OOC VI

[thirdkingdom]

Sorry that took so long; it had to happen right when I got slammed with taxes and everything. Anyway, the turning point of the battle really was when someone -- either Thordin or Innana -- disrupted the spell the magic-user was casting. It was going to be Sleep again, targeted at the two.

[Finglas]

Thank you, Thordin!

I did not fully realize how powerful a magic-user and cleric could be, until we had to face them in battle. They have to ability to completely turn the tide.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf

Run, Thordin, Run!

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Whew. Run back Thordin!

[frobozz]

Treasure List updated with items found on the shapeshifter and cleric (I will update again if there is anything on the were-rats or thugs).

TK: When Drudsa examined the silver bowl, did he find draconic runes etched on the rim just like the silver bowl from the hobgoblin? If so, is the translation of the runes the same?

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Speaking of the silver bowl, I have been thinking that this would be the perfect opportunity to use it! Although the doppelganger is dead, the wizard on the other end would not know it. If Rhys were to use it, the wizard may assume it was his doppelganger, and then we may be able to gain valuable information from him. (They obviously know much about us. It may worth the risk to try to learn something about them, i.e. their plans, if the wizard is actually Bargle, etc.)

I know that Rhys, as a mystic, is sworn to not tell a lie. But with a little cleverness, he would not have to. He could answer any questions honestly or not at all. And if the wizard is under the impression he is speaking to the doppelganger, all of the answers from Rhys would be misinterpreted.

[frobozz]

Bregalad the elf

Speaking of the silver bowl, I have been thinking that this would be the perfect opportunity to use it! Although the doppelganger is dead, the wizard on the other end would not know it. If Rhys were to use it, the wizard may assume it was his doppelganger, and then we may be able to gain valuable information from him. (They obviously know much about us. It may worth the risk to try to learn something about them, i.e. their plans, if the wizard is actually Bargle, etc.)

I know that Rhys, as a mystic, is sworn to not tell a lie. But with a little cleverness, he would not have to. He could answer any questions honestly or not at all. And if the wizard is under the impression he is speaking to the doppelganger, all of the answers from Rhys would be misinterpreted.

My first thought was "no way!", but this is actually an interesting idea, and something to consider (well, once we retrieve Thordin, and perhaps set up camp somewhere). However, we do not know for certain that the doppleganger ever communicated through the silver bowl while in the shape of Rhys (although it is true that several days have passed since he transformed from the shape of Jaceo to the shape of Rhys, so it is quite likely that he did use the silver bowl for communication recently... which might be how he was able to obtain the services of the cleric, mage, and thugs).

Aquar, cleric

Aquar will make the rounds doing first aid. He will then assess his comrades health to see who may benefit the most from his cure blessing. Then the cleric will examine the two wrapped vials from the slain evil cleric.

First aid, 3x proficiency, including on himself (6/8 HP). Will look at HP totals after that for CLW candidate.

If I am not mistaken, each PC can use First Aid on only one other PC at the end of a combat (and presumably cannot receive first aid at the same time as giving first aid (TK, if I am wrong about that, let me know). Also, note that those who took only 2 hp damage (Bregalad and Aquar) can only regain a maximum of 1 hp through first aid, because one's wounds cannot be 100% healed through the use of first aid, so it might not be worth using up a first aid kit in that situation. (Btw, I will mark off the number of kits that are used from the group's stash of them, which is listed on the Hit Points post on the Standards thread (we currently have 9 kits remaining).

First Aid Skill:
viewtopic.php?p=47283#p47283

[Alethan]

As a player, I might have a problem with a mystic even trying to pass himself off as something else. To me, that falls under lying...

Let me think on it while I get ready this morning... Unless TK chimes in with similar sentiments.

[thirdkingdom]

As a player, I might have a problem with a mystic even trying to pass himself off as something else. To me, that falls under lying...

Let me think on it while I get ready this morning... Unless TK chimes in with similar sentiments.

I'd be willing to give it a try.

[Alethan]

As a player, I might have a problem with a mystic even trying to pass himself off as something else. To me, that falls under lying...

Let me think on it while I get ready this morning... Unless TK chimes in with similar sentiments.

I'd be willing to give it a try.

OK, then I'd do the same.

[thirdkingdom]

Before I roll out anything, am I correct in understanding that no one is going after Thordin?

[Alethan]

I just wasn't sure it was something Rhys would have noticed in the middle of battle... was anything said about it IC? I might have missed it...

[frobozz]

Before I roll out anything, am I correct in understanding that no one is going after Thordin?

Lanny's vote is to spend one minute on first aid, and another minute on gathering up all the stuff and loading it into large sacks, and then immediately going after Thordin. He is not opposed to taking a closer look at all of these items once the party is safely reunited (and perhaps settled in to a campsite).

[Finglas]

Before I roll out anything, am I correct in understanding that no one is going after Thordin?

I just wasn't sure it was something Rhys would have noticed in the middle of battle... was anything said about it IC? I might have missed it...

Bregalad the elf

I believe Thordin ran right by all of us. I recall him running eastward and back up the ridge.

Bregalad intends to climb the ridge and then scan the surrounding area, looking for Thordin.

I think that if we do chase after him, we should all do it together. At least we should make sure we have his tracks, so that we do not miss each other.

Also, Thordin knows exactly where he has run. So, it may be easier for him to find his way back to us.

[Alethan]

Before I roll out anything, am I correct in understanding that no one is going after Thordin?

I just wasn't sure it was something Rhys would have noticed in the middle of battle... was anything said about it IC? I might have missed it...

Bregalad the elf

I believe Thordin ran right by all of us. I recall him running eastward and back up the ridge.

True, but I tend to think that might go unnoticed if one was engaged in combat with several other people at the time and was not privy to the information of his initial cause for departure. It's how I played it out, anyway...

[riftstone]

Also, Thordin knows exactly where he has run. So, it may be easier for him to find his way back to us.

This may or may not be true. Thordin was in a panic, almost running blindly. He may not be aware of which direction he went or what markers he ran by.

[Finglas]

Good points, Riftstone and Alethan.

Hopefully, Thordin has left a trail of dust behind him!

[frobozz]

Zeb/Finglas:

What do you think about us carrying 2 Sleep spells among us instead of just one? That way, we can use one immediately in a combat situation (or possible combat situation) and still have one in emergency reserve (if needed for escape, for example). If you like the idea, I would make the suggestion that Lanny and Bregalad each carry one (perhaps along with a Magic Missile) and that Drudsa be free to either prepare a daily "specialty" spell (like Charm Person or Analyze, or whatever else might be needed for a specific situation), or else simply carry 2 Magic Missile spells.

In our pursuit of the Beast, that would give us 2 Sleeps and 4 Magic Missiles, instead of 1 Sleep and 5 Magic Missiles. To me this seems like a good strategy because:

1. Even though the doppleganger and his minions are dead, we can still always use Sleep in a situation to simply avoid a combat altogether (such as if we encounter any wild animals). That way, we can save our energies (and our hit points) for our eventual battle with the Beast.

2. The effectiveness of Sleep is often based on winning initiative over the enemy. Lanny and Bregalad have a +1 and +0 initiative modifier, respectively, while Drudsa has a -1 initiative modifier, so it would be more likely that the elves would win initiative over the bad guys to be able to put them to sleep before they have a chance to act.

3. I think it makes more sense for Drudsa to have 2 Magic Missiles prepared than for the elves to have 2 Magic Missiles prepared, since Drudsa will not likely be able to engage in melee like Lanny and Bregalad can, and so this would give him more offensive weapons in any kind of combat against any kind of enemy.

As far as the Level 2 spells are concerned, Lanny (like Bregalad) will be moving towards Mirror Image as his default spell once he learns it (since that spell is most useful when one engages in melee). If Drudsa wants to keep on with his current Invisibility spell and Continual Light spell, that would ensure that we have at least one of each of the Level 2 spells that we currently know.

Thoughts?

[zebediah]

Nice strategic thinking frobozz!

Sleep does not rely on initiative all the time, if we are not in melee range (or a move away from engaging) at the start of the encounter we can use it effectively and I think that has been the case on most of the times we have used sleep. Of course, having the initiative improves the chance that we can use it sucessfuly, so if you and finglas are willing to change one of your daily spells to sleep I will adjust Drudsa's current selection.

[frobozz]

Good points! Against wild animals, casting at any range is fine, but against intelligent creatures, casting at short range is best so that it can be followed up immediately by a charge by the fighters to prevent any waking up of sleeping comrades. Of course, if they have spellcasters too, that could throw a wrench into any plans... In the last combat, it would have been handy to have a second sleep spell once we identified that there were spellcasters amongst the enemies, so that we could have targeted one of the spellcasters with the second sleep spell if needed.