Strategy Thread

[onlyme]

anybody? do we want to individually attempt to attack? or any ideas for a group one?

[Grognardsw]

Lacking magic, our efforts seem limited to weapon attacks or retreat. If arrows don't do much I'll throw those potions at it. Perhaps one will be explosive like before.

[Zhym]

The only idea that comes to mind is, "Fly, you fools!"

But we have no Gandalf.

[tooleychris]

I'm doubtful Flynns rapier will pose much threat tho he doesn't know it.
I'd hoped cave in would be more effective.
Maybe if we offer Amber Lynn as virgin sacrifice? LOL

[Grognardsw]

Hi TC, has Flynn's creator come back to play him?

[tooleychris]

Sorry, shoulda re-introduced myself.
I've seen you and others have NPCd him nicely. Thanks for keeping him alive!
Yes, Looks like I'm just in time to be eaten by a demon?

[MonkeyWrench]

Is the demon even big enough to escape the caverns? What about just hauling ass out of there?

[onlyme]

Welcome back, tooleychris...

[Rukellian]

Is the demon even big enough to escape the caverns? What about just hauling ass out of there?

It was small enough to escape the demons, not being too big to be stuck inside. The hauling ass part is what the group was doing until they exited the mountain. They all came to a general consensus that it needed to be taken care of before it reached the town nearby.

The mountain entrance collapse has deterred the demon to some extent and weakened it, though it is quickly picking itself back up.

I have Deceidon shooting arrows from a distance (the archer tower?), Sunshine taking cover somewhere, Whitsell and Flynn near the mountain entrance, and Elithil on one knee, temporarily drained from the poison's effects. Because he made his saving throw, it is not lethal and he only suffered the arrow wound. I currently have Whitsell pulling Elithil out of there, away from the demon, and Flynn stringing an arrow for the next round.

[tooleychris]

Oh. I misunderstood the party placement. Didn't know Flynn was right by the entrance! Can I recant loading the bow and take advantage of the demons situation with sword?

[Rukellian]

Oh. I misunderstood the party placement. Didn't know Flynn was right by the entrance! Can I recant loading the bow and take advantage of the demons situation with sword?

certainly, will need some rolls for that though, to hit and damage and all that

[tooleychris]

Deceidon tries to stay away and preferably out of sight from the demon. He moves from behind a tree enough to hurl one of the potions he took from the lab, hoping it has similar explosive effects to the last one he threw.

- Initiative, or Surprise [1d6] = 5
- Throw potion [1d20] = 17

If you attempt this, without verbal warning, know that any harmful splash damage could affect any unalerted allies caught in the radius. Just a friendly reminder is all. The rolls will be random, but the potential for friendly fire is still there.

It's a demon, Grog. Flynn won't be happy but he'd understand. It's not just Flynn we're trying to save by killing the hellspawn....

[onlyme]

thoughts? do we attack the wizard, then the army? or brute force it? we have a few spells that might aid as well...

[Zhym]

Always neutralize the spell casters first, I'd say.

[tooleychris]

What zhym said

[onlyme]

sounds good. lets see if it works...

[Rukellian]

MonkeyWrench, Zhym, if you guys could quickly get together here and discuss what the official plan is for the Execution event, I'd greatly appreciate it. The in-game dialogue went over what you all would prefer to do, but with the time limit now imposed and the lack of rest you will be getting, plans are being forced into motion sooner than later. If we can just finalize what we want to see happen in this thread here, I can go off of that information while controlling the members of the guild for the rounds to come. I have a crude map drawn up in one of the posts in the action thread that shows the relative position of everyone and everything nearby.

[Zhym]

My last post there is pretty much Elethil's position right now: he's a weapon; point him at something and he'll attack. Or defend. Whichever is needed. His ability to be anything more than a blade is limited by the fact that it's late in a very long day.Yeah, nevermind. See the next message for way too much strategizing.

[Zhym]

MonkeyWrench: does Rand actually have any thief levels? If so, it might be useful to have him backstab one of the guards if possible. What spells does he have left?

I was thinking of having Elethil take a position on a rooftop and snipe. His bow has double range, which means short range is up to 140 feet, medium is up to 280, and long range is 420, and he's +4 to hit with it between his own bonuses and the bow's (for a modified THAC0 of 13). But there's a chance of hitting villagers, which would be bad. And he obviously couldn't do it into the fog.

Rukellian, what's the scale of the map you gave us? Is everything in that courtyard within 140 ft?

ETA: As I understand it, the plan as it has been stated so far is:

1. Cast a wall of fog
2. Rand sneaks in invisibly, gets to Matkinsai, cuts his bonds, and both of them escape the chaos
3. Meanwhile, guild members use scrolls to create phantasmal monsters and noises to go with them.
4. If anyone is chased, use scrolls of audible glamer (I assume) to throw pursuers off the trail.

Is that about right? If so, here are some potential issues I see:

1. Our first action will be the first chance for Fenrin to react. As soon as the fog comes up, he'll do something. I'm not sure what, but it might be to kill Matkinsai outright, not even bothering with the hanging.
2. How well will Rand be able to move through the fog with limited visibility?
3. If Fenrin moves when the wall of fog comes up, we won't be able to see him.
4. How will people see any of the illusions in the fog? How will the casters of those illusions be able to control them and make them react when in the fog? Or would the illusions be only outside the fog?
5. A crowded marketplace full of panicked people is a recipe for trampling deaths.
6. How likely is Rand to be able to get to Matkinsai, cut his bonds, and get out without Fenrin noticing and doing something about it?
7. We should have a better idea of where we think "out" will be before we start.

Maybe we shouldn't trigger the walls of fog until after Rand cuts Matkinsai free. If Rand can get to Matkinsai at all by being invisible, it should be easier to do it without the fog in the way. As soon as Matkinsai is free, someone else can cast the fog.

But I don't know if that would cause a problem getting to the square. It sounds like there will be guards in the streets and alleys leading to the square, not just in the square, right? And if the square is packed, invisibility won't help Rand get through the bodies to Fenrin and Matkinsai without being noticed.

Do we think we could get Elethil to a rooftop? Should we? One way to start the festivities would be for Elethil to fire an arrow at Fenrin. Many of the guards would probably go chase him, perhaps creating a better opportunity for others to get to Matkinsai and escape. Or Rand could get to the rooftops and fire the arrow after making Elethil invisible. The advantage there would be that Rand (if he does have thief levels) can climb walls and hide in shadows...but looking as his sheet, I see he has no bow. So much for that idea, I guess.

It still might be worth having Elethil be invisible and cut Matkinsai loose instead of Rand, though, in case any fighting is needed to free him. Elethil could keep Fenrin busy in hand-to-hand combat, making it harder for Fenrin to bring magics of his own to bear.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on the plan.

ETA2: Rukellian, do we know the level of the Enlarge/Reduce scrolls? And can an MU who uses one of those scrolls dispel the effect at will?

If the effect can be canceled at will and if the level is high enough, Reduce might work well with Invisibility to get someone through the crowd close to Matkinsai before the Wall of Fog is cast.

Another thought: when do we attack? Do we wait until Fenrin has Matkinsai on the gallows, or attack as they're approaching? Do we think we could take position near the road from the castle?

One other idea: Instead of Elethil attacking from a rooftop, we could create an illusion of someone attacking from the rooftop. A combination of Phantasmal Force and Audible Glamer might be enough to get guards running off to the "attacker," who only needs to disappear, leaving others free to make the rescue.

[Rukellian]

The diameter of the market area is roughly between the range of 100-120 feet, depending on where you measure, the radius from the gallows to a building being 50-60 feet.

The wall of fog cover extends up to 20 ft/ level cube, reducing vision inside the fog to only 2 ft in front of you. Without infravision, Rand will have a reduced movement rate while escorting Matkinsai away from the market area, at least while in the fog (all assuming the character doesn't want trip over anything).

When illusions are cast in the fog, people will only see huge black masses before them, making very hostile and monster like noises. That will be enough. Naturally the fog would obscure the illusions as well, but you have sound working for you as well if used in conjunction. The timing of the fog and illusions will be essential here it seems.

The illusions in question can still be controlled when the fog comes up, behaving like improved phantasmal forces, but only if the magic users maintain a strict concentration. Any break from this mental focus will disrupt the illusion, making them dissipate two rounds later. The illusions can perform pretend attacks and can pose as another person if need be, but no actual damage can be inflicted by them.

6.How likely is Rand to be able to get to Matkinsai, cut his bonds, and get out without Fenrin noticing and doing something about it?

Honestly, I'm not sure yet. It all really depends on how you guys time everything, in what order you choose to do things. Fenrin will most definitely notice what is happening, but what he reacts to specifically... I can't say much on this right now. It would be safe to assume though that his actions in the past has lead to the pretense that he does not like to get his own hands dirty and that he avoids physical harm much like any other magic user. He will probably use others to do the work for him, like the guards, or the trampling feet of a panicked mob of people...

Rooftop access shouldn't be a problem. If I remember correctly, Elithil should have both the 'Dungeon Master' and a regular longbow on this person, both collected from Sunshine at different points in the game. Handing one over to Rand could be viable, but whether Rand would be competent in its use would be another matter entirely.

Enlarge (Reversible) Arcane Transmutation/ Alteration

level: Magic user 1
Range: 5 ft/ caster level
duration: 1 turn/ caster level
area of effect: One creature or object
components: V,S,M
casting time: 1 segment
Saving throw: Negates

This spell causes a creature or object to grow in size and weight. The spell increases a creature’s size and weight by 20% for each level of the caster (to a maximum increase of 200%) or increases an object’s size and weight by 10% per caster level (to a maximum increase of 100%). The magic user’s power limits the volume of material that he or she can enlarge; the mage can affect no more than 10 cubic ft of living matter, or 5 cubic ft of non-living matter, per level. A normal sized person doubled in size will generally have strength of 18, and tripled in size would have strength of 20+. The spell’s reverse applies in the same ratios, but with the effect of reducing the size of an object or creature. If the spell is cast on an unwilling recipient, a successful saving throw will negate the spell, but willing recipients may choose to forgo the save.

Dispel a scroll's effect at will? Sure. So long as it is the caster who read it is doing so. Anyone else who wishes to cancel it out would need to do it be normal means, casting the Dispel Magic spell.