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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 10:55:16 GMT -5
week of 12/4/11 Paavo: 53283 (6th) Dan: 16628 (5th) Friedrich: 53420 (6th) Mary: 14833 (4th) Trommer: 56034 (6th) Colby: 70901|10746 (7th) Danakes: 35209 (5th) Bolo: 37806 (6th) Finnious: 20218/25248 (6th/5th) Marcus: 47180 (6th) Ingrid: 18557/23326 (5th/5th)
Treasure acquired: colorful beads wooden box with dancing bear golden puzzle box wooden wand 661 Denagöthic gold silver bracelets
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Post by Wolfgar on Dec 12, 2011 11:44:59 GMT -5
Paavo and Dan should have gotten full xp for the week of 12/4.
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 12:18:06 GMT -5
I thought I fixed that. I also forgot the colorful beads.
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Post by Wolfgar on Dec 12, 2011 12:32:09 GMT -5
And it appears that Ingrid did not receive any fighter xp...
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 13:17:47 GMT -5
Working out the bugs in this spreadsheet. Thanks!
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Post by Friedrich on Dec 12, 2011 18:08:21 GMT -5
I was not aware of the difference between "iron" and "steel".
I think that night hag is dead quickly as soon as Bolo and Danekes get near her with their silver arrows. Nighthag AC 9 won't last long against point blank shots.
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Post by Friedrich on Dec 12, 2011 18:42:56 GMT -5
By the way Josh, both Paavo and Friedrich are insane per the Symbol of Insanity spell. It got us both. No save or anything. We're now basically slaves to the random action table. We put 52 HP of damage on him before it happened though. This could be quite bad (but I think manageable). Here is a thread on DF talking about this nasty spell. If we win here maybe Marcus and Trommer just subdue Paavo and Friedrich one by one and we get the hell out of there ASAP. That shouldn't be too hard as creatures affected by Insanity can't really respond. They just roll on the table to determine actions. We blew both the Limited and regular Wish options that we had (that we know of). Per the spell description we need a wish, restoration or heal to fix this. Do we have any heal potions or scrolls or anything that can fix this?
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Post by Bolo on Dec 12, 2011 20:42:31 GMT -5
Do we have any heal potions or scrolls or anything that can fix this? I don't think so. But doesn't it go away on its own in 15 rounds? The spell description in the PHB says "The spell lasts for 1 melee round for each level of experience of the spell caster," and the MM2 says "All these spell-like abilities are performed as if the ultrodaemon were a 15th-level spell-caster." Of course, in 15 rounds we may all be lumps of hamburger whizzing about at 115 mph. The spell description says "Each affected creature must make a saving throw each round." If Paavo and Friedrich make their saves, does this mean they can make normal attacks on the BBEG that round?
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Post by Bolo on Dec 12, 2011 20:48:30 GMT -5
How many times can an ultrodaemon inscribe symbols? The MM2 says: "Once per day they may use wall of fire; inscribe symbols of persuasion, insanity, or hopelessness; or create a blade barrier. Is that one symbol per day or one symbol of each type per day?
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Dec 12, 2011 20:57:54 GMT -5
How many times can an ultrodaemon inscribe symbols? The MM2 says: "Once per day they may use wall of fire; inscribe symbols of persuasion, insanity, or hopelessness; or create a blade barrier. Is that one symbol per day or one symbol of each type per day? Poor grammatical construction, but since it has both made a blade barrier and inscribed a symbol, it appears that "or" means the ultrodaemon can do all of the items on the list once per day. Applying that to the clause about symbols implies one symbol of each type per day is my read. Of course, YMMV or more specifically VMMV.
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Post by Bolo on Dec 12, 2011 21:15:33 GMT -5
I think that night hag is dead quickly as soon as Bolo and Danekes get near her with their silver arrows. Nighthag AC 9 won't last long against point blank shots. Bolo will do his part, but Danakes can inflict way more damage than Bolo can, as he is specialized and has a +2 strength bow. He averages 28.5 HP per round vs. Bolo's 5.95. Night hags are 8 hit dice, for an average of 36 HP, which is only slightly more than an average round for Danakes and Bolo. So I agree that we have a decent chance against her. But I suspect we'll have to make some good saving throws to get our shots off undisturbed. Because Danakes is The Man with silver arrows, someone else should take his force-field box. Colby maybe, since he's out in the hall with Danakes at the moment? I still think the box is technological rather than magical, and therefore might work against the ultrodaemon. (Does anyone else have an opinion on that?) Or does Colby have something better planned already?
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Post by Bolo on Dec 12, 2011 21:31:22 GMT -5
Poor grammatical construction, but since it has both made a blade barrier and inscribed a symbol, it appears that "or" means the ultrodaemon can do all of the items on the list once per day. Or perhaps it made the symbol at 11:59pm and the blade barrier at 12:01am and is now done until midnight passes again. If or can mean and, then surely day can mean calendar day? (Hope springs eternal, and you can't blame a man for trying.)
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Post by Bolo on Dec 12, 2011 22:18:49 GMT -5
In the description of the spell Telekinesis, does "the magic-user is able to move objects by will force, by concentrating on moving them mentally" mean that the spellcaster has to continuously concentrate on moving the object, to the exclusion of other actions? If so, what happens if he does take another action, or if his concentration is broken, e.g. if he is hit with a weapon? Does the target stop? Or keep moving until it hits an obstacle and then stop?
In the same spell, what does it mean that "ambulation or some other form of motive power ... counters the effect of telekinesis, provided the velocity has not reached 16" per round"? If the victim can grab hold of a torch sconce, a wall hanging, another person, or some other fixed object, before reaching 16"/round, is that sufficient to stop him? We were thinking that stopping would require a a total weight of 600lb, and I've been thinking that a sconce or a drapery fixture would have to be uncommonly sturdy to hold a horizontal force of 600lb, but that can't be right, if "ambulation" is sufficient (when the victim isn't intentionally raised up off the floor and therefore unable to ambulate).
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Post by Wolfgar on Dec 12, 2011 22:48:13 GMT -5
Can someone set the scene for me? I don't need a full recap, just the status of everyone on both sides of the fight. Thanks.
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Post by Ginger on Dec 12, 2011 23:06:05 GMT -5
I'm not sure how our laser box will work against a creature that can teleport without error at will. He might just teleport out of the stasis field.
Regarding grabbing a torch sconce, that's why the DM allowed a bend bars roll for people when they reached a wall. Otherwise, the daemon was telekinesing people at a foot above the ground so they couldn't get any leverage. Maybe Colby could Web around the blade barrier to disrupt that ability.
Magic resistance doesn't protect the monster from Colby's non magical fireballs. He will save, though, and daemons take half damage from fire, so it won't hurt much, though.
Colby's 4 summoned wererats will be largely useless. They're immune to non-magical weapons, but that's not especially helpful in this situation. Monster Summoning 4 has a slight chance of conjuring something good, but likely won't.
I think the DM is interpreting it as one of each symbol, since he cast several symbols that were saved against.
We still have a half-elixir of health, right? I think Danakes has it.
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 23:07:02 GMT -5
Each day the creature can make one of each of those three symbols. Each day it can create a blade barrier and a wall of fire.
This symbol, Insanity, acts as follows:
One or more creatures whose total hit points do not exceed 120 will become insane and remain so, acting as if a confusion spell (q.v.) had been placed upon them until a heal, restoration, or wish spell is used to remove the madness.
Telekinesis can be countered with sufficient movement rate providing the victim is capable of locomotion (and not suspended off the ground). Use of this ability requires concentration and as such the daemon was not able to focus additional "at-will" powers while telekinesing.
This encounter is definitely not beyond the party, if played correctly. Many mistakes were made and two wishes used in the process. Recap with DM commentary forthcoming.
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Post by Ginger on Dec 12, 2011 23:22:05 GMT -5
In other words, chug a potion of levitation if you get hit with telekinesis.
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 23:31:27 GMT -5
Interesting thought. You'd definitely be able to move up or down until the telekinesis was too powerful, but not be able to control your horizontal motion unless you were on the ground.
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 23:56:42 GMT -5
Magic resistance doesn't protect the monster from Colby's non magical fireballs. He will save, though, and daemons take half damage from fire, so it won't hurt much, though. I'm not even going to argue with you about non-magical fire. : ) We still have a half-elixir of health, right? I think Danakes has it. One half used to cure Trommer of insanity, the other used to cure Friedrich of poison after he ate a Strange Water fish. Gareth recalls that Fin lent a silver longsword to Bunny. Is that correct? If so, she needs to give it to someone who can do something useful with it. She's lying on the floor unconscious. All yours.
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Post by venger on Dec 12, 2011 23:58:56 GMT -5
With the dao contained, steps are taken to revive the gargantuan Friedrich. The ice globe containing Colby eventually melts and he is revived as well.
The party decides, their options short, to trust that Ifh ̄ibn Al-bazar will keep his word. Danakes turns the gemstone on the strange metal box and the emerald forcefield dissipates. Once released the dao somewhat surprisingly honors the agreement, commanding the earthen elemental to free those trapped in the rock turned mud.
Grown to the size of a titan, Friedrich proves too large to be hauled from the mire and regardless will not fit through the passage or stairwell exiting the chamber.
Danakes, having trapped the genie, knows that he may exact a wish from the creature. A tense moment passes before the ranger demands that the dao and his earthen servant Omar Sharif return to the elemental plane in which they dwell, not to return for 100 years. None can argue the merit of his wish, though some wonder if it may have been spent differently.
Ifh ̄ibn Al-bazar smiles evilly and transmutes the entirety of the stairwell into mud, which begins to pour into the room. There is a deep rumbling sound as the stairwell and the castle above it begin to cave in.
Laughing, the dao claps his hands twice and disappears. The earth elemental Omar Sharif sinks down into the muck.
The rumbling becomes a steady roar as more of the foundation collapses. Friedrich is alarmed at his inability to escape the cavern, but fortunately the structural instability subsides and he is unscathed. Rather than wait around for the effects of the potion to wear off, the party leaves him behind with Mary Tanner.
The dao's illusions dispelled, the lavish bedchamber is revealed to be a stone cavern empty save for a statue of embracing lovers. An inspired search of the statue turns up a secret compartment in its base, containing a wand.
Bolo, in gaseous form for some reason, does some exploration and discovers the pedestal behind the portcullis holds a golden box.
Dan Danberry, under the effects of the polymorph potion, shifts forms to pass beyond the portcullis, over the inky black waters and to said pedestal. A prayer to the One God grants him the ability to discern traps and he discovers the box is indeed trapped. Nobody can determine the nature of the trap in the current circumstance, though Finnious believes the box is a puzzle of some kind. It is unceremoniously dumped in a sack.
A side cavern reveals a number of statues devoted to the evil gods of the Finnish pantheon. Paavo and Trommer cast them down in the names of Ukko and Meilikki respectively.
Further exploration of this underground level of the castle turns up the dungeon. Finally a use for some of these jailer's keys. Bunny, an elf maid, is released once Paavo declares her not evil. She is appropriately grateful. Interrogation only reveals an interest in candy or gum.
Radishblat, an orange-skinned goblin creature, is discovered in the next cell. Paavo detects trace amounts of evil, which he believes to be a product of the creature's society. Interrogation reveals that the goblin works for a "mistress Ravelthorn" (the name is passing familiar but no one recognizes it) who holds this castle. Radishblat is most eager to please and somehow ingratiates himself with the party. When asked specific questions about the castle itself, including the arches and the curiously trapped door with the ice dragons, he is somewhat unknowledage. He knows only of servants' arch that he uses to navigate the palace. He identifies the occupant of the next cell as a forest ogre and their jailer as some kind of one-horned blue-skinned giantish creature.
When the party opens the ogre's cell, the beast demands food and release. Willing to provide neither, the cell is closed and re-locked.
Meanwhile, Mary Tanner and Friedrich experiment with the (dubious) spell she created, "Strange Waters," summoning a globe of water filled with colorful fish which, when eaten, confer magical properties. After devouring a couple poisoned fish Friedrich dies. The remainder of an elixir of health is poured into his over-sized mouth. He sputters, gasps, and awakens. At this point everyone decided to wait out the potion and 20 minutes later the party is reunited with a dwarf-sized dwarf..
The arch through which everything has a slightly green tint proves impassable to spellcasters. The non-magical types hustle through and force the door on the other side. Seated behind a desk, playing with a strand of colorful beads, is a large one-horned blue-skinned ogrish creature.
"Return to your cells immediately or you'll be in for it," the blue ogre cajoles.
Trommer rushes forward before anyone else can react and the rest of the fighters are stymied by a thick wall of blue-white ice that suddenly materializes in front of the door.
The blue-skinned one-horned ogre wields a giant hook, with which he skewers Trommer, holding him fast. The ranger gives as good as he gets though, if not better.
Friedrich tries to hack through the ice wall but the magical cold is intense and he quickly relents. Clearing a path, Colby readies the amber rod of lightning.
Trommer feels strangely weakened as the creature jabs its horn into him, his strength failing. Worse still, a magical compulsion falls over him and he wonders just why he's fighting this nice creature in the first place... A second later, in a shower of icy shards, the wall is blasted down. Paavo, Friedrich and Marcus charge in and, once within Paavo's holy aura, Trommer comes back to his senses. The creature vanishes in a gout of blue flame under an onslaught of magical swords.
The colorful beads are collected and a secret door is discovered in the hallway beyond, leading back in a circle, but circumventing the anti-spellcaster arch.
Returning to the ground floor, the lower level ostensibly complete, the door guarded by ice-dragon statues is magically opened. Once the dragon breath subsides everyone races through. Upstairs, in the ruin of the castle scullery, a fierce battle is fought with half a dozen two-headed giants and a fell ettin shaman. Much lightning is cast and the fighting takes a toll on the front-liners before a magical stinking cloud clears the room.
Unable to match the party for missile fire, the ettins flee. Only one escapes, hastening down the hall. Some treasure is collected but once the noxious cloud dissipates the party is in hot pursuit. The ettin does not flee far, by the rangers' reckoning, down the hall and through a set of silver double doors...
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Post by Friedrich on Dec 13, 2011 1:10:42 GMT -5
.....and Telekinesis, Blade Barrier and perfect directional (and change of directional) mobility effectively turned Telekinesis into a save-or-die-that-round (or next if you have Friedrich's HP's) spell as the victim would suffer 8d8 blade barrier damage. Those that survived the first round definitely did not survive the second!!! That coupled with Telekinesis' "fire and forget" feature made this truly disastrous. DF search: criteria-Telekinesis(in title), 1st edition. Lot's of ways that this spell has been used (and ruled) in the past. Some interesting discussions. Iain_F posted on this a while back. PS: Friedrich failed (as did everybody else) a bend bars roll to grab on something to not go through the blender!
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Post by Friedrich on Dec 13, 2011 1:13:40 GMT -5
In other words, chug a potion of levitation if you get hit with telekinesis. I thought of that too as Friedrich has half of one left but decided it wouldn't work. Maybe I was wrong though. Some grab it if they want it.
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Post by venger on Dec 13, 2011 2:16:28 GMT -5
I posted extensively in the first of those threads...
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Post by Bolo on Dec 13, 2011 20:45:38 GMT -5
We need a plan for killing the daemon. Everything else is irrelevant unless we can do that in fairly short order. Can we brainstorm some strategies?
I think Danakes's force field box is worth a try as one of our first next actions, unless someone knows why that won't work. Maybe the daemon can teleport out of it, but maybe he can't. Even if he can, that would be his at-will ability for a round, so it would break his concentration for telekinesis (if I am correctly understanding the DM's explanation of that).
Colby's nonmagical fireballs are a possibility, though it will be hard to get a shot at the daemon with them that won't also kill Paavo and Friedrich. Since P&F aren't very effective at the moment, we may conclude that taking them down to zero is worth doing, as collateral damage in a good cause. We have healing water to bring them back positive, if that's the only way we can do this thing. Obviously once they are at zero, that's it for fireballs.
Magical items and offensive spells won't work if used directly, because of the daemon's magic resistance. What items and spells do we have that can somehow be used indirectly? Can we summon an elemental, for example, like we did against the black dragon? Or was that a one-time item that is used up?
The traditional method of whacking at the daemon with weapons seems to have two problems:
1. We don't have many +2 or better weapons, and two of them are in the hands of Paavo and Friedrich, who are confused. (a) Who else has one? Bolo has a +2 dagger. Anyone else? (b) Should someone else try to grab Paavo's and Friedrich's weapons? Or should we just hope for P&F to make their confusion saving throws each round so they can use them themselves? (Am I correct that it works that way?)
2. The AC of -5 makes it really hard to hit the daemon even with a +2 weapon. For example, Bolo with the +2 dagger would need to roll a 20. Do we have any potions or spells that can buff our to-hit rolls? Does either Dan or Ingrid have Prayer? Or Bless, for those of us who are not yet in combat? (That would be at least Danakes, Colby, and Dan, I think, this time through since the limited wish.)
I think Bolo did 1HP with a holy water splash the first time through. (Or was that against the night hag?) He has four vials of HW, and Danakes has two. It's not clear to me that we can hit directly with these, and 1HP of splash per round isn't much.
I've looked at every item on Bolo's and Danakes's character sheets, and those are all the ideas I've come up with so far. Anyone else got anything?
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Post by Bolo on Dec 13, 2011 21:23:50 GMT -5
Can someone set the scene for me? I don't need a full recap, just the status of everyone on both sides of the fight. Thanks. I will take a crack at this. Corrections welcome. We are redoing the encounter that was under way at the end of the previous session. The first time through was going badly, so Friedrich took the limited wish scroll from Paavo's corpse and rewound time by 35 minutes. That interacted in a weird way with the previous (full) wish from the luck sword, so we ended up in the condition we were in 35 minutes prior, but with full hit points and in the locations we were in when the scroll went off. So now we are refighting the encounter, hopefully wiser and better informed, but still in mortal danger. We have killed all the enemies who started out in the room, except for the BBEG, who is an ultrodaemon; the fake "silver princess", who is a night hag; and one of the shadow assassins, who is not currently active. The first time through, the rest of the castle's inhabitants were just starting to arrive from down the hall at the point when Friedrich read the scroll. They were three trolls and (I think) five spellcasters. The daemon and the hag are still in more or less their initial positions on the dais. Paavo and Friedrich were in melee with them, but both are now in a state of confusion from the daemon's symbol of insanity. I think P&F managed to do a total of 50 or so HP on the daemon before they got confused. So far the effect of the confusion has been "stand confused for one round" each time, so they are both still in melee position, directly in front of the daemon. Bolo is off to one side with the lightning rod. He took out a gargoyle with it, on a line that included the night hag. I think she made her magic resistance roll, but if not, it's possible she took some damage from that. I don't think she has taken any other damage yet. Everyone else is scattered about in various positions where they were left after killing off the gargoyles, witches, and shadow assassins. The time-rewinding left Danakes and Colby out in the hall on the wrong side of a portcullis that had previously been up and was now down. It took them a while to get past that, but the portcullis is now up, and next round I think they will be able to come into the room and join the fun. Colby has just summoned four wererats, who can't do much against the daemon or the night hag, but I suppose they may be useful against the backup team of trolls and casters, if we live that long. Bunny is unconscious. I think everyone else is up, and I think most of us are in decent shape for hit points. There is a 20'x20' square of blade barrier directly in front of the dais. The first time through, the daemon telekinesed people back and forth through that, which is Bad News. There is no wall of fire yet. Nobody has yet met the daemon's gaze. And this time we took out the witches before they were able to cast stinking cloud. What am I missing out?
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Post by Wolfgar on Dec 13, 2011 21:31:19 GMT -5
What is Trommer's situation? Is he using Finn's longsword? That hit the daemon previously.
Dan had a single Hold Person left in the previous timeline? I don't think he took Bless or Aid previously. He does have lots of protective salts.
You could escape from the Telekinesis using the crystal ring.
Putting on the belt of the bear would in theory make you heavier than the weight limit of the spell.
Trommer has Reynard's favor that he can call on. Not sure what that will do.
Encasing someone in a ball of ice would also make them to heavy to use telekinesis. Or you could put the ball of ice in the way to prevent someone from being pushed through the blade barrier.
And someone in gaseous form should also not be affected by telekinesis.
Using Danakes's box on someone under the effects of telekinesis will either hold them in place or encase them in something impervious to the blade barrier.
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Post by Bolo on Dec 13, 2011 21:54:36 GMT -5
When we rewound, items went back to the person who had them 35 minutes prior. Has Trommer taken Finn's longsword a second time? I'm not sure. I think maybe he has, but hasn't yet had a chance to close on the daemon with it.
I believe our spellcasters got back the spells they cast in this encounter the first time through, but not any they had used more than 35 minutes prior. Can anyone confirm this? Does that change Dan's list?
Can one throw a handful of salt for damage in the same way one can throw a vial of holy water?
Good thought.
Also a good thought.
I believe he tried that. I believe the DM's reaction was, "Do you see Reynard anywhere here?" Am I recalling this correctly?
I have thought about this. I used my last bead on the night hag the first time through, with no effect at all because of her magic resistance. But in the rewind, I got the bead back. I think putting the ice right up against the blade barrier would be very risky, as it could potentially stop someone who was telekinesed into the blades from the other side from passing through and out. Bad outcome. But as a way of stopping someone who is on their way in, yes, this might work.
True. The first time, Bolo went in to gaseous form to escape a situation that he had decided was hopeless. He was 90' down the hall towards the exit when the limited wish went off. I suspect he will save the potion for that purpose this time too. Another possibility I've thought of is to go gaseous and then rematerialize behind the daemon for a back stab with the magic dagger: 18 to hit and 9-18 damage, which isn't great, but might be worth trying as a long shot.
Yes. If using the box directly against the daemon doesn't work, this would be a good backup plan.
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Post by Bolo on Dec 13, 2011 22:11:33 GMT -5
Using Danakes's box on someone under the effects of telekinesis will either hold them in place or encase them in something impervious to the blade barrier. Does anyone think Danakes's box could be used to move someone, as opposed to holding them in place? If so, maybe we could use it to force the daemon into his own blade barrier. Since blade barrier is a 6th-level spell, and the daemon counts as a 15th-level caster, his magic resistance roll would be 110% - 25% (for spell level) - 20% (for caster's level) = 65%, which isn't bad odds for a chance at 8d8 in damage, especially if we could do it repeatedly. If the force field is impervious to the blades, then perhaps doing this would disrupt the blade barrier, which would itself be a good thing. Or if the force field is impervious, but not disrupting, we could force the daemon into the middle of the blades and then turn off the beam.
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Post by Friedrich on Dec 13, 2011 22:21:22 GMT -5
In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that I think this spell may be being used in ways that makes it more powerful than it was intended to be, both in regards to the spell itself and how it can be used by enemies such as the one we are facing. I will also readily admit that I, at best, am the fourth most knowledgeable person at the table regarding the rules. ;D Of course the DM has the final say but I just thought Iwould throw out out a couple things to hear what other people think. 8-) Here is the spell description for Telekinesis[/size][/size] Does this mean that the Daemon can move characters both horizontally and vertically at the same time? The reason I am asking this is because if the Daemon can only do one per round it would be forced to go vertically first(so that PC's can't counter the force through being able to ambulate). Once the party member is off the ground then maybe the next round it could be into the blender (horizontal movement)
It would at least make this a save-or-die-next-round spell and party members could hit the daemon, breaking it's concentration (and thus the spell, at least temporally). Or maybe a party member (or two) could grab on to somebody so as to increase their weight to over 6000GP.
Maybe I'm misinterpreting the spell description here but maybe if we understood how this spell works we could figure out how to counter it. We're gonna need all the help we can get. F&P are already out for the foreseeable future as it is.
After all the brainstorming is said and done it may well come down to whether Marcus and Trommer can land some big hits before failed saves and met gazes do us in.
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Post by Ginger on Dec 13, 2011 23:47:00 GMT -5
Colby can conjure another elemental from the scroll. The casting time is 10 rounds. I don't believe that reading the scroll counts as activating a magic item for casting time purposes, but I hope I'm wrong.
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