Chapter 5: Q&A / Discussion

[Ken]

Thanks for that, Jeff. I probably would've forgotten about Belarin's armor!

One more reminder about forced movement and falling, since I suspect it'll come into play (from the PHB):

Catching Yourself: If a power or a bull rush (page 287) forces you over a precipice or into a pit, you can immediately make a saving throw to avoid going over the edge. This saving throw works just like a normal saving throw, except you make it as soon as you reach the edge, not at the end of your turn.

[Marcy]

Just a clarification -- there are still two people who need to be caught in the tarp, right? A man and the boy? So if Kal and Amal take off, someone needs to pick up their slack, or we're gong to have a hard time breaking their landing when they're lowered over the side.

[Jeff]

Correct, Marcy. At minimum, 3 people need to keep catching. 2 can try but it's not an automatic success.

[Jeff]

Stupid me. Ken, I actually started writing that post specifically with the intent of quoting what you just quoted, and somehow foolishly ommited that. Duh. I've gone an added that bit to my post above.

[Darren]

Good point, Marcy. Well, I guess Kal got caught up in the moment. Hopefully Amal is more level-headed than Kal is.

[Marcy]

Jeff, where is Mist? You said she was by the starboard rail, but I don't see an icon for her. Did she move and I missed it?

[Jeff]

Heh, I remembered Mist's icon after the fact. Place her diagonally up to the left of where Belarin is right now. The next map will include her.

[Ken]

Josh: Regarding Invisible Castle, that should all be automated; your activation password should have been sent within seconds. Did you check your e-mail program's Spam folder?

[Jeff]

No, I had the same problem initially, Ken. It took almost 24 hours for that confirmation email to arrive. Kinda inconstant with that site when it comes to registration.

But Josh: if you do get it working, Grafth's action would entail an Athletics check.

Marcy: Yup, you got the dice roller working fine. But you get +5 on the roll for Charis's initiative, the formula for which is 1/2 her level + Dex mod (+4), so her total is actually 24.

[Marcy]

FWIW, I tried registering and it didn't work for me, either. However, you can still use the dice roller, which is what I did.

[Josh]

But Josh: if you do get it working, Grafth's action would entail an Athletics check.

Okay, I received the login email this time, just now in fact! I was about to write that I hadn't received it when it came in, a scant 4 hours later! Don't know what happened before... but I made sure to check my junk mail filter for a while because I assumed it might get shunted there.

No matter, I'm gonna go ahead and do some rolling now that I can.

[Josh]

Okay, I'm stupid so I need another tutorial on what numbers I'm using when. I just did an Athletics check, probably incorrectly.

Skills: Skill check bonuses = one half your level + ability score modifier + 5 (if trained)

1. What level am I? 3? It says Ranger3 by my character name so I assume it's 3. So, does that mean I add 1.5? Or 1 or 2?

2. Ability Score Modifier? For Athletics it says "Athletics (Str) +3" Does this mean that the ability score modifier is 3? Grafth's strenght is 14(+2)... does that come into play in any way?

3. One of Grafth's items gives him a +5 enhancement on Athletics checks. Is that IN ADDITION to the +3?

HELP!

Also, Grafth's HP doesn't show up in DM posts.

[Jeff]

Yup, sounds right. Everyone here is level 3. So you divide that in half, and always round down.

So on his character sheet, it says:

Athletics (Str) +3 (½ level +1, Str +2) +8 w/ gloves

Stuff in parentheses is just the math. +3 is Grafth's normal total Athletics check modifier. But as you pointed out, he's got magic gloves which add +5 more. So +8 total.

You were totally right.

[Josh]

I was right except for that I rolled completely wrong. I've adjusted it to correct my mistake.

I'm still confused... so the number next to the Athletics check already takes into account Grafth's level and ability score modifier? So, that green text isn't telling me to do something, it's telling me what has already been done?

[Jeff]

Round 1 will commence later tonight! I know Joe's on the final 50 yards of a project at the moment.

[Jeff]

Okay, maybe in the morning. Late night tonight...so tired...

So tune in then!

[Jeff]

Joe asked:

Where, exactly, is Therendor in the sky at this time? It means a +1 bonus to my attack if it's around....

Easy way to tell, Joe. First, bookmark this Eberron calendar utility page.

Then you just plug in the date to see what the moons are up to. If Therendor is more than 50% full and is more or less visible in the sky (less likely during the daytime, but still quite possible), then his sickle gets that bonus.

Anyway, I'll double-check your numbers, Joe. No problem.

[Darren]

Questions regarding the current fight:

- Kal has a spell that is "Close Blast 3". If he uses it now, where he's standing, does that mean he'll end up hitting Grafth, as well?

- How exactly does Bull Rush work? If Kal wanted to try to knock the warforged in front of him off the edge of the ship, how would I go about doing that?

[Jeff]

A Close blast 3 means Kal chooses a 3-squares-by-3-squares (i.e. 15'-by-15' feet) area adjacent to where he's standing, and if it says "any creature" as opposed to "any enemy" then it would affect everyone in that area, allies included. Does that help?

In a bull rush, you give up your standard action (to do the bull rush), and you roll a Strength attack against the warforged's Fortitude defense. If you beat his, you move into his space and he moves back a space. That doesn't count as your move action or minor action, so you'd still have those.

[Darren]

Okay, and I know I've asked this before, but I can't remember the answer....does casting a spell provoke an Attack of Opportunity? If you take a 5' step away from your enemy before casting, does that provoke an Attack of Opportunity?

[Jeff]

Casting a ranged spell (i.e. it says Ranged in the power description) does provoke an opportunity attack, if you're adjacent to an enemy. But yes, if you just shift back 1 square away from your enemy (which doesn't provoke), you're good to go.

[Jeff]

Jeff: Warforged #4 and #6 are cursed. If either drops to 0 hit points, Belarin will teleport on top of the wheelhouse.

Ken, do you mean the forecastle (storage room area)? The wheelhouse, where Ralsor is, is much more than 5 squares away from Belarin.

[Ken]

Doh! Yes, you are correct, sir!

[Ken]

Jeff, not that I'm wishing more trouble upon us, but wasn't warforged #5 the one who is falling, not #6? And shouldn't there still be a warforged (#6) near Grafth? Or did I miss something and did more than one warforged die that round?

[Jeff]

I'll have to check my map file for that. When I get home. Don't worry, I'll make it make sense.

Also, I totally forgot about Belarin's teleportation. Were the conditions met? I'll have to check on that, too, when I'm home again later. But if so, his teleportation can occur at the top of next round.

[Ken]

Jul 22, 2009 16:21:31 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Also, I totally forgot about Belarin's teleportation. Were the conditions met? I'll have to check on that, too, when I'm home again later. But if so, his teleportation can occur at the top of next round.

Warforged #4 & #6 were cursed, so if warforged #6 did go over the edge instead of #5, then yes. (Although technically, Belarin wouldn't teleport until #6 reached 0 hit points ... which might not be for a couple of minutes. )

[Darren]

Yes, Ken, Kal bull rushed #5, and Jeff has indicated on the map that #6 is the one that went off the edge.

[Jeff]

Hey, Joe:

Streko will sneak up on the warforged and cast Righteous Brand. Not sure what the logistics of that are, Jeff....sorry. Does Streko get +5 for stealth and then what does he get on a sneak attack roll?

Mechanically, Streko can't really sneak up on a warforged right now. If there was dim lighting, then he could attempt a Stealth check for concealment, but in a well-lit battle like this it's assumed that everyone is always looking all around them (more or less). So this would just be a straightforward attack.

The exceptions come from when certain classes have certain tricks. Belarin is using an ability that allows him to become concealed without actual darkness.

And "sneak attacks" are actually only for rogues like Charis.

[Ken]

By the way, Darren...

AWESOME bull rush! I've been playing D&D online for years, and I had never seen that attack done successfully by a PC until today.

[Jeff]

My advice, though, is that you don't get cocky and think bull rush is always the way to go. This was quite lucky. Kal's Strength attack is merely a +3, and he needed to get a 17 (the warforged's Fortitude defense), so...not the best odds.

But Tangat was on hand to help out, and I was also pretty lax on how strong the railing is.