Fantasy A Tide of Flames: a d20 Dungeons & Dragons adventure

The Company of the Crescent Flame

The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale
Eight bells, Twenty-first of Mirtul, morning
Year of Scattered Lanterns (1368 DR)

There was a flare of pride from those electric blue eyes, even if quickly suppressed. A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. "I was ... told, that there was a playhouse in Brindol. Assuming it is not burnt to the ground when the city falls, of course. Some of my colleagues were somewhat less than enthusiastic for the delights of the stage, but Varanthian appreciated the music, and Azarr Kul enjoyed devotional pieces." She sighed, a winsome look coming to her face. "It is a dream, but we all must dream. Must we not."

TAG: All

OOC: Right, onto admin matters.

First, on spell selections, Zanaek will go along with any suggestions you guys have got for spells he should memorise. I'll go with Light's default, but I'd also start looking into undead-affecting spells in the Spell Compendium pretty seriously.

Several presumptions here, mostly thatnobody?s disagreeing with Light?s suggestions on disposition of items. Where there?s a choice, I?ve fiated. Masterwork items (which can garner 150 gold secondhand) and useless gear are being hauled in Bags of Holding. Actual changes to your character sheets won?t happen until I?ve got a spare couple of hours, but combat stats will reflect the changes.

So, the dispositions, by person:

William:
Bracers of Armor +2.
Brooch of Shielding (this sucker stops Magic Missiles dead)
Hobgoblin Spellbook
Scarlet and Blue Ioun Stone (surprised William?s not more excited over this. It?s a +2 to INT, which means a +1 to his spell attack rolls.)

Skadi:
Gets Ring of Protection +1
1 x Potion of Bull?s Strength
Light Fortification quality transferred to Skadi?s armour (i.e. when you get smacked with a critical hit, 25% chance you won?t actually take the critical)
Phylactery of Faithfulness

Ariel:
1 x Potion of Shield of Faith

Zanaek:
Vest of Resistance +1 (Evelios is going to have to give his away soon anyhow if he?s getting a Vest of Legends later on.)
4 x Cure Moderate Wounds potions

Corrath:
Gloves of Dexterity +4 (Gauntlets of Rending go into storage; there?s no time or cash to fuse the two items into one.)

Ragnar:
Mithral Breastplate +2. (If you really want to sell it, do it at Brindol maybe).
Cloak of Resistance +2
1 x Potion of Shield of Faith

Evelios:
1 x Potion of Bull?s Strength
Pipes of the Sewers (c?mon, he?s the only guy apart from Ariel who has Perform (Wind Instruments).
Staff of Stormclouds: Allows use of the following spells on a ?charge? basis:
* Fog cloud (1 charge)
* Call Lightning (2 charges)
* Control weather (4 charges).
The staff has 40-odd charges of its 50 charges left.
Mazarun:
1 x Potion of Shield of Faith
1 x Potion of Bull?s Strength
1 x Masterwork Dagger

Into Bags of Holding:
Shadow Hand +1 Quarterstaff (Shadow Hand?s not much use until Corrath learns to use martial maneuvers)
2 x Masterwork Daggers
Masterwork Whip
Masterwork shortbow
20 +1 shock arrows
Masterwork crossbow
6 x Bracers of Armor +1 (there were three sets on the guys upstairs, too)
Masterwork dragonchain
Mithral Jewellery
6 black pearls in a bracelet
+1 falchion
+1 elven lightblade
+1 Breastplate

 

OOC: D'you suppose I could actually take that Masterwork whip and shortbow? Pretty sure the ones Evelios has got are mundane, so it'd make a good swap out.

 

OOG: William doesn't need to get excited over the ioun stone since it's a +2 enhancement bonus to Int, which does not stack with the +2 enhancement bonus to Int provided by his headband. Ioun stones cost twice as much to improve, and unlike hats, there are rules for snatching them away in combat, thus it's of no use to him. Only Ariel or Maz would get anything out of it since they're also Int-based casters. I'd go with Maz, personally. There's no limit to the number of random orbiting rocks a character can pick up, and he's got a few spells that require rolls.

 

OOG: Xan, since this fight is going to consist of a large amount of undead, all of which you can't really damage, how about a nice change.

Dungeonscape offers the "Penetrative Strike" alternate class feature.

It replaces Trap Sense, and the benefit is "whenever you flank a creature that is immune to extra damage from sneak attacks, you still deal extra damage equal to half your normal sneak attack diece. This benefit does not apply against creatures that cannot be flanked, nor against foes that are otherwise denied their Dexterity bonus to AC or flat-footed but not flanked."

It's a little on the fly, but I can't hold you responsible for not knowing things that I was supposed to tell you. We were going to mention this much earlier as an alternative option for Corrath and Alessandro, but time passed and I apologize for it. Since this will otherwise be the world's most boring fight in the campaign for you and no one is particularly excited about trap sense, it seems like a decent exchange.

 

OOC:
Spell list for the next day:
0: Detect Poison, Disrupt Undead, Mage Hand, Prestidigitation,
1: Grease, Shield, Ray of Clumsiness.

IC: Mazarun Zothyrr

The clear and obvious gratitude from William helped to ease the lingering doubts about the merits of sharing spells. Mazarun returned his smile, though a little awkwardly. "It's more practical to let someone with more skill in magic use the spells where possible," he told the wizard, gaze flicking downward once again.

With that moment of uncertainty passing, Mazarun relaxed a little, feeling casual enough to give William a far less sheepish smile as he took the spellbook.

The drow sat, motioning for William to sit beside him. He glanced over briefly at where Evelios seemed to be talking to Ulwai. She wasn't gibbering, looking incredibly dumbfounded or otherwise showing signs that Evelios's presence was any vast trial, however, so he turned his attention back to the matter at hand, beginning to leaf through the pages of the book.

"It is Ghukliak," he confirmed. "This should be easy enough."

Tag: Cassie, any

OOC: Because spells are one thing, 'notes to self' about the efficacy and required tactics for the spells are something else. And it goes without saying he'll be looking out for any scraps of notes that have been used as impromptu bookmarks.

 

Ariel Elandinai
After seeing more of a Hobgoblin than she ever wanted to, The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale

Ariel finished her task quickly, in dealing with the female hobgoblin, and then returning back to to party to listen in, before they decided to finally leave the area. Ariel paused long enough to collect a scale from the creature they had killed in the room, and even Ariel had to smile when Ragnar did what she had been thinking of, when he destroyed the cursed statue of the wyrm. Ariel was quiet, keeping an eye on the female, but Evelios seemed quite happy to talk to her. And what was more interesting, Ulwai seemed quite content to speak to him. Maybe it was the bardic sense. After dealing with Evelios, she could not really say.

Something was very strange. One usually didnt go from devout Cleric, to happily turning away..but then again, Ariel never did say she was an expert in goblins, even after all this time. Mazarun and William were busy talking to each other. Ariel casually looked over the party, thinking about their plans on dealing with the Lich. She had no idea what could actually effect a Lich. Hopefully, regular weapons did. She looked at Ulwai again and frowned. Ariel walked over to where Skadi and Zanaek were sitting close to each other.

"I have a question, if you dont mind." Ariel stated, waiting for Skadi to respond before she continued, but either Skadi or Zanaek she didnt mind at this point. Her voice was soft, but firm. "What are we going to do with Ulwai? I dont really see us marching back into that place, with her in tow. And trying to deal with IT..and making sure she does not hamper us as well seems a very bad idea."

Ariel shrugged, her wings flexed wide, as she paused. She had asked once before about Liches, but she had an feeling neither cleric knew much. The information was not helpful. So she prayed to the Winged Mother that was weapons she did have, would be able to work upon the Lich when and IF the time came. Ariel then looked over at Zanaek. "Also, did we ask her of any of the Hand were due to come here soon, for updates or anything else?





TAG: The Company

OOC:Personally..If it actually DID anything for Ariel I would love a stone. Saint..does she actually get to 2nd level spells? (I dont remember)

 

OOG: You get 2nd level spells at 5th level of Duskblade.

 

OOC: Ktala/Light: The main thing the ioun stone would do for Ariel is raise by 1 her spell attack roll with Ray of Enfeeblement -- i.e. make it slightly harder for an enemy to resist the spell. If she had INT-based skills, it also makes her slightly smarter for those purposes (but she doesn't.)

Mazarun has Ray of Clumsiness which would be similarly affected. His Knowledge (Arcana) and Spellcraft skill rolls would also be raised by 1.

I'll provisionally assign the stone to Ariel; Ril/Ktala, if you guys want to sort it out by PM, then please do so.

Xan: For slight expansion on Light's observations (which I endorse), Trap Sense doesn't mean you're suddenly unable to pick out when traps are around. Trap Sense gives you a +2 bonus to your Reflex defence if a trap goes off. Needless to say, since you're the party rogue who is the only one capable of disabling traps both magical and mundane, and you have a decent Search score in order to find such traps, it's a relatively situational ability. Mechanically, being able to lay down sneak attack damage against the (corporeal) undead is far superior. It's a good trade. (Bear in mind this doesn't mean Telling Blow works against the undead, since all Telling Blow does is allow you to add sneak attack damage to critical hits; undead targets are immune to criticals.)

ramza: I'll note those changes in due course.

 

OOC: Double post, sorry. Some brief godmoding with Skadi and Corrath here, on the assumption Livi's still away

The Company of the Crescent Flame

The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale
Eight bells, Twenty-first of Mirtul, morning
Year of Scattered Lanterns (1368 DR)

Skadi nodded as Ariel asked her question, glancing across to ensure they were out of earshot of Evelios and Ulwai. "That, I suppose, is a question of how well Corrath has tied her. Still, I take your point. We can hardly leave her here, but we cannot leave her unguarded, either." The unspoken implication being that if it indeed did come to blows with the Ghostlord, they would not be able to afford the luxury of leaving anybody out of the fight.
"Also, did we ask her of any of the Hand were due to come here soon, for updates or anything else?" asked Ariel.
Zanaek shook his head. "No. There wasn't really the time."
"I don't know about whether the Hand is sending anyone here as such, but it didn't look like there was much time before they were due to leave," said Corrath, walking across. "From the look of the supplies they had left in the place, they weren't planning to be there more than a few days longer. Probably the Ghostlord's almost finished his work for them."
"I don't think we can stay much longer ourselves," said Zanaek. "Time's wasting. The longer we stay, the further down the road the Hand gets towards Brindol." The cleric sighed, glancing across at Evelios, twirling his staff around his hand, an innocuous cloth sack at his shoulders shifting slightly from side to side. "At this point I'd just about consider stuffing the Wyrmlord into a Bag of Holding, but the ones we've got are too small and don't have enough air in them from what I--"

The cleric stopped. Looked over at where Mazarun and William were in some earnest discussion off a short way. Turned back to the half-elf standing next to him: "Corrath, how securely do you think those knots of yours are tied?"
The rogue sniffed. "Has she slipped them yet? They're good, Zanaek. Best as I can make them, anyhow."
Zanaek nodded, walking across to where the mage and drow sat. "William," he called. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but do you know any rope tricks?"

He was thinking of a carnival he'd once gone to, as a young boy. And of an illusionist who'd variously made doves and flowers appear from his sleeves, made coins dance across the back of his palms. And, for the illusionist's big finale, a rope extending to nowhere, which the illusionist then climbed and disappeared within.

TAG: cassie, Rilwen, all

OOC: Specifically, this Rope Trick.

 

OOG: What are you talking about? Bags of Holding can hold 250 lbs and 30 cubic feet. Any living creature put inside has enough air for 10 minutes. May have another 15 minutes after that, depending on how the rules for suffocation are interpreted. Just KO with nonlethal damage, carry her around in the open for a while, then stuff her into the bag while you go into the buff routine. For good or ill, the fight will probably be over in a minute, tops. If you win, you can open the bag and drag her back out (or just open it to give her some air). If you lose, well... suffocating to death might be preferable.

Of course William knows Rope Trick, any mage who doesn't is an idiot (or maybe they banned Transmutation- wait, still an idiot). Best way to camp in a dungeon, though it doesn't work with this party because there are too many people (seats a maximum of eight, seven if you pull the rope up after you. Party has eight people plus two familiars, and there's no point in using Rope Trick if someone is going to stay downstairs on watch), though I suppose if you had a 2nd level Pearl of Power (4k, and requires a caster level that's way too high for you guys to craft it), you could cast it twice. Can't use it to store Ulwai unless someone is staying behind with her. Need to pull the rope up after you or else anyone can climb up.

 

OOC: Couldn't we try diplomacy? The DC to get Hostile to Helpful is merely 50, I've got a +24, little AP, little assistance rolls... could go places. Even if we screw up, we're basically guaranteed Friendly as it's a 35.

 

OOC: "The DC to get Hostile to Helpful is merely 50"

In case you thought that core and Diplomacy is not broken, herein lies all the proof for the negative that one would ever require

 

OOC: Well, the tradeoff is that that takes a whole minute of talking, and ordinarily "hostile" would mean that the target was actively engaged in attacking my fool ass. DC to "magically" transform a bitter enemy into an ally is effectively 60 for a full round action of diplomacy, and with that there'd be no possibility of assists from other party members. However, we're in the rather unique position of having our unfriendly party tied up, which means we have that crucial full minute to win them over.

In other words I kind of want to try this and see if it'll work.

 

OOC: By "ass" of course you are referring to the noble steed Equus africanus asinus. Although one could certainly attempt Diplomacy on a creature that is trying to kill your donkey.

EDIT: Incidentally, and possibly more on topic -- if William would like to disabuse Zanaek of the notion that a Bag of Holding has less than thirty seconds of air left in it, feel free to do so.

 

OOC: If Ariel really wants an ioun stone, she could borrow Mazarun's...
Kidding, of course.

 

IC: William Marshall

Distracted from the spellbook, William looked up at Zanaek, eyebrow raised. "Yes, I do. Why?"

TAG: Saint, Rilwen

 

The Company of the Crescent Flame

The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale
Eight bells, Twenty-first of Mirtul, morning
Year of Scattered Lanterns (1368 DR)

"Well," said Zanaek, "I'd been wondering whether it might be a viable option to actually put the Wyrmlord into an extradimensional space while we go and deal with the Ghostlord. I seem to remember there's some magic involved in a rope trick that allows that to happen. I mean, we have Bags of Holding, but surely that's not big enough to keep someone alive and breathing for more than thirty seconds or so?"

TAG: cassie, all

 

OOC: Also, Zanaek's provisional spell list for consideration...

Spells: (At will/7/5/5/4) Spell attack: 1d20 + 5 + Level, Caster Level 8
Domains - Healing, Good (CL 10 ? [Healing] spells; CL 9 - [Good] spells)
0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Resistance, Guidance, Detect Poison
1: Remove Fear, Protection from Evil (D), Inhibit (SpC), Ebon Eyes x3 (SpC), Light of Lunia (SpC)
2: Hold Person, Curse of Ill Fortune (SpC), Spiritual Weapon, Healing Lorecall (SpC), Silence, Aid (D)
3: Remove Curse, Resist Energy, Mass, Magic Circle against Evil (D), Spark of Life (SpC) (intended Reach spell with AP), Resurgence, Mass (SpC)
4: Recitation (SpC), Freedom of Movement, Restoration, Holy Smite (D)

Spark of Life makes its target vulnerable to critical hits and most of the other physical conditions that undead are usually immune to. It's an intended Reach Spell since I don't necessarily want to go to touch range with a lich if I can help it

 

IC: William Marshall

It was all William could do to stop himself laughing at the mental image of Ulwai being stuffed into a Bag of Holding. He managed to restrict himself to a faint smile as he considered the question.

"As a matter of fact, one could easily survive in one of the bags we have for a good ten minutes at least," he replied. "If you wanted me to cast the rope trick, we'd need to leave someone with her to pull the rope up, and I don't think that would be a good idea. Why not just bring her along and leave her secured in one of the other rooms?"

TAG: Saint, Rilwen

 

OOG: Zanaek should remove Hold Person, maybe replace it with Consecrate or something. Hold person only affects humanoids, of which the only hostile one within miles is Ulwai. Inhibit is likely worthless because it's mind-affecting, something undead are immune to.

Not sure how you're going to Reach Spell Touch of Life. If you have the metamagic feat, you can use an action point to apply it to a spell you're casting without changing the spell slot. If you don't have the metamagic feat, only option is using an action point to emulate one of the "Sudden" line of feats. Reach is not one of them. Also, the ghostlord is an undead spellcaster, so his Will is probably his strongest point.

Light of Lunia is a waste of a standard action 4d6 damage for a 1st level spell slot just doesn't cut it at this level. Might as well replace it with Ray of Resurgence (Lost Empires of Faerun). Light of Venya (SpC) might be a decent replacement for Touch of Life if you're avoiding melee.

 

OOC:

She'd probably molt!


Also:
*retracts request for Ioun Stone....*

 

The Company of the Crescent Flame

The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale
Eight bells, Twenty-first of Mirtul, morning
Year of Scattered Lanterns (1368 DR)

Zanaek chewed his lip. "Still risky. She's our captive, and from what Corrath and Mazarun were saying -- well, from what I felt inside that place -- there's any number of possible dangers in the place. Although ... if a Bag of Holding really can sustain a person for that period of time, perhaps it's worth putting her in it just before we confront Zarl. Gods know it'd probably be the safest place in the whole mountain, and if we're there more than ten minutes..."

The cleric left the thought hanging.

TAG: All

OOC: Couple of admin matters:

Rilwen: Okay, Rilwen picks up the Ioun stone, so he now has two whirling round his head.

ramza: I'm happy to go or assist with Diplomacy with Ulwai if you'd like to do so. The fact it takes one full minute, of course, has some implications for trying Diplomacy with the Ghostlord if you're going to head in there fully buffed up and ready to rock; rushing Diplomacy means a full-round action with a -10 on the check.

All: Zanaek's spell list for tomorrow:

Spells: (At will/7/5/5/4) Spell attack: 1d20 + 5 + Level, Caster Level 8
Domains - Healing, Good (CL 10 ? [Healing] spells; CL 9 - [Good] spells)
0: Detect Magic, Read Magic, Light, Resistance, Guidance, Detect Poison
1: Remove Fear, Protection from Evil (D), Ebon Eyes x3 (SpC), Ray of Resurgence (LEoF)
2: Consecrate (SpC), Curse of Ill Fortune (SpC), Spiritual Weapon, Healing Lorecall (SpC), Silence, Aid (D)
3: Remove Curse, Resist Energy, Mass, Magic Circle against Evil (D), Light of Venya (SpC), Resurgence, Mass (SpC)
4: Recitation (SpC), Freedom of Movement, Restoration, Holy Smite (D)

Lastly, taking a cue from William, Zanaek will also scribe a Restoration scroll as a backup.

 

IC: William Marshall

William's expression grew serious. "Then it would be more merciful than what Zarl would do," he agreed, understanding what Zanaek was implying. "I'm not fond of the choice, but it's the best option we have."

TAG: Saint, Rilwen

 

Ariel Elandinai
Outside, The Stone Lion, the Thornwaste, eastern Elsir Vale, Morning

Ariel was silent, as she listened to the two come up with various options on what to do with their prisoner. She decided to let them figure it out, as she looked skywards. She gave a deep sigh, her thoughts many.

They had mentioned that there were indications that the goblins were ready to leave soon, that he was finished with his project. Maybe we could find out what it was he was working on..and HOW was he supposed to deliver it. An item? A scroll? She didnt think he planned on trudging along with the merry group of goblins. After all, they had to still his trinket, in order to get him to work for them.

Ariel turned and walked away. Other thoughts crept to the sides of her minds, but she pushed them away. She had not forgotten what had happened. So she pushed it away. Deal with the 5 headed worm and her minions first. That is what she needed to focus on. The Winged Mother had lead her here, to face this challenge, and she would not waste it. Ariel took to the skies, going straight up. They could reach her if necessary. She would give honor to the Winged Mother, and right now, she could use the fresh air, after being within the stone lion. She looked about, wondering if the storm clouds had moved, and what else might be within sight as she slowly spun within the winds of she who had created them.

Perhaps here, she could hear the whispers more clearly.


TAG: The Company

 

OOC: Alright, no time for an IC post until tomorrow, but I think I'm going to go ahead and try Diplomacy since, really, it can't hurt, and the worst I can do is get her to "Indifferent". If you guys want to give me a hand with this (Hint hint) the DC to add a +2 to my roll is 10, which means untrained folks with no Charisma modifier still have even odds. (William, Z, Skadi, and Corrath would automatically succeed, so that's basically a free +8 if you guys help out. A +10 which would result from Ragnar, Mazarun, or Ariel making their roll puts us at guaranteed Friendly.)

So consider this my "Evelios calls you guys on his fancy ring and says 'Hey can I get some help winning over the hobgoblin bard?'" post.