Chapter 13: Q&A / Discussions

[Jeff]

Darren is Grumposaur.

Attachments:

[Darren]

I've never seen that guy before in my life.

...what the heck is he doing in my chair???

[Darren]

I assume that you accounted for it, but don't forget, Jeff, that the Sphere is also considered Difficult terrain (as the rat creature moves across it).

[Jeff]

I did forget! Thanks for the reminder. Fortunately, it doesn't change anything (the rat-thing couldn't attack this round anyway since it just moved twice), but it should be further back than I have placed it. I'll make a note, thanks.

[Dave W.]

Not to be picky but...

Aug 30, 2016 9:52:13 GMT -4 Jeff said:

● Wererat's first and second attacks vs. Shorak: 18 (hit), 6 (miss) / 3 piercing damage to Shorak
● Wererat's first and second attacks vs. Shorak: 18 (hit), 17 (hit) / 4 piercing and 5 piercing damage to Shorak
→ Shorak uses Uncanny Dodge to halve the damage of the sword attack, so he takes 2 damage instead (total of 9 between all three hits)

Wouldn't Addy's protection style put disadvantage on the first attack against Shorak? I know it's not a lot of damage...

And the rat-thing... not to be confused with Lovecraft's rat-thing... is gross.

[Jeff]

Yup! thanks, so many moving parts....

I've amended my post. Good catch. Shorak's taken 3 less damage now.

[Dave B.]

I thought I was Syrdan now.

[Dave W.]

We're really buying into the "it's not a party until everything's on fire" theory!

[Ken]

That was SWEET, Brian!

[Brian]

Thanks!

[Darren]

Sept 1, 2016 10:58:42 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Darren, actually, Kal cannot target Lamara because he can't see her right now. Remember, the map is an above view, but that doesn't mean everything's on a flat plain.

The spell description doesn't say it (because they don't always) but it still follows the "A Clear Path to the Target" section rule whereby "To target something, you must have a clear path to it, so it can’t be behind total cover." I didn't specify it again recently, but Lamara was only visible when she was right at the edge of the ship. (She herself couldn't target Kal with her attack until she was able to have a line of sight on him.) But now she's moved further back on the ship. Consider the deck of the ship to be 10 ft. up. He just can't see her now.

That said, if he uses his move to try and climb up to the gunwale/railing (which would require an Athletics check as well, since it's raining and you're under duress), then he'd be able to see her use that bonus action to use the lightning.

I'll let you decide what you want to do, and you can keep that good roll for whatever it is. Lamara would have no advantage, though. Mirror Image makes it so there's a good chance an attack will hit an image instead of her. Not guaranteed. I'd roll first. If it hits an image, it destroy the image, doesn't hurt her, but decreases the chance of another image taking the hit for next time.

Thanks, Jeff. Kal will just use the attack on the big construct instead. He hates Lamara, but he's not suicidal.

[Jeff]

Darren, let me also point out that you've (probably accidentally) touched on the "loophole" (that's not really what it is) in dealing with creatures that are resistant to magic. They may have advantage on saving throws, but straight-up magic attacks where you do the rolling they've got nothing against. Just their regular AC. Worth noting, here and at other times.

[Ken]

I love the Guardian of Faith! And yes, when I've cast that in Dave Bean's in-person campaign, we've handled the proximity issue the same way as you describe.

I'm about to head out for another LA excursion. I'll post very late tonight, East Coast time.

[Jeff]

No problem, Ken. It's going to be a full day for me, anyway, so I wouldn't be able to get the enemies' turns today anyway. Thanks for the heads-up, though.

[Dave B.]

I just finished the 'Curse of Strahd' Campaign, where I was playing a cleric and my new favorite spell is Spirit Guardians. It is similar to Guardian of Faith, except the target is self. So they flit around the cleric to a distance of 15 feet, doing 3d8 damage to any creature that enters on its turn or begins its turn in the area of effect. Half damage on successful Wisdom save. Additional 1d8 damage for each slot level above 3rd. Very cool!

[Darren]

Jeff, Kal should have gotten advantage on his Dexterity saving throw since he used Dodge as his action last round.

Also, isn't the large construct still in the Storm Sphere? That would mean he'd also have to make his Strength save.

[Jeff]

Ah, right. Go ahead and make the second Dexterity save for advantage. And yes, I'll roll for the construct now and add that.

[Jeff]

I want to hear more about the Curse of Strahd game! Did you guys play the whole book/campaign? Who DMed? Ken, I assume?

[Darren]

Well, the second roll was a 5, so I guess Kal is still flat on his butt.

The dice roller does not like me very much.....

[Dave B.]

Sept 3, 2016 15:28:30 GMT -4 Jeff said:

I want to hear more about the Curse of Strahd game! Did you guys play the whole book/campaign? Who DMed? Ken, I assume?

Actually, Nanci and I were playing it at The Geekery HQ here in Astoria. They were running an Adventure's League Lite on Wednesday nights. We joined late so only got to be involved in about 4 or 5 chapters and experienced 3 different DMs before finally sticking with one. Never even made it to Castle Strahd. Strahd came to get us in the final session. We came through it victorious! Overall, I'd say it's a good campaign, if extremely deadly at times. It certainly harkened back to the original Ravenloft modules. We probably won't be participating in the Giant's campaign starting next week, since I will rarely be able to get off work early enough to do so. The summer was easy, since I can easily take off Wednesday nights.

[Darren]

My bad on the Condign thing.

Just a reminder that the Storm Sphere also imposes disadvantage on anyone within 30 feet on Perception checks to hear Condign.

[Jeff]

And actually, all Perception rolls for hearing or seeing stuff are disadvantaged in this weather anyway. I think I forgot to apply that myself earlier anyway. So yeah, this is not a great environment for detection. But if someone's not actually hiding from you, you can see perceive them. So it's fairly clear which square Condign is in at any given time, but there's still no actually seeing him or targeting him in traditional ways.

[Dave W.]

Sept 5, 2016 9:07:17 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Any damage dice are rolled again, so I've added an extra 5 has been added. 19 total damage dealt by Adamant with that attack.

Thanks Jeff, I wasn't sure.

[Jeff]

The Rolz site seems to be down at present, so I'll try it again later.

[Darren]

Jeff, when it comes time for Kal's turn, could he use the Storm Sphere to target the dinghy instead of the rats? What would be the consequences of that? Is it possible to destroy it that way?

[Ken]

Maybe I'm wrong, but based on the map, the wererat that just climbed up seems to be within the 10-foot range of the Guardian of Faith.

[Jeff]

Sure thing. An object can have hit points, which I'd assign it if you attacked it. "An object's hit points measure how much damage it can take before losing structural integrity." Most wood objects have an AC of 15, so you'd still need to make the roll to see if it you hit it squarely enough to dot it harm. And as for how many hit points it has...anywhere from 5-50 hit points for a boat of this size. You won't know until you try.

If it were a metal object and the wererats were touching it (as they are), I'd say I'd allow for some "runoff" damage but in the case of a wooden boat if you manage to destroy it you'd be denying them their cover.

[Jeff]

Sept 6, 2016 11:07:30 GMT -4 Ken said:

Maybe I'm wrong, but based on the map, the wererat that just climbed up seems to be within the 10-foot range of the Guardian of Faith.

Yes it is! I remember noticing that when I started my notes, but forgot by the end. I'll add that in as a separate post, Ken. Thanks for the reminder.

[Brian]

Sept 6, 2016 14:20:45 GMT -4 Brian said:

Sept 6, 2016 9:36:03 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Then the tall construct suddenly swivels around and strides back into the heart of the Storm Sphere. The winds tear at it but it keeps its balance. You see it near the center of the junction and tilt itself downward, as if regarding the ground itself. Meanwhile its insides keep growling and humming.

If that thing starts farting in our general direction, we're all in a heap of trouble.

[Dave W.]

On the other side of the battle, I'm guessing Shorak is too far away for Adamant to simply grab and pull back, right? I mean even if he were laying on the dock.

How deep do we think the water is here? If Adamant were to jump in or better yet ask Aven to, would there be an easy way back up again?