D&D Wargaming: Good OOC

[WizWrm]

Fieari, were you waiting to finish the ghost dragon thing before resolving my scouting action?

 

[Fieari]

More or less. That kind of scouting does take time, after all... you may travel at 120 miles per hour, but the desert is 160 miles across if you cut STRAIGHT across. So that's over an hour just there. Said scouting will take all day.

 

[WizWrm]

Eh? A little over an hour to cross the desert, then at most four hours in Evil territory before I decide either to refine my search pattern or start heading back.

 

[Jemal]

I was gone for a while, now I'm back. Will post up my army ASAP, but finishing up all my OOC "I'm back" posts first. For explanation, check out my "EXPERIENCE" OOC thread.

Also, looking forward to joining you guys on the fight, but I SERIOUSLY need to figure out which of those two armies to finish stating up..

 

[nameless]

I'm really wondering if the ghost dragon is being run properly. I don't know what the Ghost Dragon template (I assume that's what it is) does, but most dragons don't have the maneuverability to turn around on a dime and go in the opposite direction. Most incorporeal creatures have perfect maneuverability, but nothing has the speed of a dragon and perfect maneuverability in the core rules, so that's up in the air.

No matter what, he can't dart out of the ground and back in before we get an action. He has to move out, take his standard action, and then end his turn. If I were to teleport adjacent to him on my action, he can't leave my threatened area without an AoO. If he's within 600 feet of me, at least, I can charge him and get off an attack.

And there's the matter of moving around underground. Incorporeal creatures can only be adjacent to an open area, so he can't go very far underground. While underground, he has no senses, except for the ability to sense living creatures within 5 ft. So there is no navigation underground, and no way to tell if he is next to a wizard, a commoner, or another dragon.

It only takes me one action to get at the dragon anywhere in the city, I think my attack should have happened before the dragon even went underground the first time.

 

[Carnifex]

I'm really wondering if the ghost dragon is being run properly. I don't know what the Ghost Dragon template (I assume that's what it is) does, but most dragons don't have the maneuverability to turn around on a dime and go in the opposite direction. Most incorporeal creatures have perfect maneuverability, but nothing has the speed of a dragon and perfect maneuverability in the core rules, so that's up in the air.

No matter what, he can't dart out of the ground and back in before we get an action. He has to move out, take his standard action, and then end his turn. If I were to teleport adjacent to him on my action, he can't leave my threatened area without an AoO. If he's within 600 feet of me, at least, I can charge him and get off an attack.

And there's the matter of moving around underground. Incorporeal creatures can only be adjacent to an open area, so he can't go very far underground. While underground, he has no senses, except for the ability to sense living creatures within 5 ft. So there is no navigation underground, and no way to tell if he is next to a wizard, a commoner, or another dragon.

It only takes me one action to get at the dragon anywhere in the city, I think my attack should have happened before the dragon even went underground the first time.

All true.

Here's the relevant text on incorporeal creatures:

An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see farther from the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.

But to surface, attack *and* go underground again takes 2 rounds unless the dragon has spring attack, that's for sure. It can't tell what it's about to attack if it stays inside the ground when it attacks, suffers a 50% miss chance on its attacks, and attacks can then be made against it if readied. If it actually emerges fully it's opening itself up to a whole world of hurt.

Also, I don't know if any of our guys on the scene can wall of force but if they can, just stick it under the dragon before it can submerge again.

 

[Wrahn]

Wrahn: perhaps in light of what's occurring, a Miracle would be in order to bring that dragon to the surface where nameless and Tyreus could get at it?

Ashalla doesn't have it memorized, and there are other ways to deal with this problem. I think if any of us get a round on the dragon it is dead (or at least more dead, if it operates like a ghost it will just reform in a few days).

Do you all need help? I think my army can kill it even given the one round surface and submerge.

 

[Tyreus]

Not even spring attack will allow him to do this, he needs adroit flyby attack, from the draconomicon. Wrahn, I don't think your mages can do anything I can't do to it, the problem is there's nothing a mage can do to him so he won't come back. I thought about casting limited wish, but haven't decided anything yet. Suggestions?

EDIT: Also, Dan and Zan along with my entire army have readied actions. Did the townspeople go into the cavern like they were told?

 

[Wrahn]

Not even spring attack will allow him to do this, he needs adroit flyby attack, from the draconomicon. Wrahn, I don't think your mages can do anything I can't do to it, the problem is there's nothing a mage can do to him so he won't come back. I thought about casting limited wish, but haven't decided anything yet. Suggestions?

EDIT: Also, Dan and Zan along with my entire army have readied actions. Did the townspeople go into the cavern like they were told?

I can be on him the instant he materializes, by opening a gate and firing 99 magic missiles at him...

...However, if you would prefer to do it, I won't "steal" your thunder.

A ghost needs some resolution to why it has returned. I would guess it either wants it's hoard back or it wishes revenge on those who killed him. We either need to figure out what his trigger is, or we need a trap the soul spell. In either case we need to get rid of him now and deal with him when he reforms.

 

[nameless]

I can Wall of Force at will, but it's close ranged, so I'd have to be right next to it anyways. Plus, if he has perfect maneuverability (which he seems to), he can just go around it. I still believe that it wouldn't have been able to escape me before it went underground the first time. I only suggested a multi-step action because the dragon was messing around doing noncombat things like flying in circles to scare people. In a pinch I could have easily teleported adjacent to it and just touched it. If it's draining people of life, that means they will return as Wights or worse, and might give it temporary hp. That's why it's important to get this sorted out, because each little dive probably makes it stronger.

Getting rid of a ghost isn't well-defined mechanically, it need a lot of DM adjudication. If someone can do a powerful divination like Legend Lore, maybe we can figure out how to sever the treasure from the dragon ghost, with something like a hallow spell, or break enchantment, or geas, etc. Destroying it will probably also do the trick, but that means that we don't get it either.