Koldgarden

[Dead Greyhawk]

Yes. As a 9th level cleric.

Morvan is 6 XP short of 5th level magic user. Alfred reaches 3rd level.

What was your HP roll Zinc?

[Wolfgar]

I left just as you were meeting with Yngvar and the other Jarls to tell them about the recovery of the Horn of the East. Was there a decision made about using the 4 horns or how to combat the army of HDM? Was there something else they wanted us to do?

It is nice that Yngvar gave us some magic items. However, you could look at it like he is getting a pretty sweet deal. We have risked life and limb to retrieve the 4 horns with the loss of two party members. For this we received 3 horns and a magic item each in exchange for 4 more powerful horns. The magic items we receive don't even compensate for the magic items we lost in the effort to recover the horns. Yngvar gives up magic items to which he had no claim on prior to us recovering them. He gets the power to stop his land from being overrun and he gets to keep control of the clans. So basically he is out nothing, gains a ton and we break even at best. Where is the gratitude in that? Am I forgetting anything he gave us for recovering the horns?

[Ginger]

Jan 25, 2010 7:05:14 GMT -5 Dead Greyhawk said:

What was your HP roll Zinc?

I rolled a 3, added 1 for CON, giving me 45 total HP.

[Ginger]

Yngvar's strategy is to rally the Northmen and march north to engage HDM's forces at Kikoinen. Using the power of the war horns, Yngvar believes they can halt her advance there. This would be a draw, and not the win they are hoping for. And they believe there will be a simultaneous Koth invasion, which will cause severe problems. Toivo's examination of the scaffold has led him to believe that the terra cotta army is their best hope, which is why they want us to get it.

Upon further consideration, I think that's what we should do next. There are several different fetch quests involved, and we should probably do a few before trying to tackle Halakiri, particularly until Alfred reaches 5th level.

Regarding getting screwed by the Northmen, keep in mind that we've mainly been grave robbing, and Yngvar is telling us where the graves are. If not for that, we'd have nothing. And they did free us from slavery. Also, we'd get more stuff if we just asked for it.

[venger]

Also consider that technically all the magic items we've lost have been those we've recovered from the northmen's champions, and the tombs of their old heroes.

I have serious misgivings about letting them go off with the War Horns to battle Her Dark Majesty. From what I've seen northmen suck at pretty much everything and without our direct intervention I'm fairly certain they'll lose the Horns and blow whatever shot we have at defeating the BBEGs.

[Wolfgar]

I wouldn't consider defeating the forces of Black Towen or the regenade Marten clan grave robbing. The so-called grave robbing was part of the original mission to free the Valley of the Sleeping Jarls from the evil influences that their own champions were unable to handle. We were compensated for completing that task. Also we were freed from slavery by the efforts of the Marten clan not Yngvar. It is the effort of retrieving the War Horns that I feel we haven't been compensated for. It doesn't sound like anyone else agrees.

How much time do we think it will take to get the necessary parts to activate the terracotta army? Is it even reasonable to assume we can accomplish this while the Clans hold off two armies? Has there been any attempt to recruit the elves to their cause? Things certainly won't be good for them if the Clans are defeated?

DM: Can you repeat on the board what Toivo told us and what Basil has legend lored about what was needed to activate the gong?

[Ginger]

I don't think anyone feels Yngvar has been overly generous, but I don't feel ripped off. He's the Jarl of Jarls and we're all lawful, so there's nothing to do about it. Keep in mind that none of us have been tithing at all, since we don't have churches up here. I think giving generously to the Jarl offsets that.

And remember that we've kept all of the stuff we got from Black Towen, the ruined city, and the Marten clan. It was just the loot from other places that we'd promised to return to the Jarl.

[venger]

I would agree that we haven't been sufficiently rewarded for recovering the War Horns. But Yngvar is stretched a little thin at this point as well.

Her Dark Majesty's minions have plundered the Land of Song and it's been a terrible harsh winter. He can barely feed his people - we're always having to create decent food for his Hall. Maybe he's strapped. I'm sure he'd give us a ton of healing potions if Sirri hadn't turned out to be a devil.

We asked for magic swords and he gave us two magic bastard swords which is awesome for Basil and Rensslaer. He offered Alfred a +1 strength bow but Alfred isn't strong enough to use it yet. I asked for an Anything Ring, a Vorpal Sword and a Daern's Instant Fortress but he didn't have any.

I had misgivings about taking Hjortor's stuff and Teodor's dagger. Yngvar is about to take on Her Dark Majesty in combat... there's going to be devils and undead everywhere. A +2/+4 vs. lower planes shield that casts PfE and a dagger +1/+4 vs. undead might come in handy.

[Wolfgar]

Maybe I am being a little hard on Yngvar. I just assume that he has the amassed wealth and magic of the Land of Song at his disposal. We have certainly given him a good share of what we have recovered. Doesn't everyone else?

I wouldn't worry about magic items in a battle. It will come down to superior strategy and numbers. We are talking about 1000's of combatants most which are men and beast-men. If they had that banner we burned or the Sea People shrine that Basil destroyed then magic items might be useful in battle. Otherwise any single magic item can only affect a small part of the battle.

Even magic user and clerics at medium levels aren't particularly effective against large forces. At best Kazan could use 3 fireballs or lightning bolts and take out 50 or so well grouped combatants. Doesn't make much of difference with these numbers. The best clerics could do is a prayer spell. But you might as well let the Clan skalds do rounds of poetics since there is no limit on the number of times they can do this.

What would be effective is a magic user polymorphed into a flying creature with a wall of fire. They could do strafing runs along the front of the enemy. Winthrop did this once and toasted a small army of goblins.

[venger]

It really comes down to -- what exactly do you want from Yngvar? If you ask he'll probably give it to you.

Devils are bad news. Illusions, charm, walls of ice, etc. That's going to be nasty on these poor northmen. I hope those four War Horns do something really awesome.

[Ginger]

Sure Devils are bad news, but the Northmen have some lycanthropes on their side, which are also pretty badass.

In all the time Basil is training for 4th level spells, Zinc will trawl the taverns scouting potential henchmen.

To brighten your day: www.boingboing.net/2010/01/25/no-dd-for-us-prison.html

[venger]

Jan 26, 2010 10:06:56 GMT -5 Ginger said:

To brighten your day: www.boingboing.net/2010/01/25/no-dd-for-us-prison.html

Cruel and unusual punishment. Where's the ACLU?

[Wolfgar]

Jan 25, 2010 18:07:27 GMT -5 venger said:

We asked for magic swords and he gave us two magic bastard swords which is awesome for Basil and Rensslaer. He offered Alfred a +1 strength bow but Alfred isn't strong enough to use it yet. I asked for an Anything Ring, a Vorpal Sword and a Daern's Instant Fortress but he didn't have any.

Jan 26, 2010 9:43:48 GMT -5 venger said:

It really comes down to -- what exactly do you want from Yngvar? If you ask he'll probably give it to you.

How did that work? You just kept coming up with things and if he had it you got that as your magic item? I might have gone for a ring of regeneration, +5 cloak of protection, bracers of defense AC 2, girdle of storm giant strength, cloak of displacement, rod of absorption or staff of power. And then asked for a +1 spear.

It is almost a waste to have a powerful spear given what poor saving throws they have. We have lost at least 4 magic spears (under the monastery (fire), Aelfbrand (lightning), and two last week (fire)). How many swords have we lost? Majstang (lightning), sword of wounding (acid).

[Ginger]

Yngvar made the offer that we could have any one item that we'd recovered and turned in. I assumed that meant he'd put a list on the board and we could spend weeks consternating over it. But he said that we had to say what we wanted from what we remembered turning in, which led Eddie to say "I remember turning in a vorpal sword!"

But I agree that the spear has bad saves. Maybe the spear, unlike a strong bow which would disrupt its flexibility, could be lacquered to improve its save?

[venger]

We've lost as many swords as we have spears.

Lost the sword of wounding against a grey ooze.

Lost Majstang to lightning creature

Lost Frostbrand to lightning creature

Two more if you count those ones Basil had to drop to get onto the Faery Road.

We lost a +3 shortsword when Cullen disappeared. And a couple magic swords when the group was sold into slavery.

[Wolfgar]

I was just counting items lost via failed saving throw. Thick wood has uniformly worse saves than metal hard.

It is amazing that there are magic items existent in the world. Given the rate that they are destroyed (in out experience) as compared to the rate they are manufactured, you would think the manufacture couldn't keep up with the destruction. It requires a 12th level and higher magic user or cleric to create them. There are exponentially more characters of lower levels who are in possession of these items and getting them destroyed by failing saving throws. We lose at least a couple of magic items every adventure not including the ones that are consumable (potions, scrolls, charged items). Even if we had a dedicated magic manufacturer he typically could only create a single magic item in the time it takes to complete an adventure. So either the existing magic items were never used or the owners only went on adventures against mundane creatures in very safe dungeons. But who goes to the expense of creating a magic item if not to fight harder and harder monsters. The other option is that magic items should be more indestructible than they are.

[Ginger]

Sure it's an unrealistic mechanic, but it's a fantasy game! If we're thinking realism, there are like a hundred different ways any D&D world would be destroyed, taken over by Devils, dominated by demihumans, etc.

[Wolfgar]

True. But last week my magic items (including my spear for the second time) got destroyed so I am allowed a little rant.

[Ginger]

Yeah, when I lost my magic throwing axe I was really pissed. Which reminds me, Zinc no longer wields an ax or a cross bow (isn't even proficient in either!), so it might be time for a new figurine.

[Mr. Trommer]

Here is a D&D movie you may not heard of: The Gamers: Dorkness Rising

Plot Summary for:
The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (2008) More at IMDbPro »
advertisementAll Lodge wants is for his gaming group to finish their adventure. Unfortunately, they're more interested in seducing barmaids, mooning their enemies, and setting random villagers on fire. Desperate to rein in his players, Lodge injects two newbies into the distrust: a non-player character controlled by Lodge, who the power gamers immediately distrust, and the rarest gamer of all -- a girl. Can the group overcome their bickering to save the kingdom, or will the evil necromancer Mort Kemnon triumph unopposed? A parody of fantasy films and the adventure gaming community, The Gamers: Dorkness Rising is a hilarious romp through the world of sword and sorcery -- in this case, a world of exploding peasants, giant house cats, and undead roast turkeys. Game on!


We watched it as an instant movie from Netflix. Funny - Lee

[Ginger]

I watched it a few weeks ago. It was very amusing. I'm always intrigued at how most other gamers seem to play so differently from us.

[venger]

I lost Majstang and Frostbrand in the same combat. Heck, I lost the Ring of Waterwalking and the Brooch of Shielding to a stupid hellhound. Now I've got a +1 bastard sword and a +2 flail.

No complaining about your giantslayer spear.

And then there was that 8th level ranger...

[venger]

Jan 28, 2010 17:03:24 GMT -5 Ginger said:

I watched it a few weeks ago. It was very amusing. I'm always intrigued at how most other gamers seem to play so differently from us.

We're very fortunate to have the group we do.

[Ginger]

The other part I found especially hilarious is that a running joke is how pathetically crappy the bard class is. The guys I watched with laughed about it and agreed, while my bard experience is a little different...