OOC

[Keehnelf]

Glad to hear it! Hope the game lives up to the atmosphere

[Sol]

I wonder. Did they actually let Grim out of his cage?

[Keehnelf]

Not until the preparations are complete!

[KingOfCowards]

I don't think I need much in the way of preparations. Should we start looking at dividing the handsome amount of treasure Keehnelf or will that distributed as part of the story?

[Keehnelf]

It'll be in-story--just generated the list and wanted to make sure I had it written down somewhere.

[Zorroroaster]

Good to have you here, hedgeknight!

[hedgeknight]

Thanks Nick > should be a blast...of death and destruction!!

[Sol]

Welcome! Should be an awesome journey.

[Zorroroaster]

Unther considers carefully the things he has learned - and commits them to memory. He believes the odds are good that this first-hand information will come in handy. In an ambush situation, Unther realizes that the best defense may be to play dead. He draws upon his own recollections and also asks around in pursuit of the King's Rune Caster. A magic item, a trinket, a device of some kind that can allow him to feign death would be of great use. Unther seems to recall tell of a minor spell that can do the job. He knows it is a longshot that the Rune Caster may have such a device, but judging from the need of the quest, Unther is confident that any man in the King's Service would assist the mission in any way possible.

Feign Death is also a 3rd level cleric spell, which Nai Tnam can cast.

[Sol]

That's good to know. Nice move, it was exactly the spell I was thinking of! Of course, one question is how fast you can snap it off - and whether it can affect anyone besides the caster. Even if it can, if it is one round per casting, considering the number in our group, that could take a long time. Plus the caster probably has to cast it on himself last.

All that said, I think you have chosen a phenomenally useful spell under the circumstances. Or who knows? Maybe you can help the Rune Caster create a magic item with a souped up effect.

Something that works with a single command would be awesome. Something that affects more than one of us would be even better.

[Zorroroaster]

That's good to know. Nice move, it was exactly the spell I was thinking of! Of course, one question is how fast you can snap it off - and whether it can affect anyone besides the caster. Even if it can, if it is one round per casting, considering the number in our group, that could take a long time. Plus the caster probably has to cast it on himself last.

All that said, I think you have chosen a phenomenally useful spell under the circumstances. Or who knows? Maybe you can help the Rune Caster create a magic item with a souped up effect.

Something that works with a single command would be awesome. Something that affects more than one of us would be even better.

It's a one person spell, so that limits its usefulness. I didn't choose it specifically, it's a cleric thing. (And first time playing cleric here, so DM can correct me if I'm wrong) I don't think clerics get spells the same way as mages - we pray for and then are granted (or not) any spell from the list for that level.

[Keehnelf]

Yeah, you get any spell from the list as long as your deity doesn't forbid the specific spell and you're on good terms with your deity, though you do need to choose the specific spells you get each day in advance.

[Sol]

Yes, that sounds right. Being a Cleric is so much more of a thinking man's class in 1E. You can pick anything - but making good choices requires you to plan ahead. Avoiding fights is really important all of a sudden - unless you want all your spells to be Cure Light Wounds all the time! I have a great deal of respect for the cleric.

[Zorroroaster]

Yeah, I don't think anyone who takes on cleric wants to be the medic all the time! Hopefully we can have some fun. I chose it because with us starting at 5th level, there are definitely more interesting spell options available.

Of course, being new to cleric I'm happy to take any meta gaming advice offered. I'll likely ask the party for input when it comes to what my PC should pray for in the mornings.

[Keehnelf]

Clerics get a lot more interesting once you get level 2+ spells--but of course the 3rd edition "you can always default a memorized spell back to an equivalent healing spell" was in part a response to one style of play that made it essential to have lots of healing at the ready.

For me, the healing of clerics is much more of an out-of-combat utility, so that having tons of healing won't advantage you all that much for most of the combats I present--at least, it won't advantage you as much as having a great situation specific spell or spells memorized that you can use creatively to turn the tide of battle in your favor.

[Sol]

Cleric is really my favorite class. I know I'll enjoy seeing you play this character. The only metagaming advice I have so far is that Striking is a nice spell. Gear up that cleric with the best armor you can get and then run him like a fighter. Don't forget your holy symbol and some holy water, maybe an oak stake, and you're good. Spells make wonderful extras. I think we can't get away from the fact that Clerics *need* those healing spells. Just the way it is. However, the need to choose wisely when praying does sort of mean a cleric really has to keep eyes open for any clues re: what's coming next, because they have the greatest range of spells at their fingertips - more than any character in the game - since they can pick really anything at any time.

I don't know if you can get any kind of Speak with Animals spells, but if so, that might be helpful, too, during this adventure.

: )

Oh, re: your holy symbol, if you have any say over it, and depending on your god, sometimes the DM will allow you to treat your weapon as your holy symbol. That really depends on your diety, but check that out and see if it might make sense for you. Maybe as a dwarf your chance for that is better. Sometimes the DM raises the GP cost on your weapon to represent the fact that it has to be blessed, inlaid with silver, or what have you. Obviously, it is a big advantage when your weapon can count as a holy symbol - because having to switch in the middle of combat can be dangerous.

Finally, know your diety and be pious. One way is to make up ritual stuff that your character does each day and be sure to play it. Dieties like that. Do it well enough and once in a while you might find you have a bonus spell at your command when you really need it. And at the very least, not doing this might mean the diety refuses spells to you until you "shape up." More importantly, it entertains the DM and when the DM is entertained, he is less likely to kill us all. ; )

[Sol]

"It would be my honor, old friend. We will stand together and face down this Black Druid bastard. And when we lay him low, we'll piss on his corpse! Har!!"

Okay, at first, I was feeling a little offended that it had to go here. But on further reflection, the sentiment felt somehow very dwarvish to me! hahahaha!

[Keehnelf]

In addition to being a bit dwarfish in a way, it strikes me very much as the sort of thing one experienced soldier might say to another when prepping to go on a mission with a high chance of failure and death, to bolster their baseline of confidence and courage in the face of the danger.

Though crass, it felt just right to me on a couple of levels in those circumstances--probably not the sort of thing he would swear before the king as a blood oath

[Keehnelf]

I've got some tight deadlines this morning but I'll get things moving forward so we can do final prep before chapter 1 later today.

[Sol]

Hey guys,

I think I'm gonna call dibs on the studded leather. I would love to take a sword, too, but will only do that if all find that acceptable.

Oh - it might be worth knowing how our henchmen are equipped. I think it is best for the PCs to get the magic items shown here, but especially if we are trading off items, maybe henchmen would benefit from equipment we no longer need.