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victory
Jul 11, 2007 9:36:59 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 11, 2007 9:36:59 GMT -5
Unfortunately Pfiffwin is pretty tapped for spells. He used his last Improved Phantasmal Force for a lightning bolt, missed with a couple of chromatic orbs, and used color spray on one of the spiders. About that Improved Phantasmal Force- those lightning bolts and archers are somewhat useless against the magic resistant dark elves. I'd recommend melee troops next time, like dwarves maybe, to suck up as many of those poisoned crossbow bolts as possible.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 10:48:41 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 11, 2007 10:48:41 GMT -5
They've seen us fight and have seen us conjure illusionary troops before. We'd be a lot better off creating an illusionary Otto (or something like that). If they see one Otto coming around the left flank and one coming down the middle they won't know which one to lightning bolt.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 11:14:08 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 11, 2007 11:14:08 GMT -5
I still don't think we adjudicated the effect of the elven archers correctly. A missed shot (or weapon strike) should not trigger magic resistance and magic resistance working is not the equivalent of knowing something is an illusion. I think a bunch of first level magic user/fighter elves that do magic missiles and then engage in sword combat would be a good distraction.
Do Chromatic Orbs count as magic weapons in terms of magic resistance?
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 11:16:17 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 11, 2007 11:16:17 GMT -5
They've seen us fight and have seen us conjure illusionary troops before. We'd be a lot better off creating an illusionary Otto (or something like that). If they see one Otto coming around the left flank and one coming down the middle they won't know which one to lightning bolt. I think this should be doable. I could even do 6 guys that look like Otto. They just wouldn't fight at the same level. But certainly distracting.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 11:40:31 GMT -5
Post by Dell on Jul 11, 2007 11:40:31 GMT -5
I'd prefer things like walls and boulders that could provide cover and concealment on the battlefield - by putting a big wall up to break the enemy's line of sight, you can prevent targetted spells and missile fire.
Otherwise, I'd recommend multiple magic users, firing magic missiles - that way you don't have to worry about them rolling to hit, just getting past the MR.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 13:59:46 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 11, 2007 13:59:46 GMT -5
I think the beauty of using an illusionary Otto is the possibility of them thinking the real Otto is an illusion. If you think something attacking you is an illusion and it isn't, you take automatic hits with max damage.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 15:13:50 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 11, 2007 15:13:50 GMT -5
Then we should send out the illusionary Otto's first and make sure everyone knows they are illusions before sending out the real Otto. How about if we make the illusions run at 18" in full armor, attack twice per round and always hit. No one will believe that is real.
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 18:35:28 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 11, 2007 18:35:28 GMT -5
Then we should send out the illusionary Otto's first and make sure everyone knows they are illusions before sending out the real Otto. How about if we make the illusions run at 18" in full armor, attack twice per round and always hit. No one will believe that is real. Also, make him seem to get stronger each time he does damage to an opponent... Unbelievable!
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victory
Jul 11, 2007 21:25:10 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 11, 2007 21:25:10 GMT -5
Then we should send out the illusionary Otto's first and make sure everyone knows they are illusions before sending out the real Otto. How about if we make the illusions run at 18" in full armor, attack twice per round and always hit. No one will believe that is real. Also, make him seem to get stronger each time he does damage to an opponent... Unbelievable! We'd need to have someone holding an Otto egg or something so it's believable.
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victory
Jul 12, 2007 6:59:14 GMT -5
Post by Dead Greyhawk on Jul 12, 2007 6:59:14 GMT -5
Do Chromatic Orbs count as magic weapons in terms of magic resistance? No. It's a spell effect and would be directly affected by magic resistance.
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victory
Jul 15, 2007 17:46:15 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 15, 2007 17:46:15 GMT -5
Did the drow stay and fight? What happened?
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victory
Jul 15, 2007 19:25:49 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 15, 2007 19:25:49 GMT -5
Did the drow stay and fight? What happened? We had difficulty resting in the cave. Swarms of basketball sized spiders, etc. The sound of discordant chimes and weird purple lights were seen from the top-most cave entrances as we fled. 2 days later- The return to Spider Boy Mountain! We left Jasper, Pfiffwin and Adler behind at the campsite (I wonder what they talked about...) Then we made it as far as the narrow bridge. There we encountered the demon factory. What started as a single Type IV ended up as an additional seven Type I's and three Type II's. Raven spent most of the 20+ rounds of combat pinned to the ceiling, screaming in terror from a Symbol of Fear. Then he fell a good 60 feet. We finished combat but we're out a number of hit points, a couple polymorphs, a couple blesses, a couple remove fears, some magic missiles, a whole bunch of protection from evil's, a few fireballs, a lightning bolt, a fly, a detect invisibility and a hold monster. **We didn't see any dark elves. *** We did, however, heal Dell of his affliction. The mental one.
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victory
Jul 15, 2007 20:23:46 GMT -5
Post by Dead Greyhawk on Jul 15, 2007 20:23:46 GMT -5
Otto was feared and fell off the bridge, only to be saved by a combination of Samantha's Feather Fall and Winthrop's polymorph self.
Raven was levitated, but dragged around like a balloon for a while as well.
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victory
Jul 15, 2007 22:22:48 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 15, 2007 22:22:48 GMT -5
After being rescued from falling off the bridge (which he greatly appreciated) and having fear removed, Otto spent twelve minutes (same length of time that Cedrus and Hugh were Discorded) asking for a Fly spell while more and more flying demons were getting gated in. Eventually, Antonus decided it was a good idea to use Fly on Otto. When I left Otto had managed to kill two demons singlehandedly and finished off another two in a single round.
Next time I think we need to think about more support spells for the fighters so that they can get into position to kill various magic resistant monsters. Also some dispel magics to get rid of various negative effects that can slow down the fighters. I am not asking everyone to take solely support spells (the Strength and Detect Invisibility spells are much appreciated) but a couple more spells among the 4 magic users would be nice. If need be in the future Otto can go without Strength if that will free up a slot for Fly (I realize they are different levels).
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victory
Jul 15, 2007 23:30:43 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 15, 2007 23:30:43 GMT -5
After being rescued from falling off the bridge (which he greatly appreciated) and having fear removed, Otto spent twelve minutes (same length of time that Cedrus and Hugh were Discorded) asking for a Fly spell while more and more flying demons were getting gated in. Eventually, Antonus decided it was a good idea to use Fly on Otto. When I left Otto had managed to kill two demons singlehandedly and finished off another two in a single round. Next time I think we need to think about more support spells for the fighters so that they can get into position to kill various magic resistant monsters. Also some dispel magics to get rid of various negative effects that can slow down the fighters. I am not asking everyone to take solely support spells (the Strength and Detect Invisibility spells are much appreciated) but a couple more spells among the 4 magic users would be nice. If need be in the future Otto can go without Strength if that will free up a slot for Fly (I realize they are different levels). For the record - Antonus memorized Detect Invisibility, Fly, Strength, Dispel Magic and Run expressly for the purpose of casting them on the fighters. Only two demons had been gated in before Otto received the Fly spell. He would have gotten it sooner but Antonus crossed the bridge while Otto was plunging to his doom. Dell and Winthrop were too busy engaging the various flying demons in MELEE. *** for no particular reasonTo further recap: Everyone else cowered by the stairs. Except Adrienne who crossed the bridge and fought a demon on the far side, Clift who crawled slowly across the bridge after opening the ever-smoking bottle ::) and Samantha who followed him invisibly, just behind the giant smoke cloud. Antonus invoked the Dimension Door to get back to Otto to imbue him with flight when it looked like demons were gating in exponentially.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 7:18:04 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 16, 2007 7:18:04 GMT -5
For the record - Antonus memorized Detect Invisibility, Fly, Strength, Dispel Magic and Run expressly for the purpose of casting them on the fighters. Thanks. I wish the senior mages were so forward thinking.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 8:11:28 GMT -5
Post by Mr. Trommer on Jul 16, 2007 8:11:28 GMT -5
I have to say that you are incorrect on the lack of forward thinking on my part. Since I don’t think we were expecting to fight Drow on our previous encounter with them obviously the spells I had weren’t ideal. I had selected my spells for our return on the assumption that we would be fighting Drow and not Demons in a large cavern.
All of Hugh’s spells were to support party with 2 Protection from Evil, 3 Tritheron’s Mark, 2 Remove Paralysis, 2 Spell Immunity’s to cast on Otto and Raven to protect them from Charm and a Dispel Magic. If Hugh hadn’t been arguing with Cedrus for 12 rounds he might have been able to do something more.
Winthrop had 2 Strength, 3 Flame Arrow’s so that Raven could get through Protection from Normal Missiles, 2 Protection from Normal Missiles so Otto could have one.
It is unfortunate that these weren’t much help in this fight. I would have been able to do more had I taken my regular selection of spells. That might be wiser in the future give the unpredictable nature of what we might face. So please do not assume that our spell selections aren’t made with some thought about what we might face.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 8:29:36 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 16, 2007 8:29:36 GMT -5
We've got enough high level mages that we can probably just set up a system for all this. When fighting powerful flying creatures with magic resistance, Dell casts fly on Adrienne, Winthrop casts fly on Otto and Antonus casts fly on Raven. When someone shouts "Magic resistant flying creatures!" everyone should run to their predetermined partner to minimize confusion and save time.
Some system like that can surely work, right?
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 8:51:10 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 16, 2007 8:51:10 GMT -5
Sorry to jump to conclusions about what the spell casters memorized. I was just frustrated by the inability to do anything for so long. Hopefully we can continue into the dungeon where the spells selected will be more useful.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 9:14:46 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 16, 2007 9:14:46 GMT -5
In retrospect maybe we should have destroyed that summoning circle we found. We've got enough high level mages that we can probably just set up a system for all this. When fighting powerful flying creatures with magic resistance, Dell casts fly on Adrienne, Winthrop casts fly on Otto and Antonus casts fly on Raven. When someone shouts "Magic resistant flying creatures!" everyone should run to their predetermined partner to minimize confusion and save time. Some system like that can surely work, right? In theory. But if all the other spellcasters go: "Invisibility!" "Minor Globe!" "Protection from Evil!" I'm not sure I'll cast Fly that round. Hopefully we can continue into the dungeon where the spells selected will be more useful. Once we are across the bridge we should probably cast any protective/enhancing spells with long durations.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 10:00:08 GMT -5
Post by Wolfgar on Jul 16, 2007 10:00:08 GMT -5
Once we are across the bridge we should probably cast any protective/enhancing spells with long durations. My only worry is that a dispel magic will take down a lot of these spells. I would suggest Dell and Winthrop use theirs since they last longer and are less likely to get dispelled. Antonus could keep his in reserve for combat support. Front line people should probably transfer extra magic items that can be dispelled to support staff in the back - extra light stones, potions/scrolls not useful in combat, etc. Also we know they have a magic user with lightning bolt so we may want to stash some of this stuff as well as spell books somewhere relatively safe if we don't necessarily need it. Otto will make sure his hammer is oiled in case he needs to throw it at something in the air. According to the map do we think there is possibly another entrance into the cave area? Otherwise we are going to be walking into a trap again. I assume that when the demon teleported away for a couple of rounds he was telling the drow of the intruders. So they will be expecting us.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 10:15:17 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 16, 2007 10:15:17 GMT -5
My only worry is that a dispel magic will take down a lot of these spells. Good point. Also we know they have a magic user with lightning bolt so we may want to stash some of this stuff as well as spell books somewhere relatively safe if we don't necessarily need it. Raise your hand if you want your spellbooks stolen by troglodytes. We should space the party out better to avoid these spells. Otto will make sure his hammer is oiled in case he needs to throw it at something in the air. Otto is flying for the next hour. If we hurry it along we can get a lot of use out of that. According to the map do we think there is possibly another entrance into the cave area? Otherwise we are going to be walking into a trap again. I assume that when the demon teleported away for a couple of rounds he was telling the drow of the intruders. So they will be expecting us. There's an airshaft that leads up from a hallway before the temple room. Otherwise I don't think there aren't any other exits on our map.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 10:58:05 GMT -5
Post by Dell on Jul 16, 2007 10:58:05 GMT -5
Clift says we can enter under cover of smoke.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 11:02:50 GMT -5
Post by Mr. Trommer on Jul 16, 2007 11:02:50 GMT -5
I undestand the frustration very well. I would have rather has Otto flying around stabbing things than Winthrop. I only did it so Dell could use his back attack skill. I generally don't take Fly in order to have an 11d spell of hurting. Since Drow tend to like to levitate I could see where the change could be more of use.
Since we can always "allow" the less powerful mages to memorize spells they don't have in their books. We could also do a few more Protection from Normal Missiles on the fighters to decrease the number of saves versus poison from the hand crossbows.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 11:07:37 GMT -5
Post by Dell on Jul 16, 2007 11:07:37 GMT -5
Dell knows where we can get some boots of flying.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 11:15:01 GMT -5
Post by Mr. Trommer on Jul 16, 2007 11:15:01 GMT -5
They could be delivered almost any time now.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 13:30:06 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 16, 2007 13:30:06 GMT -5
Since we can always "allow" the less powerful mages to memorize spells they don't have in their books. We could also do a few more Protection from Normal Missiles on the fighters to decrease the number of saves versus poison from the hand crossbows. Ahem. If you want Antonus to cast a particular spell you should give it to him. Considering he hasn't received a share of any of the treasure we've ever gotten it isn't like he can just go out and buy them. I know I have asked on more than one occasion for Protection from Normal Missiles, considering his armor class. **Sorry, did that sound bitter?
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 13:48:39 GMT -5
Post by Mr. Trommer on Jul 16, 2007 13:48:39 GMT -5
There is a difference between letting you have it and letting you memorize it.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 13:55:26 GMT -5
Post by venger on Jul 16, 2007 13:55:26 GMT -5
There is a difference between letting you have it and letting you memorize it. That was kind of the point- Antonus is not a Ring of Spell Storing.
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victory
Jul 16, 2007 15:44:02 GMT -5
Post by Ginger on Jul 16, 2007 15:44:02 GMT -5
We should space the party out better to avoid these spells. I agree with this notion. We should probably have Adler, Samantha and Grizzela stay about 50 ft. behind the back of the main rank. They're all demihumans (I think) and so can be in the dark trailing the party.
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