Catastrophe!

[Son of Meepo]

OOC: Posting which monsters are dead as a result of our actions this round would suffice for a mid-round update, I think.

OOC: That's why I went with the Google docs approach in my adventure. Makes self-service so much easier.

My Doc

 

[CrimsonFlameWielder]

OOC: MID-ROUND UPDATE: Just to make things simple, this update takes into account Dina's turn, and Ignatz' turn (this is reflected on the attached map). Due to the massive confusion, I'm wiping the slate with any other stated actions (ie, Corragan's actions). Feel free to repost (or initially post) your official actions, making sure to properly assign rolls numerically by enemy number if you have already made attack/damage rolls.

[sblock=Player Actions]
Dina - Uses Commanding Strike to give Ignatz an MBA vs KW4, which deals 23 damage. She also uses an AP to use Magic Weapon and kills KW14. ([MENTION=78756]Son of Meepo[/MENTION]: Please make sure to mark the AP loss in your stat blocks until another has been awarded) At the end of her turn, Dina is adjacent to KW13 and takes 2 damage from Gnashing Horde.

Ignatz - Uses Body of the Wolf, then uses Pressing Strike, shifting to F5, and then kills KW6. He then uses Swift Charge to attack KW1, hitting for 29 damage. At the end of his turn, Ignatz is adjacent to KW1 and KW2, taking a total of 4 damage from their Gnashing Horde auras.
[/sblock]

[sblock=HP and Status]

[sblock=Players]
Corragan - Has taken 14 of 38 HP. Status: +5 damage until end of Dina's next turn.

Ignatz - Has taken 9 of 42 HP. Status: Using Body of the Wolf.

TCO - Undamaged. Status: +1 to hit and +4 damage from Sha'Kar's Magic Weapon power.

Shakar - Has taken 10 of 40 HP. Status: Normal

Dina - Has taken 6 of 34 HP. Status: Normal

Rilissa - Undamaged. Status: +1 to hit and +4 damage from Dina's Magic Weapon power.

[/sblock]

[sblock=Creatures]
KW1 - Has taken 29 of 43 HP. Status: Bloodied.
KW2 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW3 - DEAD.
KW4 - Has taken 23 of 43 HP. Status: Bloodied.
KW5 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW6 - DEAD.
KW7 - DEAD.
KW8 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW9 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW10 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW11 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW12 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW13 - Undamaged. Status: Normal
KW14 - DEAD.
[/sblock]
[/sblock]

[sblock=Creature Defenses]
While a request was made to list all creature defenses, I find that this influences character choice, so I will make a compromise that fits in better with character knowledge (as opposed to meta-knowledge):

*If there are multiple creatures of any given type in a battle, I will list its defenses AFTER one of its kind have been killed. Once an attack/effect of a certain type has come into play in a battle, I will list it under the creature type that has used it.

*If a creature is unique in a given battle, I will list a given defense as per the attack(s) that have hit it. For example, if a Kruthik Devourer had an AC of 20, and Ignatz attacks it, rolling a 26, then I will list the Kruthik Devourer's AC as (Hit on 26). If on the next round TCO hits the Kruthik Devourer's AC with a roll of 22, I will update his AC stat to read (Hit on 22). As with duplicate creatures, I will list out the special/mundane attacks/effects that a unique creature makes as they happen.[/sblock]

 

[Medina]

[sblock=Creature Defenses]
While a request was made to list all creature defenses, I find that this influences character choice, so I will make a compromise that fits in better with character knowledge (as opposed to meta-knowledge):

*If there are multiple creatures of any given type in a battle, I will list its defenses AFTER one of its kind have been killed. Once an attack/effect of a certain type has come into play in a battle, I will list it under the creature type that has used it.

*If a creature is unique in a given battle, I will list a given defense as per the attack(s) that have hit it. For example, if a Kruthik Devourer had an AC of 20, and Ignatz attacks it, rolling a 26, then I will list the Kruthik Devourer's AC as (Hit on 26). If on the next round TCO hits the Kruthik Devourer's AC with a roll of 22, I will update his AC stat to read (Hit on 22). As with duplicate creatures, I will list out the special/mundane attacks/effects that a unique creature makes as they happen.[/sblock]

OOC: Thanks for the update. I don't mean to complain, but this doesn't solve the issue at all. The problem is that we don't know the outcome of our own actions. As a result, we'll need updates from you exteremly often. I don't just mean between every players turn (to make sure we're not attacking creatures that are dead, for example). Actually we might need updates in the middle of our own turns. For example - Ignatz's last turn depended on one of the Kruthik dying. If we have to wait to find out if he does die or not before Ignatz can continue his turn, it will slow the game down a lot. Similadrly, there's a realy possibility that I'll use Corragan's action point this turn (to take advantage of Dina's damage buff), but it depends on actions beforehand, and which Kruthik remain after my first action. That means I'll need an update from you before I can make that decision and complete my turn. If we can't know if our actions are successful or not, and when an enemy dies, without your input, each combat is going to be very slow...

 

[VanderLegion]

OOC: I don't mind the update as stuff happens way of doing it CrimsonFlameWielder is talking about, as long as he's active in giving us updates on what's happening so we can keep track of whats going on each round. I understand the reasoning as well as it's entirely possible that if you have attacks taht target 2 different defenses and you know one is easier to hit, you'll likely use that one, when in an IRL game you won't KNOW that information until people have actaully made attacks to figure out what hits and what misses. Seem like I've seen other adventures on here where that was what the dm did (haven't used it in any of my adventures yet, so can't speak to how it works out).

 

[WEContact]

OOC: My Carnage Weapon's property dealt 2 extra damage when I hit K1 with Howling Strike, so it took 31 damage from that attack (37 after Furious Assault, see below).

Ignatz finds his second target more resilient to dismemberment than he expected. He hoots with surprised delight, notes the second insect nearby, and has a delightful idea. He hefts his weapon onto one shoulder, grabs one of the bugs with his free hand, and swings his weapon brutally into the other such that it's sandwiched between the first bug and Ignatz's heavy gouge. Ignatz licks the viscera off of his forearm.

[sblock=Actions]No Action: Furious Assault adds 6 damage to his Howling Strike vs K6, which has now suffered 37 damage total.
Spend AP: Brutal Slam HIT K2 Fort 25 for 31 damage, Ignatz does not push, K2 falls prone and K1 takes 12 damage and is slain.[/sblock]

[sblock=Statblock]Ignatz Jägerkin - Male Half-Orc Barbarian 3
Status: Wolfen (+1 speed, bite prof), Magic Weapon
Initiative: 18, Passive perception: 18, Passive Insight: 12
AC:19 Fort:17 Ref:15 Will:12 HP: 37/42 Bloodied: 21 Surge value: 10 Surges/day: 10/10
Speed: 6 squares, AP: 1, Second Wind: unused, Temporary HP: 0
Melee Basic Attack: +8 vs AC, 2d6+8 brutal 1 (Bite: +9 vs AC, 1d8+6)
Powers: Body of the Wolf, Howling Strike, Pressing Strike, Furious Assault, Swift Charge, Desperate Fury, Brutal Slam Thunder Hooves Rage[/sblock]

 

[Faraque]

OOC: I withdraw from this game. I don't have the patience to deal with this method of hit-or-miss tomfoolery. I also will be removing the gloves from my sheet, as since I am not participating, I did not earn them. I will not be posting again here.

 

[jbear]

OOC: I withdraw from this game. I don't have the patience to deal with this method of hit-or-miss tomfoolery. I also will be removing the gloves from my sheet, as since I am not participating, I did not earn them. I will not be posting again here.

OOC: [MENTION=6677223]Faraque[/MENTION] That's pretty harsh. CFW is showing he is open to discussion. These are just teething problems which won't take long to sort out. With such a short supply of patience you are going to find pbp gaming very frustrating. But your choice. [MENTION=6684473]CrimsonFlameWielder[/MENTION] Here is a possible option to consider how to handle this issue. Check out how my other DM Mewness does it here: [Adventure] Serpent's Skull: Souls for Smuggler's Shiv (DM: Mewness; Judge: renau1g) - Page 55 - EN World: Your Daily RPG Magazine See post 818 before combat (DM rolls initiative for group speeds things up) and then post 824 at start of combat. Its a trust based system with sblocks hiding relevant information. I can only speak for myself but I don't cheat, only looking at monsters stats when I choose to attack that monster. I think it helps speed things up, unfortunately with pbp gaming some concessions have to be made. This issue is exarcebated more by the combat heavy nature of 4e. Another option how my other DM TwoHeadsBarking handles it: [Adventure] Little Workshop of Horrors (Judge: stonegod) - Page 15 - EN World: Your Daily RPG Magazine Compare post 212 and 222. Monster defenses are only revealed when that stat has been attack. So as opposed to saying "AC hit on 26", AC is revealed as being 20 once attacked. You'll notice that the minions are revealed straight away. That is because we had already encountered those creatures before. Originally when one minion was destroyed all minions of the same type were revealed as minions. I think prehaps its the minion issue that lies at the core of things here. Though if players looked carefully at the map the minions and the 'proper' monsters are revealed by token colour. Am I right in assuming that all red tokens are minions and green tokens are 'proper' creatures? In any case I don't find CFW proposal as unacceptable, and the main issue of minions vs full creatures is, if my assumption is correct, actually right before our eyes. Hopefully we can get on with the game soon as I have a feeling its going to be a very enjoyable adventure once these initial teething problems have been smoothed out.

 

[VanderLegion]

OOC: I think prehaps its the minion issue that lies at the core of things here. Though if players looked carefully at the map the minions and the 'proper' monsters are revealed by token colour. Am I right in assuming that all red tokens are minions and green tokens are 'proper' creatures? In any case I don't find CFW proposal as unacceptable, and the main issue of minions vs full creatures is, if my assumption is correct, actually right before our eyes. Hopefully we can get on with the game soon as I have a feeling its going to be a very enjoyable adventure once these initial teething problems have been smoothed out.

OOC: The Green/red as minion vs normal creature was kind of how I was assuming it works as well. That's the main thing that will make combat go a lot faster is if we at least know which creatures are minions so we know if they're going to die on hit. Non-minions I'm okay with not knowing the exact health, at least until bloodied (at which point we either find out exact health or just the range over which they became bloodied).

 

[Son of Meepo]

OOC: Another thing to consider is that hiding information doesn't actually accomplish what you think it does, because you do have to reveal bits an pieces. For example, based on what you've already revealed (attack bonus, damage, hit points), it's a pretty simple matter for me to cross-reference the online compendium and see that the non-minion creatures (green ring) are Kruthik Young and from that I can read the entry and know all there is to know about them. The only way to stop that is to design your own monsters but that requires that you understand enough about the mechanics of 4e to design monsters that are balanced for your level.

 

[WEContact]

[sblock=OOC]

OOC: The only way to stop that is to design your own monsters but that requires that you understand enough about the mechanics of 4e to design monsters that are balanced for your level.

Designing balanced monsters really is difficult. Re:Faraque, I PMed him and he isn't angry. He has made his decision, however, and if he feels like he won't fit the game style after all I think we can respect that and move on without holding any grudges either way. He knows he sounds harsh a lot of the time- says so in his status.

In any case, we're all melee-capable and sufficiently sturdy, I think we'll be able to manage without a full-on Defender.[/sblock]