Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

"Silence you bossy meat creature!"

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Happy Birthday Alynean!

Oh, and I found the DC for Psion powers in the SRD:
Class level doesn't enter into it, so the DC for Stisnera's Mind Thrust is 15, not 16.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Thanks Jake; Stisnera will spare you her sniggering for the next session. What, that was not enough?

Stis currently has half-plate, but she would have switched to a lighter armour (Chain Mail if memory serves, +5 AC/Max Dexterity bonus +3) if the Tower Shield did not reduce Dexterity bonuses. I will have to wait for Full Plate then.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Comments on the Last session? Ad-lib? Good idea/bad idea?

And a request for something a little different for these comments...Comments from you...And your character. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

It went well.

Jacob's Diary, Day 3

I think I found the two that odd bard was babbling about. The first was Stisnera - a female, I think. It's hard to tell, what with the scars, scales, and raspy voice. Many such have some natural charm to combat their appearence - not Stisnera. Eugh. However, I'm not about to say that to her(?) face, as those who she takes a particular dislike to have a slight habit of keeling over while clutching their heads. Fortunately, I can probably outpace her if need be, as she wears some obviously ill-fitting plate all the time. The second was a rather quiet rouge by the name of Dieger. He sure does a good job of blending in. I also met a monk by the name of Baelhar Haruil. He seems a tad too interested in money, for a monk. I doubt he will be keeping his vows of poverty for very long. None of them had any ideas about the mouldy book or the oddly magical amulet, which was to be expected, I suppose.

We also uncovered a plot to overthrow the town. We foiled it, but it wasn't a complete success - the plotters made away with the town's gold supply. They powers-that-be in the town were willing to negotiate a deal for us to retrieve the golds, but the others got too greedy, and we were summarily thrown out. We could have just gotten the details, done the deed, and then run off with all the gold we wanted - but no, the ugly psion and the greedy monk wanted to negotiate themselves into all the gold. Amateurs. On the plus side, I got a little bit of healing in.


Oh, by the way - any EXP for that session?

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

XP tommorrow. Some changes, tommorrow. Going to see if the store has any eggnog ice cream, tommorrow. Some riding lizards, this week.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

A few Queries before I proceed with my comments later on:

1) Narf, do you have an estimation of how much gold we took from that second dungeon? 1,000? 2,000? (All loot being sold)

2) Fellow players, should we hope to solve our disagreement over what to do next in the next session, or to agree on a course of action before that?

3) Is there any kind of power you would like Stis to get? (I am thinking of getting the power increasing AC and saving throws)

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

What disagreement. Get the increasing AC one (what kind of bonus is it enhancement, dodge?). If you mean by disagreement about what to do about bandits well I think it is better to go it alone. If we went back, we could probably convince the guard to come with us, but that would just make things more complicated.

Baelhar Haeruil suggests to the party that they go it alone and take on the bandits. He also seems to be extremely interested in gold, but then he slips the suggestion that if they recover the gold they should return it all to the town.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I liked the ad-lib Narf. What I would like to see though is a tactics phase, where we can get into position, before battle starts (that is, unless we get ambushed, though something of the like might be needed even in such cases). It would be needed to specify where our characters stand, what surrounds us, and the like.

Speaking of which, would my fellow players be interested in Stis getting the Combat Expertise feat? This is the one the monk used to get +5 to AC. Stisnera would use this feat to secure a passage, as it would bring her current AC to 26 (but no attack for her, unless you count a -22 attack roll as something). Oh, and hone your Reflex and Will saves Jacob; Stisnera can probably kill you in a single Mind Thrust, and there is always the Deccelerate power otherwise.

And Stisnera rambling: "How odd, something actually interested happened in that succession of caverns, dirt, dust, caverns, and pestering good-for-nothings. We fought today; if fought can describe a most magnificent slaughter, where the foe did little of value. There had been some sort of plot in that nameless, disheveled village... I am too kind. Not the kind of place I would live willingly.

So, we came here... oh, two lost roamers joined us - or stalked us, should I say - as we were reaching that town. One of them is wonderful, some sort of preacher that seems intent to study us. I haven't seen him do much more than stare, wonder, ponder, consider, meditate, and measure our worth. I hope he won't be disappointed. The other one... some sort of haughty Elf, as Elves are wont to be. Doesn't look half awful though, but he sure seems frail. A cold, and he will go right into the dead-book. That wouldn't surprise me either. Thankfully, the talkative Dieger is still with us; not the worst of the lot, and almost adequate. Almost.

That ever-watching face told something about a gang acting nearby, so we investigated, more to kill boredom than anything else. The chant turned out to be right, as we got under attack there. Of course, I had a bad feeling about that, and found out the dark first; I wonder what these bandits had expected. Did we look like spring childs not trained in their tricks? At any rate, that was a fun battle; all of them got killed, and they turned to flee as the guard arrived. That was expected; I shouldn't have expected the softheads to turn up before the battle was over.

My memories of what happened next are hazy. I recall overloading my mind with those dying stones, being hurt by a thrice-cursed lucky Ogre, and getting into a surge or some such. The elation of battle, and all these emotions rushing in; that was it, probably. From what I picked up, there has been some haggling after that, and we ended up thrown out of the hall; the euphoria was slow to recede, and I paid little attention to the rest. That was fascinating to say the least, though a bit worrying. I wonder what would happen if that surge went out of control next time; I hope my escort will have the good sense of keeping clear then. If it doesn't, then I could hardly be blamed for their mistake."

I guess Stisnera is a bit between the Psion and the Wilder, so beware. Brian, my question was indeed what to do to solve the disagreement on the matter of the brigands. Democracy wouldn't work, and we cannot really break the team apart either. I think Stisnera would be fine with a pride approach however, where we recover the treasure on our own, and bring it back to mock the clerks and the guard(some sort of... legal authorisation would be needed here though).

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Sorry to spoil your plans for an absurdly hard to hit character, but to get the full +5 bonus from Combat Expertise you need at least a +5 base attack bonus. You can't get a higher bonus/penalty from the feat than your BAB.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Whops. Guess I didn't know that rule lol. Where does it say you can't get a higher bonus/penalty from the feat than your BAB? I don't think that's in the SRD 3.5.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

It is actually in the fine prints of the SDR:

So, does that mean you need a base bonus of +1 to get +1 of AC, regardless of to-hit penalties currently applying? The only purpose of this feat (at least for Stis) would be to buy time, as she may be the toughest character of the pack for now (if she focuses on defence). Running away seems to be a constant whenever we get into an adventure, so better get ready to retreat with skill and grace.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Narf: Eggnog Ice Cream? Sounds delicious.

Alynean:
2) Jacob's True Neutral (Druids essentially worship nature, and all the animals listed in the SDR specify that their alignment is always neutral, as nature does not ascribe to a human sense of morality) so Jacob should be willing to go along with whatever the others end up agreeing to.

3) Hardening the artillary is always a good idea. The other good idea would be to make the artillary hit harder, or do other useful things (any healing powers available?)

Well, yes - but Jacob doesn't know that. He's only seen you using your Mind Thrust at fairly close range; he has no idea that it would actually take him a turn or two of flat-out running to get out of range. The diary is his perspective, not mine. My perspective is that I'm going to make Jacob useful to Stis and the party - specifically, the next time Stis gets injured - so that it is considered to be in everybody's best interests to keep Jacob alive.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Hmm, the artillery might be upgraded to "never missing artillery" or "at least half-damage artillery" with the second tier of powers. Other than that, I think Stis will go for Vigour (more hitpoints for that odd encounter with an Ogre) and Precognition Defensive (improved AC and saving throws). All of these spells cannot target the rest of the party, however, but that should fit in nicely with Stis style; that, and it looks like we mostly have a spellcaster team, so someone *has* to be the walking armour.

I forgot that Jacob wasn't quite aware of the niceties the Tiefling has to offer. If I know her, she loves bragging around of how potent her Mind Thrust is though.

On another note, may I change one of my feats Narf? (I only picked my bonus feat for being a Psionist as of yet) I am thinking of either going the Dodge way (two such feats), or the "increased DC to save" way; Dodge being the more likely of the two, since Stis simply loves being in the fray.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Okay well. The party is having real difficulty and since my monk isn't working out, I think I will put out Xor the Uruk-Hai. We need a meatshield now.

Baelhar will get his lanky self back to Lorien where he belongs and write poetry.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Okay well. Mighty Eagle is created. I decided to go with a slightly stupid fighter rather than a really stupid fighter. I want to disarm and trip after all. Armed with Greatsword, Tower Shield, Chain Shirt 19 AC 11 hp. Problem solved lol.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I don't know how different the D&D rules you use are from NWN, but you guys might find this guide to ultimate NWN munchkinism useful.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

heh heh level 40 characters.

NWN was high school, now its onto more sophistication like... pen and pencil. Lol.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Oh yeah Alyenan Combat Expertise is only good for naked monks anyway. It is a dodge bonus, and dodge bonus is affected just like dex bonus by armor.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Actually, Combat Expertise is a separate feat that provides a dodge bonus, and dodge bonuses are NOT limited by armor:

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

And of course, Stisnera will not keep that cumbersome armour for long. After all, Psions can get their own armour/shield, without any armour penalty whatsoever, and with some bonus modifiers. The problem is, of course, that all these spells end up being fairly expensive in power points.

But we certainly aren't here, and you will have to suffer Stis for many a year before she reaches her true potential. Then, be afraid. Be very afraid. Her attitude will reach levels unheard of.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Bumpity.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I haven't seen Narf in the Last couple of days (on the Boards); should we start getting worried?

In any event, I may have trouble getting to the session in time, as Last week (of course, I have been saying that for the past ten sessions, and the worst I had was two disconnections in the same session).

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Unfortunately Belahir and Mighty Eagle will not be available tomorrow.

Getting paid double time to work on New Years, yay.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Narf asked me to post this to let you guys know that he is having some computer problems and has no idea when he will get it back up and running.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Should I even bother setting up the server for tomorrow?

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Well, up and running anyway - just for grins.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I can connect to the server, but see no room. *Worries* There are two people connected according to OpenRPG, but I wouldn't know who is actually there.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Both were me - one in lobby, one in room. When I came back to check on my machine, I noticed you had a pair of entry/exit Messages but no statements.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Well, server's down now.

Alneyan stopped by; good to see whatever was wrong is now fixed.
Also, someone by the screen name of CondorDM stopped by. Anyone know who that might be?

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Okay well, next week I have saturday off, so I'll drop by around the same time then.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Sorry I wasn't there. I might have been able to get openrpg on the downstairs computer, but I have a cold and didn't think of it.

I should be able to post the stuff I was planning on, soon as I can think.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Ok, XP. Sorry, but since I don't have the log up, I can't reward this. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

Changes: Dieger will no longer be part of the party. There's three of you and you guys are slice'n'dice machines. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Plus, it'll give me more time to be a proper GM.

Also, ad-libing: For plot changes which don't favor the party or a particular character, if it's not a major change to the plot, just add it. If it is a major change, check with me first. For changes which favor the party or a particular character, I will now be giving out 'Plot Points' which can be used to 'remember' that you bought another healing potion in the Last town, or you recognize a name you heard a tavern(instant contact) or changes along that level of power. Please note that these changes aren't free; you must loose the amount of gold the healing potion costs and the contact will expect things out of you - And won't be there just to answer your questions.

Also, I will need to know which ones of you come from this world and which come from others.

I also promised riding lizards; those will take some planning to make them fit the setting.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

How Dieger Dissapears.

The four(Or three) of you are sitting in your inn room discussing the strange anklet that Jake had. After a while, it gets passed around. Nothing interesting happens as each person touches it, untill it gets to Dieger. As his hand grasps the anklet, bright blue light flares from his outline, from the visual perspective of each of you. This light then flares inward, covering him. An instant later, it fades. The whole thing took about the space of a single breath. The anklet and a necklace of some sort drop to the floor, apparently unnafected. The necklace appeared to come from the vicinity of his neck. Picking it up, you find that it is siver, or at least silver-coated, but is now blackened and pitted, as if burned. It is made out of a series of silver skulls, jointed where they touch.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

How Baelhar disappears.

After a long discussion about Dieger's dissappearance and coming to no conclusions, the inn room bursts open. Several monks enter the room. As the monks ready their staffs and prepare to meet the party, Baelhar raises his hand and says "No", throwing his staff to the ground. An old wizened man steps forth and nods. "It is good to see you again." Baelhar sits in Lotus Pedal on the ground, and two muscular monks move alongside easily lifting Baelhar.

They leave quietly.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Let's see ... that would have been the Christmas session, correct?

See attached.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

XP coming today. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

On a side note, what do you plan to do with Dieger's leaving? We no longer have a Bard, so that would leave us without anyone able to detect traps and the like (barring a lucky roll). Or perhaps you could keep Dieger just for these things Narf, but keep him away whenever we fight?

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Jacob has a pretty good Spot roll (4 points into it, 18 wisdom - rolls at +8), but not Search - Search isn't a class skill for a Druid, so he only uses his Int bonus of +2. Stis would make a better searcher, with his Int bonus of +4. Search is a class skill only for Rangers and Rouges.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

With *his* bonus? I hope Stis won't hear that, or else *she* will do some Mind Thrusting.

Well, I guess we would all roll as well, and it isn't as if Dieger always made his rolls either. We would still lack someone to remove the traps, however, though a wizard might help here: summon something, and send the something to the trap. I could pick the Knock power for these strolls at night.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Or, I could simply come up with puzzles that can be solved with logic.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

For the puny bandits you killed, I'll grant 1/4 CR. That means 75 XP around. ATD I'll grant 1 CR. Another 75 XP. The battle with the ogre ended in a draw, so no XP. 50 XP or one plot point to Brian, your choice.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Running server up is.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

Server down. One rat swarm (dead in one very lucky blow) and one crock down too. Log attached.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I'll take the plot point, since it doesn't make sense for Eagle to get experience for something he wasn't there for.

Good stuff so far.

Brian

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

And if I wasn't so inexperienced a DM, I would have applied a penalty for being in a swamp. Oh well, I'll get you next time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

A to-hit penalty wouldn't have changed much of anything - almost all damage actually dealt to the croc was done by Stisnera's Mind Thrust; Eagle got maybe four points of damage in. Assuming the croc had the 22 hp actually dealt, and Eagle had not hit, Stis would have had roughly a .7 chance of dealing sufficient damage, and about a .6 chance of actually dealing the damage; call it an effective 42% chance of taking it down with the next Mind Thrust ... and Stis was next in the que. Then Jacob would have had another roll, if the croc was still live.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I know, I know. But it's still something i should have rememberd. Besides, you don't think that was the only croc in the swamp, do you? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

It looks like I forgot to reply to that. Stis almost certainly has blood from a creature not from this plane, but she does not necessarily have to come from somewhere else herself, so that would depend on which is easier for you to handle. If these other worlds are of your own creation as well, I guess it would be easier if Stis simply knew little of these, if anything at all.

Re: OT: Narf has gone looney and wants to GM.(Edit
 

I missed it too;

Jacob's local to the plane - he's wandered a bit from his home forests, but he hasn't stepped through any portals that he knows of.