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Post by venger on Jan 18, 2008 15:45:54 GMT -5
So, we want to get into a gate to somewhere else ASAP. Do we really want to go "somewhere else ASAP?" We could end up somewhere really terrible... (think Boot Hill) Seriously, this world isn't so bad- I can imagine a lot worse places adjoining whatever layer of the Abyss we were on. Getting home will require us to either fix the gate back to the Oerth or we get a dark elf to takes us back to the DemonWeb, and then we map our way back to the original gate. Crossing our fingers and jumping into a random portal to we-don't-know-where-but-this-CN-magic-user-says-it's-cool, is a bad idea. If we are currently in the Abyss tied to the Demon Web then shouldn't the armor Otto is wearing be magical again? IMHO I would say yes. I'll do a detect magic on it just to make sure. We're more like adjacent to the Abyss...
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Post by Wolfgar on Jan 18, 2008 15:56:03 GMT -5
Given that we are leaning towards the Castle, are there any tactics we should discuss beforehand? We don't have access to Remove Paralysis and Protection from Evil 10' Radius. So we will need to rely on individual protections. Otto has an amulet of protection from undead but it doesn't last very long and only prevents physical attacks. Wall of Fire will be good at keeping undead at bay. We should have a cleric in each group to spread out the ability to turn undead. We can give Hugh a fly spell and have him draw all of the undead to himself. Pfiffwin will take two Wraithforms - he can scout ahead and most undead should ignore him. Illusions won't be very useful against undead. What other spells should we concentrate on?
Does the local population or Guild have anything they use to protect against undead? What keeps the undead in the ruined part of town? Are there any plans to the Castle or information about what abides there that the Guild will give us?
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Post by Ginger on Jan 18, 2008 17:41:01 GMT -5
I think we can make great strategic use of the cursed undead turning thing. Perhaps we can make a potion of regeneration to give him before activating it.
We should also make liberal use of our home base so close to the castle. We should retreat often to reload spells and rest.
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Post by venger on Jan 18, 2008 17:58:30 GMT -5
I think we can make great strategic use of the cursed undead turning thing. Perhaps we can make a potion of regeneration to give him before activating it. We should also make liberal use of our home base so close to the castle. We should retreat often to reload spells and rest. "Hugh, run out there and used that cursed undead turning thing that makes them all attack you-" "Yeah, I know last time you almost died and had to spend a full week, completely incapacitated, recooperating-" "Oh, and that painful, disfiguring, unholy brand it left on your arm? Don't worry about that, I'm sure it'll wash right off..." Really there's no difference between Dell using Taunt and Hugh using the cursed phylactery..
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Post by Mr. Trommer on Jan 23, 2008 12:20:21 GMT -5
We should rid the castle of the udead and then meet with the lizardmen in order to overthrow the vile oppression of the mistress!
The artifact and brand can't be "unholy" since the undead don't like it. It just means that Hugh should wear the ring of regeneration when using the artifact. The difference between Dell an Hugh is that Dell doesn't taunt paralyzing and level draining undead.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 23, 2008 16:06:13 GMT -5
We should see if protection from evil works on this quasi-Abyssal plane. If it does, that would drop Hugh's AC down to -6 vs. undead, which makes him pretty unhittable...until he's paralysed.
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Post by venger on Jan 25, 2008 10:21:31 GMT -5
If we want to fight undead we can go to Sterich.
Our goal should be to attempt to find the most expedient route back to our home plane.
Jasper has 1 day/level of the magic user casting reincarnation and then he's gone; having failed his resurrection survival roll.
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Post by Wolfgar on Jan 25, 2008 15:04:55 GMT -5
We aren't going to learn anymore about the gates without getting a local to tell us about them. The Guild seems the easiest way to get that information. And there is zero travel time if we go to the castle. We just have to wait for Hugh to feel better. Besides Jasper can always come back as a lizardfolk.
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Post by venger on Jan 25, 2008 16:08:22 GMT -5
We aren't going to learn anymore about the gates without getting a local to tell us about them. The Guild seems the easiest way to get that information. And there is zero travel time if we go to the castle. We just have to wait for Hugh to feel better. Besides Jasper can always come back as a lizardfolk. I don't think there's anything useful they can tell us that we don't already know... We should go look at the damaged gate that supposedly leads home - I vote for wishing it repaired. And then if that doesn't work finding a dark elf. And failing all else, yeah, going into the haunted ghost castle. Who's to say they won't attack us the moment we step out of the castle all injured, our spells depleted? (aged and level-drained?) They are untrustworthy chaotic neutral/evil types. We could try to talking to the Mistress to establish her relationship with the dark elves. Maybe she is an unwilling vassal and will aid us..
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Post by Mr. Trommer on Jan 25, 2008 16:57:36 GMT -5
You make it sound as if the god(s) (and TPBTT) are conspiring against us by giving us false leads to prevent our helping Jasper from reaching his next stage in enlightenment. Tish Tosh.
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Post by Dell on Jan 25, 2008 17:06:16 GMT -5
I don't think there's anything useful they can tell us that we don't already know... We should go look at the damaged gate that supposedly leads home - I vote for wishing it repaired. Time for more training, apprentice. Where do wishes come from? Traditionally, they are granted by powerful and capricious extra-dimensional entities. Entities that cannot hear us from here. The ring is a non-starter. However, it costs nothing to try, but I'm not expecting much. We could try to talking to the Mistress to establish her relationship with the dark elves. Maybe she is an unwilling vassal and will aid us.. Willing or not, if some random strangers show up and ask if you want to take their side in a dispute with a god... that has 0% chance of working, ever.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 25, 2008 17:40:37 GMT -5
We have 6 or so days to do stuff before Hugh is better. Getting a scroll of reincarnation is a priority. I think a lizardman would be awesome, and somewhat likely to reach the minimum stats to be a monk. On top of that, we should write our own scrolls. While we're waiting for Hugh to get better, we have an opportunity to test some things. We can augur using the ring to repair the gate. We can augur walking up to Mistress Naji and announcing our presence. We can examine the gate for writing in a language that the locals can't understand.
If none of that stuff pans out, we should assault the castle. I think we have an excellent chance of success, since our clerics are much tougher than the locals. Presumably they can train themselves for 1st and 2nd level spells, but they can't get 3rd level spells and so cannot get higher than 6th level. We have 9th, 8th, 7th, and 6th level clerics on our side. That'll give us a pretty strong advantage.
We know there is a system of portals leading to other places.
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Post by venger on Jan 25, 2008 21:17:08 GMT -5
You guys are impossible. I'm going to go back to just agreeing with everything Raven says. If I start to voice a contradictory opinion make sure to remind me of this.
Any thoughts on the whole "capture a dark elf and have them take us back to the DemonWeb?"
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Post by Dell on Jan 25, 2008 21:54:52 GMT -5
Any thoughts on the whole "capture a dark elf and have them take us back to the DemonWeb?" Except for the part about going back to the DemonWeb, I like it just fine.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Jan 25, 2008 22:07:46 GMT -5
I'd point out that if you are going to wait around for Hugh to get better, Antonus could use training in 5th level spells. The time frame would be similar.
tentative comments to Omortarif about reincarnation are surprisingly positive. He is familiar with the concept and is willing to consider "discovering" the spell for you, in exchange for magical items of great power and skill! He believes the spell has been used to punish those who transgress against Mistress Naji or the Guild, but communication with him is exuberant and somewhat disjointed in book-Dwarvish.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 26, 2008 10:01:33 GMT -5
I'd point out that if you are going to wait around for Hugh to get better, Antonus could use training in 5th level spells. The time frame would be similar. Really? I thought it was level plus 2d6 days, which is a lot more. Hmmm.
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Post by Dead Greyhawk on Jan 26, 2008 12:37:45 GMT -5
I guess it depends on your definition of "a lot."
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Post by Wolfgar on Jan 26, 2008 22:03:28 GMT -5
Just a reminder since I won't be there tomorrow... If we are going to spend a lot of time resting and training then Winthrop should try experimenting on the Egg to see if it provides a mechanism for leaving this world. Also Pfiffwin was going to do some investigations around the Guild and the city using Detect Illusion, Magic and Invisible. And Otto was going to check if his armor shows any magical demeanor in this world. Otto has some pearls in case we want to identify anything which he will dole out sparingly. Let me know how things work out.
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Post by Wolfgar on Jan 28, 2008 14:17:09 GMT -5
Aside from raising Jasper did you accomplish anything else before entering the Castle - training, resting, information gathering, magic item identification, etc? Where did you leave things after the purple worms?
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Post by venger on Jan 28, 2008 14:57:48 GMT -5
Aside from raising Jasper did you accomplish anything else before entering the Castle - training, resting, information gathering, magic item identification, etc? Where did you leave things after the purple worms? We rested long enough for Hugh to recover then went to the castle. On the way Raven attacked some snakes. They died. A 30 foot wall proved an insurmountable obstacle to the Company so we didn't bother to investigate the known gate back to the Oerth.The entire castle is anti-magicked. Some kind of forcefield prevents us from leaving. Spells in place fail when you enter the walls, spells cast don't work and are wiped from memory. Strangely it doesn't affect clerics. They can cast here and, miraculously, pray for spells higher than 3rd level. The courtyard is full of purple worms, the castle proper has weird floating death shrouds that envelop you and a horde of bizarre acid-spewing ghouls. And that's just on the first floor. Did I mention we can't cast magic-user spells?
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Post by Mr. Trommer on Jan 28, 2008 15:02:28 GMT -5
We rested long enough for Perrin to pray for a third level spell. It worked! We were discussing whether to rest outside to get the high level cleric spell when we noticed that the small purple worms were reforming in to larger one. It was thought best to go inside the castle. Upon entering tracks were noticed in the dust. We followed them up on of the two flights of stairs and were set upon by ghouls that also sprayed acidic snot out theirs noses and four shrouds. Hugh used he magic item of attracting undead and a good number of ghouls went after him. He ended up at -4 before Perrin healed him. Al had been wrapped up a couple times by shrouds before they were turned.
When we stopped all four of the shrouds were turned (some Fiend Folio thing with a goofy smile and ears according to Eddie). A few other ghouls were also still turned.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 28, 2008 15:26:13 GMT -5
It's no surprise Guild members were unable to challenge the castle. This dungeon is skewed to thwart magic users, and the rest of this world is skewed in favor of magic users. Most of the guild members probably approached the castle by air and plummeted to their deaths.
Regarding the mysterious gate, it looked like anyone entering the courtyard to investigate it would be electrocuted. That's why we didn't investigate.
The only thing of note we've discovered in the castle is a single coin. It has a weird face on the front, which matches a weird face on the castle door, and an image of the gate on the other side. I think that means we'll find information on the gate in here.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 28, 2008 15:28:02 GMT -5
Also of note, magic user spells do not work here, but items with spell-like effects do. Thus the smoking bottle and Dell's magic box work. A Ring of Wishes might work also...
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Post by venger on Jan 28, 2008 15:40:55 GMT -5
When we stopped all four of the shrouds were turned (some Fiend Folio thing with a goofy smile and ears according to Eddie). A few other ghouls were also still turned. The shrouds were quite menacing... it was a good battle and without our high level clerics we would have been in trouble. The artist clearly never had to face them in a life-or-death combat situation.
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Post by Dell on Jan 28, 2008 15:43:19 GMT -5
A 30 foot wall proved an insurmountable obstacle to the Company so we didn't bother to investigate the known gate back to the Oerth.Antonus fails to note that the courtyard was filled with arcs of electricity from the gate, and no one in the company wanted to get electrocuted. Antonus was also charged by our leader to compose a wish that would repair the gate, but he shirked that duty as well. .
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Post by venger on Jan 28, 2008 15:46:45 GMT -5
Antonus fails to note that the courtyard was filled with arcs of electricity from the gate, and no one in the company wanted to get electrocuted. Antonus was also charged by our leader to compose a wish that would repair the gate, but he shirked that duty as well. . hmmph I got a wish for you.
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Post by Dell on Jan 28, 2008 16:06:33 GMT -5
I got a wish for you. Thanks!
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Post by Wolfgar on Jan 28, 2008 21:20:50 GMT -5
The entire castle is anti-magicked. Some kind of forcefield prevents us from leaving. Spells in place fail when you enter the walls, spells cast don't work and are wiped from memory. Strangely it doesn't affect clerics. They can cast here and, miraculously, pray for spells higher than 3rd level. Does that mean Cedrus can memorize Plane Shift? And isn't there a Plane Shift left on a scroll? If the Castle is somehow outside the Abyss then we should be able to reach the Ethereal Plane and from there get back home. Of course since Otto isn't there currently I would hold off on any mass exodus.
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Post by Ginger on Jan 28, 2008 23:15:14 GMT -5
The entire castle is anti-magicked. Some kind of forcefield prevents us from leaving. Spells in place fail when you enter the walls, spells cast don't work and are wiped from memory. Strangely it doesn't affect clerics. They can cast here and, miraculously, pray for spells higher than 3rd level. Does that mean Cedrus can memorize Plane Shift? And isn't there a Plane Shift left on a scroll? If the Castle is somehow outside the Abyss then we should be able to reach the Ethereal Plane and from there get back home. Of course since Otto isn't there currently I would hold off on any mass exodus. We're not sure that we're out of the Abyss. It might just be that the anti-magic properties here blocks the magic which prevents communications with the higher planes. If we have some time, we should definitely Commune with Ehlonna to figure things out.
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Post by venger on Jan 29, 2008 9:39:23 GMT -5
We're not sure that we're out of the Abyss. It might just be that the anti-magic properties here blocks the magic which prevents communications with the higher planes. The humans came here a thousand years ago during the "Sueloise/Bakluni conflict" (I wonder if they've ever heard of Martek or Kay-Tarn.) Before that Lloth and dark elves came to the world and captured it in a black sphere and took it the Abyss. The original inhabitants of the blue stone city probably resisted, with the ruined city and anti-magicked castle as the result. Maybe the castle was only half pulled into the Abyss. If we have some time, we should definitely Commune with Ehlonna to figure things out. Should we come up with questions? Or just wing it like usual?
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