Chapter 9: Q&A / Discussions

[Darren]

Wow. We are truly, truly awful.

[Brian]

Jeff:

At least Condign can finally realize his lifelong dream with these new developments.

Oh, that's too funny.

Darren, you are so, so right.

[Ken]

Yeah, that round blew. I have the feeling that #2 might need just one more good shot, but he's a feisty bugger.

[Jeff]

I know it's no consolation, but even your fishy friends are getting screwed over by the dice roller. They're here to help you with the extremes of this challenge, and the dice roller has it in for you all! Not just Shorak...and Darren.

[Jeff]

So for the next bit, I just need Streko's and Adamant's actions.

[Dave W.]

Sorry guys, long couple of days at work... If anyone says anything to you about how easy government work is or how lazy government workers are, smack the crap out them for me...

Anyway, I'm sort of torn about what to do right now... I see three choices:
1) attack the bad fishy guy next to me
2) attack the tentacles
3) flip open the chest, grab whatevers in there and book

My natural instinct is either 1 or 2, but right now my weapon is in it's natural slashy state and since we didnt rest I can't make it into a pointed stick. So fighting is going to suffer penalties (not recalling details off the cuff) unless I just use bare hands.

The cunning snatch and run plan is going to cost me at least one opportunity attack though it does fulfill the mission.

[Ken]

and since we didnt rest I can't make it into a pointed stick.

Oh be quiet about your Point-ed Stick! Attack it with... a banana!

I say: Grab whatever is inside and run. We have no idea how big this thing is, and we're in no shape to deal with it -- especially considering we haven't defeated the lacedon yet!

Alternatively, delay your action so that someone else has a chance to finish off #2 before Adamant needs to act. That'll be one less foe to strike Adamant's back.

[Dave B.]

I vote for the third option. If the thing attached to the tentacles is another elite, we may not be able to handle it without resting. We just used up a bunch of powers on the most recent elite fish guy. Not to mention regrouping into the bubble would probably be a good idea.

Shorak will keep shooting his crossbow, but he still has his short sword in hand in case something comes close enough to put it to good use.

Wow, multiple simul-posting.

Just wanted to add that there may be something in the chest we can put to use immediately. You never know.

[Darren]

I'd say either grab and run, or just run so we can regroup and fight, and then collect whatever is in the chest after we've (hopefully) won. It's possible that whatever is inside will be too big to carry. But while Adamant can keep fighting outside of the bubble, Streko can't. And that's going to leave Adamant all alone, which is a bad idea. At least if we regroup, we can force the tentacle monster to come to us.

[Dave W.]

Oct 18, 2011 21:08:23 GMT -4 Jeff said:

My apologies for forgetting this, but each round Adamant and Streko were taking necrotic damage, 1 per pop.

keeping the theme... It's a fair cop...

[Darren]

I was wondering when he was going to remember that. I didn't want to be the one to bring it up.

[Ken]

Since Condign is grabbed, I don't know if Lacedon #4 is shifted one square from the Ferocious Rebuke power of the Infernal Wrath? And would that count as a shift for the Viper's Strike?

Alas, no. Ferocious Rebuke pushes the foe; forced movement doesn't count as a shift. However, the push does free Condign from the lacedon's grab! And if the lacedon shifts back toward Condign to attack again, well, hello, opportunity attack!

Where does the combat advantage part come from? I'd love to use that on Belarin's current attack, since my roll may be just short of hitting as is.

Side note: Just so you know, Brian, Belarin can use eldritch blast as a ranged basic attack, so he can take advantage of those opportunity attacks from viper's strike if Shorak isn't able to do so.

--Assistant DM Ken

[Brian]

Ken, per my character sheet:

Infernal Wrath (Tiefling Racial Power)
You call upon your furious nature to improve your odds of harming your foe.
Encounter
Minor Action Personal
Effect: You can channel your fury to gain a +1 power bonus to your next attack roll against an enemy that hit you since your last turn. If your attack hits and deals damage, add your Charisma modifier (3) as extra damage.
Ferocious Rebuke / Unbalancing Wrath: On a hit, you also push the target 1 square and the target grants combat advantage to your allies until the start of your next turn.

[Ken]

Ah, Unbalancing Wrath! Didn't know about that one. Kewwwl!

[Darren]

We all knew Condign was a bit unbalanced.

[Dave B.]

I modified my most recent post for round 5.

[Dave W.]

Sorry to post ahead... My bad.

[Brian]

Darren:

We all knew Condign was a bit unbalanced.

Ain't that the truth! ;D

[Brian]

Gentlemen, we are in serious trouble here. Dave W., I think you have to let go the chest. You can't risk getting pulled into the chasm. And whatever's in that chest has likely been generating the undead field; I doubt it is good in any way.

A fighting retreat may be in order. That earlier encounter tapped us too heavily. I have nothing but at-will powers left.

How does everyone else feel?

[Ken]

If I've added correctly Lacedon #2 has taken 54 points of damage, but I didn't see any declaration that he was bloodied. Jeff, is #2 bloodied? I've been operating under the belief that he's one more decent hit from being soggy toast, but if he isn't even bloodied, that's going to affect what Belarin does next.

Belarin has one daily power left: the daze effect from the feyweave, which he hasn't been able to use as it's a burst 2 effect, and (fortunately) he has had allies nearby. However, if he does go into the water to get the Necromantic Macguffin, he'll likely have an opportunity to use it.

If the shaman hadn't just taken out his opponent, Brian, I might agree that a retreat is in order, but I think we still have a shot at this, especially if Histra's information to Belarin is accurate. (Yes, a big if, I know.)

On top of that, we've had a LOT of sucky rolls. The law of averages dictates that we'll do better soon, right? Right? Bueller? Bueller?

[Jeff]

Oct 20, 2011 22:49:06 GMT -4 Ken said:

If I've added correctly Lacedon #2 has taken 54 points of damage, but I didn't see any declaration that he was bloodied. Jeff, is #2 bloodied?

Yes, #2 is bloodied. Sorry about that. I try to keep it all listed as it comes.

Do you normally keep track of all monsters' current estimated hit points and damage?

[Darren]

Actually, Jeff, I had gone through and added up #2's damage, also, because I had been thinking the same thing. I also added up #1's damage because I thought maybe I was missing something. Ultimately, #1 took something like 71 points of damage before he died, but the last hit to him was 41 points from the critical from the shaman.

I'm somewhat with Ken on this. I think Adamant has one more round to try to get whatever that is out of the chest. Kal has a few encounter and one daily power left, but none of them have been much use in this kind of one-on-one, spread out encounter. Kal could use a power to get immediately to Adamant this round and help him pull, but since he goes last, that's no real help.

[Jeff]

Oct 21, 2011 6:41:54 GMT -4 Darren said:

Actually, Jeff, I had gone through and added up #2's damage, also, because I had been thinking the same thing.

Okay. But don't always count on this. Most of the time all damage is visual to you (like when an obvious radiant-vulnerable undead takes radiant damage, you'll see the extra damage), but sometimes it's not. If something has a slow healing rate, you might be seeing the calculation.

[Darren]

Jeff, if Kal DID get over to the chest this round, could he try to pull the small chest out? Would that just be his own Strength check? Is that considered a standard action, or a minor action?

Essentially, if Kal used Thunder Leap, that would be a standard action that could move him 10 squares closer. Then he could use Lightning Shift, which is a move action, to get the rest of the way there (or he could just move, but given our terrible rolls lately, there's a good chance he'd fail his Athletics check and end up stuck in place). But then he'd only have a minor action left....

[Jeff]

Normally, a minor action is needed to pick something up. But since this can't easily be picked up, a Strength check is needed, which is a standard action.

However, if Adamant is willing to delay until Kal's turn, then I'll let Kal use his minor action to merely assist Adamant's Strength check rather. Up to you guys.

[Ken]

Oct 21, 2011 0:04:50 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Yes, #2 is bloodied. Sorry about that. I try to keep it all listed as it comes.

Do you normally keep track of all monsters' current estimated hit points and damage?

Jeff, no worries on the first part. Frankly, it's a compliment to you that such questions rarely pop up!

As for the second part, nah, I normally don't track hit points. It's just that in a tabletop 4E game, we the players would know who's bloodied and not. And it's because you ARE so diligent that I got a little nervous when I noticed that #2 had taken a couple of solid hits from Streko and didn't get the "bloodied" description. I thought "OK, either Jeff slipped up or we're in for a world of hurt."

[Ken]

Also, the main reason I asked is that Belarin wants to be able to use the teleport from Warlock's Curse to get closer to Adamant. But if #4 or #5 isn't ready to drop, then he'll have to get closer to #2 to curse him.

[Darren]

Given what Jeff is saying, guys, what do you think? Should Adamant wait and then let Kal jump out to try to help him pull the small chest out?

[Ken]

Jeff, why would Adamant would need to delay his action? Any "aid another" action by Kal would boost Adamant's next Strength check to lift the box if it occurs before the end of Adamant's turn. Wouldn't that would be true whether it happens at the end of the round (if Adamant delays) or at the start of the following round (if he doesn't delay)?

I realize that it doesn't necessarily sound logical -- one person's pull aids another person's pull that occurs several seconds later -- but I presume that the aiding is meant to occur over the course of the round, even if it does technically appear as one segment.

[Jeff]

Sure. Kal can use a standard action on his normal turn, and it would potentially help Adamant in the following round. But not this round. This round Adamant would be on his own.