and fight through groups of evil survivors in the province. So in your planning, don't forget that the PCs will have to contend with opponents to get through the province to the palace as well as those in the palace itself.

[crueldespot]

I can tell from the OOC thread some of what you guys want to do next: Sell loot, buy incense, buy a crossbow, etc. Yet nobody has actually posted in the in-game thread to say "[insert character name] goes into town and sells all of the loot except the ram and grappling hook, then buys enough incense for the ritual" etc. This seems to be an unhealthy pattern that is emerging here. Nobody is shy about musing in the OOC thread about what they want to do, but then days pass and I have to actually nag to get you to post it in character. What's up with that?

[trendel]

I will post, but want some feedback quickly first.

We are selling the loot, save the things we have listed.

Then we are buying incense. Also, we had planned to purchase a wand of healing for Gizerak to use on the group during fights to help us survive. What level of wand to we want to purchase? Cure Light Wounds will run 750gp. Cure Moderate Wounds would be 4500gp (which is weird because per the DMG, base price is 375 x 2 (spell level) x 3 (min caster level) = 2250).

Then from there, we were going to split the remaining proceeds evenly, correct?

[Linklegacy77]

trendel that base price is if you craft it yourself. Market value is twice that.

Don't forget to buy some scrolls of dismissal or banishment as well, it should make dealing with the outsiders easier.

(I really don't want to fight the demon)

[Black Plauge]

I have edited the above list.

CD, if you could provide the sale price on the Bloodstone and the White Pearl, then we can finalize the amount of money we get from the sale and start figuring out what equipment we're actually going to buy.

As for scrolls of dismissal or banishment, I'm not sure they will necessarily be worth it. The cost 1125 and 2275 gp respectively and have to deal with both spell resistance and a will save. Dismissal even has a penalty on the save DC equal to the creature's HD. That works out to a DC 10 will save dismissal and a DC 17 will save for banishment against which the babau will have a +6 will save. That doesn't strike me as odds worth spending up to 1/4th of our loot value on.

[Black Plauge]

Oh, and I don't reccomend buying a wand of cure moderate wounds. It is far more economical to buy two or three wands of cure light wounds to be used for post battle healing and to depend on actual spells and maybe a couple of potions for those few times in battle when we need more healing than 1d8+1 per round can provide.

[crueldespot]

I am assuming that Takeshi cast charm animal and speak with animals

Takeshi survival skill check to find and approach bird
[roll0] vs DC15

second attempt if necessary
[roll1] vs DC15

Bird will save
[roll2] vs DC16

[crueldespot]

I suppose I can give Takeshi the benefit of the doubt that he would prepare an extra one just in case...

second charm animal save

[roll0] vs DC16

[Boomlaor]

Your assumptions on both counts were correct.

[trendel]

OK, I agree that the cure moderate is too much. I'd say we purchase two wands, one to be carried by Gizerak, and then someone else can carry the other (I'd suggest Fugen or Takeshi).

Also, I think we should perhaps grab some Protection from Evil scrolls and potions (the scrolls being cheaper for those who can use them).

I plan to purchase 3 scrolls, as well as 2 scrolls of remove fear.

Just let me know how many prot from evil potions to buy and I'll post accordingly.

[Boomlaor]

Takeshi would support (and be willing to carry) the purchase of a wand of CLW. Don't we all have a permanent protection from evil from the 5 martyrs?

[Black Plauge]

Yes, we all have permanent protection from evil so unless we plan on bringing in some extra people, we don't need scrolls or potions of that.

Takeshi should carry the second wand since he can actually use it. It doesn't make sense for a character who can't use the wand to carry it, as then they'd just have to hand it over to one of those who can when it is needed.

I'd like some potions of mage armor for Fugen since buying bracer's of armor at the same level of protection is out of our price range. Given that the potions are only 50 gp a piece, I'd like at least 10 of them as that should be a few days supply (I think we're going to be in the province for at least a few days).

[trendel]

yeah, completely forgot about the blessing that we have.

[Linklegacy77]

If you don't want Takeshi to have it, Nimdor would be the next best idea. I don't have my sheet in front of me, but IIRC, he's got ranks in use magic device.

We might want to consider getting a lesser rod of extend for Gizerak or Takeshi. Make the buff spells last twice as long and save slots for better combat spells.

[Canter_shadow]

I believe that rod will be a good idea.

I haven't had anything to add.

[Black Plauge]

The rod is especially nice because the different casters can pass it around.

So, our purchase order thus far:
2x Wand of Cure Light Wounds - 1500 gp
Lesser Rod of Extend Spell - 3000 gp
10x Potions of Mage Armor - 500 gp
Incense - ???
2x Scroll of Remove Fear - 100 gp


CD, can we get a price quote on Incense (in the amount we'll need for the ritual)?

We've still got over 3000 gp to spend, which means we could buy a scroll of dismissal or banishment if we want to, but if there are other things that people want, I'd prefer that the money be spend there instead (as I stated before, I don't believe scrolls of those spells will be worth it in the long run).

What else do people want?

[Exarzun]

A question, how much does it cost to enchant an item? Because if possible i'd like to get my sword enchanted with a +1 bonus (maybe even a Flaming enchantment). Technicly, to purchise a +1 Greatsword would cost 2350gp, which is within what we have, but that would use up almost all of our gold, and as my greatsword is already masterwork, it seems easier to just enchant it. If thats not a possibility, i'd like to put forward purchising the sword for Flarrgj, if no one has anything better to buy.

[Boomlaor]

If its already masterwork, should be 2k to enchant it to +1

[Exarzun]

Does anyone have any objections?

[Canter_shadow]

Yeah, kind of. I was sort of hoping for a cloak of elvenkind to make Nimdor's job much easier. That way, he'll be 25% less likely to be seen when sneaking around, and can sneak ahead a bit to scout much safer. Termix doesn't really NEED anything, but a headband of intellect would be choice if we could manage to afford it. Making the save DC harder would be nice since they'll be more likely to take full damage.

I'm still trying to think of something better though. A +1 to hit and damage is useful, but I don't think it's the best we can do.

[Exarzun]

That understandible, and if youve any idea's those would make sense to go first. I was just putting mine forward as no one else had said anything :P (though i was thinking of putting it down as flaming instead, so it would be +1d6 damage).

[Boomlaor]

To get flaming though, it costs the same as a +2 enchantment, since you need to make it magic first, so it would cost 8k gold.

[crueldespot]

OK. Enough shopping already. Too many good ideas. Ya'll need to take a vote or something. Deadline for any purchases is 5pm tomorrow (Friday) real time.

[Black Plauge]

Too many good ideas.
Exactly why we need ample time to talk them to death.:P

I'd actually be in favor of magical weapons of some sort for those that don't have them, especially since some of the enemies we're going to face have DR/magic. Given our price limitations, however, I think that either oils or scrolls of magic weapon (50 and 25 gp each, respectively) will be the better investment than paying to have a single magical weapon.

Each scroll or oil would last 1 minute. Scrolls or oils of greater magic weapon would last 5 hours each so they might be the better investment, but they cost 15 times as much, so we'd have a much lower limit on how many we could get.

Who doesn't have the ability to deal with DR/magic at this point? I know Fugen can (yay monk class features) and that the spell casters are also all set (spells don't care about DR). What about the rest of you?

[Exarzun]

I cant.

[crueldespot]

Flarrgj is the biggest melee damage-dealer of course. Takeshi can do a little damage, but he can also enchant his melee attacks with spells. Nimdor can do good damage on a sneak attack. Otherwise, not so much.

So are Ya'll going with oils of magic weapon? How many?

[Linklegacy77]

Wait, what's that about doing good damage on a sneak attack? Really?

Lol, nah, he really can't. It's been kind of a fluke that he's done so well in combats thus far.

The rod is great too, because Termix can cast a really long lasting mage armor spell on Fugen with it.

[Black Plauge]

What about Kierna?

[Black Plauge]

Oh, as for numbers, I'd say 5 oils of magic weapon per person who doesn't have a magic weapon (3?) and then possibly some scrolls of greater magic weapon (split between divine and arcane) as a back-up, or for those times when we're going to need durations of longer than 1-minute.

Oh, and either some oils of align weapon, oils of bless weapon, or cold iron weapons would be good for facing the demon, considering that it has DR/cold iron or good. Along those lines, Fugen would want a cold iron kama (4 gp). He's unlikely to trip the demon, but that option is more useful than a sai's disarming option against a creature that fights with natural weapons.

For the rest of you, my recommendations depend on how CD rules the cold iron price doubling interacting with the added cost of MW. If the price doubling applies to the MW cost, then I advise oils of bless weapon for melee and thrown weapons and align weapon for projectile weapons. If the price doubling applies only to the base price, and not the MW component, then you might want to consider buying cold iron weapons.

Also, given the babau's protective slime, everyone should consider having back-up weapons available for dealing with it. Perhaps everyone should have normal cold iron weapons specifically for dealing with the demon. I think that would actually be the cheapest option if mending can repair the damage done by the slime. CD?

[Linklegacy77]

Or we could try to... y'know... avoid fighting the Demon?

Just a thought, lol.

[Black Plauge]

I'd rather go in prepared and not fight it than go in expecting to avoid it and finding we can't and are ill prepared for the conflict.

[Exarzun]

Actual thats only so much of an option. Its not so much that Flarrgj HAS to fight the demon as he really has no other way of getting around it. Its not like he's got ANY sneaky skills what so ever.

[Black Plauge]

Tentative Shopping List:
2x Wand of Cure Light Wounds - 1500 gp
Lesser Rod of Extend Spell - 3000 gp
10x Potions of Mage Armor - 500 gp
Incense - ???
2x Scroll of Remove Fear - 100 gp
15x oil of magic weapon - 750 gp
cold iron kama - 4 gp
2x scroll of greater magic weapon - 1500 gp
3x oil of bless weapon - 300 gp
1x oil of align weapon - 300 gp
cold iron greatsword - 100 gp
20x cold iron arrows - 2 gp
cold iron small shortsword - 20 gp
cold iron small heavy mace - 24 gp
scroll of dispel magic - 375 gp
3x tent - 30 gp
15x trail rations - 7.5 gp
10x water skins - 10 gp
15x feed - 0.75 gp


That comes in close to our loot value. Does everyone agree?

Fugen will also spend some of the money he has on his character sheet to get 5x Potions of shield - 250 gp

[Exarzun]

Agreed.

[crueldespot]

According to the DMG p284, the 2x price for cold iron is not applied to the +300 for MW.

I gave Y'all a deadline of 5pm, but I'll extend the deadline since BP was waiting on my answer to the above question. You have been making progress and I'm not THAT cruel.

Your loot comes out to 1,223.7gp. Either you can post IC about how your character spends his share, or you can pool your efforts and one person can post on behalf of the group.

Either way, you need to post your purchases in the in-character thread ASAP!

This is an adventure game! Not a shopping game!

[Black Plauge]

What about mending repairing the damage done by the babau's protective slime? Do we know anything about that?

[crueldespot]

I will strictly adhere to the spell description for mending. Mending doesn't specify an amount of damage that is repaired, so I will consider each damage roll a "break." You can fix a single break (damage roll) in a small metal object, or multiple breaks in a wooden object, etc as per the spell description. It won't fix a large metal object such as a two handed sword, since that is bigger than a "slender dagger." If the amount of damage causes the item to be completely destroyed, I don't think you can mend it (unless you find a reference from Hasbro that says otherwise of course).

It looks like you edited to finalize your shopping list while I was writing my most recent nagging post. So these are the purchases that will happen in-game unless someone has last minute corrections.

[Exarzun]

Ok, I know I get the cold iron greatsword, how many of the potions and stuff do i get?

[Black Plauge]

Hmm... CD, would you rule make whole any differently? Specifically in regards to an item completely destroyed by the babau's protective slime?

[crueldespot]

As long as it isn't a rod, staff, or wand, and as long as it wasn't destroyed by being warped, burned, melted, etc as per the spell description.

[Black Plauge]

So then does being destroyed by the babau's protective slime count as being "melted" or something equivalent?

[Exarzun]

Hey BD, how are we distributing the oils and potions?

[crueldespot]

Make whole spell applies to any damage except the types that are listed. "Corroded by acid" isn't on the list. Therefore it will repair babau demon slime damage.

[Linklegacy77]

Hey BP, you forgot a crossbow for Nimdor, so he can fight from range.

Some cold iron bolts would be good too. I've only got 80 gp, since I joined so recently.

[Black Plauge]

We've still got plenty of money from the loot for a crossbow and some cold iron bolts. You might want to post IC to pick that up as a last minute addition to what we bought.

The distribution of stuff:
Flarrgj:
5 oils of magic weapon
1 oil of bless weapon
cold iron greatsword

Nimdor:
cold iron short sword
5x oil of magic weapon
1 oil of bless weapon

Kierna:
1 oil of align weapon
5x oil of magic weapon
20 cold iron arrows

Gizerak:
cold iron heavy mace
2x scroll of remove fear
2x scroll of greater magic weapon
wand of cure light wounds
oil of bless weapon

Takeshi:
wand of cure light wounds

Termix:
scroll of dispel magic

Fugen:
10x potions of mage armor
5x potions of shield
cold iron kama

Also, one of the spellcasters should have the rod (I'll leave it up to you guys to figure out who gets it first). The feed, trail rations, tents, and water should be distributed out fairly evenly.

[crueldespot]

So have Fugen and Takeshi acquiesced to Fugen's plan of crossing the river before dawn? Is that what the group wants to do?

[Boomlaor]

Takeshi has.

[Exarzun]

It is agreed to.

[Black Plauge]

Has Fugen acquiesced to his own plan? Surely you meant some one else needed to agree with Fugen. After all, he isn't the kind of person who regularly disagrees with himself.

[Black Plauge]

No light for now. I want Kierna to scout around a bit first to learn more of the situation before risking it. Likewise I also want to know what she finds before making the decision to ambush or avoid.

The crossing of the bridge should be about an hour before the beginning of morning twilight, so about 1 hour 30 min to 1 hour 45 min before dawn.

[crueldespot]

Has Fugen acquiesced to his own plan
Bah. I meant Nimdor.

[The Alcotroll]

No light for now. I want Kierna to scout around a bit first to learn more of the situation before risking it. Likewise I also want to know what she finds before making the decision to ambush or avoid.

Sorry chaps, wasn't paying attention.

I'll get on it, boss.

Edit: The 'evil observation post' I presume is refering to the spies watching the bridge, who get a mention here? (http://online-roleplaying.com/forums/showpost.php?p=269794&postcount=56)
I presume Kirena wouldn't find it hard to locate their position and assess their state of readiness, assuming we do decide to destroy the position?

[Linklegacy77]

I recommend avoidance.

[Boomlaor]

Kill kill kill! Daddy wants some exp so he can hit lvl 5 and wildshape!!! Lol!

[trendel]

I don't know why I always forget to post this sooner, but I am going to be on vacation starting tomorrow, returning on 8/13. Please feel free to suggest or NPC (for CD) Gizerak.

[crueldespot]

Have a good trip.

[The Alcotroll]

I'm assuming Kie... Kir... Kri... my character... didn't find any unpleasant surprises then?

[Black Plauge]

I'd like to know what Kierna found on her "back trace" before deciding what to do next.

[Boomlaor]

I'll be out of town from monday the 6th returning monday the 13th. Feel free to suggest/NPC.

[crueldespot]

If the group is going to avoid a confrontation with the observation post sentries, then please provide their course of travel. They are currently at 8N/7E.

Here is a mini-map to clarify about the bridge, observation post, trail, etc:

http://img362.imageshack.us/img362/1338/dianopav7.jpg

[crueldespot]

OK, I still need a post that describes the course you will take. Are Y'all going to stay on the highway? (the highway that in 2 miles passes through the evil village where 2 former group members were captured and tortured to death back in the first adventure?)...or go another way? What is your specific route?

[Black Plauge]

I think we want to cut out cross country to 6N/8E before turning to meet back up with the highway at 4N/7E.

[Linklegacy77]

Canter asked me to apologize for her unexpected absence. She slipped on some wet stairs, and split the bones in her leg. It will be a few weeks before she can walk again, and she's still in the hospital.

[crueldespot]

I think I speak for everyone here when I say...


OUCH

[Black Plauge]

Note that while I am the player who got us moving away from the altar, I didn't necessarily have the intention that it would leave the newly rescued victim behind. Fugen himself wasn't going to make any effort to aid him but he wouldn't have objected to some one else doing so. I left it up to the rest of you to decide on whether your characters were going to offer the man a lift as we left.

Now it appears that none of you offered him such a ride, but CD's updated was only about 6 hours after I posted, and I posted near the end of the day so you may not have had time to see my post before CD's update. As a result, I'd be willing to back anyone who wanted to get CD to revise that post so that their character helped the guy along.

If not, however, I'm perfectly content to leave him fend for himself.

[crueldespot]

I wasn't sure if the overall group intended to leave him behind or not. That's why I ended the next installment with him still in sight behind you- so someone could go back and get him if that is your plan.

[Black Plauge]

Ah, then I misread your post. I thought that we had left him far behind. Since that isn't the case, those of you who might want to help the man still have a chance.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

[Exarzun]

Chaotic Neutral bitches. Flarrgj thaught we shouldent have even freed him to begin with.

[crueldespot]

So a clear majority favors circling around the intersection and avoiding the sentries by stealth.

Could somebody specify your route to the palace? Also what time of day do you plan to arrive at the palace, how you plan to get in, etc

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4821/dianhd5.jpg

[Black Plauge]

Well, if we're going to go around, then it seems to me that the logical route is to break off the road at the bend in 3N/6.5E, heading to 2N/6E (and crossing the smaller road there) and then back to the main highway at 2N/5.5E.

As for the approach of the palace, I want to stop into the cathedral first and check out the condition of that structure (and the spells protecting it) before looking into the palace itself.

[Boomlaor]

A good plan. It wouldn't do at all to plan to fall back to the cathedral in case of disaster without knowing the status of the cathedral. It may even be worthwhile to observe the castle from the cathedral overnight, to see what happens at night, before going in without knowing how long the expedition inside the castle will take.

[Black Plauge]

Since Nimdor is our eyes and ears in this situation, I'd like to see how he alerts the group to the farmers presence before Fugen reacts.

[The Alcotroll]

A good plan. It wouldn't do at all to plan to fall back to the cathedral in case of disaster without knowing the status of the cathedral. It may even be worthwhile to observe the castle from the cathedral overnight, to see what happens at night, before going in without knowing how long the expedition inside the castle will take.

I'm in favour of a recce too.

[Canter_shadow]

Hello everyone, I'm back, and very sorry for my time away. I broke my leg in an accident, and I've been in the hospital.

[Boomlaor]

Doh! Sorry to hear it. Hope you're feeling better.

[Linklegacy77]

You meant Nimdor, not Linus, right?

What is it, an epidemic? lol

[crueldespot]

Sigh.

That freakin' Linus is worse than gum on a shoe. Can't get rid of him.

Fixed.

Welcome back, Canter. Thanks for checking in.

[Boomlaor]

FWIW, Takeshi would be riding Daisuke, not a dog.

[Black Plauge]

CD, what about the other thing that Fugen was looking for? Namely a way to approach the cathedral without going through the buildings.

[crueldespot]

Sorry I misunderstood. Let me explain better: There are no other buildings between the road and the cathedral. The road widens into a big town square with the cathedral at the far end.

[Black Plauge]

So there's no choke point to get past the buildings to the cathedral, but getting to the cathedral involves crossing this square with buildings on both sides?

[Linklegacy77]

How far apart are the buildings?

[crueldespot]

I wasted a lot of time trying to find the original outdoor map of this area from Episode 1, but that was 4 years ago and it is lost. So I had to reconstruct it. Hopefully this will clarify things somewhat.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/5259/cathedralsquarexa6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Linklegacy77]

Ah, I see. So the area we are in now is far more enclosed than the area further along.

[Exarzun]

So would anyone mind laying out, in simple terms, what exactly our plan is for me?

[Black Plauge]

Check the cathedral for occupants. If some are found, clear them (methods will depend on kind of occupants).

Check to see if cathedral sanctification spells are still in place, if so, find a place inside that would work as a fall back position and set it up (if necessary).

Head for palace to start scouting out the approaches and find a way in.

[Exarzun]

Ok, cool. I just wasn't exactly sure.

[trendel]

Sorry for my absence....I've been ill the past several days. :(

[Black Plauge]

Me, I had internet conection problems yesterday.

[Linklegacy77]

I had a girlfriend with a broken leg to attend to.

[Black Plauge]

Do any of the spellcasters in the group know enough about the spells that Golock had previously identified for the henchmen to be able to guess which spell is which?

[Black Plauge]

Yeah, so it seems we're not going to be able to use the cathedral as a base of opperations. Every party member would need to be the same alignment (and coincidently, the one the spell is set for) or we'd need to know the password (if one has been set). Since I know we don't have a universal alignment (Fugen must be lawful as a monk and Flarrgj can't be as a barbarian) we'd need the password and even there we'd run into trouble as Fugen couldn't say it.

Of course, all this is OOC knowledge at this point for me. How much our characters know about the spell is something we'll need CD to rule on (probably by making either Spellcraft or Knowledge (arcana) checks for the spellcasters) before we find out if we're going to learn this the hard way or the easy way.

[Exarzun]

I think we should investigate this a little bit more, see if we can get in because, as you know, it really is the best possible fall back base possible and it would really suck to lose it as such.

[crueldespot]

First of all, I interpret the forbiddance spell description to mean that an alignment that is "different" means "opposite." So evil-oriented forbiddance blasts good and vice versa, but neither blasts neutral. Since the Cathedral is oriented towards neutral good, it only blasts evil-aligned intruders. I clarified this back when your predecessors visited the cathedral the first time but should have repeated it for Y'all.

Secondly, you are already in, as per the previous installment where it says you already explored the cathedral.

[Exarzun]

Hey CD, i just saw the rule that says when wielding a weapon two handed you get add 1.5 your str bonus to the damage, where i was just doing 1, my attacks now deal +1 more damage (half of 3 rounded down).

[Linklegacy77]

You're kidding... right?

You didn't know that? Lol

Better late than never, right?

[trendel]

ok, so I'm not that great at the planning part here, but what do we want as our next step? Set in some stuff for a fall back position? Or scout for an entrance? I would actually suggest that we search for a secret way to the palace from within the cathedral here.

I find it likely that there is one since this is the "official" heart of the empire's faith, with the palace not that far distant.

[Exarzun]

Well i kinda knew it but i never really knew it, and considering all i've ever played is Play by post where theres not alot of transperincy of charicter sheets no ones every pointed it out to me.

[Canter_shadow]

So, what does Nimdor suggest we do to get it ready? Rig the place?

[crueldespot]

So how hard do you plan to look? In game terms, how are you going to conduct your search? A quick browse? Focus on a particular area? The most thorough search you could do would be to take 20 to search each 5 ft square in the compound, but that would require days of effort.

[Black Plauge]

I think that Kierna and Nimdor should do a semi thurough search. The cathedral is much to huge to do a full search, but Kierna, because she is an elf, gets a automatic check simply by passing withing 5ft of a secret door. As a result, she should probably at least look the whole place over (kind of a walk through). Nimdor, who's proabably much better at finding secret passages, but has to actively look for them, should probably concentrate his search in places where passages are more likely to be found. Given what we're looking for, I'd suggest the floors of some of the alcoves or any exterior walls that have dirt or stone on the other side.

As for how long, I'd suggest that we plan to spend the rest of the day and possibly the next getting things set-up. Nimdor's point about needing a proper set-up is well taken, so for that we need to start by figuring out how we'll be entering the cathedral (either the front door or the as of yet undiscovered secret passage. Where ever it is, we need to assume that we'll be doing so at a run/gallop with enemies breathing down our neck so access should be easy for us, but we should be able to drop some sort of barrier down immediately after us. Given the forbiddence spell, said barrier probably needs to be more oriented towards missile defence than for keeping foes out, but I don't think we should rely exclusively on the spell.

[Linklegacy77]

Agreed. Setting up a trip wire fall-down door shouldn't be too difficult. Just rig a wire to set a large wood block to fall down behind, blocking off the passage. We run through, last person sets off the wire by kicking it or whatever, block falls behind. That should hold long enough for us to take whatever other provisions we leave in the area to reinforce the block, I.E., rolling a large stone behind it.

[The Alcotroll]

I think that Kierna and Nimdor should do a semi thurough search. The cathedral is much to huge to do a full search, but Kierna, because she is an elf, gets a automatic check simply by passing withing 5ft of a secret door.

Fair enough, but bear in mind that Kierna is actually the worst set-up Ranger I have ever seen, and actually takes a penalty on her spot and search rolls because of a negative wisdom modifier...

Edit: Oh, already done I see.

In hindsight, a secret passage bypassing all the scary monsters might have been a little too optimistic.

[Linklegacy77]

Just because we didn't find it, doesn't mean it isn't there.

[crueldespot]

Who has the first shift keeping watch?

[Black Plauge]

I think we should have 2 people on watch at all times. I propose the following watch schedule (each line is 1 hour):
Termix, A
Termix, A
Kierna, A
Kierna, B
Kierna, B
Kierna, C
Kierna, C
Kierna, D
E, D
E, D
This way Termix has the 8 consecutive that he needs and Kierna is on watch during the darkest part of the night (when her improved night vision is most needed). The A, B, C, D, & E characters can be Flarrgj, Fugen, Gizerak, Takeshi, or Nimdor pretty much interchangably (as they need 8 hours of sleep, but don't need it to be consecutive).

Fugen has no problems taking any of the lettered watches (including A).

[Exarzun]

Flarrgj will do as he's told, as yall know. He's got low spot and search checks as well though, however you can use his Str to help set up any traps or baricades needed.

[Linklegacy77]

Nimdor probably has the best spot and listen checks out of the whole group.

[Black Plauge]

He can't spend the whole night on watch though. We need to split things up. If you have a watch preference, pick a letter. Otherwise we can draw lots.

[Linklegacy77]

E

[The Alcotroll]

Six hour stag duty.

Nice.

[Black Plauge]

Hey, when you only need 4 hours you end up on watch alot. When they don't have to be consecutive, and you have the best night vision of the group, you end up with split sleeping shifts.

[Boomlaor]

Takeshi can see (somewhat) in the dark, so he'll take a watch. He has Daisuke's help on spot checks. It occurs to me, however, where did the others leave their horses, etc?

[Black Plauge]

Given the size of the cathedral, I would assume that we brought them inside with us. After all the care we went through to specify that we wanted to pick a spot near the back of the cathedral were we'd be out of sight of wandering eyes, it wouldn't make sense to leave a tell tale sign of our presense tethered outside.

[Black Plauge]

CD, given that Nimdor and Kierna were the only ones looking around for the hidden passage yesterday, can we assume that the rest of the party went about the work of rigging the barricades we talked about. I just realized that while we disscussed it OOC, no one ever actually talked about doing it IC. Are you going to hold that against us (in which case I'll post now that Fugen gets the group started on it), or can we just move on with it already having been done?

[crueldespot]

That's fine, but I would like for Y'all to work on describing your actions more explicitly.

Some times ideas are expressed OOC, and some times characters will recommend something verbally, but a lot of times nobody ever spells out "My character does X."

But to speed things along I'm OK with the fortifications having been done the previous afternoon. Plese specify exactly what was done. I remember discussion about some sort of trap. That will definitely need to be described if you want to rely on it later. What is the DC? Where is it located? etc.

[Linklegacy77]

It's not actually a trap, it's a fortification though. The concept was to take a couple of large wooden objects, like pews, for example, and rig them to fall with a trip wire farther back in the room, thus blocking the door behind them from opening from the other side. Then, the group could roll a large, strong, heavy object or something behind the door to secure it for good, just using the pews to hold it shut until they could get the large object in place.

Basically, it makes sure we get a nice long breather, and that they can't get through the door behind us.

[Boomlaor]

How far is it from the cathedral to the palace?

[crueldespot]

Here is another link to the province map:

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/4821/dianhd5.jpg

[Black Plauge]

So that's 2 miles by road, about a mile and a half as the crow flies.

[Exarzun]

Hey i'm here, i just have nothing to contribute IG. Things are picking up for me right now. School is getting more difficult, one of my computers has died so i only have consistant computer access every other week, and to top it all off i'm moving at the house that does have consistant computer access. I should be able to keep posts up but i'm going to be rather buisy...

[crueldespot]

I edited the last installment to add in the maps for reference, with an indicator of your current location and colors to show the areas protected by the hallowing and forbiddance spells.

[Linklegacy77]

Alright.

[The Alcotroll]

That's what I like to see, three different plans within three posts.

The bad guys can't touch us inside the cathedral can they? And even if the mercenaries can, I'm sure the sphinx and the scholar can't, 'cos of that anti-evil claymore on the door.

I'm with Link's "hide in a corner" plan.

[Black Plauge]

The bad guys can't touch us inside the cathedral can they? And even if the mercenaries can, I'm sure the sphinx and the scholar can't, 'cos of that anti-evil claymore on the door.
They may not be capable of entering without taking significant damage, but they certainly can touch us. Ranged attacks will cross the threshold just fine. Truth told, so will melee attacks if we stand on the threshold.

Even if we employ Link's hide in a corner plan, some one should be near the entrance to drop our barrier behind any one who comes into the cathedral to cut them off should it become necessary.

[The Alcotroll]

So we can shelter inside and hope they come for us, then take them down after they've suffered the consequences of crossing the threshold.
In that case let's hope they're dumb enough to storm the building, instead of waiting for us to come out when next we need the toilet.

[crueldespot]

Please be more specific. Are you planning to ambush them within the front door to the cathedral complex (where you are now)? Or the door into the sanctuary where the forbiddance spell is? And which door has this improvised fortification thing on it?

[Linklegacy77]

Have flarrgj wait by the door with the improvised fortification, as he's the strongest and most likely to be able to move the boulder behind the door in the least amount of time.

The rest of us should wait deep in the cathedral.

[Black Plauge]

Please be more specific. Are you planning to ambush them within the front door to the cathedral complex (where you are now)? Or the door into the sanctuary where the forbiddance spell is? And which door has this improvised fortification thing on it?
I didn't realize there was a difference. What is the area inside the cathedral complex but outside the fobidence spell like? If it's open air, I think we would have set up the barrier at the entrance to the sanctuary. If it's inside, then we might have set the barrier up at the complex entrance depending on what location would have made for a more fesible barrier location. That isn't really my area of expertise (IC or OOC).

[crueldespot]

It is shown on the map of the cathedral in my latest installment in the IC thread. Basically, the courtyard, the passage that wraps around it, and the front lobby on the far side of the courtyard are outside of the forbiddance spell. The area shown in yellow (the big central worshipping area) is in the forbiddance spell area.

[Boomlaor]

It occurs to me that I should have posted this as the first thing I did in the morning, but oh well. Did Takeshi and the other spellcasters have the time to prepare spells yet?

[crueldespot]

A day has passed, so I don't see why not. Considering the circumstances (battle may be starting in 1 round), you will have to justify any changes to the list you memorized.

[Black Plauge]

It is shown on the map of the cathedral in my latest installment in the IC thread. Basically, the courtyard, the passage that wraps around it, and the front lobby on the far side of the courtyard are outside of the forbiddance spell. The area shown in yellow (the big central worshipping area) is in the forbiddance spell area.

Courtyard? So it's open air? In that case I think we would have set up our barrier at the entrance to the sanctuary.

[crueldespot]

It is open air. That is indicated by the shape of the building as shown on the map (the larger scale map that shows the plaza, mountain, etc). I would reposition you, but it is too late since you have already been seen at your present location. Of course, it isn't too late for the characters to fall back (but it is about to be).

begin casting summon nature's ally II for a hippogriff.
Where do you want it to appear?

[Boomlaor]

Between us and the flying thing.

[Exarzun]

Um, i'm sorry bout the bad timing but i'm going to be missing till next monday the 1st, as i'm moving and wont have any interweb connection. You know what flarrgj will do so feel free to RP him :)

[Linklegacy77]

Canter is still playing, she asked me to apologize.

She's just had a crap load of work dumped on her, and her leg isn't making things any easier.

She should have some free time starting tomorrow though.

[crueldespot]

A few items that I need to clarify:

#1, The PCs have been peeking out through the door, which means that the door has been cracked open. Did you understand that the door opened outward or inward? I did not specify that already, so if you were planning on it to open inward (or outward), let me know, and I will rule that it opens the way you expected.

#2, If this is the door you rigged with a barricade to drop in place, and if you are dropping the barricade now, then I recommend that Fugen and Flarrgj should back up so that they aren't crushed by it, because it will have to be located in the space they are currently occupying.

[Linklegacy77]

Of course. Everybody else will be going before Gizerak, so that's why I said for him to drop it.

[Black Plauge]

I thought we had agreed that the baricade would be set up at the entrance of the sanctuary given that the courtyard area was open air?

[Linklegacy77]

We did?

I may have misinterpreted something somewhere.

[Black Plauge]

Okay, maybe agree was too strong a word, but this (http://online-roleplaying.com/forums/showpost.php?p=284467&postcount=192) was the last anything was said about it.

[crueldespot]

Nimdor is the one who erected it, so I reckon he is the one who makes the call.

[Linklegacy77]

I misinterpreted several terms, I guess I was using different definitions.

For example, I thought you meant right where we are by 'sanctuary'.

That would be a problem, wouldn't it?

[crueldespot]

So make up your mind. Is the barrier set for the front door where you are, or for one of the doors to the sanctuary area deeper in the temple?

[Linklegacy77]

One of the doors in the sanctuary area deeper.

[Linklegacy77]

Why did you roll a save for linus?

[crueldespot]

LOL cuz that's what I get for cutting and pasting a list from the previous chapter. Hey, just because he is gone doesn't mean I can't keep inflicting damage on him if I want to.

[Linklegacy77]

Man CD, one might think you're in love or something.

He just keeps on popping up out of nowhere, over and over again, like a recurring nightmare.

[crueldespot]

Freaking halflings are like gum on a shoe.

[trendel]

I'm going to have to call it quits. I really wish I had the time to devote to this great game, but unfortunately a new job and new baby don't leave me time to do this and sleep.

not sure what to do with Gizerak, but good luck. I will send my most recent char sheet to CD so he has it should someone else take it up.

Also, CD, this was an awesome game to be a part of.

[crueldespot]

See what I get for badmouthing halflings?

Very sorry to see you go. It was fun while it lasted. Thanks for letting me know.

Gizerak will go into "suggest mode." Any other characters can ask him for help or tell him what to do, and he will do it (within reason). If he gets contradictory guidance from more than one character, then I will make the call about which recommendation he follows (opposed diplomacy checks, perhaps).

[Black Plauge]

Player loss sucks.

[Black Plauge]

CD, you can't ready a charge. A charge is a full round action and you can only ready standard, move, and free actions.

[Boomlaor]

Are the courtyard and Plaza paved or dirt?

[Canter_shadow]

There is one circumstance in which you can ready a charge, and it requires a non-core feat.

[crueldespot]

I accept your correction on the charge.

Both courtyard and plaza are paved.

[Linklegacy77]

Lol, Nimdor's running because he's incapable of fighting.

That, and he has a plan.

[Black Plauge]

How far from the freshly charred body to Fugen?

[crueldespot]

You are at 155E/30N and the body is at 170E/75S (surrounded by enemies now, BTW) so that makes it...110 ft I believe if I accounted for the diagonals correctly.

[Black Plauge]

Can you post a map which encompasses a big enough picture to include the enemy positions between Fugen and the body.

As risky as it might be, I'm thinking that the enemy may be more interested in retreating than recovering the body and so it might be worth it to try and prevent them from taking it (Termix would love to have that wand, I'm sure).

Also, the body might be a way to keep at least some of the enemies around. I really don't like the idea of letting them all go and think that if any escape we're going to have to abandon the cathedral as a fall back point as they will bring in reinforcements that at the very least could end up bottling us up inside, if not finding a way through the forbiddence to flush us out into a one-sided confrontation that isn't in our favor.

[crueldespot]

Expanded map is posted in the IC thread and here:
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/6210/628age3.jpg

[Black Plauge]

Hey Boom, as much as I like the idea of Takeshi casting Bear's Endurance on Flarrgj, you already posted an action for this round before CD posted the second map. I'm afraid that you're going to have to chose which you are going to do.

[Boomlaor]

Bah, I assumed for some reason that the second map meant that we were moving on to the next round.

[crueldespot]

BP, the heiracosphinx is at altitude 10 ft, so it can't AtO you if you run under it. I think you can still charge it if you want to, but you will need to make a jump check.

[Black Plauge]

How is it 10ft in the air? It only moved 40 ft last round and it has a minimum foward speed of 45 ft when flying. According to the rules for flight it would have had to have moved a bit further or it would have fallen at the end of its turn.

Oh, and I'll make the jump check. With a 20 ft running start, a 2 ft high jump is only DC 8 so Fugen can make that automatically.

[crueldespot]

How = it circled to get there. Yes! Not that its position is due to me neglecting to move the icon to the proper spot before I posted the map. Absolutely not that. Circling! That's the reason.

If the heiracosphinx had a readied action, it could have incorporated a 5' step down to attack anyone moving beneath it, but your decision to chase after them was such a surprise to me (and therefore the NPCs) that I didn't bother to state a readied action.

[Black Plauge]

How = it circled to get there. Yes! Not that its position is due to me neglecting to move the icon to the proper spot before I posted the map. Absolutely not that. Circling! That's the reason.
That may effect its facing (depending on the route it took to get where it was going). While on the ground creatures don't have any facing, flying creatures of poor manuverability (like the sphinx) have movement restrictions based on which way they are facing (they can't fly backwards, and can only turn a certain amount for each forward move).

If the heiracosphinx had a readied action, it could have incorporated a 5' step down to attack anyone moving beneath it,...
No, actually it couldn't have. Your readied action can only involve a 5' step when you haven't otherwise moved in the round.

[Linklegacy77]

And..... pwned.

[Black Plauge]

What is in the area under the sphinx?

[crueldespot]

The sphinx is currently over the empty plaza. When it reaches 350E, it will pass over the edge of the steep slope that leads down from the cathedral's mountain spur.

[Black Plauge]

Doesn't it have to pass over some buildings at some point along the way? I don't think that Fugen can jump the whole distance to the sphinx in one go, but if he can use a window or door ledge along the way he might be able to reach it.

Of course, that necessitates there being a window or door ledge for him to use.

[crueldespot]

Here is the wide-angle map again. As you can see, there are no buildings on the north end of the east edge of the plaza.

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/4492/cathedralsquareui2.jpg

P.S. I am re-showing a map from earlier, so the position of the patrol is obsolete.

[Black Plauge]

Okay then, let's see if we can't turn their wand back on them. Termix has to move quickly to be close enough, but fireball is a long range spell (minimum range 600 ft) so I think he might be able to manage one and maybe two if he gives chase.

[crueldespot]

Sorry things have bogged down. Canter and Alcotroll have posted recently so I was hoping they were going to participate. I could just skip them or NPC them myself, but leaving them out could make a big difference, and I really hate NPCing members of the group. I'll put them in suggest mode. You can give them suggestions, and if they post then great, but if not it gives me something to go on. I already have an IC suggestion for Termix. Why don't Y'all give me an IC suggestion for Kierna, too.

We still have a barbarian, monk, rogue, and druid that are fully active. Should we bring the other 3 along in suggest mode, or should I rescale the adventure for 4 PCs?

[Exarzun]

Considering our track record for game speed and our slothfullness conserning tactics i vote for scaling it down for 4 PCs. I hate to drive out the other players, but trying to figure out stuff for them will just make things go even slower....

[The Alcotroll]

Sorry chaps, I seem to be spending a lot of time being busy at the moment.

I'll take a look in the IC thread and try to think of something sensible for Kirena to do, but if you do decide to kill her off, I probably won't complain. I'm having a hard enough time squaring away my own game at the moment.

[Black Plauge]

I'll suggest for Termix this round if I can get the ranges to the different groups of enemies as well as whether Termix has line of sight to them.

Also, what kind of action would it be for him to take the wand from Fugen. Does Fugen need to spend an action to offer it to him?

[crueldespot]

I'd say that Termix must spend a move action to take the wand, but Fugen doesn't need to spend an action to give it. It usually takes an action to draw or equip something, but Fugen is essentially a container in this case.

The group of mercs and the group of milita are both roughly 480 ft away from Fugen's present location. The closest in each group is maybe 465 ft away, and the furthest 500 ft away. Both groups have reached the road at the base of the cliff to the south (militia to the southwest, mercs to the southeast)

[Black Plauge]

Actually, I'm more interested in the positions relative to Termix for this, but since Termix is next to Fugen, it's all good.

Do the two buildings that are kind of in the center block line of sight to the group to the southeast? If they do, can Termix move in such away (with a single move action) to eliminate that block?

Or perhaps their on the other end of those two buildings (at the east end of the patrol line in the map above)?

Maybe a reposting of that map with the positions of the two groups marked would be the easiest way to handle this.

And the position of the sphinx? This one should be easy since it's airborne. Distance is all that is required.

[crueldespot]

The two groups have both taken run actions for the two rounds that they were fleeing, so that means they had to move in straight lines, which should preserve line of sight. I suppose they could change course at the start of the second round's movement....

But at any rate, checking via map verifies that you still have line of sight. See below.

http://img112.imageshack.us/img112/2163/cathedralsquareau1.jpg

[The Alcotroll]

What are we trying to achieve anyway? We're hardly likely to chase down the mercenaries, and the bad guys know we're here now. Better to leg it and get our heads down somewhere else before reinforcements arrive.

[Linklegacy77]

Or hurt them enough that they don't want to come back. If that doesn't work, then they'll be more cautious next time, and come with a larger and better prepared group. Either way, we have more time to move out and find a new base camp.

[crueldespot]

the bad guys know we're here now
If any of their scouts survive to report...

[Linklegacy77]

Doesn't matter from a character perspective. Troops came straight to the cathedral. They died. Thus, foes will come looking for them, at the cathedral.

Only if some survive to report back will they begin to get an accurate measure of our strength, which, at this point, is both an advantage and a disadvantage.

Stop them if we can, but I don't think we can.

[crueldespot]

Did they come straight to the cathedral? Or were they checking every structure on their way down the mountain?

Though you may be right that it is too late now, but I refuse to bet since this group is always full of surprises.

[Linklegacy77]

Does it really matter which? If they came straight here, we have less time than if they checked all the buildings on the way. Either way, they'll eventually show up at the cathedral with a superior force.

[Black Plauge]

The sphinx is intelligent (or at least intelligent enough) to report on our position and strength and I can almost garuntee that it will get away at this point since one more round should take it beyond Kierna's maximum range (1100 ft).

Barring, of course, some sort of miracle critical this round.

[Exarzun]

Hey you never know... Having no ranged capabilities Flarrgj is pretty much useless here unless you want him to try and chase down one of the groups by horseback, which I dont think will work.

Anyways, whether or not we get rid of all the scouts or not i think we need to leave the cathedral now, and cannot trust it as a fallback point. Any more dallying probbably wont help so i vote for heading for the palace. We can camp in on the way there to heal up and all that jazz then make the assault. I think we've planned as much as we can....

[Black Plauge]

CD, I think you forgot to list the wand of fireballs amongst Hangyakunin's possessions.

That, or you mis named it a wand of cure light wounds, which if Hangyakunin is an evoker like Termix and Mikon, he can't use anyway.

[Boomlaor]

I hereby approve and addopt the action proposed by BP if it is a wand of CLW, and if it is not, then Gizerak should take the same action with the wand we already have.