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Comedy of Errors and a bit of a rant
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<blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 6241452" data-attributes="member: 6669384"><p>Our group traveled to the Plane of Air for the next leg of our adventure.</p><p></p><p>What we found surprised every character with any Knowledge - Planes skill at all.</p><p></p><p>First, there was a sun in the sky, ground below, and identifiable "sky" and "ground" directions. In other words, there was gravity, and an up and a down. We weren't on the ground, mind you, but on a cloud/platform that seemed to support us.</p><p></p><p>There was a child there who knew who we were and why we were there, and was openly insulting to half the party. Specifically, anyone who wasn't a normal PC race/class. As far as he was concerned, we smelled bad, and were animals.</p><p></p><p>We tried to ignore the child's bad manners because, well, children. Besides, this was obviously the DM trying to provoke a fight in a can't-win situation.</p><p></p><p>One PC, a Catfolk Shadowdancer type (Scout/Hexblade/Shadowdancer/Ranger/Don't-Ask) finally responded, saying that the kid smelled bad too, and turned to walk away.</p><p></p><p>Immediatly the kid moved next to the Shadowdancer and erected a <em>Resilient Sphere</em> over the both of them. We asked if there was a Save and the DM ruled that there wasn't, since the sphere wasn't aimed at the Shadowdancer, but targeted the kid instead, and the Shadowdancer just happened to be in the area.</p><p></p><p>The Shadowdancer tried to Shadow Step out, noting that the kid cast a shadowinside the sphere, and we cast shadows outside. The DM ruled that the sun was straight over head, so the kid was essentially standing on his shadow and the Shadow Step ability wouldn't work. </p><p></p><p>Our Golden One/Cleric declared his intent to cast <em>Antimagic Field</em>. It was questioned whether he had the spell prepared and he noted that it was a Domain spell. It turns out he hadn't been marking his Domain spells as prepared or not (he's very new to 3.5 so it's an excusable mistake) so we had him roll a dice to see which one he had. (Note that he had complained bitterly about the Giants having the spell in the previous session, and how it shut him down completely, hence our doubt that he'd ever take it.)</p><p></p><p>The dice said he had that one, so he walked up to the sphere and cast the spell. Immediately he, the Shadowdancer, the kid and the party Ranger/Druid dropped through the cloud platform, since it was a magical effect.</p><p></p><p>The kid transformed into a Juvenile Force Dragon and tried to breath-weapon all fo them. AMF stopped it, but as soon as anyone left its area they'd be in deep. And if they didn't then they'd splat on the ground 10,000 feet below. (You fall that distance in remarkably short time, if you use 32 ft per second squared). </p><p></p><p>The Shadowdancer kicked off from the Cleric, drawing a wand as he did, then used <em>Alter Self</em> to turn into Avarial (winged) elf. And the chase was on. While the Cleric dropped the AMF and the Druid turned into a Giant Eagle so he could save the Cleric, the Dragon went after the Shadow Dancer. </p><p></p><p>ShadowDancer moves at 50 in that form, with average maneuverability. The Dragon moves at 300 with Clumsey maneuverability. The Dragon should win the race, but the Shadowdancer should be able to stay clear of him. He tried. DM ruled that the Dragon got two claws and a bite attack. At +50 to hit vs a 38 AC.</p><p></p><p>Cleric tried <em>Control Winds</em> to drop a hurricane on the Dragon, while trying not to catch anybody else in it. Dragon didn't roll a 1 on his Fortitude Save, so was unaffected. </p><p></p><p>My character, mean time, had flown over the edge of the cloud platform and now threw a <em>Choking Sands</em> spell at the Dragon. My thought was that, no matter what happens, he has to take a full round action to cough up the sand, as part of making the Save that he really can't fail. That means no Move action to stay aloft or attempt to maneuver, in a hurricane. Failed to punch his SR by two points (rolled badly).</p><p></p><p>The Druid, carrying the Cleric, headed topside, while theShadowdancer ran for his life and I tried to run interference for him.</p><p></p><p>Dragon headed topside as well, and the Druid and Cleric headed for the Gate that had brought us here.</p><p></p><p>The Dragon staked out the portal, figuring that we had to come back at some point. We didn't.</p><p></p><p>Shadowdancer and Bard (my character) informed the party via <em>Telepathic Bond</em> that we were headed for a different cloud bank, and that they should follow. </p><p></p><p>Then momma Dragon showed up and gave junior a swat for playing with his food and being rude to people. (Note that the write up for Force Dragons says that they're pretty much always rude to strangers, unless they decide to flat out kill them on sight). </p><p></p><p>And it was over.</p><p></p><p>The DM at first awarded us EXP based on "defeating" the CR25 Force dragon (which we had almost but not quite managed to inconvenience, slightly). Then he saw what the totals would be for the 15th levels in the party of 5: Something like a level and a half's worth of Exp in one shot.</p><p></p><p>If my character could punch the SR of the thing with any reliability, he could keep casting that <em>Choking Sands</em> spell, round after round, hoping the Dragon will roll a 1 and really have a problem. And even if he makes it every time, he's falling out of control the whole time. Eventually he'll hit the ground and take the falling damage.</p><p></p><p>Then he'll breathe on my character and kill him in one shot. (20 D12 is an average of 130 points, and the Reflex save is one my character can't make except on a natural 20. )</p><p></p><p>I'm not at all sure what the DM was thinking in this mess. It's like he didn't read anything on the Plane, or the creature, or the spells used, and didn't consider the precedent he was setting with that "you don't get a save because you weren't the primary target" ruling.</p><p></p><p>But watching the Cleric throw the spell he hated and had complained about, only to have it drop him through the floor and into free-fall was just hilarious.</p><p></p><p>Like the title said, it was a comedy of errors, and yeah, more than a bit of a rant.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Greenfield, post: 6241452, member: 6669384"] Our group traveled to the Plane of Air for the next leg of our adventure. What we found surprised every character with any Knowledge - Planes skill at all. First, there was a sun in the sky, ground below, and identifiable "sky" and "ground" directions. In other words, there was gravity, and an up and a down. We weren't on the ground, mind you, but on a cloud/platform that seemed to support us. There was a child there who knew who we were and why we were there, and was openly insulting to half the party. Specifically, anyone who wasn't a normal PC race/class. As far as he was concerned, we smelled bad, and were animals. We tried to ignore the child's bad manners because, well, children. Besides, this was obviously the DM trying to provoke a fight in a can't-win situation. One PC, a Catfolk Shadowdancer type (Scout/Hexblade/Shadowdancer/Ranger/Don't-Ask) finally responded, saying that the kid smelled bad too, and turned to walk away. Immediatly the kid moved next to the Shadowdancer and erected a [I]Resilient Sphere[/I] over the both of them. We asked if there was a Save and the DM ruled that there wasn't, since the sphere wasn't aimed at the Shadowdancer, but targeted the kid instead, and the Shadowdancer just happened to be in the area. The Shadowdancer tried to Shadow Step out, noting that the kid cast a shadowinside the sphere, and we cast shadows outside. The DM ruled that the sun was straight over head, so the kid was essentially standing on his shadow and the Shadow Step ability wouldn't work. Our Golden One/Cleric declared his intent to cast [I]Antimagic Field[/I]. It was questioned whether he had the spell prepared and he noted that it was a Domain spell. It turns out he hadn't been marking his Domain spells as prepared or not (he's very new to 3.5 so it's an excusable mistake) so we had him roll a dice to see which one he had. (Note that he had complained bitterly about the Giants having the spell in the previous session, and how it shut him down completely, hence our doubt that he'd ever take it.) The dice said he had that one, so he walked up to the sphere and cast the spell. Immediately he, the Shadowdancer, the kid and the party Ranger/Druid dropped through the cloud platform, since it was a magical effect. The kid transformed into a Juvenile Force Dragon and tried to breath-weapon all fo them. AMF stopped it, but as soon as anyone left its area they'd be in deep. And if they didn't then they'd splat on the ground 10,000 feet below. (You fall that distance in remarkably short time, if you use 32 ft per second squared). The Shadowdancer kicked off from the Cleric, drawing a wand as he did, then used [I]Alter Self[/I] to turn into Avarial (winged) elf. And the chase was on. While the Cleric dropped the AMF and the Druid turned into a Giant Eagle so he could save the Cleric, the Dragon went after the Shadow Dancer. ShadowDancer moves at 50 in that form, with average maneuverability. The Dragon moves at 300 with Clumsey maneuverability. The Dragon should win the race, but the Shadowdancer should be able to stay clear of him. He tried. DM ruled that the Dragon got two claws and a bite attack. At +50 to hit vs a 38 AC. Cleric tried [I]Control Winds[/I] to drop a hurricane on the Dragon, while trying not to catch anybody else in it. Dragon didn't roll a 1 on his Fortitude Save, so was unaffected. My character, mean time, had flown over the edge of the cloud platform and now threw a [I]Choking Sands[/I] spell at the Dragon. My thought was that, no matter what happens, he has to take a full round action to cough up the sand, as part of making the Save that he really can't fail. That means no Move action to stay aloft or attempt to maneuver, in a hurricane. Failed to punch his SR by two points (rolled badly). The Druid, carrying the Cleric, headed topside, while theShadowdancer ran for his life and I tried to run interference for him. Dragon headed topside as well, and the Druid and Cleric headed for the Gate that had brought us here. The Dragon staked out the portal, figuring that we had to come back at some point. We didn't. Shadowdancer and Bard (my character) informed the party via [I]Telepathic Bond[/I] that we were headed for a different cloud bank, and that they should follow. Then momma Dragon showed up and gave junior a swat for playing with his food and being rude to people. (Note that the write up for Force Dragons says that they're pretty much always rude to strangers, unless they decide to flat out kill them on sight). And it was over. The DM at first awarded us EXP based on "defeating" the CR25 Force dragon (which we had almost but not quite managed to inconvenience, slightly). Then he saw what the totals would be for the 15th levels in the party of 5: Something like a level and a half's worth of Exp in one shot. If my character could punch the SR of the thing with any reliability, he could keep casting that [I]Choking Sands[/I] spell, round after round, hoping the Dragon will roll a 1 and really have a problem. And even if he makes it every time, he's falling out of control the whole time. Eventually he'll hit the ground and take the falling damage. Then he'll breathe on my character and kill him in one shot. (20 D12 is an average of 130 points, and the Reflex save is one my character can't make except on a natural 20. ) I'm not at all sure what the DM was thinking in this mess. It's like he didn't read anything on the Plane, or the creature, or the spells used, and didn't consider the precedent he was setting with that "you don't get a save because you weren't the primary target" ruling. But watching the Cleric throw the spell he hated and had complained about, only to have it drop him through the floor and into free-fall was just hilarious. Like the title said, it was a comedy of errors, and yeah, more than a bit of a rant. [/QUOTE]
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