One thing I need to check before proceeding. The information accumulated has just about everything except for healing surge totals. If we don't have those... well, I'll just do something about it, but that's the one thing I need to check before just starting up where we left off.

Everyone remembers the plot, right?

>>18
We were sent by our benefactors to retrieve somebody and were lead to this cave, which showed signs of a struggle, then got ambushed, right?

>>19
I don't expect you to necessarily remember names, but I have them written down elsewhere so it's fine.

Your benefactor is Thalwynn Cragmaul, a somewhat pushy dwarf female, leader of the Flaming Fist.

The Flaming Fist is a former mercenary group that functions as a sort of "city guard" for Baldur's Gate.

Your "mission" as it were is to investigate the recent raids on caravans entering Baldur's Gate along the road to the north. And specifically, you are looking for one half-orc female named Thelkra, who you encountered briefly on the way in here. She's a member of the Flaming Fist, and Thalwynn wants to know what Thelkra is doing still out there on assignment.

Other characters of note you've met are Valanor, a somewhat mysterious male human sorcerer who is also a member of the Flaming Fist, Urist Ironwrought, male dwarf cleric, a member of the Flaming Fist who is a lorekeeper of the church of Oghma. The head of the church of Oghma is High Priest Faenor, who is a male human. Finally there is a female eladrin named Elayne, keeper of the Arcanimus, a great library and associate of Curuvar the wizard (local wizard of Loudwater). There are some other minor characters you've met, but I'm sure you'll be reintroduced to them in time.

Well, I usually updated my hp and healing surges on the sheet, so that's not a problem for Sureiya.
And about the plot, well we were ordered to bring back the half orc (Thelra was her name? I can't remember).

>>20
That's what their names were. Thank you.
>>21
I should probably get into the habit of doing that as well.

At this point, I am more inclined to start clean-slate with a "new day," fast-forwarding past the last encounter and assuming you all start fresh from an extended rest (still receiving EXP from the encounter, of course). What do you think? Without exact healing surge values for everyone, it seems better for me to do it this way--especially after such a long break, rather than just starting in the middle of an encounter.

>>23
I'm fine with it. At this point it seems like we'd end up taking an extended rest after the end of the fight.

It's fine, anyways our situation wasn't that g-
>that thing
>and then there were none
>undo the rable
dear god why, no really why?

>>23
Then I agree.

>Cragmaul asks for a report on the enemy's hideout
>no one remembers how we won

>>26
That was only the first encounter of the dungeon, of course. You don't know what created these undead, and haven't found Thelkra either.

>>27
It's fine. We simply destroy an imageboard for every encounter.

>>23

Sounds good~

>>28

...

>>28
That's quite expensive, ne.
>>27
So, we did not find Thelkra. Well, then we might need to describe what did we find in the cave after the encounter~

>>30
I know what I did.

>>31
R-really?

>>32
I've had a long time to consider it.

Today is a tired day for me, but expect me to put something up tomorrow. Sorry for the delay.

Don't worry about it. This is to have fun, not to stress ourselves.

At this point, you can all assume an extended rest (you're starting fresh for the day), with an updated XP total.

You may see a decrease in XP earned from this point on, as I won't be doubling XP values anymore. I'll be trying 1.5x instead. I do intend for the campaign to be somewhat fast-paced, but the pacing was a bit TOO fast for me before.

>>37
Is the treasure increasing in proportion as well?

>>37
We were in easy modo? No way.

>>40
I've always based treasure on a per-level basis rather than per-encounter. In other words, when you gain a level, I map out all the treasure I want you to obtain "before the next level." How I assign it to individual encounters or locations in the dungeon is left completely open.

So, you might see a slight decrease in the amount of treasure gained per encounter I suppose, but it was pretty random anyway. The treasure per level won't change.

>>42
Thank you, that's what I was really worried about.

So what does that makeshift holy symbol Astaroth made do anyway? I was wondering if it'd be possible to ask for one and maybe attach it to a shield or something.

>>44
I think it works as a focus for implement powers, but the thing is that it doesn't really do anything, other than save me ten gold that I would have spent purchasing a non-enchanted holy symbol.

It's just for reassurance.

>>44
>>45
Actually, let me clarify: It's not special because it has no enchantments. It doesn't even give me a proficiency bonus using attacks through it. If I had it enchanted into, say, a Symbol of the Champion's Code, then I'd get the enhancement bonuses to attack and damage rolls as well as access to the properties, critical hit damage, and daily powers.

Don't wanna rush you guys, but I'll make some sort of update tomorrow regardless of the situation. Best to post now if you can!

So who's taking all the herbs?

Little question, we already had a extended rest right? So the next step would be to continue exploring the caverns, or not?
>>52
If they are too heavy we should hide them somewhere if we are still not returning to the town.

>>53
Probably.

Also,
>too heavy
>bags of holding

Also, if you don't have any problems with it, might i suggest you be the one out front, anon? Rangers are supposed to make good scouts, even if you're the one who is all lit up.

>>55
Sure thing. And if Lily could stick one of these magic lights to me it would be even better.

Sorry about the delay, was hoping to get something from Liliane before proceeding. I'll look into our options when I next get on the board!

Here's everything new from Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms that can be used by anybody.

Hmmmm... I'm actually a bit concerned, since I haven't seen Liliane in a little while now. Need her on board to have the game go anywhere, really--her light source is one major one in exploring the tunnel.

Anyone seen her lately?

>>61
Not really. Last time I saw her was when I said I would stream Gosick.

>>62
Specifically, Friday.

>>62
>>63
Did anyone try e-mailing her or anything?

Right, well. Now that we're back on track, someone should mention going back into the cave and I can send you all back there~

>Torinn heads back in without a light source
I really need to think my actions through.

Eh, really, you should be able to see the entrance, at least, because of light entering into the cave from the outside. I'm just trying to figure out how best to model that right now.

I mean, you won't be going very far of course, but yeah.

>>70
I wasn't planning on going it alone.

My nap going out of control made me realize I've left you guys hanging. I'll get to work building the next map right now!

Climbing down the rope would be a DC 5 Athletics check, but you can just take 10 if you want since it's a non-combat situation where you are not rushed.

I hope there aren't any dreaded Dwarf Fortress carp in that water.

>Already active
>Elementals
Are we going to fight Captain Planet this time?

>water everywhere
>deep cavern
>elemental flunkies
Is it time already?

Right. First order of business: Get out of that little island trap.

I can already see a troll zombie breaking my ropework.
Astaroth, it's time to spam some checks~

>>95
As long as he isn't like the real one or the boss that is like that in WoW..!

>>100
If he is the real one we can kill him throwin him some mud.

>>103
But we're surrounded by mud. Or clay, maybe. Some wet and malleable material.

Kind of looking for some input from Lili and/or Bern here.

I didn't know spirit companions could make perception checks.

>>107
They... can't, without a feat. I'm looking into the hole myself.

>>108
I don't know how much you could hope to see from that narrow hole.

...I'll try to chase up Lili with an e-mail.

>Tell paladin to sit in the water that monsters are probably in

>>113
Not to mention they'd have the advantage if they attacked me while I was in the water.

I think we can all just take 10 on an athletics check to clear the smallest areas of the marsh anyway.

Out of curiosity, Shion, what program do you use to make your maps?

>>121
Is someone interesed?~

>>121
http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=maptool

>>122
You could say that~

>>123
Thanks.

>>124
You're gonna make Witches and Woodlands?

>>125
Er, no.

I've just been getting interested in DnD lately, that's all.

>>126
Ah, I see.

>Arcana, Religion, Heal, and Nature are the relevant skill checks
>Heal

Finally, something I have a positive modifier for.

>>121
I also use Tokentool (both Maptool and Tokentool are part of RPTools, which are basics for helping run online DnD games--Maptool can also be used to host real time games but is somewhat unreliable) to create the tokens.

There are a lot of extra images and tokens I obtained beyond the defaults, too. You could look around to find them, or I could see if I could dig up the files and zip them up if you want.

Why didn't I choose nature?...

>>131
You could pick that up on a barbarian multiclass, though, so that makes the option even more attractive.

Speaking of multiclass skills, I decided that the gladiator is an attractive option after all, if only because it works so well flavor-wise. But I have to ask, does it confer any other benefits besides granting the class feature and opening it up for power swapping?

>>132
Nope. I figure an encounter power for a feat is a pretty good deal on its own. Maybe too good.

>>133
Fair enough. It doesn't change my decision.

>>134
Though the great paragon path and epic tier feats also help.

Alright, I could try an attack roll but I don't feel as letting my guard down. By the way Shion, could you please move Sureiya in the next update you do? I'm supposed to be guarding Myn.

>>136
Sure, though if you could say what square specifically that would be good.

>>137
My bad, I forgot to specify it.
E-6 would be nice.

>>130
If you did that, that'd help us out a lot.

>>136
Maybe you could ready an action to attack anything that comes near us while we try to disarm the thing.

>>140
http://www.mediafire.com/?1208zdc1g02g97i

Oh, and if Kinjo needs help with Maptool, he can always contact me for pointers. Though given how much he's learned about Onscripter I doubt he'll need much help.

I actually got a lot more use out of those "generic letters" tokens than I thought. Sure, it's nice to have pictures for every token--but if you're like me, you don't like how a lot of those turn out when they're shrunk down. For example, in my first encounter, I had pictures for each different kind of goblin, but didn't like how they looked with the tokens shrunk down to "small" size. That's one of the reasons I went with generic letters. Much easier to identify them that way.

Another is laziness. If I'm too lazy to find an appropriate image for a creature, generic letters to the rescue!

>>144
He has to DM a game of nine players. I hope these tools come in handy.

>>145
That is quite the ambitious plan. I wish you all the best of luck with that campaign.

>>147
I'll make it easier on him. I beat down a Flaming Fist guard official, so now all of the army, militia, etcetera are after me. Escaping Baldur's Gate, the party members who help me are fugitives. And so will sooner or later die to the ambushes. Simple counter-measure to the number of players.

>>148
>inb4 traitor, traitors everywhere.

The circle doesn't seem to be doing anything important at the moment; it probably just stops us from leaving the room. Beginning to deactivate it imposes some time limit, at which point the monsters in the water could attack while the group is distracted by a skill challenge.

I'm thinking of moving over near the circle to help (and putting down my standard there), just waiting on some of the others a little bit more I guess.

>>154
Well, if you insist~

>>153
Alternatively, we could escape before the monsters kill us by deactivating the circle quickly, but it depends on the number of rounds to deactivate the circle, compared to the number required to defeat the monsters. The monsters could even chase us into the next room, if they're not the tentacle things Shion was making.

>>155
Fighting them in a narrow corridor would be preferable to fighting them in this wide open area where they may have the advantage.

>>156
But if we don't destroy the magic circle it will transport us to the dragon circus.

>>157
Never said we wouldn't. Holding the water-dwellers at bay while everybody makes their checks is pretty much the idea.

>>158
You mean, to the upper floor?

>>159
No, I mean past the magic circle.

...I'm sending a Lili another e-mail. I hope she's able to keep up with the game.

Bern, you don't need to specify exactly where you'll move, but some kind of idea of how you intend to move would be good. A "move action" is rather broad, akin to saying "I ready an action."

We'll be starting initiative as soon as someone starts trying to dispel the circle.

>>164
I'll keep that in mind, next time.

>>171
It looks okay to me.

>>171
Can we take 10 on the very first attempt?

Will the banner activate once the battle starts?

>>174
I think it activates as soon as it's planted in the ground, period. That's why it can be used during a short rest.

>>175
Er yeah, I meant to ask that too, eheh.

The aura for the battle standard is drawn on the map now, it'll show on the next update.

As for taking 10, no, you can't. Deciphering the circle is part of the process of dispelling it, and you don't have enough information on the circle at first to make a calculated, careful approach. And since you can't start deciphering it without a little trial and error in reading the runes... well, that's just how I'm thinking of it.

All the checks will be standard actions, by the way.

Oh yes, some good fighting.

Torinn's readied action can't go off until he's already grabbed, because the tentacle popped up out of his reach. He was dragged into range though, so he can make his immediate reaction virtuous strike now if he wants. I think it would move his initiative up to right before the tentacle, though, and he wouldn't get a turn this round.

This might be challenging.
>>182
Eh, forget it, then. Moving down in initiative isn't good.

>>183
I wonder if spirits count, as long as it's within range. (The other tentacle, not the one in the back)

Minor update: since the tentacle slides Torinn into an adjacent space, and it occupies all the squares in elevation 1 (large creature, its space is a 2x2x2 cube), Torinn is actually put into elevation 2 (2 squares above the ground).

Spirits don't count for the requirement either, since they aren't creatures.

>>186
I wondered why it said there was an update after it looked pretty much the same.

Right, what are we going to do now? If we concentrate in one of the monsters the battle would be more easy, but that -5 to attack rolls is too much.

>>188
Obviously concentrate on the one giving the -5 to attack rolls, the other deep tentacle (not the influence tentacle).

In fact, focus-firing is generally a very good tactic, since the fewer enemies alive at the start of your next turn means less damage they can distribute.

http://www.wowwiki.com/Yogg-Saron_%28tactics%29#Outside:_Tentacles

>>191
Blast, I knew it was Yogg tentacles. Rin and Kuma misled me into thinking it was C'thun ones and I didn't bother to check.

>>191
>>192
>we're fighting an eldritch abomination
Shouldn't dungeoneering checks work, then?

>>193
To be honest, I assume extraplanar beings would be under arcana, but it seems to be dungeoneering. I'll edit that.

So, yes, dungeoneering for information in the tentacles.

>>192
If you want to be picky, it's both. I used the graphic of a C'thun claw tentacle for the deep tentacles, and a Yogg-Saron tentacle for the influence tentacle.

I agree their abilities have more in common with Yogg-Saron tentacles, but that's just because they had generally more interesting abilities in general. Well, the eye tentacles were cool enough, but I'll hold off on those.

>dungeoneeoring
Will I need two checks for those bastards?

>>197
One check per different creature.

>>198
Free actions? I'll try then.

>That whole description
ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

>>203
It will just make it all the more satisfying when we turn it into calamari.

>>204
My mind is probably going to get dominated.

>>206
If you're sure it'll screw you over, then I strongly suggest running away from the ritual circle and going somewhere that attacking your allies would be difficult.

Considering mind blast, I would suggest keeping a square or two of space between allies. Two squares should be more effective, though.

Shion, could we have an updated map with the shaman's new positions?
>>190

Gah, was that map not updated? I thought... hm. Give me a second, I must have uploaded the wrong image, because she's in the right spot on my end.

In case you are curious as to what happened with the skill challenge, let me explain: I included a special clause that the first natural 1 in the challenge would reduce the duration by 1 round. I felt this was fair, as the DCs are largely very easy and there isn't much challenge if you are permitted to pursue the ritual at a leisurely pace. Hence the tentacles.

Further natural 1s will not reduce the duration. Also, I don't permit spending action points to make an extra check in the challenge--instead, I say you can use action points to reroll a check (in other words, reroll a bad roll).

It'd be nice if one of those tentacles died soon.

>>220
What, you enjoy being used as a bludgeoning weapon~?

>>221
Because that is no way to treat a lady.
I'd rather she be able to assist with the ritual as soon as possible. Ranged support would make things much easier.

Also, drawing monster attention away from everybody else and making them pay for attacking other people is sorta my job. Which is why I didn't waste Valorous Smite yet.

Just realized that granting Myn or Sariel a basic attack outside their turn is also an option.

The sanctions, they do nothing.

>>227
Oh come on, an arcana check of 10 already passed, if we are lacking some checks for the ritual even I could try, and retry with an action point.

>>228
I mean that they can get around my defender mechanic by either using me as a weapon (since I'm taking damage, I'm included in the attack) and both abilities the influence tentacle hit you with (doesn't count as an 'attack' because it doesn't damage you directly).

>>229
Never mind, I was wrong. It eats radiant damage for attacking somebody else.

>>230
It's the best option I have right now~

>>231
You can also use your racial power if it connects to do another d10 damage, since it's a free action. Hopefully that will be enough to bloody it.

>>233
I shudder to wonder if there's any special abilities for it BEING bloodied.

>>234
You think that it'd be bloodied by just one more attack?

>>230
I may have misled you with my wording, because I forgot that sanction only punishes enemies the FIRST time they attack someone with an attack that doesn't include you as a target.

So, the deep tentacle didn't violate the sanction, but the influence tentacle did.

>>236
My marks still work? That's a huge relief.

Can I do both a check to finish the skill challenge, and attack if I use an action point?

Considering summoning my ball to burn the tentacles.

Winged Horde may or may not force the tentacles to drop their victims.

>>238
Yes, you can.

As pointed "Guest" points out, though, Winged Horde (disallowing targets their opportunity actions) will break grabs. So you can save your flaming sphere if you wish.

hint: help

>>239
>>240
That would be really nice.

Hold on, Astaroth. You realize moving to F-12 puts you in the middle of water, right? I need you to make an Athletics check to swim in order to enter that square, DC 10. Failure means you only make it to E-11 and end up submerged (standing in chest-deep water). Also, you take a -2 penalty to attack rolls when swimming.

>>253
I didn't realize we had to swim in order to do that. Otherwise I would have revised my actions entirely.

>>254
>it passed anyway

>>254
I said it way back here.
>>83
"Any square of water NOT marked by difficult terrain, you must make a swim check to enter."
Heck, I'm letting you guys off easy by saying the first square you can enter without a check. It's just trying to slog through deep water is difficult.

>>255
There's one more problem. You started your turn prone. You need to spend a move action to get up.

>>256
That, and common sense, should have indicated to me that he would need to swim to make it. Seeing Bernkastel slowed probably got me confused, as though that were the only penalty.

My mistake.

>>257
...Now I just feel silly.

>>258
I see the water as getting progressively deeper as you move further away from the edge. The outermost ring of water is just difficult terrain, roughly knee-deep for creatures of your size, and the second ring inward from that submerges you (slowed) as it's chest/neck deep, and anything after that is actual "swimming."

You can just do what you did, double-moving and then using an action point to do Valorous Smite. It'll still hit, even with the -2 penalty for swimming. You do lose the enfeebling strike, though.

>>260
I'll settle for that, then.

...Too late to change my mind again.

I made some adjustments. It shouldn't have been able to grab Bern, since it couldn't take opportunity actions, so although she still took damage from the attack, she wasn't grabbed.

>>267
Oh, that's right.
I were starting to get a bit worried.
Now Bern should use her magic and defeat the bad guys No really, some cure is urgent~

Not good.

>>268
Healing spirit is only once per round, so she could heal Hide with a surge, grant herself the extra healing, move it near Torinn and use Spring Renewal Strike to heal him up.

>>270
And by "move it", I mean the spirit companion along with her standing up.

>>271
She could run two times and use a heal.

>>272
She still has to stand up, though.

Why, dice roller, why do you do this to us?

>>273
Oh, right. She could just use Spring Renewal Strike from her own square thanks to the totem item she carries, then Torinn can heal.

Well done guys.

>Crits with +3 to all defenses
wat

I mean, it's just my luck right

>>296
I'm not surprised after the deep tentacle rolled: 1, 2, 4, 4 for its 4 attack rolls.

>>300
Does that mean I'm going to get a crit soon?!

>>302
Maybe next battle?

Silly George, you only need to roll critical dice on a critical hit.

>>310
Actually, make that minimum 19 damage. You forgot to roll a d6 for your critical hit.

We can't take a short rest?!

>>315
False alarm.

One thing to keep in mind when healing is that when one of you spends a healing surge in range of the battle standard, you ALL regain 1 hit point. That may work to cut down on total surges spent by the party if you plan it well.

>>318
In that case, I moved to J-7, not K-7.

When I get a free chance, I'll be using an inspiring word or two, or maybe have us group near bern's spirit and heal?

>>320
You can do both.

>>321
What I mean is, doesn't Bern's spirit heal heal others nearby the spirit when it goes off or something

>>320
You already both used your healing spirits/inspiring words this encounter. Please do not try to game the system by intentionally not spending surges during a short rest to take short rests over and over to get the maximum bonus from your surges.

>>323
We always could use inspiring words and stuff after a fight before I thought, it's been a while. sorry.

>>323
Second winds all around, then?

>>324
>>325
I did encourage you to use ones you hadn't expended during the fight afterward, yes.

And you don't need to use your "second wind" to spend healing surges during a short rest. You can spend as many surges as you want to regain that many hit points. No special powers are required for that.

>>326
Ohhh, that's what you meant.

I'd forgotten we could spend them like that if we wanted.

>>324
>>327
It's no problem, I just want to make sure the rules are straight. You're already going to be getting a decent boost from the battle standard.

I assume Sariel will take a short rest to recharge Maze of Mirrors, and I suspect Myn will elect not to take a short rest, in order to maintain his darkspiral count (and be one encounter power closer to hitting Arcane Reserves next encounter). However, I do need to see if Bernkastel will rest to spend more surges (which could push Michael up to full), and those with light sources need to lead in order to really allow you all to see what's ahead in the corridor.

>>334

Right, ne~

and maybe have the magic users check the remains of the circle for info

One thing I wanted to bring up is that according to the rules compendium updates, being unable to make opportunity attacks no longer breaks grabs or prevents a target from flanking. Just something to keep in mind for future combats.

Gah, the more I read, the more I want to play a Sentinel druid that poaches summon/implement powers from the core druid and takes shaman multi-class for a spirit companion...

>>342
But then you couldn't multiclass to Elemental Priest.

>>343
No, no, that was ME who posted that. Regardless, the tactical implications of being able to move yourself, a spirit companion, AND an animal companion all with your move action and make combined attacks is intriguing. Also, the default animal companion for the spring sentinel is a wolf, and I've always sort of had a thing for wolves as a companion in these sort of settings (this does not necessarily extend to werewolves).

Anyway, Hideiling did mention something here I wanted to comment on:
>>336
If you want to investigate the place where the ritual circle was, I'll actually be looking for Perception checks rather than Arcana.

And get ready to make lots of Perception checks for what's ahead, too.

>>344
Ehe, my mistake.

>>345
I played a rogue once, and it was fairly fun (I particularly liked going into detail in flavoring up my attacks with the "Artful Dodger" shtick, tossing daggers in the air, leaping and catching them while twirling downward for a strike, etc.), though the campaign petered out very early on because the DM disappeared. Seems to happen a lot in DnD games I play in.

>>342
>>344
Are you me?

http://www.mediafire.com/?2jw27w7lx7nx0ad

>>346
>>344
Well, at some point you could maybe make a temporary DMPC who happens to be that particular class.

>>348
Well, a DMPC doesn't always have to get XP and loot and stuff, but I guess it really depends on the type of DMPC and how long it sticks around.

>>347
====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Gena Eris, level 3
Half-Elf, Sentinel
Acolyte of the Natural Cycle: Druid of Spring
Level 1 Wilderness Knacks (Sentinel): Herb Lore (Sentinel)
Level 1 Wilderness Knacks (Sentinel): Wilderness Tracker (Sentinel)
Half elf Power Selection: Dilettante
Background: Gray Vale (Gray Vale Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 11, Con 18, Dex 13, Int 8, Wis 18, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 11, Con 16, Dex 13, Int 8, Wis 16, Cha 10.


AC: 20 Fort: 18 Reflex: 14 Will: 16
HP: 40 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 10

TRAINED SKILLS
Nature +13, Insight +12, Heal +12, Perception +10

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +1, Arcana, Bluff +1, Diplomacy +3, Dungeoneering +5, Endurance +4, History, Intimidate +1, Religion, Stealth +1, Streetwise +1, Thievery +1, Athletics

FEATS
Level 1: Spirit Talker
Level 2: Mending Spirit

POWERS
Dilettante: Spirit of the Tempest
Sentinel: Grasping Tide (Druid)
Sentinel: Summon Pack Wolf
Sentinel: Verdant Bounty
Spirit Talker: World Speaker's Command

ITEMS
Wolf Animal Companion, Alfsair Spear Spear +1, Veteran's Hide Armor +1, Friend's Gift (heroic tier), Light Shield, Amulet of Protection +1, Adventurer's Kit, Waterskin (3), Inquisitive's Kit, Totem
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

Let's get moving soon~

How is that MAZE OF DEATH going on?~

Good going, George.

>>364
Technically, George moving didn't do anything.

technically, was my fault.

>>372
well, Rin mentioned initiative before you moved, and George was close, so let's go with that!

Constructs like the device are immune to charm and illusion attacks, aren't they?

>>378
Constructs are not immune to such things. Only actual inanimate objects like the traps. The ballistae can still be affected.

They are, however, immune to poison, fear, disease, and sleep.

>>379
...Huh.

>>380
That probably would have been the case in older editions, but 4th edition tries to avoid making entire classes and builds useless with a single immunity if at all possible.

By the way, I have adjusted the DCs for the countermeasures to the suppression devices. I found a table that lists easy/moderate/hard skill DCs for every level and will be using it for now.

For the same reason, I reduced the DC of the Thievery/Arcana check to control the ballistae by 1.

>>383
That's good, they were a bit high~

>>384
I'm a bit hesitant about the lists myself. The easy and moderate DCs for each level are almost trivial for anyone who's trained in the skill and has a decent relevant ability score, but I'll use them for now.

Having a +10 is probably the standard for it, having a +12 at this level is considered really high, doesn't it?
So for a dc of 25 there is only a 5/20 of chance of getting it, isn't that a bit hard for a standard action check?

>>386
I agree on the DC 25 check, but in my defense, I was basing it off of level 4-5 traps I found in the DMG, also with the assumption that the suppression device doesn't actually damage you itself.

>>387
It also damages you?! uuu...

>>388
No, she said they don't directly damage you.

I wonder if Bern was lucky with her date~

>>390
At this point I'm starting consider that she was kidnapped instead.

>>391
Kidnapped by her date? How lucky~

>>391
>>392
I'll wait until tonight, and then I'll just move for Bern. It's not like there are a lot of decisions to make at this point so holding up further seems silly.

>>393
Let's wait until after she usually shows up at least.

>>394
That -is- what I meant by "tonight."

>>395
Ah. Right.

>mfw when I didn't mentioned a thing about ballistas.
Apparently meta-lily have mind powers.

>>408
I didn't think you actually had, but you did make the knowledge check, and it'd be silly to not use that (actually, I probably should have allowed Arcana for the constructs instead of Dungeoneering, going by the monster lists). So one way or another, Sariel should know about the ballistae.

Maybe I should edit it to reflect that she learned it on her own, however.

>>409
Maybe that would a little more sense.
I wonder how playing a D&D match offline would be. Although you need to buy a lot of things, doesn't you?

>>410
Nowadays, it's not as bad to buy a lot of different things. You can subscribe to the character builder, and maybe grab the rules compendium, then keep up with online updates/errata and you're good as a player (it's best if you have a laptop you can bring to the session). The DM probably needs more stuff, though.

Heck, there's even a free version of the character builder available online now... though the ethics of using the "custom" content for it are somewhat debatable~

>>411
I suppose, if it's fine. I think Astaroth gave me something similar a while ago but I got frustrated with it and uninstalled. I should have more patience this time though.

>>411
It's just updates and bug fixes.

>>413
And unfortunately, you now need to buy an SA account to get the stuff.

>>414
That's silly. If there's anything I need to rehost, I can do that.

In fact, I'll just rehost everything. All of the files are really small.

>>415
Everything has been put together here and organized for maximum ease of use:

http://www.mediafire.com/?b926x4exnkte8bv

Step 0: Download the above, unrar it.
Step 1: Run the program in the Step 1 folder, this will download the character builder.
Step 2: Run the program in the Step 2 folder, this will update your Cbuilder. Make sure to specify the directory to which you installed the program in Step 1.
Step 3: Move the files in the Step 3 folder into the CBuilder directory.
Step 4: Download this: http://www.mediafire.com/?xk7ghc4kfc2r598
Step 5: Unrar that into the new "Custom" folder in the Cbuilder directory.
Step 6: Run the "CharacterBuilderLoader.exe" file. It will take some time to load your custom content the first time you load it. The Uncommon to Common part in particular takes a while, but I think it's probably necessary for magic items. You only have to do it once or twice so it's not a big deal, just be patient until it finishes.
Step 7: That should be it. Remember, always open it using the CharacterBuilderLoader.exe and not the default Cbuilder file.

Sure are a lot of mentions of minions in the ballista's stats. How ominous.

>>430
Indeed. Reminds me of some other WoW mechanics~

>>431
I didn't base it off of any WoW fight/mechanic in particular. Though I'm sure similar things exist, and probably have existed in RPGs and tactics games for some time.

I notice some of you still haven't updated your sheets with the +300 XP from the previous encounter. Please do that ASAP, as it's important for me to keep accurate XP totals for everyone~!

Is it just me, or does it look like the paths encourage us to split up?

Should we do? Who else have a light source aside from george?

>>453
Everyone should have 2 sunrods from their adventurer's kit. You just need a free hand to hold it.

>>454
I ... I need a way to hold a sunrod without having to use a hand.

>>455
It won't be necessary for you, probably. Myn already has one and Sariel has the light spell.

>>455
By the way, anon-kun, if you know where the suppression devices are (and in this case you did since Bern pointed them out), I'll allow a special kind of action to try and disable them. If you can get within your move speed of one, you can move up to your speed and try to deactivate one without triggering it as a standard action with a successful thievery check. Think of it like charging, but without the charge, and a check at the end instead of an attack.

>>458
Oh really? That's nice. I might get out my thievery tools again~

Just where did that fire elemental come from?!

Those bastards hide in the corners, apparently. But wouldn't a fire elemental always bright the area near it?

Actually, more importantly.
Are those the high-AC 1 hp monsters?
I could try to charge it.

>>463
What corners? There weren't any corners that weren't illuminated at some point recently..

>>462
The fire elementals are just very, very fast, as far as you can tell. It darted into view (from the northern passage) and then immediately charged you.

Even if they illuminate the passages as they go, you still won't see them if you're prevented from having line-of-sight due to the shape of the passages. You'll see what I mean when you advance further.

>>465
Well, we can't see all the dungeon, and this cave it's all about weird and improbable corners~ Although I'm of course no minery expert~

>>466
So it has speed 10 and can see around corners?

>>468
It doesn't need speed 10. It just needs to move + charge.

>>467
Well, I can either say it's magic I don't gotta explain shit (Spellplague), or cite some of the rather expansive and weird-winding caverns found in dwarf fortress as evidence. At least I'm not adding in a bunch of different z-levels (I'm not saying this is a flat plane, but the movement up/down is gradual enough so that it doesn't really affect anything).

>>469
Even then, I'm more inclined to believe than those evil guys crafted those caves for their evil plans.

>>469
Oh.

Right.

>>471
Attacking the darkness is fun~

>elementals explode upon defeat and do terrible things when they do
I should have seen this coming when the ballistae specifically mentioned elementals not exploding when shot at.

>>475
I don't mean to give you too many hints, but... I see this encounter as sort of a "gauntlet." You might want to consider the tactical implications of falling back.

>>476
I shouldn't have said "fall back", then. Rather, "let the ballistae take their shots at the enemy and get off the front lines if you're squishy".

>>476
It means we can farm endless waves of elementals for as much as experience and residuum as we want with little to no cost to ourselves, until the cave suddenly collapses upon the exploiters. No survivors.

>>478
There are certain cases where an enemy can give no XP on destruction. I'm not just DM fiating this, either, check for example the silt horror encounter from the Dark Sun creature catalog.

>>478
Bag of rats situation, etc.

>>480
On that note, it was awfully generous of them to leave behind something the specifically works against the elementals.

>>480
Well, I didn't really mean THAT situation. But yes, that too.

>>479
>Dark Sun.
Oh well.

I suppose the residuum would have been deducted from whatever treasure lay ahead.

>>481
And it's now when something different come from nowhere and attack us.
Also, I'm now worried about that ????, is that evil thing creating the elementals!?

>>484
Maybe they're just stupid like most video game bosses that leave their weaknesses lying around?

Alright, who else votes to ask Bern/Hide to heal George's ballista?

>>486
They can use their own "second winds". Myn doesn't have to shoot anything on his turn.

>>487
That's exactly why I am worried, you think Shion would leave one safe corridor? Meta gaming everywhere.

>>488
It's kind of like this. They can't actually use their second wind on their own, and they only have 1 surge. However, I'll allow their controller to use Arcana in a manner similar to Heal to make a "first aid" check on the ballista to allow it to use its second wind.

>>491
I see, that's quite useful~

>>490
>super effective

>>493
>elementals
>pokemon

>ice elemental behind us out of absolutely nowhere
How did it get there?!

I'd like to request not to be healed until my THPs run out.

Excuse the interruption of the action yesterday, well maybe you may forgive me because of the good rolls~

>>508
Don't worry about it, I was ready to go to sleep around the time of my last update anyway.

At any rate, I think that if you dropped the thievery tools--they're more than one object, so picking them up off the ground would not be a mere standard action. Instead, I'll just have you stow them as a minor action, and you'll have a hand free next round to either take out your secondary weapon or whatever you want with it.

>>509
Then again, does he need to be able to use twin strike right now?

>>509
Oh, that's just perfect, thanks~

>>512
Unless they're flying. Hence why keeping your tools handy may be a good idea in case more suppression devices show up.

>>513
Can those evil things fly?
Anyways, that awesome perception check was for nothing, how unfortunate~

>>514
If it makes you feel better, I'd say you hear more things coming from both directions, besides what you can see--but I bet you already guessed that anyway.

>>515
Damn it, this dungeon is actually getting a bit more dangerous that those exploding ghouls.

>>515
>coming from both directions
George, if you read this, I implore you to get that thing around the corner and out of line of sight before they start charging it.

I wouldn't mind if someone else also healed it a bit, those things are really useful now.

>>518
I think it can only be healed once by an arcana check.

>>519
But it can also be healed using an encounter power, and you guys still have plenty~

>>520
I don't remember that detail.

>>521
I mean, you can use powers like Inspiring word or Lay of hands to heal as if it was another ally.
Well, at least that's what Shion said to me.

>>522
Oh. I didn't know about that.

Keep in mind, though, that while Healing Spirit and Inspiring Word are powers that get two uses per encounter, Lay On Hands only gets a number of uses per day equal to my wisdom modifier.

Considering I get Divine Mettle as an encounter power, though, I'd say it's a fair trade-off.

>>523
Oh wait, the ballista have only one surge, damn it.

>>524
Yeah, there's that, too.

George should heal his ballista soon.

I am writing in a spoiler

>>547
Not possible. Divine Mettle has already been used and I'm too far away to grant a saving throw with the heal skill.

To make up for it, have some encounter music.

If I might offer a suggestion: Michael could make a DC 15 heal check on Bernkastel as a standard action to try and end the ongoing damage.

I still think I like the Virtue of Sacrifice cavalier better than the Virtue of Valor. The righteous shield benefit seems a lot better to me, and the ability to use your second wind to heal allies on a per-encounter basis means you don't have to rely so much on Restore Vitality (you can save it for when they need a save).

Like I mentioned to Torinn too, I'm not sure if I'm gonna retrain my feat that adds my Cha Mod to Inspiring Word Healing just yet, to instead grab the feat (maybe at the next level, but I'd rather get some improved defenses or superior will soon), but will maybe eventually get the feat that makes my inspiring words grant saving throws if I so choose. (At the cost of the dice roll for extra healing for it)

>>557
But I thought you said we didn't need any more leaders.

>>558
>>557
Even so, I really like the flavor of the valor path...

Though on closer examination I think both are applicable to Torinn.

>>558
>>559
I know it's an attractive option to be able to grant saves, but they always say there aren't as many (save ends) effects in heroic tier.

>>561
But still, it's a good idea to have a way to deal with it at least once per encounter. I've had to use divine mettle in quite a few of the encounters so far.

I was somewhat bored so I made this.

I made it in wordpad so I can't guarantee the formatting will look pretty on other word processors. Also I can't guarantee it's free of spelling errors, but hopefully it's mostly-free.

Rin already knows but I meant to move to H-27, just putting it here for reference

I didn't realize the ice minion by Sureiya had actually run over.

Looks like maneuvering around it is much safer than I would have initially surmised.

Yay, they got dark sun weapons working for kensei in the character builder~

====== Created Using Wizards of the Coast D&D Character Builder ======
Primal Slayer, level 30
Half-Orc, Slayer, Kensei, Reincarnate Champion
Slayer Weapon Specialization: Brutal Axe
Epic Vitality: Epic Vitality Strength
Kensei Focus: Kensei Focus Gouge
Past Spirit: Past Spirit (Gnoll)
Past Spirit: Past Spirit (Longtooth Shifter)
Background: Half-Orc - Orc Birth (+2 to Athletics)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 28, Con 14, Dex 26, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 12.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 12, Dex 16, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10.


AC: 45 Fort: 45 Reflex: 44 Will: 40
HP: 203 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 50

TRAINED SKILLS
Intimidate +25, Endurance +30, Athletics +34, Acrobatics +28

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +17, Bluff +18, Diplomacy +18, Dungeoneering +19, Heal +19, History +17, Insight +19, Nature +19, Perception +19, Religion +17, Stealth +28, Streetwise +18, Thievery +23

FEATS
Level 1: Weapon Proficiency (Gouge)
Level 2: Spear Expertise
Level 4: Surprising Charge
Level 6: Weapon Focus (Axe)
Level 8: Thirst for Battle (retrained to Superior Initiative at Level 22)
Level 10: Skill Power (retrained to Impaling Spear at Level 11)
Level 11: Reserve Maneuver
Level 12: Armor Specialization (Scale)
Level 14: Improved Defenses
Level 16: Berserker's Fury
Level 18: Powerful Charge (retrained to Spear Mastery at Level 21)
Level 20: Deadly Axe
Level 21: Fierce Charge
Level 22: Brutal Charge
Level 24: Long Step
Level 26: Martial Mastery
Level 28: Epic Will
Level 30: Epic Resurgence

POWERS
Reserve Maneuver: Rain of Blows
Skill Power: Reactive Surge
Slayer utility 1: Battle Wrath
Slayer utility 1: Berserker's Charge
Slayer utility 2: Single Out
Slayer utility 6: Ignore Weakness
Slayer utility 7: Poised Assault
Slayer utility 10: Clearheaded
Slayer utility 16: Reactive Surge
Slayer utility 17: Duelist's Assault
Slayer utility 22: Slayer's Defiance

ITEMS
Thundergod Gouge +6, Dwarven Thrower Gouge +6, Dwarven Elderscale Armor +6, Badge of the Berserker +6, Horned Helm (epic tier), Iron Armbands of Power (epic tier), Gauntlets of Destruction (paragon tier), Ring of Free Time (epic tier), Belt of Titan Strength (epic tier), Boots of Caiphon (epic tier), Greater Ring of Invisibility (epic tier), Backlash Tattoo (heroic tier), Solitaire (Aquamarine) (paragon tier), Dice of Auspicious Fortune (paragon tier), Stone of Earth (paragon tier), Foe Stone (paragon tier), Bedroll, Backpack (empty), Belt Pouch (empty), Crowbar, Climber's Kit, Everburning Torch, Hempen Rope (50 ft.), Journeybreads (20), Sunrod (4), Tent, Waterskin (10)
====== Copy to Clipboard and Press the Import Button on the Summary Tab ======

>>579
No Mummified Hand?

>>580
Don't have enough gold left over for that. Even if I did, another beneficial ring would be even more expensive to add on.