[FR][PBP] Against the Storm Game Thread

[garyh]

OOC: I've been a bit frustrated with the way combat has gone myself. Here I've gone and worked up Akharos to be a tricked out melee monster, and in the first battle I was poisoned (and my Fort Save isn't all that bad) and out of action, and in this one I was forced to grapple over water, which is the other Half-Orc's specialty. I'm looking forward to actually using my falchion at some point.

I've tried to be laid back, since I realize my PC can't shine every battle. However, some of the rulings (poison, gatling wands, water grappling) seem to be made to nerf PC's strengths and force us to follow along.

I have tried to do more roleplaying when possible, such as Ubaar and Akharos bonding. That was quite fun.

I've DMed before, and I know it's frustrating at times when the players ignore something you've worked on, but if you say "There's a dragon with the word 'coward' written on it's face" and we say "Attack!!" - well, I'm sorry, but that's what we do.

I'm certainly willing to stick around. I'd also like to say that I appreciate you being open with us, Matt.

Here's to Gaming!! And here's to Falchions!!

 

[dead_radish]

Ditto to that.

Elone doesn't converse with dragons. She is secure in her abilities, and in her position as blessed of Solonor. She does not give away her possessions to brigands, regardless of their stature. And she likes to shoot things. Things she's ne'er shot afore.

The poison was annoying, but drow use poison. I'm okay with that. And since most of Elone's duties have been "Stand in the back and shoot things," my actions have been fairly well choreographed. I have been confused at our actions on occasion - we are all seasoned warriors, for the most part. We wouldn't be stupid, just bold.

Here's to the rest of it, and to the stories!

 

[DM_Matt]

Thaniks for your understanding. A few points.

1. I also realize that since only one of you have played with me before, you have not yet learned that I often set up encounters where it often seems like you will be TPK'd, but that you usually just barely pull it out in the end (w/o intervention)

2. The more explication that I use to justify my actions, the more negative impact on the game it will have. However, altohugh school work prevented him from posting yet (grrr), Elric correctly posited over AIM A) the nature of the dragon's tattoo, and B) that its a Half-Fiend Adult Black Dragon who just used his 1/day Horrid Wilting and 1/day Blasphemy. Thats CR 12. Not unreasonable at all for an oversized and pretty minmaxed L9 party.

The reason why Ball Lightning was so good was that it deals dmg over time, even after the caster's death. With his big guns (those two spells...his breath weapon only uses d4s) used up, he knows that he is not going to be able to kill you guys without taking a lot of dmg, and the Ball Lightning would finish him off even if he succeeded. There are other factors at work too, of course, though.


3. I don't mean to railroad. I do it by accident through misinterpretation, though. tats sometihng that I need to fix, obviously. BTW, don't misinterpret Calain's visions as DM hints...their is an in-game reason for them if you choose to seek it out.

 

[Elric]

(OOC: Sorry for the lack of posting. I had a post lost back a week ago when I was less busy but the boards weren't working)

Alex (having a flash of insight) calls out to the dragon "Are you a deserter from Storm's army? If so, why did you desert? What position did you hold before and what do you know about Storm's movements? How did you end up with the mark that you bear now?"

Reasons why he's a deserter: The tatoo isn't magical. Thus, it seems like more of a punishment than anything else. Being given the tatoo would make him more likely to want to desert. He's a demondragon- we know that Storm has demon-related troops. He's holding up passing ships- not something that most dragons would do. He doesn't want to get into fights, probably because he doesn't want to attract any notice from Storm's forces.

OOC:
That insight plus knowledge (well, a good guess) of the dragon's tatoo and knowledge (almost certain) of its actual power in game mechanic terms make this encounter easier to work with in character. It used its best half-fiend abilities already and is not going to take the party down

I should point out that using OOC knowledge to tell that it's a "Wyrm" or a "Half-Fiend" isn't really necessary. Knowing that it is Size L should tell the party something in general about the power level of the dragon- of course it isn't vastly more powerful than the entire party.

I don't have a problem with the poison. That first encounter was clearly about staying in the fight long enough for the "secret weapon" to get used and we definitely should have realized it from the start.

Here's to gaming! And to rapiers

 

[DM_Matt]

The dragon answers Alex: "Yes, I am. I was brought through a gate along with many others of my kind, and asked to fight at Silverymoon. I left instead of fighting. That battle had the mightiest collection of powers ever assembled on this world battling for supremacy. Some beings there could kill me or you with merely a thought. That wasn't my battle. It wasn't worth my life. Storm captured me eventually, tortured me, and tattooed me. I eventually escaped again, this time from patrolling the seas near Luskan, knowing that I was going to get nowhere or killed working for him. I've been holding up ships ever since, looking to make enough money to secure a good lair.(The posting hasnt been working for days...grrr..)

 

[dead_radish]

Elone shakes her head and watches the dragon speak. She mutters to herself "So he's both a deserter and a coward. Why should we let him live?" She keeps her bow trained on the creature.

She calls out to Alex. "At least find out information about Storm's forces, their locations, their strengths. Their weaknesses. Otherwise this creature is only useful as a rug."

 

[DM_Matt]

The dragon's eyes burn fiercer. He asks "Why is Storm and his forces your concern? Are you with him or against him?

 

[dead_radish]

Elone snorts. "We seek his weakness, beast. We are against him. Given the choice, I would strike him dead this very moment, and throw his bones upon a pyre to praise Solonor."

 

[DM_Matt]

Dragon: "Well, then. It seems we have something in common...I offer you a talisman. You may use it oto communicate with me, and once to summon me, and I will in that one instance aid you agianst Storm if it is not suicidal. I cannot surrender all of my wealth to you. But trust that I am formidable in combat, and will be far more valuable to you than money if you choose wisely."

 

[garyh]

"You think like no dragon I've ever met, fiend" Akharos replied, "but I would not fight you if you are a foe of our foe."

To the group, "I recommend we take this dragon at his word. If he betrays us, I've no doubt Calain can finish today's work."