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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 19, 2012 8:28:21 GMT -5
We explored the garden (not that we had any choice in the matter). It is not an illusion. We met some nymphs. Some were tempted, but no one went swimming with them.
We found some strange birds with serpentine necks. Paavo warned that they may be cockatrices. As we approached they attacked. Amazingly none of them landed any blows before they were killed. They did have some magic resistance which is odd. We took some feathers and other parts. They were near a silver bush. Bolo took a blossom from it but he was unable to pull any leaves off of it.
We found an herb garden. Bolo tried some herbs. Nothing bad.
We met a jack-in-the-pulpit which started preaching. Both Trommer and Danakes were swayed to its line of thinking (becoming true neutrals). People applied beeswax to prevent further issues and Finn dropped a fireball on it. More magic resistance checks were made. From the garden around it some monster plants jumped up and attacked (bull thistles and snap dragons). Unfortunately they killed the dogs. Danakes used his potion of plant control to take over some of them. Once they were defeated the jack-in-the-pulpit answered some questions. But he was unable to undo the effects of his sermonizing.
We headed back to fountain and camped while the spell casters restored their spells. We investigated the silver door and the polished door on the other side of the wall. We re-entered the hall with the four doors at one side. Some of the party went through the doors but Paavo, Danakes, Ingrid and Finnious were trapped inside. Paavo used his ring of swimming to swim across the pool before the reptile attacked. They were unable to get the doors to reopen, so Finn used spider climb and levitation to get everyone back across the pool. They waited in the garden hoping the rest of the party would show.
The rest of the party was in the mushroom kingdom. They attempted to open the doors to no avail. Colby scouted the area in griffon form and found the tunnel that lead back to the garden. The group marched off avoiding large mushroom when possible. They encountered a large caterpillar with a hookah. It lightning bolted us when we attempted to leave. Dan was saved by the shield by Marcus lost his dancing dagger. Trommer and Friedrich did 80+ damage before it had a chance to attack again. (It was a behir.) We took its hookah.
They made it back to the garden were they encountered the master riddler. He wanted to trade us wishes for riddles. We said we would be back once we had the rest of the party. The party was soon reunited and we headed to the talk to the riddler.
In the end we solved 3 riddles correctly - four/score, hook, and battlefield. We got the rangers alignments fixed. Mary was resurrected. And we made it back onto the the Faery Road. Maybe we should have done another riddle before getting back on the Road.
We met some faeries on the Road who were unhelpful in giving us directions. We ended up leaving the Road and landed back in the Ethereal plane at the Lake of Dreams. (BTW, Paavo's PfE 1" and detect evil don't work here. And everything except us appears to have some magic resistance.) We met a wistful adventurer named Sobat. He showed us a giant pearl he found in the lake. We decided against going fishing. He said he would come with us.
We were leaving when a head popped up out of the water. We tried to be nice (and rolled a 95 reaction roll). He went under and immediately (?) returned with 40 more of his friends. They didn't want to talk and started casting charm spells on us. The session kind of broke down there. Right now Paavo and Marcus are in the water. Other people are being held back. We are considering attacking them. Fewer of us should have been effected by the initial charm spell.
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Post by venger on Mar 19, 2012 10:48:31 GMT -5
Spring Garden makes it sound like a Chinese Restaurant. :) They encountered a large caterpillar with a hookah. It lightning bolted us when we attempted to leave. Dan was saved by the shield by Marcus lost his dancing dagger. Trommer and Friedrich did 80+ damage before it had a chance to attack again. (It was a behir.) We took its hookah. A *large creature with an AC of 4 is toast. Combats in this campaign are short, brutal affairs like in the movie 300. We ended up leaving the Road and landed back in the Ethereal plane at the Lake of Dreams. (BTW, Paavo's PfE 1" and detect evil don't work here. And everything except us appears to have some magic resistance.) We met a wistful adventurer named Sobat. He showed us a giant pearl he found in the lake. We decided against going fishing. He said he would come with us. We were leaving when a head popped up out of the water. We tried to be nice (and rolled a 95 reaction roll). He went under and immediately (?) returned with 40 more of his friends. The party walked a ways up the shore to where the lone figure of Sobat sat on a rock, contemplating the lake. There was some dialogue: he talked morosely about himself, where he was from, the politicks of faerie, the giant oysters in the lake and their wondrous pearls, he explained the geography of the lake, talked about the Isle of Apples, the trails leading off into the Wilds of Faerie, the faerie court nearby, etc. while pixies and ravens nattered in the nearby trees. Sobat offered use of his boat, there was a lot of talk about stripping off armor and fishing up some oysters. Sobat agreed to come with the party. As the party left, Friedrich made a perception check and spotted the green-haired, blue-skinned fella watching them from the lake. Freidrich waved at it, it waved back with webbed hands and ducked under the water in an acrobatic display, showing off its also webbed toes. Friedrich muttered something about friendly reaction rolls and everyone shrugged off the "merman." The party resumed walking along the lake shore at a 6" when all of a sudden it came back with 39 friends. They didn't want to talk and started casting charm spells on us. Nixies love enslaving humans. Their charm attempt is a musical water ballet with synchronized leaping fish spitting water into the air, etc. straight out of Fantasia. They weren't necessarily being hostile or unfriendly. The session kind of broke down there. Right now Paavo and Marcus are in the water. Other people are being held back. We are considering attacking them. Fewer of us should have been effected by the initial charm spell. I gave it some thought. None of you were technically aware, beyond the mechanism of a savings throw, that your characters were being affected by charm until the nixies beckoned the charmees into the water and those actually affected started moving into the lake. Considering the party's hivemind-like efficiency in responding to crisis situations, I'm sorta OK with the way it turned out. |
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Post by Ginger on Mar 19, 2012 11:34:43 GMT -5
Right now the best plan of attack is to polymorph-self ourselves into nixies and mount a rescue attempt. Underwater combat is very unfavorable, though.
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Post by Ginger on Mar 19, 2012 11:36:19 GMT -5
I could summon a water elemental, also. But that has the obvious problems that such a plan would have on the prime material plane, in addition to weird ones we cannot foresee because of the ethereal plane.
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Post by agesilaus on Mar 19, 2012 19:38:53 GMT -5
I know I wasn't there (again), but I should point out that as a card-carrying Elf, Finn is 90% resistant to charm...and so it seems to me would know when someone was trying to charm him. Surely he could warn the rest of the unlucky, non-Elves in the party?
And, um, why not just lightning bolt the nixies? Water's a great conductor.
Yes, yes, I know, they're not really trying to hurt us, etc...Fin's approach is admittedly a bit direct at times.
Also, just so you know, the movie "300" has about as much in common with actual history as anything you'll read in the Washington Post. That is, not very much at all.
I agree, though, it's great hand to hand cinematography.
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Post by venger on Mar 19, 2012 20:24:56 GMT -5
I know I wasn't there (again), but I should point out that as a card-carrying Elf, Finn is 90% resistant to charm...and so it seems to me would know when someone was trying to charm him. Surely he could warn the rest of the unlucky, non-Elves in the party? Uh, they charmed Finn last? Yes, yes, I know, they're not really trying to hurt us, etc...Fin's approach is admittedly a bit direct at times. There's no real moral quandry here, they're trying to *enslave* you. Blast away. |
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 20, 2012 13:33:43 GMT -5
Friedrich muttered something about friendly reaction rolls and everyone shrugged off the "merman." The party resumed walking along the lake shore at a 6" when all of a sudden it came back with 39 friends. Nixies love enslaving humans. Their charm attempt is a musical water ballet with synchronized leaping fish spitting water into the air, etc. straight out of Fantasia. They weren't necessarily being hostile or unfriendly. The session kind of broke down there. Right now Paavo and Marcus are in the water. Other people are being held back. We are considering attacking them. Fewer of us should have been effected by the initial charm spell. I gave it some thought. None of you were technically aware, beyond the mechanism of a savings throw, that your characters were being affected by charm until the nixies beckoned the charmees into the water and those actually affected started moving into the lake. Considering the party's hivemind-like efficiency in responding to crisis situations, I'm sorta OK with the way it turned out. I am not saying we change anything that has happened but I think things were done loosely when really a round-based action-declaring system would have made things clearer. There was information that is not conveyed nor were the actions of the party members explicitly stated after the initial contact. Here is how I think it could have gone if we were more explicit in round by round actions. round 0: a small humanoid head appears in the water. how far away? declare actions: Friedrich will waves friendlily. round 1: Friedrich waves. the head disappears. declare actions: we will continue down the beach checking to see if it returns. round 2: the party continues down the beach at a rate of 6". ... (at some point some could have asked Sobat about the encounter) ... round n: 40 heads appear above the water. how far away? how much time has passed? declare actions: if they approach or start do anything unusual we will move away from the beach. Finn will lightning bolt the lot. round n + 1: they start cavorting in the water. the party backs away from the water. Finn activates the wand. 4 people must make saving throws. anyone who saves can alert the others to the fact. declare actions: ... |
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Post by venger on Mar 20, 2012 15:10:34 GMT -5
I am not saying we change anything that has happened but I think things were done loosely when really a round-based action-declaring system would have made things clearer. As I admitted during the session, only 4 of the party should have been affected by the first round of charm. Definitely my bad. Gonna chalk that up to a one-time fluke of the Ethereal Plane. Honestly though, I don't see it having much bearing on the outcome of the encounter. Time between sightings was negligible. The nixies are 30' away in the water. Sobat would have informed you that they were harmless; merely curious water sprites. It went like this: Nixie waves at Friedrich, Friedrich waves at nixie. Nixie goes underwater, party goes on merry way. ... Round 0: Nixies swim up underwater, position themselves, surface, and the party must make savings throws vs. charm. Round 1: Everyone knows immediately what's going on - (somehow you all know who in the party is charmed and who is not charmed, coordinating your grappling attacks with unrealistic precision) uncharmed party members grapple charmed party members, Dan casts Dispel Magic, Danakes uses the box, etc. - nixies do nothing because I realize I've overcharmed you guys. Round 2: Party retreats from the beach, dragging charmed party members (somehow, despite those massive encumbrances...) again nixies do nothing still in the penalty box. Like I said, I'm OK with how it went down. If it had gone round by round, you'd be wrestling with charmed characters on the beach, trying to drag them away, saving vs. charm every round - as opposed to me hand-waving your retreat. And in the future, I think saves vs. charm will be rolled secretly and charmed players will receive a note to that effect. if they approach or start do anything unusual we will move away from the beach. Finn will lightning bolt the lot. round n + 1: they start cavorting in the water. the party backs away from the water. Finn activates the wand. Also I think it highly unlikely that you guys would have lightning bolted these creatures without them physically attacking you first. I could be wrong. |
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 20, 2012 16:41:05 GMT -5
Round 0: there can't be saves yet. They need to surface first. They don't even know where we are yet. You can't effectively target something from underwater. There is a light refraction issue. So we at least are in sight of each other before any action takes place. Since we were walking down the beach it isn't even clear that we were in range anymore.
Then you should have called for actions. Finn may or may not have lightning bolted them. He had little tolerance for pixies. But without calling for action the party is sitting ducks.
When someone is having a spell cast at them that gets a saving throw then they are aware of the spell. They may even visibly fight against the spell even if the effect is mental. Swearing, thrashing, covering their ears, etc. So other may know about the attempt. A save is not just - nothing happens to you, so you don't know anything was attempted.
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Post by venger on Mar 20, 2012 17:50:23 GMT -5
Really? A light refraction issue? For the nixies in the Lake of Dreams?
The nixies swam within range of the party and "generated" the powerful Charm spell on segment 5, at the same time the party became aware of them.
I guess we could have rolled surprise but I don't think you guys should have had initiative. There are some situations like that.
And as I recall Friedrich's immediate response was to "not look at them." And Trommer's response would have been first to drop his backpack, so that would be lying on the beach...
Finnious is a bit Han Solo, so maybe he would shoot first in the unedited version...
I'm cool with the notion that spell effects should be recognizable to the persons saving against them. If someone tries to Levitate you, you feel the upward pull, if someone tries to Enfeeble you, you feel slightly weakened. It's poetic. I don't know if I agree with the visible signs of distress, the DMG says:
But that's not what I meant by rolling the savings throw vs charm discreetly: I do not think it should be obvious to the party at all times which characters are charmed and which are not.
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Post by agesilaus on Mar 21, 2012 19:35:19 GMT -5
Fin's enough of a fae himself to know that most of them can't be trusted, and it's usually better to shoot first and ask forgiveness than end up picking wood splinters out of your teeth.
Not sure I quite follow the "not obvious who's charmed and who isn't" line. It goes in part to the "stress situation" definition in the DMG...a charmed Trommer isn't going to act like a non-charmed Trommer, at least to those of us who have fought and bled with him. I grant we may not immediately recognize if an NPC were charmed, but surely we'd be able to sense with our party primaries when something's amiss. At least we should get a perception roll, no?
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Post by Friedrich on Mar 22, 2012 19:58:17 GMT -5
Not sure I quite follow the "not obvious who's charmed and who isn't" line. It goes in part to the "stress situation" definition in the DMG...a charmed Trommer isn't going to act like a non-charmed Trommer, at least to those of us who have fought and bled with him. I grant we may not immediately recognize if an NPC were charmed, but surely we'd be able to sense with our party primaries when something's amiss. At least we should get a perception roll, no? Spoken like a true marine ;D I do a agree that at this point Friedrich, Trommer, Paavo, Colby and Fin have had plenty enough interaction with the fae to suspect the worst. And, like Scott said, we have fought together enough times to have a pretty good sense as to how we behave and what mannerisms and actions are/aren't normal. Fin's got a 19 int. Friedrich has a 16 wis and 14 int and lost his shadow. I think it's reasonable that Friedrich would run up and try to grapple his party members to stop them from entering the lake, all things considered. On a completely meta-gamey note: the MM states the following: We got anything really bright (besides a fireball...at this point at least) |
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Post by venger on Mar 22, 2012 20:30:04 GMT -5
Not sure I quite follow the "not obvious who's charmed and who isn't" line. It goes in part to the "stress situation" definition in the DMG...a charmed Trommer isn't going to act like a non-charmed Trommer, at least to those of us who have fought and bled with him. I grant we may not immediately recognize if an NPC were charmed, but surely we'd be able to sense with our party primaries when something's amiss. At least we should get a perception roll, no? I am swayed by your compelling arguments and so it shall be. |
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Post by Ginger on Mar 23, 2012 10:11:08 GMT -5
Maybe this is more appropriate for the rules forum, but can we get some clarity on what "concentration" means for the purposes of spell casting? Can you make a half move and still maintain a wall of fire, or control a water elemental?
Basically the plan is to scry for our guys, summon a water elemental, polymorph into a nixie, and rescue our guys. Another rules question regarding this plan is whether being underwater counts as being outdoors for the purposes of range.
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Post by venger on Mar 23, 2012 11:55:36 GMT -5
Maybe this is more appropriate for the rules forum, but can we get some clarity on what "concentration" means for the purposes of spell casting? Can you make a half move and still maintain a wall of fire, or control a water elemental? Yes. Another rules question regarding this plan is whether being underwater counts as being outdoors for the purposes of range. It's outdoors. |
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Post by venger on Mar 23, 2012 11:56:26 GMT -5
You have Scry memorized?
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Post by Ginger on Mar 23, 2012 12:41:29 GMT -5
No, but I have a book. It seems to me that we have a narrow window of action while Paavo and Marcus are still on the beach. I don't really know what we can do, other than for Colby to cast slow on Marcus and Paavo. If that doesn't work, than we'll probably need a few hours to prepare. That'll involve swapping in scry and clairvoyance, casting protection from charm, etc. |
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Post by agesilaus on Mar 23, 2012 12:47:24 GMT -5
Everyone has Continual Light stones. Those of us not charmed can toss them in the water to force the nixies away, and Friedrich can start dragging the unfortunate charmed ones back out of the drink.
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Post by venger on Mar 26, 2012 14:51:26 GMT -5
Anyone object to me ruling that your superior tactics are successful, forcing the nixies to flee; and all wayward party members are recovered at the expense of, say, half a dozen lightstones and a Slow spell?
That way maybe we can do some conversation with Sobat on the board and come up with some further plans for next session.
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 26, 2012 15:11:47 GMT -5
Fine with me.
I think we need to figure out
a) how to get back on the faerie road from the ethereal plane
b) how to get back to our prime material plane from the faerie road
I am still up for finding the rain bird but I think we have been woefully unprepared for dealing with the encounters we have been having. Maybe Sobat has some suggestions for better dealing with the denizens of the ethereal and border ethereal realms.
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Post by venger on Mar 26, 2012 15:36:29 GMT -5
I think we have been woefully unprepared for dealing with the encounters we have been having. That seems an odd statement considering how handily you thrashed the three combat encounters (behir, snapdragons/bull thistles, peacocks) and squeezed 3 wishes out of the Riddle-Master. |
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Post by Ginger on Mar 26, 2012 16:10:32 GMT -5
I was looking forward to leading a water elemental to invade the nixie lair, but I agree this is better.
I think we've been very well prepared for the combat encounters, but poorly prepared for the non-combat encounters.
I'll memorize more dispel magic spells and dump the direct spells, since they tend to get squelched by magic resistance.
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Post by Bolo on Mar 26, 2012 17:56:31 GMT -5
Declaring our tactics superior and successful is fine with me too.
(Tactics? We have tactics?)
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 26, 2012 20:26:48 GMT -5
I was looking forward to leading a water elemental to invade the nixie lair, but I agree this is better. I think we've been very well prepared for the combat encounters, but poorly prepared for the non-combat encounters. I'll memorize more dispel magic spells and dump the direct spells, since they tend to get squelched by magic resistance. I thought we already used the Summon Water Elemental scroll against the black dragon. Can we use the other Summon Elemental scrolls to summon any elemental we want? Also there may be problems summoning in the Ethereal Plane. You should try testing one of monster summoning spells to see if that works before wasting a scroll. Though I guess since the Ethereal Plane borders the Elemental Planes it should work. But I am worried that we don't have a plan for getting home or even getting back on the Faerie Road. We had to use a wish last time when we wanted to leave the Garden of Spring. Do you think Arcadian can provide any additional advice or instruction for how to get where we want to go? Maybe we should study the Lemarchand Box to see if it can be used to also take us home - or whether it only leads to infernal planes. |
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Post by Ginger on Mar 27, 2012 0:05:31 GMT -5
I was looking forward to leading a water elemental to invade the nixie lair, but I agree this is better. I think we've been very well prepared for the combat encounters, but poorly prepared for the non-combat encounters. I'll memorize more dispel magic spells and dump the direct spells, since they tend to get squelched by magic resistance. I thought we already used the Summon Water Elemental scroll against the black dragon. Can we use the other Summon Elemental scrolls to summon any elemental we want? Also there may be problems summoning in the Ethereal Plane. You should try testing one of monster summoning spells to see if that works before wasting a scroll. Though I guess since the Ethereal Plane borders the Elemental Planes it should work. But I am worried that we don't have a plan for getting home or even getting back on the Faerie Road. We had to use a wish last time when we wanted to leave the Garden of Spring. Do you think Arcadian can provide any additional advice or instruction for how to get where we want to go? Maybe we should study the Lemarchand Box to see if it can be used to also take us home - or whether it only leads to infernal planes. Colby scoffs at Paavo trying to tell him how to conjure an elemental. The scroll he possesses is generic, and each use can summon any of the four required elemental types. He has of course conferred with his wizardly consultant to ensure that such a conjuration would be successful in the ethereal plane. Furthermore, using the scrolls in their ritual variation with the assistance of Finnious and Mary Tanner would result in a much more powerful summoning. Such a casting would summon an elemental of maximum power without any chance of turning against its conjurer, as long as concentration is maintained. In fact, such a casting could even summon multiple elementals. |
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Post by Ginger on Mar 27, 2012 0:07:52 GMT -5
That way maybe we can do some conversation with Sobat on the board and come up with some further plans for next session. I don't recall getting Sobat's full story, since he was deliberately vague. How did he get to this place? Did he come via the Faerie Road? If so, how? |
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Post by Wolfgar on Mar 27, 2012 7:45:42 GMT -5
We met Sobat at the side of the lake. He is dressed as an adventurer in chain mail and carries a sword. He seemed to be wistful or depressed about something. He told us he was from a city-state we had never heard. I think he arrived along the faerie road. He seems to know some of the local geography. Later we learned that he spent a year with the nixies and now just wants to return to their city in the lake. They don't want him.
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Post by agesilaus on Mar 27, 2012 18:37:35 GMT -5
Bolo:
"Tactics? We have tactics?"
Fin:
Sure. We excel at "hey diddle diddle, right up the middle" and "start hacking first, ask questions later". I didn't say they were GOOD tactics...but we got tactics.
Paavo:
"But I am worried that we don't have a plan for getting home or even getting back on the Faerie Road."
Fin:
Well, not really having much of a plan in the past hasn't been all that much of an impediment, and I see no reason why it should cause a problem now.
Man, I love this wacky group!
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Post by venger on Mar 28, 2012 14:52:45 GMT -5
Maybe Sobat has some suggestions for better dealing with the denizens of the ethereal and border ethereal realms. Hitting them with swords works, most faeries are pretty fragile. Try to be polite, they like that. Be a good sport. They love gifts and will surely give in return. They have a weakness for sweets and alcohol. They can't abide iron, it's bound to provoke a hostile reaction. An iron bell is especially unpleasant to them. I don't recall getting Sobat's full story, since he was deliberately vague. How did he get to this place? Did he come via the Faerie Road? If so, how? Sobat is from somewhere called Morganhold, in the Rhunen Confederacy; a loosely aligned conglomeration of city-states... of which none of you have ever heard. He and his companions initially came to this strange place through a magic mirror, pursuing a wizard named Skarda. They found themselves in a bizarre house, full of bizarre things. They lost the wizard's trail at a chessboard field, which confounded them for a time. While exploring the forested wilds beyond the checkered field, most of his companions were slain in an encounter with, believe it or not, a dragon named Deadly Nightshade. Sobat managed to escape and was fortunate enough to find the friendly nixies of the Lake of Dreams. He spent a wonderful time with them in their underwater kingdom, learning much about the land of Faerie and the tending of freshwater kelp, until one day they told him it was time go home. Finding it impossible to adapt to life on land, he's been trying to get back to Nixie-land ever since, hoping for an opportunity to petition the Court of Rivers & Lakes. |
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Post by Bolo on Mar 28, 2012 16:04:09 GMT -5
OK, conversing with Sobat appears to be mildly entertaining, but not useful.
What was that about "if you think you've taken a wrong turn, turn around and go the other way"? We appear to have taken a wrong turn. Shall we turn around and go the other way?
I suppose that would be the opposite direction to wherever we were pointed when we realized we'd left the faerie road. Which could just take us off into some freaky faerie forest or whatever, but it's the only idea I've got at the moment.
Unless someone can come up with a question for Sobat that actually elicits some worthwhile information.
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