Sagiro's Story Hour: The FINAL Adventures of Abernathy's Company (FINISHED 7/3/14)

Piratecat · Jun 30, 2010

Joshua Randall said:
That's actually not that bad of a PC sheet in terms of complexity, for 20th level.

At least you have your attack bonuses written out and don't have to calculate them every... single... time.... (That's my #1 pet peeve when DMing.)

Thanks. I've worked hard to simplify it; with two archmagi, a sword mage and two near-epic-level clerics in the group, we get a lot of buff spells. Knowing what bonuses come from where really helps.

Even so, it's amazing how long my attack round can take if I don't start early. Rolling 1d3+1d6+12+7d6 (reroll 1s) for five attacks takes a stupid amount of time; each round it's 5d20 and then 45 d6, of which 40 need to be treated specially. I've either started using Machdice on my iphone to calculate them, or rolling damage during other peoples' turns and making a list. Then I roll my attacks during my own turn and just cross out the damage numbers as they come up. Saves time!

This sheet is simpler and cleaner than my previous version. For instance, I was at a loss as to where my +4 resistance bonus to saves was coming from until I found a scrap of paper two years old that mentioned Dranko was wearing a cloak of resistance +4. Who knew? I had included it in my stats at the time but never wrote it down anywhere else. Quite the mystery for a little while.

Considering my tentacle bargain, I am going to retrain leadership this level. I'm considering Craft Wondrous Object (oh +5 amulet of natural armor, you're looking goooood) or a feat that gives -4 to AC for +2 to hit. Considering how many times I barely miss during iterative attacks, and how much damage I do when I hit, it'd probably be worth it.

One thing this sheet doesn't have is the grand list of unused items we're selling or donating to our followers; I'll be working to liquidate those in the coming game.

SolitonMan · Jun 30, 2010

I just finished re-reading this story hour - mostly from the 914-page PDF (thanks Steve!!) - and finally through the end of the thread. It doesn't lose a thing on repetition, and if anything is even more entertaining!

Thanks to all of you for sharing your awesome game on this board! I'd love nothing better than to be part of such a long-running group, and to share in such epic adventures. But barring that, this thread and others like it are a personal source of great enjoyment. Good luck with your continuing triumphs (both in game and out)!!

SolitonMan · Jun 30, 2010

Sagiro said:
Sagiro’s Story Hour, Part 303
Looks Like I Picked A Bad Day To Start Casting 'Status'

...

Something horrible happens.

Actually, to start with, two horrible things happen. There's a tiny hiccup in the flow of time around them, and when reality normalizes a split-second later there's an enormous bone construct looming over them. It's vaguely in the shape of a humanoid but has obviously been cobbled together from hundreds, maybe thousands of bugbear bones. Its complex interior is full of weird moving parts and rope pulleys that allow various sharpened bits to swivel around and stab outward. Animated bugbear arms stick out all over the place. The huge top section tilts down, allowing a synchronized array of over thirty bugbear skulls to look upon them – but they sweep back and forth, seeing nothing. Morningstar's hide from undead has foiled them for the moment.

The second awful thing is that Ernie has become entirely obscured by a cloud of greasy black smoke. For the first time Morningstar gets a ping from her status spell – Ernie's condition has changed to “undead.”

...

I was curious about this on my recent re-read. What exactly did Zeg do to Ernie to turn him into an undead creature, and more importantly, how did he do it while (apparently) in a time stop? Did the cloud he created simply surround Ernie while Zeg was time stopped, and the effect occurred once normal time resumed?

This seems like a really cool spell/effect, and I'd love to use it on some enemies. Any information would be great to hear. Thanks!

Piratecat · Jun 30, 2010

SolitonMan said:
I was curious about this on my recent re-read. What exactly did Zeg do to Ernie to turn him into an undead creature, and more importantly, how did he do it while (apparently) in a time stop? Did the cloud he created simply surround Ernie while Zeg was time stopped, and the effect occurred once normal time resumed?

I know it's a spell in the Book of Vile Darkness, but I forget the name. KidCthulhu couldn't make that session - I think she was sick - so it's quite possible that Sagiro let it affect Ernie in a time stop even when that wasn't normally possible. It was a very handy way to make sure no one had to play Ernie as a NPC that evening.

Kaodi · Jul 1, 2010

What ever happened in your campaign anyway, PirateCat? Did somebody mention that it ended a few posts or pages back? Did the Defenders of Daybreak carry the day?

MorningstarofEll · Jul 1, 2010

you know I didn't notice the title of that run..but I sure didn't continue casting status as a default spell for very long! Maybe I should go back to it..or maybe I just don't want to know these things!

Joshua Randall · Jul 1, 2010

Piratecat said:
Knowing what bonuses come from where really helps.

Oh yes. Bonus stacking (or not) is both a blessing and a curse.

I've actually created spreadsheets to track this, using separate columns for each type of bonus and the MAX function to figure out the largest bonus of each type, then summing them up. But doing it by hand can also work if you're not lazy like I am.

Even so, it's amazing how long my attack round can take if I don't start early.

Have you thought about figuring out your average damage, and then simplifying the damage expressions?

For example on 1d3+1d6+12+7d6 (reroll 1s) I think the average damage is something like 2+3.5+12+7*(4.5) = 49 points of damage. So you could simplify the damage expression to something like 40+2d6.

(I believe towards the tail end of 3.5, the designers recommended doing this with monster damage rolls.)

Of course the downside of this is that you can never get a truly spectacular roll, like a ton of 5s and 6s, that would add up to a lot more than 52.

or a feat that gives -4 to AC for +2 to hit. Considering how many times I barely miss during iterative attacks, and how much damage I do when I hit, it'd probably be worth it.

Yesss... maximizing attack bonus is the first step towards the Optimizer Side... feeeeel your rage flow through you, then strike down your enemies and your journey will be complete!

(And, oh man, -4 AC / +2 attack is fantastic as a finisher, or if you are about to unleash a full-round attack of like five iteratives!)

Piratecat · Jul 1, 2010

Joshua Randall said:
Yesss... maximizing attack bonus is the first step towards the Optimizer Side...

First step? Sagiro will tell you I'm the biggest optimizer in the group! I don't go overboard or make choices that are out of character (Dranko's low wisdom and int help confirm this, since every time I lose a skill point I cry a little), but I like having a PC who does a few things very well. My hope is that fun roleplaying helps hide the tendency to optimize, or at least makes it tolerable.

I love rolling dice too much to regularly simplify the damage expression. I'd probably do this if combat was dragging, though. Not a bad idea at all.

Kaodi, the Defenders campaign ended about two years ago in a great, great finale. I shouldn't talk about it here but could write up a summary if anyone is curious. Our current 4e campaign is discussed here.

EDIT: message gotten! I don't want to clog up this thread with more responses to this; I'll holler when I have something written. Thanks for the interest.