Elysium Squad OOC

[Nonlethal Force]

Ray will either:

A) Attack the other gnoll, with a flurry of blows, if he's still up,
or
B) Attack any newly discovered gnolls, with a flurry of blows if possable (Full round action, so can only move 5 feet)
or
C) Tend to the dying gnoll, to stop the bleeding.

OOC: gee, this looks familiar

Well, if your character weren't so one sided....

Oh - and I'll get a post up in the IC thread tomorrow. Too ........ tired........ Rystil worked me too hard with character background for another game .... [Just kidding RA if you happen to read this!]

 

[Bront]

Well, if your character weren't so one sided....

Oh - and I'll get a post up in the IC thread tomorrow. Too ........ tired........ Rystil worked me too hard with character background for another game .... [Just kidding RA if you happen to read this!]

Yeah, he's just so one dementional.

And no problem on the RA thing, I'm finshing my writeup. There's some odd stuff in it, but it's not realy off limits if you can play it down.

I'm looking forward to a game with you as a player NLF.

 

[Eluvan]

Eluvan:
[Sblock]Okay - I've had a long day so I may be completely wrong. If so, forgive me. But for some reason I have Cassient at a ranged touch attack at +3 (+1 from DEX and +2 from BAB). I don't have him down as having Point Blank Shot ... so what did I miss to get him to +4? (Either way in game it is a miss - so it won't affect the game thread. I just want to double check my numbers.

Also, I am assuming Cassient is casting lesser orb of cold. So his caster level is 5 and it would do 3d8 - That part I am cool with. Just wondering about the +3 or +4 to attack.

Oh - and delay is what I meant, not ready. You taking an action this round is completely acceptable. Thanks for not letting my words confuse you![/Sblock]

Whoops! It was indeed Lesser Orb of Cold, and I meant +3. Sorry

A question - have you handwaved cover as too hard to keep track of in PbP, or is it just going on behind the scenes? The fact that Yavarin's been shooting effectively despite having all of us blocking his line of sight makes me think maybe the cover rules aren't in effect, but I thought I should check before continuing to waste spells if the blocked LoS means that I stand no chance of landing them.

 

[Fenris]

Whoops! It was indeed Lesser Orb of Cold, and I meant +3. Sorry

A question - have you handwaved cover as too hard to keep track of in PbP, or is it just going on behind the scenes? The fact that Yavarin's been shooting effectively despite having all of us blocking his line of sight makes me think maybe the cover rules aren't in effect, but I thought I should check before continuing to waste spells if the blocked LoS means that I stand no chance of landing them.

That is why I skipped Rapid Shot for Precise Shot!

 

[Eluvan]

Ah... kinda. Precise shot would help you with firing into the melee between Eva and the gnoll - but I think normally the gnoll would still have benefited from cover against your attacks, since you couldn't see it properly with Gheeo and Kiera in the way.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Edit1: Not happy witht he response to Eluvan, so I'll try again. The question is very good.

Yes, I do take cover into account. And yes, it is totally behind the scenes. Sometimes when a normally assured shot from a ranged character flies into the wall instead it is because of cover. But I do assume a few things:

1. With properly posted maps, the players should be able to figure out if cover is in their favor or not.

2. Cover typically only buys the character a +4 to AC. While this is significant, these have been warm-up battles for the PCs ...

So, I guess in the long run, Yavaran striking with the opponents behind cover is not really surprising. He is quite an excellent shot - and precise shot does help some. But, Yavarin has also had a few nice rolls, too. But yes, cover is taken into account. If you have any questions during the game about a cover situation, just ask away. Or, if you want to make sure I am taking into account a cover situation that affects your PC ... just put it in an Sblock as Engrishonly did for his last attack with Eva. Any of that type of stuff you want to put in there is appreciated.

Edit 2: Still not entirely happy.

A couple other things to consider. Geeo (no offense intended, JonnyFive) technically falls under the "low obstacle" category size the guy is a small character and the gnoll is, well, not. Since Yavarin is closer to Geeo than the Gnoll, he receives no cover from Geeo. As to the rest of your characters - yes, you do provide cover for one another as described in the PHB.

In general, I do try and stick to the "cover provides a +4 to AC" rule. Soft Cover (cover from other living, moving, gyrating (?) creatures) never gets ruled as being eligible for Total Cover since the soft cover "combatants" are technically always in flux of movement. To receive Total Cover, one must be behind a solid wall, a significant tree, or some other large (probably) immovable object that is larger than your character's body.

Now, I think this gives an answer to Cassient's spell dilemma. A good rule of thumb is to "hypothesize" a probable AC for the enemy and add 4 to it is they have cover. Then, evaluate the character's ability to strike. If reasonable, go for it.

Oh - one more thing. The comment I made earlier about the spell being a miss either way had nothing to do with cover ... it had everything to do with the fact that the die came up as a 2. Even without considering cover Cassient would not have succeeded on a ranged touch attack.

But as I said before, this is a good question. Hence, why it has taken me 2 edits to get comfortable with my answer.

 

[Eluvan]

Okay, great. Thanks for the thorough answer.

 

[Nonlethal Force]

I'm glad the answer satisfied you. Sometimes things like that are difficult to explain all the rules here and there and everywhere!

 

[Nonlethal Force]

Okay - one of the busiest weekends of my life is now over. So ... I'll be back to my regular posting habits now.

We have a few things to discuss as a party:

First, now that combat is over, please feel free to post conversation style and as often as you desire.

Second, The party has now earned experience for the first time. So this is a good time to bring it up. How would you like me to handle handing out experience? After each battle? Periodically when the DM feels like it? Only at level up? Or somewhere in between these options? It matters not for me, personally. My other games only get it periodically, so if you want constant updates after each battle you all might need to remind me until I get in the habit, but I do not mind.

Third, How did that combat feel to everyone - especially those of you new to PbP combat? Were you able to follow my lead as a DM and follow it well? [I realize a few of you didn't do much besides run alot - sorry. But that was effected by the tactical selection of the party, too.] May I add, I really enjoyed the verbal flourishes you all put in describing your actions. Assuming they do not go over-the-top (like something out of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) without legitimate reason (like a haste spell) I would greatly appreciate that kind of posting to continue. Big thumbs up to all of you. I also really enjoyed how many of you spoke during combat as well. The more you all describe your own actions the less I have to and the easier my job is because I only have to post the results of the actions.

Anyway ... I hope that combat felt okay. Good job!

 

[Fenris]

Okay - one of the busiest weekends of my life is now over. So ... I'll be back to my regular posting habits now.

You're preaching to the choir! I should be back to normal here soon as well.

As for XP, whatever works for you.