reapersaurus said:
[ooc player-relating-feelings post, not an attack] whatever.
I gotta say, it is REALLY hard to think up what to do in this adventure...
Between the dominating NPC's and the multiple-threads and the unknown locations (and lack of maps), and so many characters leaving and so few being active, it has been kind of tough for me to stay enthusiastic. Add on the confusion when it comes to combats, and how the opponents seem to have a sliding powerscale both up and down at whim, and it's worrying me.
(the on-again, off-again Teleport Block is
)
Is there any way you can back off a bit on the sheer number and power of the NPC's, including our opponents? That prison battle just didn;t feel right. I can get across what I mean in an email, if you want more explanation, Matt.
I feel that how we players feel is an important aspect of PbP gaming, Matt - if you don't feel comfortable with me giving my feedback and observations about how I feel this adventure could be improved, than please tell me, and I can either email you privately with my feedback, or you can tell me to just shut up and I can decide whether I want to keep playing. [/ooc feelings]
[ooc character actions] So Ubaar didn't buff?
That's an hour of my life contemplating his actions wasted.
So I think we need a status update as to who's at what HP and condition.
I don't know what HP exactly Ubaar is at, since he spread his CLW wand between he and Elone. And if he swapped for the 4 healing spells without using the Prayer Beads, he'd get 12 less healing out of them.
I don't know if Jaina is healed, and I don't know who has spells, and Ubaar doesn't know who most of these people are. [/ooc character actions]
I'm pretty
ok, here are my responses. Fisrt, I admit that the game is getitng crowded with NPCs and new PC intros. It was my intention to pare down the NPCs after you guys got back to base, because they indeed have accumulated excessively.
The on-off TP block was indeed a result of a mistake on my part. This battle was way too tough. I definately screwed the pooch on that one. I had thought that the mission coiuld still be completed without you returning, and considering the slow pace of PBP gaming, I hoped that that could be the case. However, looking at what rescources you DID have (and a lack of necessary restoration spells), I decided that I had to take down the TP field, beucause I had made the dungeon too hard and didn't want to force a TPK with what is already a common DM-copout device.
As far as NPC power ,that is an interesting observation, but it is false. The Rangers are level 7. Jaina is a Wiz3/Rog1, and, as you are about to find out, doesn't have control over her Spellfire powers yet, altohugh they sometimes activate subconsciously/reflexively when she is badly wounded and in a very dangerous situation. Rana and Jonathan are about as powerful as you guys. Maggie is a Wiz4.
Also, the power scale on the bad guys doesnt slide. I did expedite the battle with the statues, but I did role the attacks and damage. They were not very powerful compared to the guards and Boggin.
I will from now on post status updates at the end of every round. That is a very good idea. Thank you.
BTW, Now that it cannot be relevant to the plot, I will answer a councern of yours that I could not at the time. You wondered why you melee'rs could not do much to that fiendish dragon, while Calain intimidated it without too much trouble. The reason had to do with a Calain-specific subplot.
Calain's story was that he killed his mentor and his mentor's daughter in a jealous rage becuase she spurned him with the "eww, you're like a brother to me" line, was killed by an angry mob, then ressurrected by a good cleric of Ilmater. That is what Calain remembered.
However, in FR, one who dies is sent to the realm of Kelemvor, who determines what god they are to be sent to for an afterlife in accordance with their own religion. Those who are certian to face eternal damnation sometimes take their chances selling their souls to the devils and working their way up in the heirarchy of Hell. Calain did that, selling himself into the service of Belial. He was sent back, with visions of his victims guiding him towards Belial's ends (Defeating Storm, who wants to destroy all civilization, is one of those ends, as devils require civilization for tyranny and corruption to flourish). Calain was marked with Belial's brand, which only other evil outsiders can see. The dragon ws intimidated beucase he was aware that Calain was a minion of Belial on earth, and feared the consequences of interfering with his mission.
Reread these passages and they will make more sense now...
"The lightning strikes the dragon's face and then envelops him, the crackling energy arcing from place to place on his body and burning him painfully. [the accumulated dmg of the ball will in your estimation kill him unless he can dispel it]
...
The dragon tells Calain "
Mighty brother...your power is great, but you cannot save your friends. Release me and we all shall live. But if I must die I am taking all of you with me."
...
Calain sees Theresa in front of him. One side of her is burnt, nearly skeletal. The other half appears as he last saw her. He notices that her hand and fingers on her unburnt half appear to be broken and bloody, probably from pounding on the door of the closet. She talks to him:
...
The dragon begins to acquiesse. "What are your terms,
brother?"
Calain keeps the lightning poised to strike.
...
Dragon to Elone
"A dragon can not have too much wealth and more than your kind can midwife too many trees, or Calain's kind can bully and extort too often(looks over angrily at Calain and his ball of lightning). That is what we are, what we do.
