(OOC) Fitz's Folly (ToA PBP)

gargoyleking · Jul 1, 2019

Seems legit. It's great for a higher con save character to have for advantage on their save. Assuming they know they need it ahead of time... how often does that happen?

FitzTheRuke · Jul 1, 2019

gargoyleking said:
Seems legit. It's great for a higher con save character to have for advantage on their save. Assuming they know they need it ahead of time... how often does that happen?

Nearly never. Only if you know what you're about to fight ahead of time.

Ancalagon · Jul 1, 2019

D&D poison - and I remmember vaguely 2nd ed having such a dichotomy too - is strange because it either imposes a condition (usually the generic "poisoned") and/or hp damage. The antitoxin working on one but not the other is peculiar.

As far as I can tell, Rodrigo didn't have a potion previously, but I seemed to have been quite negligent in using the minisheet at the start of this adventure... so 2 potions it is.

KahlessNestor · Jul 1, 2019

Dellrak has an antitoxin, but no healing potions. He has goodberry, but that isn't going to do anything unless he sits there feeding him 1/round and nothing else.
Poison damage each turn would inflict 1 death fail.
Medicine check would stabilize (or healer's kit), but as long as he's grappled, he's going to take poison damage and an auto death fail. Could work, but we need at least one person doing the stabilizing/healing (goodberry or Medicine/healer kit) and one person trying to free him every round. I'm willing to do the Goodberry/Medicine if someone else can take over attacking the vine.

Kobold Stew · Jul 1, 2019

Excellent. I'll post now.

Thanks all for the responses. We know where there is healing potions and antitoxin. (Thanks Fitz).

There were DMG errata on poison, but they don't impact us right now.

My question is whether the damage done by the poison is going to continue when he regains consciousness, and I think the answer is no. But I guess we'll see.

FitzTheRuke · Jul 1, 2019

i don't mind saying that it is an attack-based poison rider, not an ongoing poison effect. He *will* take it again if he doesn't get free, though. I'm afraid that I can't think of any reason why a plant would let someone go before eating them. I'm not usually the type to hit a character when they're down, but that's partly me being a softy, and partly that I role-play the monsters, and I think it makes more sense to turn on the next person that is trying to kill you (or your allies) rather than taking the time to stab people who are limp on the ground. In this case, though...

Kobold Stew · Jul 1, 2019

No, I absolutely get it. And I'm with you. That's why I thought antitoxin might help - on the next round's save?.
My players fear meeting gnolls because of their Rampage ability, which I think only makes sense in terms of taking a bite out of the foe they have just downed. (not a suggestion, by the way)

gargoyleking · Jul 1, 2019

FitzTheRuke said:
i don't mind saying that it is an attack-based poison rider, not an ongoing poison effect. He *will* take it again if he doesn't get free, though. I'm afraid that I can't think of any reason why a plant would let someone go before eating them. I'm not usually the type to hit a character when they're down, but that's partly me being a softy, and partly that I role-play the monsters, and I think it makes more sense to turn on the next person that is trying to kill you (or your allies) rather than taking the time to stab people who are limp on the ground. In this case, though...

Yeah, not like an Assassin Vine is directly sentient. Unless it's made to be. It's like the Venus fly trap. Trapping up it's victim is more a programmed reflex than an intentional action. Chrysagon probably just brushed up against a vine and set it off.

FitzTheRuke · Jul 1, 2019

Yes, it's roots noticed the raft bump into the island and Chrys moved closest to it. It's just how it eats. It will wrap him up and eat him over months if it gets its way.

The assassin vine is a bit strangely built. It seems that the poison damage happens automatically at the start of each of the victim's turns, as long as they don't escape the grapple. I'll have Kasqa try to drag him free while everyone beats at the vine...

FitzTheRuke · Jul 1, 2019

Are there any rules or guidlines on letting someone *else* try to break you free of a grapple?

The rules on monsters grappling you look like this:
"A creature grappled by the monster can use its action to try to escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check against the escape DC in the monster's stat block."

I mean, obviously *I* can rule whatever I like, and I usually like to let that kind of thing happen, but it's a little different to let an NPC do it. Also, I can't imagine it being too easy to get someone out of this kind of grapple.

Rules-wise, one of the ways to break a grapple is to force-move a target out of the grappler's reach. Unfortunately, this thing's reach is 20'.