Chapter 13: Q&A / Discussions

[Dave W.]

Oh, yeah, he could Dodge and still have his Sentinel Reaction... let's go with that...

Thanks Jeff!

[Dave B.]

Okay. I'm stupid. Forgot to add the lightning damage from the first bolt Shorak fired at the leader. I also just noticed that his ranged attacks don't include the +1 from the bracers. Oy! Will try to be alert to all his bonuses in the future.

[Jeff]

Regarding the bolt on that first attack, Dave, you only said "lets one of his new magical bolts fly at him." But you didn't specify which. I was assuming one of the five +2 bolts? No? Did you mean one of the +1 bolts that deal additional thunder damage? Because that's a significant amount of extra damage (3d8!), I'd rather not just apply that one retroactively.

[Dave B.]

No, since I forgot to specify which bolt, I'm fine with using one of the +2 bolts. I agree with no going back. I just need to be more on top of my stats and better at being specific.

[Jeff]

Darren, I haven't updated the map since Brian's post yet, but Condign created a sphere of darkness 30 ft in diameter, which will block all line of sight between Lamara and the rest of the party for both sides.

So Kal will not be able to spot and ID Lamara yet with his own eyes, much less know what space to target. Care to revise Kal's action? I'll update the map in the morning...

[Darren]

Nope. Kal and Condign are on the same turn, so I figured they were happening simultaneously, meaning Kal would still be able to shoot. I did consider that before posting...

[Jeff]

That's not quite how I meant either could go first; one would still happen before the other. Just didn't matter which one. But yes, pretty much simultaneous. I'l run with it.

Also, Kal get next to Belarin on this turn. Lightning Shift lets you move twice your speed.

[Darren]

Thanks!

[Jeff]

I don't know how fast Aven can go so I don't know if he can dash as far or further than Adamant. I also don't know if he can pick up Streko and still dash. Or if that can be part of a readied action. If necessary, Adamant will grab Streko.

Adamant will move as far as he an towards Shorak and the rest while still staying in the rear of the formation.

I'll get back on sometime tonight and clean up any confusion I've caused but it might be late...[/quote]
Under normal circumstances, moving a companion would just be like this: treated like a grapple (assuming they're willing), so you grab them and then you can move them with you at a penalty of half your speed. BUT since Streko is a halfling, I'm fine with just letting him be treated like an object* and so his weight is just part of Aven's inventory. And scooping him up can be the one free action you get on your turn. Streko is heavy for his equipment and armor, but he's still small and Aven is strong and not even close to being encumbered. At worst, Streko just slows him down a little. I'll figure it out.

Yes, I am objectifying Streko. I doubt he'd mind.

[Joe]

[Dave W.]

Thanks Jeff, that all sounds good... Just a note, since addy is adjacent to two allies and has his shield, he'll favor the Protection Style instead of Sentinel...

[Darren]

Since the entire party has seen Kal do this several times before, I hope Jeff will forgive a brief moment of meta-gaming....

It is my intention for Kal to use Wall of Fire to block off the constructs, Lamara, and the new rat formation from the rest of the docks, so that we can deal with the were-rats first. As such, I recommend no one getting close to the constructs this round so that Kal can do his thing without burning up the party.

[Jeff]

I think Kal's companions wouldn't be surprised for him to use Wall of Fire in this way, but there's no telling when he would do this. So them knowing ahead of time, and exactly where, without Kal saying something is implausible to me. I'd be okay with it if you had him actually call it out. I'm okay with a few words spoken/yelled, no more than that, out of turn. And I don't mean whole sentences, just something short. But then the enemies can hear it, too.

But I'd also like to point out that a Wall of Fire is damned hot. Anything touch those flames, including the floorboards of the docks, will take 5d8 fire damage per round—that's much more than just applying a torch to it. Sure, it's raining and everything's wet and that would grant them some resistance. Kal would know that there's a good chance the wall would also sever the docks wherever he places it, if it's there for more than just a few rounds.

[Darren]

Dang...that'd be a shame.

[Ken]

Joe: FYI, the Pass Without Trace spell doesn't mask its targets from detection, like an invisibility spell would. It just makes it really hard for enemies to find those targets if they're trying to his or be stealthy. It won't do anything to confuse the wererats.

[Joe]

Any port in the storm at this point. Streko's being carried unceremoniously through a warzone and he's surrounded.

[Jeff]

Aug 23, 2016 0:14:06 GMT -4 Darren said:

- Can the wall be hemi-spherical, or can it only be straight or a full circle?

I'm okay with the half-circle (it's a cylinder shape, not a hemisphere, though) since the description says you can make a ringed wall "up to" 20 feet in diameter and 20 feet high, suggesting that you could make it a smaller ring. But normally yes, it's either a long straight line (up to 60 feet) or a circle, or anything smaller of those two.

Joe, it's true that Pass Without a Trace won't have any effective combat effects. When you're in plain sight of your enemy, bonuses to Stealth won't do too much. They're good for hiding, but hiding is an action and you have to have something to hide around or within.

Streko is being carried but he can get down at any time and take normal actions as you want.

[Jeff]

Aug 24, 2016 11:10:34 GMT -4 Ken said:

"Brilliant -- add more fire to the docks," he says to Kal, staring at the wall of flame that Kal created. "It's the sort of completely reckless, who-gives-a-damn move I would've made." He quickly scans the area.

I always enjoy Belarin's sarcastic-sounding-but-maybe-not verbiage.

[Jeff]

Also, Ken: Since Belarin moving 20 feet back would place him in the same space as a large barrel (he can do this but he'd be disadvantaged while in that same space, sort of like squeezing). Would you prefer a different space around there? Maybe 1 square west or southwest of Kal? Or behind him?

[Ken]

Ah yes. OK, one square southwest of Kal, please. Thanks.

[Darren]

Feel free to stand in front of Kal and block all incoming attacks. Spell Sniper allows him to shoot through half and 3/4 cover without penalty.

[Darren]

Aug 24, 2016 11:10:34 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin moves back 15 feet. He readies an action, summoning the frightening side of his Fey Presence, triggered by one of the metal men or wererats getting within 10 feet of him. Since "our" side of the fire wall isn't damaging, it shouldn't prevent a frightened enemy from running back through it.

Not entirely true. Moving through the wall still causes damage, no matter which side you start from, so Kal and Belarin should be safe unless someone comes up from the water or hops across the docks or ship.

[Jeff]

I think he just means to point out that a creature wouldn't necessarily have a problem moving/fleeing by that side of the wall, in case being frightened doesn't keep them from being suicidal. Wouldn't matter too much, anyway, since they know that one side is damaging.

[Darren]

The thing is, guys, I don't want to sound like I'm complaining, but I'm starting to think Kal is all wrong. I mean, it's probably not his fault...he's been through three different rule sets (at least), but he just can't seem to do much right. From a rule-mongering perspective, I feel like he's kind of broken. He doesn't do much damage, and he barely has enough defense or hit points to avoid getting killed in pretty much every fight. Seriously...go back through any fight and he almost always ends up either dying or almost dead by the end of it. His biggest attacks, if they manage to hit and if he's lucky, generally don't do more than 30 hp worth of damage, which seems to be pretty common on standard attacks for Shorak or Condign. Am I missing something? Am I playing him wrong?

[Jeff]

*sigh*

I put a lot of time and energy into that post, so of course I'm bummed to see this reaction. Because it seems you're taking it personally, Darren, which is the last thing anyone should do in a D&D game. But especially in this game and after all this time we've been playing it. (Honestly, the actual PC body count in most games is measurable. While death is quite real in this game, things have to really get bad for it to be lasting.) The story is the story. Please also remember that every character in this game has gone down and started dying...multiple times each. Kal isn't so special in that.

I don't think you're "playing" him wrong, no. Sometimes some of you guys make questionable decisions in battles...or get cocky...but that's the story. Why try to read into it?

If you're really concerned, can we take this conversation somehow offline?

[Jeff]

Also....happy birthday soon.

Just hang in there. When someone tries to kill you, it's because you, as a character, as a hero, are doing something right. Just ask Adamant. That sounds like something your resident paladin/moral compass would say.

[Darren]

Understand that I'm not complaining specifically about THIS death. I've been feeling for a while like Kal, from a rules standpoint, has kind of gone off the rails. Remember that he was originally built as a hybrid fighter/mage and I don't feel like that idea has aged well as we've gone through the various editions. THIS death just kind of solidifies it in my mind. I still love the character (nearly as much as he loves himself), I just find it harder and harder to play to his strengths because his strengths have become very unclear.

[Jeff]

This sounds like throwing in the towel before when only the first punch has been thrown. What death? Death hasn't happened yet.

I'm not sure what to say about the edition changes. A lot of time has passed. This game is older than man of our kids, and it's passed through two edition changes. (I wouldn't want to play this in AD&D.) And it's done so because it's a slow-moving play-by-post game, and it's one of the few that endure. Isn't that a cool thing? Most of the time when that gets mentioned it's with a sort of are-we-still-doing-this incredulity, but I happen to think it's a positive thing. We certainly don't have to be doing this, and anyone who doesn't want to absolutely shouldn't. Nothing's worse than twisting an arm to play a game.

Complaining because one character has gone through changes—when they all have—and isn't the same as he was when we started is like saying the text-only game we started on that Commodore 64 isn't the same as the fully-rendered three-dimensional character in the latest computer.

So much of this is about the randomness of rolls, isn't it? Please don't forget that. Kal has some powerful spells and can deal a lot of damage with them. He has 5th-level spells, yet a third level spell can deal 8–48 damage to each creature it hits. Sometimes you'll hit one monster for 8, sometimes you'll hit ten in a row with 48. But if you really measure character success by damage output, then a video game with DPS is what you're after. I don't see it that way myself.

Ask yourself what you want out of the character.

If anyone has anything to add, please do. I'm frustrated myself, because if I have to pep talk you to into enjoying the game, or if you'd rather each encounter just be an automatic victory, then I'm at a loss of what to do about it.

[Dave W.]

I’ll dive in… Fools rush in, etc. Let me start with saying I love Kal even when he’s being annoying… no, especially when he’s being annoying! And you play him well. It wouldn’t be the same without him. This is meant to be with all respect.

I know that it’s frustrating being in a dying state. Addy was there twice in Dolurrh. But you’re not dead yet. You have to fail 3 death saves before you pass 3 saves. It’s actually harder to fail than succeed and you should have at least 3 rounds for one of us to help you before you die. A simple healing spell or potion will bring him back.

Also, now that Addy’s 9th level he has the 3rd level spell Revivify. So if Kal does die, so long as Addy can get to touch him within one minute (10 rounds) after he dies, Addy can bring him back; so that's a minimum of 13 rounds. Of course then Kal owes Addy a life-debt… I’m pretty sure Streko has this too.

The only issue is that it’s going to be a while to get to Kal. I liked the idea of moving but Belarin and Kal went way faster than the rest of us. We should have tried to stay closer together.

I’m not sure it’s fair to compare a Fighter/Mage in a previous edition to a Sorcerer in this one. There are multiclass rules in 5e. But of course the trade off to mulitclassing is that though you can take more of a hit you’re spells are going to be less powerful.

In either case it seems to me that though we do less damage in 5e, the critters also have fewer hp, so 30 damage is the equivalent of probably half as much again in older versions. I haven’t actually done the math but that’s the feel I get.

Addy would tell you to have faith. Enduring frustration builds strength of character. etc.

[Joe]

Oh, ye of little faith.