OOC A Tide of Discussion: the d20 ToF OOC thread

Guess not then.

 

All right, update's done and up. I still have to get the map up; that should be in about 8 hours or so.

For those of you who'd like to jump right in and reply, here's the guts of things:

- By reference to the above map, the only hobgoblins currently left on the field are at the ones at D -13, E -14, G5, and I -14. Every other one has been taken out or fled off the field under confusion. All those left on the field are under confusion effects. The one at G5 took its action for the round, and all the others are babbling incoherently.
- The Hound Archon is at H4 and will move to engage the hobgoblin at G5 when it gets its turn (on Zanaek's action).
- Zanaek is at G1 and close enough for touch-range spells on Skadi.
- There are four riders coming in from around G12 or so, they'll be on the map when I get it up.

Most important part: the bugbears. They are not on the field as yet, being about 100 feet out or so and 12 to 15 strong. They seem to be running, so they'll be at the edge of the field next round -- at the -14 row or so. However, they'll also not act next round since I'm deeming they'll have spent their actions getting to the field. That is, you've got a sort-of two round grace period to get ready to meet them.

EDIT: Also, Rilwen, I picked up a Tamora Pierce book -- the Magic of the Weaving? -- at a secondhand sale yesterday, basically on your recommendation. I have a six year old daughter, I'm planning to hang onto it for a while

 

Okay, first point of call is getting those blasted harpoons out - if that's possible without dropping William into the negatives. I recall mention of them doing damage on the way out as well as in. If we can get the harpoons out, the next thing is healing him up. I'm not sure how long it'll take, though.

 

Short answers on those--

(1) Yes, they do take time to pull out. Specifically, a full round action for each one.
(2) Yes, they do damage on the way out -- unless you or whoever's doing the pulling makes a DC 15 Heal check. If you make the check, it does no further damage. If you don't make the check, or don't use Heal at all, one of them will do 21 damage and the other 9 damage. (The 21 score was a critical hit, and the DR 3/evil was factored into that already.) So just tearing them both out probably will drop you into the negatives.

Also, map is done and I realised you're actually down to 3 hobgoblins still active, not four. I'm putting a copy here as well as in the main thread just for ease of reference. Again, the map's still zoomed in, but it'll be pushed back out when the bugbears arrive next round. And note your handsome, specialised hussaryn allies are on the field, too, and are subject to orders...

 

Okay, William will get both harpoons out then. And his Heal bonus is a +16 as stated on his sheet, so I think I can safely say he makes the Heal check both times.

 

Remember that's two full-round actions to take out both harpoons - sure that's all you want to do with the time you have?

 

Since they're no longer entangled, I think Ragnar and Ariel can charge the remaining guys in the front and then fly back up, while the cavalry cleans up.

As previously demonstrated, due to a combination of level and the fact that all the enemies act on the same initiative, we have passed the point where defense is a realistic option. Skadi was the most heavily defended of the party members, and still got completely killed in one turn. Thus we must make the game even more boring, and start hitting these guys with Confusion and Glitterdust from as far away as possible. So Evelios is going to use Confusion on the bugbears and spend an AP to hang on to the slot. Next round, he webs the gate shut.

I think William can cast a spell, then move backward and down, then cast a spell, and land next to Skadi and Zanaek on his next turn, so both of them can pull out the harpoons, since I don't have two turns worth of actions for Skadi. Turn one is going to be spent standing back up and casting Shield of Faith on herself (no AP, she doesn't have many to spare). Turn two can be spent pulling out a harpoon if William ends up adjacent to her. Alternatively, since Zanaek starts adjacent to Skadi, he can heal her, then move upwards to meet William, and then de-harpoon him next turn.

 

Huh, okay then. I'm happy for William to throw Confusion both turns, recapturing with his free AP each time, and move down to the clerics as suggested, because those harpoons are bothering me.

 

Ill cast Cure Critical Wounds on Skadi. Ill decide which spell I'm swapping and roll dice as soon as I get to a PC. Once done ill help William.


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Use the light switch, Luke. Trust your feelings!

 

Another possibility would be to use the healing staff, I think we still have nine charges left. CCW is maybe 40 hp of healing, and while that's a nice number, it still leaves Skadi at 1/3 her hp with another wave showing up. Your call though.

 

Cant cast CCW with the Staff. Only Heal, and two resurrection type spells. 8 out of 9 charges left. Id rather save the staff for raising any of us that might end up dead in this fight. Though I could cast Heal twice and still have two Revivifies or a Raise Dead left.

How long is 1 minute btw? 6 rounds or so? I'm asking because I would like to use Protection Devotion feat to give everyone in range +4 to AC. That should help Skadi and William a bit.

EDIT: Gonna swap Holy Smite with CCW and heal Skadi for 37 HP

And if I can I will also swap Downdraft with and cast CSW on WIlliam for 32 HP

EDIT 2: I really should learn to look up all my spells first. Can I scratch out the CCW for Skadi and use a charge of the staff to cast Heal on her instead? I believe that should get her to almost full on HPs. I believe my Caster Level is 12 or 13 so she'll get 120-130 HPs back automatically instead.

 

Yeah, I was thinking about Heal. I'd rather use the staff for Heal instead of Raise Dead/Revivify because a well-timed heal will prevent the need for a Raise (and subsequent penalties to effectiveness), and cost fewer charges to boot.

1 minute is 10 rounds.

 

As to how much Heal gives back: since the spell is coming from the staff rather than Zanaek, Heal's caster level is that of the person who made the staff rather than the person using it -- which, in absence of anything specific, defaults to the minimum caster level required to cast the spell. Heal is a 6th level spell, which requires an 11th level cleric minimum, so the spell would heal Skadi for 110 hitpoints.

Otherwise fine on those choices.

 

And if his caster level exceeds the one on the staff, you use that one instead. Zanaek currently has a CL of 13 for healing spells, which includes heal. So she should be back at full.

 

Hey... when would I be able to use Protection Devotion in the 2 freebie rounds we're gonna get? Or will have I used up all my action time with the healing?

 

Protection Devotion is an immediate action, so you can fire it off whenever you please. Heck, you can fire it off as soon as a bugbear is swinging down its axe if you really wanted to do so.

 

Are those outside the gate gonna fall back behind the walls again? IF so, I'll use the feat then. If not, I'll cover as many as I can.

 

Corrath certainly will fall back to the gate; even invisible she's much better placed waiting for the opposition to commit to attacking people and then slipping in behind them.

To hurry things up, take it as read that Ariel and Ragnar's charge attacks both succeed and are kill shots. In essence while charging given their plusses and their damage the only thing that stops them killing those hobgoblins is a natural one, neither of which turned out to be the case.

Ragnar probably will fall back to pick up the buff if someone tells him it's coming, but given he's best used at charging stuff and has a massive number of hitpoints to work with, he'd probably head back onto the wall's battlements.

In fact it's probably best if we lay out the initiative order for the two "rounds" so sequences go off fine and we can work out where people go...

First round:
Evelios: 1d20+2 - 22 -- casts Confusion at bugbears.
Hobgoblins: 21 -- spoken for this round and already acted.
Corrath: 21 -- moves back under the gate, charges the hobgoblin which got through the gate at a flank position to the Hound Archon. Hits. Sneak attack. Damage = 8d6+23 = 48 damage, which is not quite enough for a kill.
William: 18 -- casts Confusion at bugbears, retains spell via temp AP, moves down, but given those harpoons are in him and he's 30 feet off the ground on the wall I don't think he can cast and get down to the ground at the tunnel in one round without crashing to the ground.
Mazarun: 1d20+6 – 15 -- Rilwen, he does something?
Ragnar: 13 -- kills one of the hobgoblins and moves back to close on the gate or on the wall. Everyone, where do you want him?
Ariel: 10 -- presumably kills another hobgoblin with a charge attack because the goo has worn off. Can move another 80 feet, so Ktala, where does she go?
Bugbears: 8 -- approaching the field.
Hussaryn (i.e. your allies): 8 These guys can be ordered by you to do stuff, so, everyone, what do you want them to do? Bear in mind Evelios is webbing the gate next round -- Light, I assume that's the inner gate, not the outer?
Skadi: 1d20+1 - 5 ... still out unless there's a recovery roll which gets her back to conscious, but I think that only happens on the end of her turn, not during?
Zanaek: 1d20+2 - 4 -- casts Heal via staff, which brings Skadi back up to full numbers. Mitth, does Zanaek then walk up to meet William in the air?
Hound Archon - 4 -- full attack on last hobgoblin. Both are hits. Damage = 2d6+9 x2 = 31 damage. First attack is enough for a kill strike, so Mitth, where do you want him to move?

Second Round:
Evelios: 1d20+2 - 22 - Webs the gate. Inner gate or outer?
Corrath: 21 -- probably moves back to the gate.
William: 18 -- casts Confusion again, though I'm not sure if he has line of effect...
Mazarun: 1d20+6 – 15
Ragnar: 13
Ariel: 10
Bugbears: 8 -- last round of movement for them.
Hussaryn (i.e. your allies): 8
Skadi: 1d20+1 - 5 --
Zanaek: 1d20+2 - 4 --

So...yeah, a few holes to fill here.

 

Yeah, Z will meet up with William and heal him with CSW. As I said before I'll activate Protection Devotion to those who are in range, so anyone that wants the bonus AC, needs to fall back.

If Evelios is blocking the gate with Web, I'll have the Archon kill anything that got through before, otherwise he'll stand guard waiting to attack once the Web breaks.

 

I'm thinking Evelios can web the outer gate shut after William's turn, since everyone on the team can fly except the cavalry, who can just hang around in the corridor and charge anyone who crosses into column 2. William can still fire a Confusion through the G/H rows, which are unobstructed.

So Skadi has lost something like four rounds worth of turns? If that's the case, then she can't do anything for William since she needs to spend one action to get back up and I'm not sacrificing two turns on him.

 

First round, Mazarun will do his little flourish to regain maneuvers. Second round, readying attack with crossbow on any goblins that enter his effective range.

 

Sorry about the delay, guys, work decided to take a crap on me in the previous 48 hours. Update in the next 24-36 hours, I promise.

 

In passing, just filling it in as best I can in keeping with your desires...

First Round:
Evelios: 1d20+2 - 22 -- casts Confusion at bugbears.
Hobgoblins: 21 -- spoken for this round and already acted (and all dead by end of round).
Corrath: 21 -- moves back under the gate, charges the hobgoblin which got through the gate at a flank position to the Hound Archon. Hits. Sneak attack. Damage = 8d6+23 = 48 damage, which is not quite enough for a kill.
William: 18 -- casts Confusion at bugbears, retains spell via temp AP, moves down, but given those harpoons are in him and he's 30 feet off the ground on the wall I don't think he can cast and get down to the ground at the tunnel in one round without crashing to the ground.
Mazarun: 1d20+6 – 15 -- Regains maneuvers.
Ragnar: 13 -- kills one of the hobgoblins and moves back to close on the gate or on the wall, close enough for Zanaek's buff to go off.
Ariel: 10 --kills another hobgoblin with a charge attack because the goo has worn off. Moves back close on the gate or the wall, close enough for Zanaek's buff to go off.
Bugbears: 8 -- approaching the field.
Hussaryn: 8 -- move into the barbican, the area between the walls.
Skadi: 1d20+1 - 5 ... still out ...
Zanaek: 1d20+2 - 4 -- casts Heal via staff, which brings Skadi back up to full numbers. Fires off Protection Devotion. Zanaek then walks up to meet William in the air.
Hound Archon - 4 -- full attack on last hobgoblin. Both are hits. Damage = 2d6+9 x2 = 31 damage. First attack is enough for a kill strike, hound archon then moves to the gate.

Second Round:

Corrath: 21 -- moves back towards the gate, readies an action.
William: 18 -- casts Confusion again and doesn't move.
Evelios: 1d20+2 - 18 - Retrieves wand of Web, Webs the inner gate. I'm assuming this is so the whole area, 20 feet high, in G -4, H -4, E -3 through to H -2 is filled with web, since it's a 20 foot radius spell and the walls of the tunnel make for anchoring points. Mazarun: 1d20+6 – 15 -- readies an action against any bugbear that comes into range.
Ragnar: 13 -- charges and kills something, then pulls back.
Ariel: 10 -- charges and kills something, then pulls back.
Bugbears: 8 -- last round of movement for them.
Hussaryn (i.e. your allies): 8 -- stand ready
Skadi: 1d20+1 - 5 -- Gets back up, casts Shield of Faith.
Zanaek: 1d20+2 - 4 -- Drops Downdraft, heals William 32 hitpoints.
Hound Archon - 4: moves into position, waits.

 

Looks good on my end.


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MOTTI: Thou shalt not 'tempt to frighten us with words so like a man of magic, Vader. Nay, thy sorc'rer's act is tir'd and overdone. The sad religion thou dost cling to hath no pow'r to conjure up the stolen plans. Nor dost thou have a third-eye's sight to make--

 

Okay, update is up. Here's the map, duplicated from the thread...



Few things to mention:

(1) Hopefully the webs are clear enough on their location. I was working with overlays, and this seemed about the best I could come up with...also, looking forward to seeing if Mazarun has any reaction to spiderwebs appearing out of nowhere right before his eyes. Either way, if it wasn't apparent, the hound archon, Mazarun, and Skadi are not standing in the web, they're standing in the closest column to it without having to interact with it.

(2) I have put status bars on the top of the enemies, having discovered this totally cool little feature inside Maptools. I know it makes it look even more like a video game, but hopefully this will help people work out which opponents are hit and which aren't...either way, you've cut down 6 of the 12 opponents in that wave, either by kills or by them fleeing under Confusion. There's also a robed hobgoblin, caster probably, who's not included in that count of 12.

(3) Very importantly: I think I owe all of you an apology for that explosion I had about, what, three weeks or more ago regarding this fight. Nobody deserved that, least of all Lightwarden with the work he's done on this game over the years. I know this is an apology that's been a long time coming and therefore it probably means a lot less as a result, but if it is any mitigation, my behaviour and what it must've done to you guys has been bothering me for all of that period of time. You've stuck with this all the way through and been pretty damn patient with me at the worst of times, so I'm offering all of you an unreserved "Sorry". If anybody wants to clear the air with me over this, in private, then please by all means approach me by PM, because if anyone is feeling aggrieved over that, you are owed an apology and much better behaviour from me in future, and I'll attempt to give you both. I'm not going to try and minimise my conduct by offering rationales for it, but I can only say I took stuff a lot more seriously than I really should have, and I'm really sorry for that.