OOC 5 - Slow and Steady...

[OGRE MAGE]

I'm not sure I agree with you 100% on your police work there, Lou.

Haha!
Ya, but he makes a mean fricassee.

[OGRE MAGE]

Did anyone see what happened to Flams Flame Strike that he waited three rounds to cast?

Or did I miss something?

[Zhym]

Now that you mention it, Magnus posted this in round 6:

flamestrike will go off in seg 1 of round 8 (8 seg casting time). You can't act this round, unless you cancel the spell. Man, that is a long casting time.

Shouldn't an 8 segment casting time set off the flamestrike in round 7?

Does the math. Looks up in horror...

You aren't using 6-segment rounds, are you?

[Zhym]

I've also been wondering if there's some way we could use Lorath's active polymorph in combat. Are there any monsters or creatures that can easily travel through ice? Maybe Lorath could change into that form, burrow under one of the giants on the ledge, and send it toppling into the rift? Or is there a one-ton flying creature he could change into? Even a giant might slip and fall off the ledge if charged by, say, a roc (even a small one-ton flying roc).

[GreyWolfVT]

Hmm what happened there I thought the flame strike was off a bit but hmmm who am I to say I'm just two dead guys and 3 boar riding dwarves that are late to the party.

[GreyWolfVT]

I've also been wondering if there's some way we could use Lorath's active polymorph in combat. Are there any monsters or creatures that can easily travel through ice? Maybe Lorath could change into that form, burrow under one of the giants on the ledge, and send it toppling into the rift? Or is there a one-ton flying creature he could change into? Even a giant might slip and fall off the ledge if charged by, say, a roc (even a small one-ton flying roc).

come now can't we go bigger like a dragon? Or well a Roc is rather large......hmm what about a Treant?

[Zhym]

There's a one-ton limit to the size of anything Lorath could polymorph into. Either a dragon or roc would be bigger than that, so any shape he takes would be a smaller version.

The ent wouldn't work because polymorph self doesn't give the caster the form's attacks, only its forms of movement. A Lorath-dragon can fly, but it can't breathe fire. A Lorath-ent could move like an ent, but it would attack like a Lorath.

Although Lorath in ent form would be a great opportunity to work "I speak for the trees" into the game.

[GreyWolfVT]

alright fine you got me there then. We could just allow him to transform into an Ogre, or again into another type of giant. He already did that fire giant once if I recall correctly. Why not shoot for a stone giant or storm giant?
Lorath the badass storm giant

[Zhym]

I think this conversation already took place a little while back. Frost giants are bigger than 2,000 lbs (2,800 lbs IIRC).

I was suggesting a flying form because anything that charges a giant might also go flying off the ledge. If that happens, it would be good if whatever form Lorath's in can actually fly.

[GreyWolfVT]

Well I was more or less trying to think of something within that size limit that might finally intimidate the frost giants but only one of such a being likely won't phase the frost giants.

[Zhym]

No shape Lorath can take will intimidate these frost giants. We've seen that. I'm just suggesting that a large flying form might be able to knock a giant off the ledge, while not killing Lorath if he also goes over the edge.

[GreyWolfVT]

it is possible but I imagine that the giant would just grab the wings and pull Lorath down with them.

[Magnus]

Now that you mention it, Magnus posted this in round 6:

flamestrike will go off in seg 1 of round 8 (8 seg casting time). You can't act this round, unless you cancel the spell. Man, that is a long casting time.

Shouldn't an 8 segment casting time set off the flamestrike in round 7?

Does the math. Looks up in horror...

You aren't using 6-segment rounds, are you?

I've always played with 6 seg rounds. Each seg is 10 seconds. Is that some wildly off internalized house rule?

If the party feels badly disadvantaged with that, switching to 10 seg rounds is easily done in this next round.

In any event, the flame strike will go off before anyone acts next round, so the 3 round thing is a bit of a quirk. Characters can move knowing that it will go off before they move.

[Zhym]

Oh, yes. That's a big old house rule. Standard timing is 10 six-second segments = 1 round. Shortening it to 6 segments really mucks up spell timing, as we're seeing. With 10-segment rounds, the worst case for any combat spell is that it goes off in the next round, possibly before the enemy gets initiative. With a 6-segment round, you get something like this, where a spell goes off two rounds later and the spellcaster gets no other action at all during that time. It's really unbalancing IMO.

[Magnus]

it is possible but I imagine that the giant would just grab the wings and pull Lorath down with them.

A one ton flying creature could absolutely take down a giant over the edge of the ledge. But the point above is also true...it depends on the dice.

[Magnus]

Oh, yes. That's a big old house rule. Standard timing is 10 six-second segments = 1 round. Shortening it to 6 segments really mucks up spell timing, as we're seeing. With 10-segment rounds, the worst case for any combat spell is that it goes off in the next round, possibly before the enemy gets initiative. With a 6-segment round, you get something like this, where a spell goes off two rounds later and the spellcaster gets no other action at all during that time. It's really unbalancing IMO.

Okay. Fortunately, I can't think of an example where it benefited the Giants in this combat, but will start to run 10 seg rounds.

"Horror" ... LOL.

[Magnus]

Did anyone see what happened to Flams Flame Strike that he waited three rounds to cast?

Or did I miss something?

It will go of at the start of the next turn.

Because I screwed up the timing, I am awarding Flam an additional action this round in segment 1, since he lost an action last round.

[Zhym]

Fortunately, I can't think of an example where it benefited the Giants in this combat, but will start to run 10 seg rounds.

Yeah. I thought at first it might have horked the fireball, but that was simultaneous initiative and a big rock toss.

"Horror" ... LOL.

[GreyWolfVT]

I'd never claim you benefitted the giants i just think the dice rolled extremely well compared to what all of the players experienced for rolls. Not like you control the dice roller outcomes none of us do for that matter.

[Magnus]

Giants have rolled well enough ... But the party has rolled for shit.