Dungeon Master Forum

oh_brother wrote:...but before he had made his first test Aurek began a far more spectacular test of his own and knocked Haynuus off his feet.

ROFL! I had to laugh when I read that.

Hmm, what battlecry could a flying paladin say to compare to the visual and knocking over a half orc?

Yeah, Haynuus is out of the woods - knocking him over is one round's worth of actions, pulling his stuff off is another. That will mean money can have a longer action if he wants it...but also means...

Well, you'll see once money's had his say


If anyone wants to sneak in a proposal for what to do with the armour (and note, Brighteyes might actually be interested in it and its effects just now) then go ahead and propose it here

The whole idea of Haynuus looking at the armour was because I thought the gnome was secretly talking to the face on Haynuus' armour any way. So don't give it to him just in case

Lol, true...whereas apparently the gnome just wanted to talk to Haynuus's knees because he can't look up. Who knows

Ok, will update just now - good luck people! Umm, not that there is anything you need luck for...

Euuu we need a plan. My first idea would be:

1. WHY is this happening(?), ask the gnome.
2. Exit stage East! If we keep together and shuffle at halfling speed across maybe we could make it to the door before the golems block it. As it is I wreckon that they will cover 2/3 of our escape route.
3. Get the door open!
4. First action? Double move! Maybe leave 3 fighters covering the back 3 squares to impede the golems advance to the door, giving the wee folk time to get it open.

It's not the golems that are attacking you guys, is it? It's the weird...umm...people...mummy...thingys...coming out of the walls.

Ian never said the golems were attacking - he just mentioned the golems blocking the way out. He's just being paranoid


Because I'm out to get him....get you ALL!!!

Well I'm assuming, perhaps incorrectly, that it won't be the walls closing in on us but the golems... Hmmm. Run either way in my book!

I say we throw the armour away, just in case the mummies are drawn to it!

We can ask Brighteyes, but it might delay us. Maybe we should focus on Ian's options 2, 3 + 4. Throw the armour behind us, run towards the door, and try to open it/beat Brighteyes into a pulp until he opens it for us. Hmmm...maybe if we ask him why this is happening he will focus on that rather than opening the door? So we ask him afterwards?

I agree with OB. Chuck the armor away, I'd say AT the wall, and then leg it east past the 2 golems. As for opening the door... if it doesn't open, then I can just pick up Brighteyes and throw HIM through it

A possible thought: me using Detect Evil to scan the walls/golems for the real danger. But then I've wasted another round
Hmmmm.... decisions decisions

Anyways, I'd like us all to be clear on the course of action before acting. I'm a bit concerned about these golems...

Detect Evil when used properly can take up to 5 turns... You don't want to wait around!

1. Leave armour.
2. Communicate to the rest that we're going to run. Brighteyes will get a good yanking if he starts protesting.
3. Sprint at halfling speed between Golems, out of arms range down the middle of the corridor. Get Haynuus and LB's character in front for this bit, but...
3. Peel the two front fighters off after they've passed the golems, 3/4 down the corridoor. Yes, they'll stand almost next to the walls while others pass by.
2. The rest rush past to the door to get it open.
4. Open the door.
5. Give the gnome a bone.

Something is wrong here... Correct what you like

Sounds good.
However, once we pass the golems, why not have you go one step closer to the door, have me step behind you and the others go in single file passed us.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm
Detect evil takes 3 rounds to finish, first lets you know if there is evil around, the second let's you know roughly how bad it is (number of sources, strength of strongest source), and third let's you know exact strengths and locations - in the cone you are focused on.

Anyway, good planning so far - keep it up! If you guys need a second go around I will delay the start of the combat - from whereever it may come - by a day to let you get your plans together. Once things start going though, I'll enforce the round/day.

Of course, if you guys have your plan together by this evening, then update this evening

The characters can actually walk 'through' other allies in this instance, I've remembered.

Yes, that plan sounds fine, Westian is already speeding off into the distance.

Lets hope that we can close the RA door after we pass through...

Oh, just one thing....maybe the fighters should come to a stop closer to the door. Just a square or two in front. That way if we get it open they won't have to run far to get through.

Ok, posting the update without money - basiclly, money, you can do a set of actions from last round (remember the creatures don't appear until afterwards), and then another set of actions this round. If you want to run, you can move 16 squares in a straight line (x4 your movment). If you want to move in a more complicated manner, it falls down to 8 squares. If you want to do an action, then it falls down to 4 squares.

Heh, lucky for Haynuus he dropped the greaves actually, he's enjoying the benefits of his strength and poor breastplate protection, moving at normal speed again.

Meanwhile, you guys in the full plate armour with your +8AC bonus are going to need it - you guys are sloooooooooooooooow. Farel and Aurek are bringing up the rear, and Westian has lost his dex bonus to AC! Good thing there are no creatures that would take advantage of that around. *whistles*

Anyway, I'l letting Aurek and Haynuus double move, letting their action (intimidate and grabbing Brighteyes respectively) get swallowed up.

Basically Brighteyes double moved, one to walk to the wall and the other to come back again!

Brighteyes actually rolled a natural 1 against the intimidate check, but as this is not an auto-fail, then I'm afraid his various bonuses mean his reaction is exactly as Ian guessed

Technically speaking in the middle of combat there are all sorts of wacky rolls you have to make to quickly grab and pull someone. However, the Rule of Cool and the Rule of Comedy clearly state that at this point, Aurek gets to yank the gnome along for the ride. Encumberence-wise, he's light and a character can drag five times their weight. Aurek's armour is already the limiting factor to his movement, and the penalties don't stack, so it's all fine. Sadly, the armour's effect means M4 isn't quite in reach

Ok, so as you see, you guys are surrounded. Now, I'm not a complete git, so obviously this is pitched as a decent fight not a massacre. Umm, unless I mis-calculated, or your guys just stat stabbing each other.

What might happen - opposing normal D&D play - is that the critters will swarm some of you. In this case, remember those penalties I mentioned about being too close to each other? Those will come into affect so the creatures will be getting in each other's way. However, this might also affect your ability to do anything.

You guys might find I need acrobatics rolls for you to move around through a mess of people - so if you plan to move and you think ypu might be stuck, can you roll me a d20.

Once again, you guys in armour might well need it. If you survive, you can decide if the protection balances stuff like this. I'm guessing theanswer might still be 'yes'.

So, any questions? "Are you serious/crazy/filled with hate in your little black heart for our characters" are not questions.

Wheeeeee, look at all the little red circles!
Once again I'm somewhat glad that Ameena decided to part company with the hellraising gang of crazy tall people, considering they've now gone and woken up a whole bunch of ummm...weird...undead...thingys .

Yeah...still don't know why not having three players and two NPCs to back you up when your 24 red circles appear is a good thing.

And heh, I won't mob you... I have something much, much worse planned.

Assuming Ameena is still alive at all, and this isn't a trick to introduce her new character, the ring seeking Gollem - into the party.

Apologies all, we have a big go/no-go decision with our directors today so things have been/still are a bit manic, should quieten down a little after today. IC post up in any event.

Oooh, sounds scary If there was any way to release twenty four mummy-like creatures in real life against the directors to aid the decision, you know I would. Darn this real life lack of undead!

Not heard the gnome on any podcast yet... I listen when washing up and ironing - thankfully not an all-encompassing chore!

Are you full of hate in your black heart for our characters?

Ok, level check is 2 + 2 + 1 = 5. I hope it was an extremely low level I was rolling against....

Of course. I'm your DM

And it appears Westian is the one filled with hate in his little black heart! You succeeded in remembering you are a cleric. Not a womble after all.

Lol, no, not a womble. Although I do make good use of the things that I find.

Level check 1d20 = 5

Lol, awww, and Aurek's wondering why Westian's singing "Underground, overground...". Just like I did ages ago with Ameena, there's something your characters might have thought about that as players you haven't mentioned yet. And just like Ameena, low roll = no hint. Still, that leaves the good rolls to come where it matters, of course.


Anyway, so as you might notice I'm starting to break the rigid 'you must be in five foot squares' rule for the critters. The penalties for them will be -4 to AC, attack rolls, and any skill checks if they share squares (a little harsher than the 'squeeze into a tight space' penalties). Hopefully that's enough to deter you guys from doing the same thing later down the line.

Anyway, the reason for the squeeze is to recognise the mindlessness of these critters. The fact you've just killed three of them this starting round hopefully lets you know these aren't unstoppable badasses. Hopefully you can already spot the danger that a swarm of creatures around you prsents (flanking bonuses, weight of dice rolls, and restricting movements) even as you can spot that they will be at even more of a disadvantage than being crap

You might guess this isn't the only thing that could happen. As long as the two of you are positioned like Aurek - people or obstructions either side - they can't surround you. You get to have enough room to move, though you might get a wall of snapping lashing critters.

Westian's position...the thing about Westian's postion...the thing to understand about Westian's position... well, let's just point out if you have an open four squares around you, then there is nothing to stop the press of bodies pushing in. And as you might guess, there's nothing terribly good about getting a single AoO if you then have multiple people trying to grapple you and slowly crush you or pin you down.

So yeah. You shouldn't ever fight more than the standard eight foes surrounding you (as before), this press is more about having more foes than normal even if you form a wall, and certainly finding a scary press.

If this seems a little broken instead of scary yet fun, now is the time to yell. I think it should be fun. But then my characters are fine


another thing I forgot to mention is light. (I meant to last round). I gave Haynuus/Westian the benefit of the double last round that one held a torch, but I think Westian's already broken that with his shield use. I need you guys to either remind me who is carrying, or retcon some torch bearers to be going on with. B e honest, would there be more than one torch bearer? I've sort of assumed Farel had one previously aswell, is he going to be your only light source in the end?

Falkor will be affected by this, being on the other side of the room. Either he needs to get a torch out, or he needs to use up a LO level spell for FUL to see well enough to check out the area around the door without penalty.

Right...so questions, comments, concerns, clarifications? Or are you happy to try your might against the horde?

http://www.dmjump.net./golemhallfight2.jpg doesnt work for me. I've tried removing the dot as well!
http://www.dmjump.net/golemhallfight2.jpg

I wreckon Falkor needs to set up his own light source..... A FIREBALL!

Hmmm, so who WAS carrying the torch then?

I think that Falkor should through a fireball at the critter in the bottom-right of L5. Even if the splash hurts Westian, it's going to mess up the undead a whole lot more

LOL you fixed it already! The image works fine now