Battle for the Underdepths!

sparkletwist · April 05, 2015, 06:27:57 PM

Quote from: KindlingWhat rank would Ulrynn be as a level 4 cleric? I'd assume adept, but possibly eyeing up a relatively imminent promotion to revered?

That sounds good to me. It would be a good hook to go adventuring-- she's looking for a way to prove her loyalty and service to the Hungering Cold.

Quote from: KindlingNot that I would expect to have a squad of junior priestesses at my beck and call, of course.

No, not necessarily, but with the more tactical combat focus of this game, if circumstances warrant it, I could see it being reasonable to give Ulrynn some backup. With other players commanding undead and summoned monsters and such, it seems fair enough, anyway. So it does remain a possibility!

Quote from: KindlingNaming idea

I like it!

sparkletwist · April 06, 2015, 11:10:22 AM

Just a reminder! The first session is tomorrow (April 7) at 1pm CDT.
Please have your character sheets ready by then.

From talking to several of you, the sense I got was that the group will be meeting at the Emberfall Cabal with a vague plan to go exploring the Crypt of Phantoms. So that will be the main thing. Of course, what the exact details are, how well you all know each other, and such are up to you.

Steerpike · April 06, 2015, 02:15:09 PM

Morwen would definitely be up for that plan, but if other people have different rumours or stuff they're interested in I'd be fine with other things. Morwen needs money for her experiments (those black onyx gems are expensive!) so any kind of treasure-gathering adventure is great.

Tangential · April 07, 2015, 12:02:17 AM

100% for Crypt

Xathan · April 07, 2015, 03:20:52 AM

I'm down for the crypt!

Quote from: TangentialI would like to tie in Zzlang'kor to Areza Baenafin by saying they became associated only after the Cabal - through mutual friends perhaps - at which time he became fascinated by Brazilith's company. Areza has recieved several anonymous payments in recent months that have helped keep her and the salon afloat [[lets say 600 gp]], which she may or may not have traced to Zzlang'kor.

Works for me! So is the plan for Zzlang'kor to have turned down invitations to join her exclusive little club so far, or is he a member in addition to being an anonymous patron? (I don't think Areza has traced them back yet, it'd be more interesting if that came up in game.)

For other people:

@Ghostman: If you want, Malagaun could have been invited to join the Cabal as a respected mercenary, or he could actually start off employed by the Areza as a bodyguard/exploitative consultant as the Cabal is gearing up to move into "go out and do things."

@Steerpike: Morwen would have been invited to join the Cabal pretty early on, seeing as she's is a noblewoman and all that, and I'm thinking might have been the first actual noble member of the Cabal - Areza would have offered a generous grant of whatever she thought would entice Morwen to join, just to get at least one noble on board (even an outcast one).

@Kindling: Ulrynn probably would have been invited early on too, since she's a priestess and all that. I'm not entirely sure what Areza could have offered her to join - but another thought occurs to me, since Ulrynn isn't a noble either. What if Areza and Ulrynn are childhood friends, and while they drifted apart while Ulrynn started her preisthood and Areza started her social climbing, they recently reconnected?

@Sparkletwist: If you want, there'd be room in the Emberfall club for other members who could provide plot hooks and all that, even if they aren't part of the active group that goes out on adventures and all that. :)

Ghostman · April 07, 2015, 12:16:58 PM

I updated my sheet, with information about Malagaun's demonic ancestry.

@ Xathan: It would be very much in character for Malagaun to be a regular patron in the Sable Web. That might be how he came to know Areza. Another possible angle would be some kind of connection between Errah-ull and Brazilith.

@ Tangential: I like that proposed shared background with Zzlang'kor.

Xathan · April 07, 2015, 08:01:57 PM

So how'd the rest of the session turn out? :)

Tangential · April 07, 2015, 08:40:27 PM

We only went minutes beyond you. The iron struggle between archon and statues + scorpion remains dead locked. Good stuff!

Steerpike · April 07, 2015, 08:53:43 PM

Yeah, the addition of a haste spell will hopefully turn things in our favour. Morwen actually kinda sucks vs. boss monsters with DR, especially Constructs. I think in general we'll fare better against squishy foes and undead.

EDIT: If we run into a lot more constructs we should probably return to town and re-equip (adamantine ammunition, scrolls of true shot...?).

sparkletwist · April 07, 2015, 10:08:14 PM

I didn't anticipate it would turn into such a slugfest, I admit. However, the party has handled themselves well. I won't reveal too much about what else is in the Crypt, but I will say that what you have seen so far is a pretty good sample of what is to be found there.

The XP reward for this session will be a bit lower because the main encounter didn't yet end, but you guys did have some good RP (which let you overcome some goblins) and took care of some skeletons, too. So all of you please PM me how many XP you think you should get.

Ghostman · April 08, 2015, 08:38:31 AM

Sorry about slowing down the battle there with my rules issues last night. I was trying to make use of the tactical grid positioning but wasn't well enough read up on the rules to do that, so it turned into a confusing mess-up.

Xathan · April 08, 2015, 12:39:06 PM

Quote from: Steerpike
Yeah, the addition of a haste spell will hopefully turn things in our favour. Morwen actually kinda sucks vs. boss monsters with DR, especially Constructs. I think in general we'll fare better against squishy foes and undead.

Same, at least for now. Once we get to higher levels of summon monster I can start calling up things that deal energy damage, which completely ignores DR. Read over the fight - those things are brutal! Think I'm going to summon a variant archon, which will swap out the improved natural armor for Magic Attacks - which will hopefully bypass the DR. If not, going to go for the far more squishy fire elementals and try to get some burn damage in, which should also bypass DR.

QuoteEDIT: If we run into a lot more constructs we should probably return to town and re-equip (adamantine ammunition, scrolls of true shot...?).

Adamantine ammunition would be great. Dunno how much true strike would help - at least we would hit more, but we wouldn't bypass that DR. Maybe bear's strength for the extra damage? or magic fang for the summons? Or any spell that does energy damage, since energy damage just bypasses DR. (Really, we need a wand of magic missile right now.)

Suddenly, I regret spending all my gold on a fancy inn and fancy slaves. :P

Quote from: sparkletwist
I didn't anticipate it would turn into such a slugfest, I admit. However, the party has handled themselves well. I won't reveal too much about what else is in the Crypt, but I will say that what you have seen so far is a pretty good sample of what is to be found there.

I'm actually kinda glad it turned into a slugfest. The whole thing very much feels like what would happen if a bunch of young arrogant drow, sure in their own power, went off half-cocked into the depths of an Eye Tryant's lair - finding themselves in over their heads by a bit, but still getting to look awesome while doing it.

Steerpike · April 08, 2015, 12:51:55 PM

Magic attacks might be OK but the scorpion has spell resistance, so that could be an issue (one of my spells fizzled against it).

I mentioned true strike just for AC reasons - Ulrynn's arrows just kept bouncing off. But yeah, bear's strength could also work.

Kindling · April 08, 2015, 01:00:02 PM

Quote from: Steerpike
Ulrynn's arrows just kept bouncing off.

Only because Sparkbot was being difficult.

sparkletwist · April 08, 2015, 03:23:15 PM

Well, since this wasn't nearly as awful as I feared... perhaps we should try again. :grin:
New doodle! (As before, all times are CDT)

I still need to hear from Kindling and Tangential about XP, also. :)

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