D&D 5E (2014) [5e] QL's Al-Qadim Game

[Shayuri]

Hmm. Looks normal. Resistant to nonmagic weapons. Casts charm person as an innate spell.

Who has two (backwards) thumbs and knows what this guy is?

Edit - Bwah! Nevermind! I'm wrong! Hahaha!

 

[Quickleaf]

Hmm. Looks normal. Resistant to nonmagic weapons. Casts charm person as an innate spell.

Who has two (backwards) thumbs and knows what this guy is?

Edit - Bwah! Nevermind! I'm wrong! Hahaha!

If his thumbs weren't backward would than make him an asahskar?

And kudos to anyone who already knows what the creature is - I bow to your Al-Qadim lore expertise.

 

[Foxbytes]

I hope no one is waiting around for Najiyah to make an attempt at either of those INT checks, seeing as how she has only a 5% chance of any success whatsoever (no chance for bonus info), and a 50% chance of failing hard enough to receive a penalty (25% chance of receiving two penalties.)

Also the zone of truth has made any attempts at illusion or performance checks high risk, deception attempts near impossible, and he's already hostile so there's a disadvantage on attempts to using charm, and also it renders the spell "Friends" completely unusable...So unless we plan on changing scenes at some point, I don't really have anything to offer and have to wait this one out again.

 

[Quickleaf]

I hope no one is waiting around for Najiyah to make an attempt at either of those INT checks, seeing as how she has only a 5% chance of any success whatsoever (no chance for bonus info), and a 50% chance of failing hard enough to receive a penalty (25% chance of receiving two penalties.)

Also the zone of truth has made any attempts at illusion or performance checks high risk, deception attempts near impossible, and he's already hostile so there's a disadvantage on attempts to using charm, and also it renders the spell "Friends" completely unusable...So unless we plan on changing scenes at some point, I don't really have anything to offer and have to wait this one out again.

I like your thinking how "Intelligence checks aren't my PC's forte...but maybe some clever spellcasting could get some of this information?" Always another way to come at a challenge!

I'm also going to encourage you to think outside the box If you want to be involved in a scene, there's always a way to be involved.

First, all zone of truth does in 5e is prevent speaking a lie if you fail your save. It doesn't make illusion spells or performance checks high risk. Though so far since only PCs are effected by it, there's an argument to be made for dropping the zone (er, and an argument to be made for keeping it! ).

Second, friends unable to work on a hostile creature & having disadvantage on charm person because you're "fighting" this creature/NPC... To me that would be an invitation to think about "how can I switch this creature/NPC away from being hostile with clever roleplay or Persuasion?" (subtext: so I can charm the sucker).

 

[VLAD the Destroyer]

Hey I got pulled into family stuff all weekend plus today. Will get a good post up tomorrow.

 

[Quickleaf]

Now that our game is back and underway, I have a few questions for everyone.
[MENTION=6855130]Jago[/MENTION] [MENTION=6866331]Foxbytes[/MENTION] [MENTION=6814006]Thateous[/MENTION] [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] [MENTION=6803188]VLAD the Destroyer[/MENTION]

1) Caravan. How important is it to you to plan your own caravan? I'm trying to suss out how much detail you all want in this regard. Do you want to get into purchasing camels/supplies/hirelings? Do you want it GM-handwaved? Or something in between?

2) Monster Lore. How would you like to handle monster knowledge checks? We can range anywhere from... "No checks, just player knowledge", letting you all flex your considerable D&D monster lore since you're playing 11th PCs? Or codifying monster knowledge checks to specific skills by monster types like 3e/4e? Or something in between? Or something more indie feeling?

3) High-Level Play. This is an open-ended question, but are there any aspects of "high-level play" that you'd like to include? This could be certain themes/motifs/adversaries you'd like to include. Or it could be strongholds & followers. Or it could be "more of the same adventuring like at low-level, just with bigger stakes." Or anything else that strikes your fancy.

 

[Shayuri]

1) I usually like a bit of 'empire building' in my games, and caravans and strongholds are things I often enjoy as pleasant diversions from the usual RPG fare. That said, I know very little about what makes a good caravan, so having some supporting rules would be useful for me in that.

2) I think monster lore is still better handled by character, lest it devalue the knowledge skills that some characters invest in.

3) I like the idea of high level games pivoting to feature more politics/setting ties than lower level play. It needs the players and PCs to be invested in the setting more, but it makes more sense than just constantly delving into progressively more difficult and dangerous dungeons. Not to say that such delves are bad, or to be avoided...but high level games give us tools and opportunities that pure adventuring denies us the fun of exploring.

 

[Quickleaf]

2) I think monster lore is still better handled by character, lest it devalue the knowledge skills that some characters invest in.

Thanks for your reply! Can you explain this one for me?

 

[Shayuri]

Some skills...Nature, Arcana especially, but also Religion, have as primary uses the ability to get information, IC, about monsters. They have other uses too, but it seems like 'knowing lots of things about monsters' is the rightful niche of a character who has chosen to pursue those skills.

Supplanting those skills with player knowledge, when we can just pop onto the internet and find whatever we need, makes those skills less useful, and diminishes the role of characters who focus on them.

 

[Foxbytes]

I far prefer focus being on the story telling of a game over the item collecting, stat-building and Sims-like problem solving posts (at some point fantasy should triumph over practical reality, and pbp is slow by its nature already). But I have a feeling I'm out-voted for the little hand-waving in this case.

I agree with Shayuri on monster lore, player knowledge shouldn't be the equivalent to character knowledge. That sours the roleplaying part of an RPG I think.

I'm not sure I comprehend what you mean by differing aspects of high-level play. Whether playing at higher levels or lower levels, how and why should there be differences in what the stakes are, story wise or mechanics wise?