Serpenteye
First Post
Seonaid said:
Sorry about the Domination, it's only temporary, (and only because the Cephalometer only gives the answer to one question with it's Mind Probe function)
OOC: House Millithor in COSQ part 4
- Thread starter Endur
- Start date
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Sorry about the Domination, it's only temporary, (and only because the Cephalometer only gives the answer to one question with it's Mind Probe function)
Serpenteye
First Post
Endur,
I think you're a great DM, your characterizations and your plotting skills are excellent, but this game is becoming too difficult. Our enemies are omniscient and flawless, they know exactly when and where to hit us and exactly what to anticipate. They have access to all of your knowledge, and they can make no mistakes. Even coincidence works in their favour. The Forbiddance on the Noble Level being dispelled the moment we attacked Edwin is the most glaring example.
Many of the recent encounters have been dead-ends. Everything involving Solom (though I guess that's in character for him), the negotiations with the Malebranche, the Bhaalspawn raid, have all taken up plenty of time and effort without producing anything, which was apparently your intention from the beginning. It's all very reasonable for the NPCs to act like that (why should they be suicidal or reasonable?), but it gives zero sense of accomplishment and it doesn't move the game forwards an inch.
It seems that everything I'm trying to do is an exersize in futility, and I don't think most of it is my fault. Was there really anything I could have done differently that would not have resulted in a failure? I doubt it. Is there any chance at all that we're going to be able to win this game without being able to read your mind?
I am flawed, I am ignorant, and I can not keep up with your perfect NPCs. I cannot compete with the DM, no player can do that especially not in an on-line game. I'm not angry, I'm not even upset anymore. I am tired, and I'm becoming indifferent.
Did you even roll the dies for your recent stunt? What's the range-incremeter of a burning Goblin? I doubt even a Balor could throw it 400 feet straight up and Telekinesis has a range-limitation.
I am sorry for being such a nuisance. I don't know you or anything about your life, but I get a feeling that your DM-ing style has changed the last months. The reason is really none of my business, but I hope everything's ok with you.
I think you're a great DM, your characterizations and your plotting skills are excellent, but this game is becoming too difficult. Our enemies are omniscient and flawless, they know exactly when and where to hit us and exactly what to anticipate. They have access to all of your knowledge, and they can make no mistakes. Even coincidence works in their favour. The Forbiddance on the Noble Level being dispelled the moment we attacked Edwin is the most glaring example.
Many of the recent encounters have been dead-ends. Everything involving Solom (though I guess that's in character for him), the negotiations with the Malebranche, the Bhaalspawn raid, have all taken up plenty of time and effort without producing anything, which was apparently your intention from the beginning. It's all very reasonable for the NPCs to act like that (why should they be suicidal or reasonable?), but it gives zero sense of accomplishment and it doesn't move the game forwards an inch.
It seems that everything I'm trying to do is an exersize in futility, and I don't think most of it is my fault. Was there really anything I could have done differently that would not have resulted in a failure? I doubt it. Is there any chance at all that we're going to be able to win this game without being able to read your mind?
I am flawed, I am ignorant, and I can not keep up with your perfect NPCs. I cannot compete with the DM, no player can do that especially not in an on-line game. I'm not angry, I'm not even upset anymore. I am tired, and I'm becoming indifferent.
Did you even roll the dies for your recent stunt? What's the range-incremeter of a burning Goblin? I doubt even a Balor could throw it 400 feet straight up and Telekinesis has a range-limitation.
I am sorry for being such a nuisance. I don't know you or anything about your life, but I get a feeling that your DM-ing style has changed the last months. The reason is really none of my business, but I hope everything's ok with you.
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Seonaid
Explorer
I feel the same way. I don't necessarily agree with the rest of Serpenteye's post (I'll have to think about it), but I definitely agree with what I quoted. Perhaps this is what I was trying to get at, before, when I posted about the difference in pace of the campaign.Serpenteye said:
It could also just be me, some change in my life that's making me see the campaign differently.
I really hope that you don't quit, because I am still having fun, but I think I understand what Serpenteye is feeling. I also know that you were having thoughts of quitting, earlier, and I think I understand that as well. I have less say in that decision than I might like.
--
Regarding the Domination, I'll have to check my book at home to see the complete wording of the spell. I'll be home in a while (5 or 6 hours, hopefully), and I'll post a thoughtful response to the Domination then. Does the Matron ask each question distinctly, separately, and in that order? Thanks, and sorry again for the delay. I just happen to have a few minutes to myself right now to post this.
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Xael
First Post
I somewhat agree, but I can see certain hints in the stuff that's happening. Most clear (IMHO) is this: Get your arses hauled to Maerimyda. And while I agree that everybody is kicking the s**t out of us, I (strangely) kinda like the challenge. But I'm the one playing the Wizard with the ability to teleport all over the world, so I'm pretty biased.Serpenteye said:
He's been a rat-bastard from the beginning. The only time we managed to actually do something was when we robbed the 400 000 at Laral's. And even that didn't go as planned.
Endur
First Post
Your comments are correct. There are killer NPCs running around right at the moment. Some of these high level spellcasting NPCs have an idea about what might happen before it happens through divinations.
The Forbiddance was dispelled because Solom was scrying the audience chamber and saw the Matron give the drow hand signal to attack Edwin. Solom started scrying once you sent a messenger to retrieve his book. Solom's Secure Sanctum (tm) protects from scrying by anybody but Solom. Solom also started the fire and had a hand in supporting the animation of hordes of undead in the Dodrien crypts. Solom also holds Eilos' phylactery as you guessed. Solom did not want Quertus to get his hands on Edwin's gear. Quertus didn't notice that the dispel was before Edwin's tattoo vanished because Quertus was focusing on Edwin's auras and not on area spells when the dispel happened. Solom did not have anything to do with the Devil or the Demon or even the illusion of Dorina. Edwin's contingency teleport was set to fire as soon as he took any damage.
The Bhaal-spawn was a distraction to make you think. An encounter like that is appropriate in the Dale-lands. They did the obvious thing, recovered Randal Morn's body and sealed the tunnel to the Underdark. They declined to try and kill every underdark monster (which is impossible). If you unsealed the tunnel or teleported out, then they would have come down after you.
The Devil was a potentially game-ending hostile encounter worth lots of exp. If you accepted either deal, its game over as PC independence vanishes. So you did the right thing to avoid his deal. Part of the point was to demonstrate a contrast between a Lawful Evil enemy and a Chaotic Evil enemy.
Turning down the gargoyle (actually a Forgotten Realms variant gargoyle known as a Kir-Lanan) was a minor mistake, but not a big deal. He had information he could sell. He works, along with a large number of other Kir-Lanan, for a Shadow Dragon I mentioned earlier in some of the posts. The Shadow Dragon is one of your hidden enemies who is also an enemy of Kurgoth and Irae.
One of the issues the party is beginning to run into is that your overall party power level is roughly level 20 (due to large numbers of PCs, LA, and Vampiric minions), but you are not that powerful with regards to magic. Quertus and Kripp are the two most powerful spellcasters, and both are members of Level Adjustment races.
I did consider how high a Balor could throw a Goblin. I figured fifty feet would be reasonable. The ceiling is roughly 200 feet above the commoner level, so throwing wouldn't work. The Balor used Telekinesis (violent thrust), which would work to move goblins (up to 750 lbs) the necessary distance.
With regards to the sense of accomplishment, I agree that it is beginning to be harder to find in the last few encounters. On the other hand, you just completed a major quest (capturing Szith Morcane) that took a year. Plus characters have gone up a number of levels since we started playing, and everyone is about to go up another level as soon as the Balor situation is resolved one way or another.
I had not planned to send the Balor to Szith Morcane. But, when you requested negotiations with a minion of Kurgoth, I asked myself, who would Kurgoth send? The CE answer, if you want something done right, do it yourself or send someone you trust implicitly. So here are your negotiations.
Of the "four chapters" of this City of the Spider Queen campaign, chapter 1 is Szith Morcane. Chapter 2 is getting to Maerimydra. Chapter 3 is getting inside the castle. Chapter 4 is the castle and Irae. So we're almost finished with chapter 2, possibly even chapter 3.
I am posting somewhat faster right now than I have in the past.
Campaigns don't last forever. If it stops being fun, then we should stop playing.
I did offer to let someone else take over as GM if they are interested.
The Forbiddance was dispelled because Solom was scrying the audience chamber and saw the Matron give the drow hand signal to attack Edwin. Solom started scrying once you sent a messenger to retrieve his book. Solom's Secure Sanctum (tm) protects from scrying by anybody but Solom. Solom also started the fire and had a hand in supporting the animation of hordes of undead in the Dodrien crypts. Solom also holds Eilos' phylactery as you guessed. Solom did not want Quertus to get his hands on Edwin's gear. Quertus didn't notice that the dispel was before Edwin's tattoo vanished because Quertus was focusing on Edwin's auras and not on area spells when the dispel happened. Solom did not have anything to do with the Devil or the Demon or even the illusion of Dorina. Edwin's contingency teleport was set to fire as soon as he took any damage.
The Bhaal-spawn was a distraction to make you think. An encounter like that is appropriate in the Dale-lands. They did the obvious thing, recovered Randal Morn's body and sealed the tunnel to the Underdark. They declined to try and kill every underdark monster (which is impossible). If you unsealed the tunnel or teleported out, then they would have come down after you.
The Devil was a potentially game-ending hostile encounter worth lots of exp. If you accepted either deal, its game over as PC independence vanishes. So you did the right thing to avoid his deal. Part of the point was to demonstrate a contrast between a Lawful Evil enemy and a Chaotic Evil enemy.
Turning down the gargoyle (actually a Forgotten Realms variant gargoyle known as a Kir-Lanan) was a minor mistake, but not a big deal. He had information he could sell. He works, along with a large number of other Kir-Lanan, for a Shadow Dragon I mentioned earlier in some of the posts. The Shadow Dragon is one of your hidden enemies who is also an enemy of Kurgoth and Irae.
One of the issues the party is beginning to run into is that your overall party power level is roughly level 20 (due to large numbers of PCs, LA, and Vampiric minions), but you are not that powerful with regards to magic. Quertus and Kripp are the two most powerful spellcasters, and both are members of Level Adjustment races.
I did consider how high a Balor could throw a Goblin. I figured fifty feet would be reasonable. The ceiling is roughly 200 feet above the commoner level, so throwing wouldn't work. The Balor used Telekinesis (violent thrust), which would work to move goblins (up to 750 lbs) the necessary distance.
With regards to the sense of accomplishment, I agree that it is beginning to be harder to find in the last few encounters. On the other hand, you just completed a major quest (capturing Szith Morcane) that took a year. Plus characters have gone up a number of levels since we started playing, and everyone is about to go up another level as soon as the Balor situation is resolved one way or another.
I had not planned to send the Balor to Szith Morcane. But, when you requested negotiations with a minion of Kurgoth, I asked myself, who would Kurgoth send? The CE answer, if you want something done right, do it yourself or send someone you trust implicitly. So here are your negotiations.
Of the "four chapters" of this City of the Spider Queen campaign, chapter 1 is Szith Morcane. Chapter 2 is getting to Maerimydra. Chapter 3 is getting inside the castle. Chapter 4 is the castle and Irae. So we're almost finished with chapter 2, possibly even chapter 3.
I am posting somewhat faster right now than I have in the past.
Campaigns don't last forever. If it stops being fun, then we should stop playing.
I did offer to let someone else take over as GM if they are interested.
Yea, I'm noticing a definate 'get out of Szith Morcane' vibe (not that it's necessarily a bad thing, left to our own devices we [the pc's] don't move too fast)
Part of the reason we've been hesitant to leave Szith Morcane (correct me if I'm wrong here guys) is our lack of a clear path to victory.
We know (in game and out) that we need to tackle Irae and stop (or possibly take over) the graverending.
The problem is that we're feeling a bit overwhelmed (two balors, an artifact and and army of lesser demons between us and Irae, as well as Laral and possibly a couple of adventuring parties at our backs) and don't know how to proceed with any reasonable chance of success.
If all we really need to do is get moving towards Maerimydra and we'll find the missing pieces along the way, great. But the PC's (or at least the players) need to know that. We've seen the stick, but given that all the PC's are CE, we need a glimpse of the carrot.
Part of the reason we've been hesitant to leave Szith Morcane (correct me if I'm wrong here guys) is our lack of a clear path to victory.
We know (in game and out) that we need to tackle Irae and stop (or possibly take over) the graverending.
The problem is that we're feeling a bit overwhelmed (two balors, an artifact and and army of lesser demons between us and Irae, as well as Laral and possibly a couple of adventuring parties at our backs) and don't know how to proceed with any reasonable chance of success.
If all we really need to do is get moving towards Maerimydra and we'll find the missing pieces along the way, great. But the PC's (or at least the players) need to know that. We've seen the stick, but given that all the PC's are CE, we need a glimpse of the carrot.
Xael
First Post
Frankly, I'm not that worried about if we can defeat it.Endur said:
I could theoretically even counter the Implosion ability of the Balor (which I fear the most). I'm worried about how many of us are alive after it dies. Mainly, because most (well, some) of the party are elves with constitution near 10, and thus with less hit points than 100 even when in full health.
Brother Shatterstone
Dark Moderator of PbP
Why does that sound so familiar…?Serpenteye said:
(Join me Seonaid! 
)As for the campaign itself... Kilcif has seen a lot of stuff that he has no desire to deal with or simply isn't designed to deal with, but I myself am having a lot of fun.
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