Lord Ogglebottoms Odd Tasks: All in a Nights Work (DM: DMDanW, Judge: Renau1g)

[sblock=Tomalak]
Well you are way back there because that is where everyone else was before the door was open (you were at the back of the group). After Gloom pushed open the door (the one in front of him) everyone moved up 5 or 6 squares as their surprise round action. Minharaths surprise round action was to ready Astral Seal. So since he started at the back of the group, and everyone moved up that left him back in the other room.

About the door...Well I stated that ONE of the doors was slightly open. When Gloom stated that he was pushing open the door I stated that he pushed the door IN FRONT OF HIM open. I never mentioned the second door. Now true double doors can both open if both pushed open. Double doors can also have one side pinned shut with a single side used as a man door and only use the other side when needing to move large cargo through, like in a warehouse... (This was my first evil DM trick to come out of the bag. One side of a set of double doors is open - the other pinned shut. Some PCs will run through the open side, some will try to run through the shut side.)

Anyway, my apologies for the confusion. (I probably should have mentioned to you that you would have both been out of range for astral seal and that the second door was shut, but I usually don't interfere with players actions unless they are really really way off. Yours made sense to me, except that no one opened the second door....)
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[sblock=PbP quirks]
One of the things I have noticed since I have started playing play-by-post is that clear communication is key. When sitting around a table it is usually quite obvious to discern the intent of the players / DM. Because of the medium in which we use for PbP I have noticed that the clearer one is with their posts and descriptions the easier it is for everyone to comprehend what it is they want to do.

So for my part I will try and better communicate your surroundings and the actions of the NPCs and bad guys. I will try and be as clear as possible to avoid any uncertainties and reduce the need for assumptions.

As well, if you are not sure of something, please just ask and if I can I will give you as much info as possible.

Like I mentioned before, this is my first crack at DMing a PbP and I am figuring out what works well and what does not for a PbP game. I suppose there are certian things that work at the table that do not work on the computer...

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Round #1 Recap

As you move into the room and utter your threats the men moving boxes stop and look at you in surprise, some their jaws wide open in utter amazement. The surly looking dwarf on top of the boxes furrows his eyebrows as you each relay your demands.

"Ack, ye stupid dolts, the only way yer seein Hraken is is after I drags yer corpses ta 'im", and he takes a step to the side and fires his crossbow at Gloom. The bolt flies true and punches through Glooms armor and buries itself into his shoulder.

Following the dwarf lead the human beside him also fires his crossbow at Gloom, this bolt finding a home in Glooms thigh.

All the remaining workers are still too shocked to have moved yet.

Gellan watches the two crossbow bolts slam into his new comrade, and a red haze begins to fill his vision. "Enough with mercy, enough with restraint! You shall all die!" He dashes forward with blades flashing, leaving two of the hapless humans lying in a pool of their own blood.

"I don't fear death, do you?" A bestial anger seems to fill his eyes as he charges toward the dwarf. He passes by a goon and deflects the blow with his shield and then pushes aside the second goon in his path with his sword, killing it.

Thorn rushes forward to help clear the way. But the human sees him coming and side-steps his thrusting spear. But Thorn keeps a watchful eye on his foe in case he diverts his attention to his comrades.

Zharne wildshapes rushes to Thorn's side then he jumps between the human and the shifter, he succeeds in dodging the thugs blow in which Thorn sees an opening in the thug's defense and attacks but misses then the transformed elf lands and use the crate's side to launch him towards the other human on Thorn's right side, Zharne then viciously attacks and kills the human which bloodies Zharne's fur.

The orcs each drop the bags they were hauling and draw their clubs. They begin walking forward and then burst into a run, the first charging Gellan and the other charging Gloom. The one orcs club glances harmlessly off Glooms armor, but the other orc manages a hit on Gellan.

The two remaining humans also drop the boxes they were carrying and pull out clubs. One of them steps up to Gloom and swings at him, but has the same result as the orc before him. The other human, the one marked by Thorn reluctantly takes Thorns challenge and swings at him, barely landing a slight hit.


[sblock=Mechanics]
- Dwarf 1 moves to K13 and takes an aimed shot at Gloom, hitting AC 29 for 12 damage.


- Human 1 fires his crossbow at Gloom, hitting AC 22 for 6 damage.

- Gellan: Move: Walk to O-22; Standard: Attack human in square P-22 with Whirling Rend: hits AC 17; P-22 takes 10 damage, N-21 takes 3 damage. Both are killed.

- Gloom: Minor: Blood Fury Longsword (I'm considered bloodied UEoNT); Minor: Longtooth Shifting (+2 damage and Regen 2 while Bloodied)
Standard: Charge (Ardent Vow) at Human[K18] (1d20+10=28, 1d8+7=13) Hit and killed. End his movement at K19.
AoO Human[K21] (1d20+6=20) Barely miss!

- Thorn: Move Action move to J22; Standard Action attack with Sure Strike (at will). 1d20+9 (vs. AC)=12...a miss.; Free combat challenge the human in K21. This marks him. He gets -2 to attacks not including you. Make basic melee attack against adjacent marked foe that shifts or makes attack not including you. Mark lasts until end of your next turn or marked by other. So, IF the human at K21 attempts to use an OA, I'll take an Immediate Interrupt using my combat challenge.

- Zharne: Minor Action: wildshape; Move Action: to L25,K24,K23,K22,J21(this provokes OA from HR@K21),I20,H21.; Standard Action: Grasping Claw on HR(Human Rabble)@H22(hits Ref 6, I use Elven Accuracy to make a reroll and the reroll is a CRIT!!!)
OA for Human Rabble@K21 against Zharne:Hits AC 12 <- that is a miss + it will provoke an immediate Interrupt from Thorn(who hits AC 9 with his MBA)

- Minharath walks up to the open door and stares in disbelieve and utter shock at the bloodshed happening before his eyes.

- Orc #1 drops the bags he was carrying and walks to O15 and draws his club. He charges Gloom (L18) (11 vs AC) – MISS

- Orc #2 drops the bags he was carrying and walks to O13 and draws his club. He charges Gellan (O21) (21 vs AC) – HIT for 5 damage.

- Human 7 drops the box he was carrying and draws his club. He moves to J18 and attacks Gloom (10 vs AC) – MISS

- Human 6 drops the box he was carrying and draws his club. He attacks Thorn (17 vs AC) – HIT for 4 damge

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[Sblock=Initiative Order]

Bad Guys (Dwarf1 & Human1): 23
Minharath: 19
Gellan: 17
Gloom: 17
Thorn: 15
Zharne: 14
Bad Guys (others): 7

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[sblock=End of Round #1 Status]
Gellan – HP: 22/27; HS: 7/9; AP: 0
Gloom – HP: 20/38; HS: 10/11; AP 1
Minharath – HP: 25/25; HS: 8/8; AP 1
Thorn – HP: 24/29; HS: 9/11; AP 1; used Comeback Strike Daily Power
Zharne – HP: 29/31; HS: 9/9; AP 1

Dwarf1 – HP: 46
Human1 – HP: 47
Human 2 – DEAD
Human 3 – DEAD
Human 4 – DEAD
Human 5 – DEAD
Human 6 – HP: 1
Human 7 – HP: 1

Orc 1 – HP: 1
Orc 2 – HP: 1

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Round #2 Update

"Ha yer a persistant bunch I’ll give ye that, but yer ta taste more o’ me pain ‘efroe ‘m through wit ya” the dwarf angrily shouts and he witnesses half his workforce drop to the floor in bloody heaps. He takes a step back, reloads and fires once again at Gloom. Once again the dwarf aim proves true and another bolt punches through armor and the flesh beneath.

The human beside him lets out a laugh and fires again, this time at Thorn. The bolt manages to just find a seam in Thorns armor and bite into him.

[sblock=Mechanics]
- Dwarf 1 reloads, moves to K12 and takes an aimed shot at Gloom, hitting AC 27, for 10 damage.


- Human 1 reloads and fires his crossbow at Thor, hitting AC 17, for 8 damage.

[/sblock]


[Sblock=Initiative Order]

Bad Guys (Dwarf1 & Human1): 23
Minharath: 19
Gellan: 17
Gloom: 17
Thorn: 15
Zharne: 14
Bad Guys (others): 7

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[sblock=Status]
Gellan – HP: 22/27; HS: 7/9; AP: 0
Gloom – HP: 10/38; HS: 10/11; AP 1 – Considered bloodied till end of this turn (where he now actually is bloodied….)
Minharath – HP: 25/25; HS: 8/8; AP 1
Thorn – HP: 16/29; HS: 9/11; AP 1; used Comeback Strike Daily Power
Zharne – HP: 29/31; HS: 9/9; AP 1

Dwarf1 – HP: 46
Human1 – HP: 47
Human 2 – DEAD
Human 3 – DEAD
Human 4 – DEAD
Human 5 – DEAD
Human 6 – HP: 1
Human 7 – HP: 1

Orc 1 – HP: 1
Orc 2 – HP: 1

[/sblock]

[sblock=Enemy Info]
OK so for this combat I am going to provide the bad guys melee basic attack stats along with their defenses. If you draw an OA roll for it. IF for some reason I decide that the abd guy would not have taken the OA then I will let you know. I will also roll OA’s that the bad guys draw from the PC’s. I think that by doing so will help solve some of the problem I had last combat.

Dwarf1: AC 17; Fortitude 16, Reflex 16, Will 14; Melee Basic Attack: Warhammer; +8 vs AC, 1d10+2 damage

Human 1: AC 18; Fortitude 16, Reflex 15, Will 14; Melee Basic Attack: Halberd; +10 vs AC, 1d10+3 damage & target is marked.

Human 2-7: AC 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 11, Will 11; (Gets +2 to all defenses while at least 2 other human rabble are within 5 squares of it)
Attack: Club; +6 vs AC; 4 damage.

Orcs 1 & 2: AC 16; Fortitude 15, Reflex 12, Will 12
Attack: Club, +9 vs AC; 5 damage
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[sblock=Map]

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[sblock=Terrain Features]
Crates and barrels are rough terrain and require a DC 10 Athletics check to climb / jump onto. They do provide cover.
The ceiling is 20’ high in this room.
Illumination: The far room is lit with magical torches along the walls, although there are shadowy areas to be found.
[/sblock]

Thorn really starts to question his bad-luck as his spear stabs into the ground at his foe's feet.

[sblock=Actions]
Standard Action Attack with Sure Strike (at will). 1d20+9 (vs. AC)=10...a miss.

Thorn continues to keep his combat challenge on the human in K21.
[/sblock]

[sblock=ooc] wow, rolled a '3' and a '1' in the last two rounds. Wish I could throw this CoCo roll generator off the table like I do my dice when they roll crappy. [/sblock]

[SBLOCK=OOC Banesfinger]
If you'd like you could try Invisible Castle, which is the more widely used dice roller on these boards. The thing with the rollers is that they can all go through a slump. I myself virtually threw Invisible Castle out the window and switched to CoCo partially because a long string of <10 rolls at all the worst moments.
[/sblock]

Gellan feels the shock of the orc's club all the way up his arm and winces for a second -- then he turns into the impact and spins around the orc, plunging a tan'gat into its back. He pulls the weapon out with a wet sound, and flicks the blood from its blade as he stalks forward, his eyes fixed on the dwarf.

[sblock=Dwarven]"Do you see your death coming, rockeater?"[/sblock]

[sblock=Actions]Standard: Attack Orc 2 with Pressing Strike. Shift to O-20, then attack: hits AC 18 for 7 damage. Orc 2 is killed.
Move: Walk to M-14.[/sblock]
[sblock="Mini stat"]Gellan Bonesaw - Level 1 Halfling Barbarian
Passive Perception: 16, Passive Insight: 11, Initiative: +3 Senses: Normal
AC: 17, Fortitude: 16, Reflex: 14, Will: 11 -- Speed: 6, Size: Small
HP: 22/27, Bloodied 13, Surge Value 6, Surges left 7/9
Action Points: 0, Second Wind: not used
Powers -
Pressing Strike, Whirling Rend
Second Chance, Whirling Lunge, Whirling Frenzy
Swift Panther Rage[/sblock]

Zharne turns around heads for Thorn's opponent but stops right in front of the human and moves towards Gloom, this causes the rabble to make swing at Zharne who dodges it, thanks to Thorn who sees an opening and swings at the rabble at the same time. arriving at Gloom's right side the druid unleashes two barrages of flesh-eating insects at the orc and the human, that eats them alive.

[sblock=Action Details]
Move Action:move J21, then J19
Standard Action:Swarming Locusts@J18-L18,J16-L16((targeting them clockwise(Hit ref 19 and 8, that kills the human and the orc grants CA TENT)
Minor Action:N/A
AP Action:Swarming Locusts@K18-M18,K16-M16(hit ref 15 and kills the orc)


Rabble OA on Zharne: hits AC11
Thorn CC Attack on Rabble: hits AC 10
[/sblock]

[sblock=Zharne Redcloud stat Line]Zharne Redcloud- Male Elf Druid 1
Passive Perception: 21, Passive Insight: 14
AC:17, Fort:12, Reflex:15, Will:15 -- Speed:8
HP:29/31 Bloodied:15, Surge Value:7, Surges left:9/9
Initiative +4, Action Points: 0, Second Wind: not used
Powers: Wild Shape, Grasping Claws, Swarming Locusts, Storm Spike, Darting Bite, Elven Accuracy(used), Savage Frenzy
[/sblock]

[SBLOCK=OOC]If Minharath could heal me before my action, I could go after the Human 1.[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=OOC, play schedule]Just an FYI: I will be on holidays from Feb16-23, and not near a computer. Thorn will have to be NPC'ed for that week, sorry.[/SBLOCK]

[sblock=Velmont]I don't think Minharath's going to have it together by then.[/sblock]
[sblock=Banesfinger]I could run him, if you want. Even when he's doing something, Minharath's pretty simple to play. Would be nice to have notes on how you want him played though. That way whoever does run him, can do so with some idea of how he should react. [/sblock]

Tomalak said:

[sblock=Banesfinger]I could run him, if you want. Even when he's doing something, Minharath's pretty simple to play. Would be nice to have notes on how you want him played though. That way whoever does run him, can do so with some idea of how he should react. [/sblock]

Click to expand...

[sblock=OOC]Thorn is pretty easy to run. He's usually goes into a combat in the 2nd rank, taking advantage of his spear's reach. He's already blown his daily.
He is curious about occult (magic) and monsters, but for all other things he is a bit cautious.
I will still be posting up to Monday. Then back a week after that.[/sblock]