IRON DM revival!

[Lordnightshade]

I thought the Xorns and the Salamanders worked really well, seeing as Xorns can swim through the stone of the clock tower to make repairs wherever they were needed (they could get to many places inaccessible to anyone else) And the salamanders worked good for forging the gears and things that needed to be replaced.


EXCELLENT job there Seasong!

 

[Wicht]

Where oh Where is Wicht?

You called?

I just got home.

I am ready to go whenever Rune is.

 

[incognito]

I am all for the Salamanders crafting and the Xorn's swimming if we hadn't made this a WATER clock, as I stated. How about a solid state, stone clock...

A) There was no story element which required it (just had to be fragile, and mechanical)
B)They can swim through any stone or earth EXCEPT METAL (see the SRD, my doubting Thomases!)

1-800-IM RIGHT



(just a little humor , guys...take this post with a grain of salt)

 

[incognito]

Serendipity baby!

Rune/Wicht

you guys are up - I know Rune is at work, but he will pick the thread up at 5, and I would expect during 24 hours, at least some time would be lost.

6 ingredients
Water table
Gibbous moon
A noble sacrifice
Autumn
Elite kobold knights
Medallion of thoughts

the time is now 3:30 EST, by my count...

good luck, that last round had ME sweating

 

[seasong]

I am all for the Salamanders crafting and the Xorn's swimming if we hadn't made this a WATER clock, as I stated. How about a solid state, stone clock...

Ah, I see the problem - visual .

A water clock is mostly stone by mass, with a few rare ceramic exceptions. Urgid's Clock also includes (quite naturally) a six story stone building which also requires maintenance. There's plenty for the xorns to do.

A) There was no story element which required it (just had to be fragile, and mechanical)
B)They can swim through any stone or earth EXCEPT METAL (see the SRD, my doubting Thomases!)

1-800-IM RIGHT

I called and called and called, but no one answered. And the whole time, my phone was ringing, but as soon as I switched over, nothing. Very annoying.

 

[incognito]

huh - lookit that - maybe there was a visual disconnect there, seasong....

The waterclock I saw was mostly glass and metal, with the water acting to turn a bunch of gears, levers, and spindles (which were in there as much for display as for funtion).

With a huge, elder water elemental inside I got the impression of 6 stories, but narrow in diameter, and...per the ingredient...fragile (fragile stone clock gears is harder for my coarse imagination to wrap around).

Still thinking that Salamander is just waiting to hack that water elemental...heh!

 

[seasong]

huh - lookit that - maybe there was a visual disconnect there, seasong....

The waterclock I saw was mostly glass and metal, with the water acting to turn a bunch of gears, levers, and spindles (which were in there as much for display as for funtion).

Honestly, a lot of it COULD be glass... but glass is just melted, fine sand for the most part, which does not have the metal problem for the xorns. And even with a lot of glass, there will be a veritable TON of stone to support it.

And fragile? Heck yes. It's fragile even if the cistern is solid stone - the clock parts are mostly hanging gears and carefully balanced weights. Without them, you've got a very expensive water storage tube.

But a visual disconnect is the author's burden, so mea culpa.

With a huge, elder water elemental inside I got the impression of 6 stories, but narrow in diameter, and...per the ingredient...fragile (fragile stone clock gears is harder for my coarse imagination to wrap around).

The gears are metal - hence the salamanders. I probably should have included some discourse on the design of water clocks .

Still thinking that Salamander is just waiting to hack that water elemental...heh!

Yeah, I would have liked to have put together a bit more on their "friendly feud". Especially since the water elemental is such a delightful combination of simple mind + megalomania.

 

[seasong]

Okay, it's earlier than I expected, but it looks like I've got some time to post, so...

Firstly, Tuerny, you rock . From the elemental plane politics to the stooge factor, I'm stealing a bunch of it. Especially since I saw that you and I had both used the clock to frame the scenario... only you'd framed the scenario in time instead of space. And while your setup might have been lacking a bit, you more than made up for it with a crafted scenario that could go a lot of different ways... without ending the scenario. So, I know this isn't nemmerlesque critique, I just really liked your scenario.

Now, on to my thoughts on mine.

Elements: My use of the rousing music was weak. And I think that the fragility of the clock was not tied well enough into the scenario. Despite these two weaknesses, I thought that my use of the 1/2 fiend xorn, salamander couriers (with the etched metal messages) and betrayal were all very good. I'm pretty mediocre on the throne of fat - it wasn't weak, but I didn't bring out the lovely imagery it screamed for!

Major Flaws: Definitely need to go over it with a fine-toothed comb for knowledge magics. Xiang could perhaps be given some good counters.

For combat, also, Xiang should perhaps have more bite .

Ur Shannar, on the other hand... Well, we disagree on how scary Ur Shannar is, but for me, it boils down to this: a wizard can potentially (25% chance) banish Ur Shannar in a single round. Ur Shannar can potentially (~60% chance) kill a CON 12 wizard in a single round. Me, I'd find that scary. (work shown below)

Wizard, INT 20, Banishment, save DC is 22
Ur Shannar, Will save +16, has to roll a 5 or less to fail (25%)

Ur Shannar, BAB 38/33/28, spear dmg 3d8+13 (including specialization) (avg 26.5)
Wizard, AC 20, hp 70, Ur Shannar has to roll a 1 to miss
3 hits = avg 75.5 hp, wizard dead or dying

Stepping On Intent: Agh! Yes. I'm generally good enough (or evil enough) that I can pull this sort of thing off, but a prepackaged scenario for public consumption needs to have everything covered. Not everyone can be a seasong . Divination protection for certain aspects of the intrigue (so the players have to work their spells to get the data) would be the big first step for that.

Xiang's CHA 12: Actually, if I'd statted everything out, he would have had higher WIS and CHR for his cleric class - I saw him as being built like a PC, rather than strictly a xorn. But I, ah, didn't actually communicate that .

 

[alsih2o]

hey kids, if you don't mind me pimping it...

i am starting a similar thread in the art forum for folks who wanna join in.

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29116

similar but different, the art thread will not be a competition (yet ) but is based more on drawing (or sculpting, painting, rendering) differently than we normally do and looking to improve ourselves through regular practice.

since i had my butt handed to me over here (hi tuerny ) i have the time to do parrticipate, weekly assignments, any level of development allowed.

 

[incognito]

again, exposition

Many thanks to seasong for the insight into the driving forces behind the scenario!

Tuerny - go for it man! Let the inquiring minds of IRON DM hear what you have to say about the bursts of imagination that gave rise to this very well done adventure.

I'll say it again, with emphasis... close shave