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Aron Times
2009-02-22, 03:27 AM
I played in two games last week with my level 4 human warlord/wizard, Argent, and they were quite interesting. Let's start with this one.

On Friday, February 20, 2009, we played AGLA1-1 Lost Temple of the Fey Gods. Our DM was the wife of another DM, and she is a Genki Girl (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenkiGirl). Seriously. I think she chose this adventure because it let her roleplay cute fey creatures.

Our party was made up of the following:

1. Argent - level 4 human warlord/wizard. Me. Dual-wields a longsword and a wand.
2. Mongoose - Level 1 half-elf bard. I think he used a wand.
3. Petrocles - level 1 human fighter. A sword-and-shield fighter whose token was Brad Pitt as Achilles.
4. Caleb - level 3 human cleric. A melee/caster cleric hybrid.
5. Keravel - level 4 elf ranger. An archer.
6. Delbrask Brightleaf - level 3 elf ranger. Another archer.

We played using MapTool, with Ventrilo for voice chat.

The adventure started with the party being hired by a trio of half-elf farmers in a city in Aglarond. The farmers told us that the local fey have been really troublesome of late, and they were willing to pay good money to figure out why this is happening and how to stop it.

As we were leaving town, we were stopped by a Mysterious Waif (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MysteriousWaif) (hot elven woman) with a cryptic message. When we caught up with her, we find that she had turn into an old human woman who thought we were crazy, seeing things that weren't there.

So off we went into fey territory to find out what's going on. We soon encounter a group of pixies. She roleplayed them as really hyperactive Magical Girls (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MagicalGirl) (one player referred to them as the Powerpuff Girls) who wanted us to entertain them or they wouldn't answer our questions. Oh, and to further motivate us, they whistled for Little Boy, their pet ogre, dressed in adorable, undersized clothes.

We chose not to fight them, entering a skill challenge. I begin by performing some minor magic tricks using an Arcana check. My companions then performed incredible feats of tumbling (Acrobatics), sleight of hand (Thievery), and strength (Athletics). I also manage to get in an oratory performance (History + Diplomacy).

With each success rolled, our DM became more... energetic. She was all "Yay!" and "Woohoo!" and "Wow!" Oh yeah. She definitely chose this module because it allowed her to be herself.

Having entertained them well, the pixies cheerfully (genki girl DM, remember?) tell us about the corruption of a fey temple nearby. This temple disappears from time to time, and the last time it was here, it emanated an aura of corruption. They also tell us about a dryad who went there to investigate. She has not been seen since, and her tree only has one leaf on it (a dire sign).

We make our way to the fey temple. Guarding it were a group of four polecats, three wolves, and a massive dire boar, compelled by the temple's magic to defend it from intruders.

The DM tells us that as a standard action, we could make a Nature check to calm down a single animal. Keeping them calm required a minor action to sustain, and attacking calmed animals would make them hostile again.

I direct one of the rangers to help me take out the polecats to the east while the other four party members engage the wolves to the west. The plan was to regroup after the two sides were down and take on the dire boar.

I also asked them to knock out the animals instead of killing them; the local fey might not appreciate us slaughtering animals for no good reason in their territory. The DM reacted to my suggested with a "Yay! The druids are going to be SOOO happy with you!"

Playing a warlord makes me feel like Lelouch. I think I got in one or three "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you!" throughout the adventure.

One of the rangers (I can't remember which) moves up to one of the polecats and tries to calm it down. He succeeds with a decent Nature check. I then move in and fire a Color Spray (a very powerful heroic tier spell in 4E) at the remaining three polecats. I hit each of them, knocking them out with a rainbow of colors.

Meanwhile, the other four party members take on the wolves. They manage to calm one of them and knock out the other two. Now it was on to the dire boar.

The dire boar charges at the closest target (I think it was the cleric or the fighter) and hits, knocking him 10 ft. back and landing on his back. I move in to attack the dire boar, hoping to get its attention off the fighter or cleric lying on the ground. On its next turn, it moves away so it could charge at me. It hits, and I get thrown 10 ft. and knocked prone. Ow.

It would only get these two attacks in before we knocked it out. The half-elf bard used his spells to hinder the dire boar, making it much easier for the warriors to take out.

After more genkiness from the DM, we enter the Lost Temple of the Fey Gods.

We went in, into a long hallway with walls made up of intertwined branches. One of the rangers spots a pit trap with his absurdly high Passive Perception, and one of them (I'm not sure if it was the same one who detected it) succeeded on a Thievery check to safely spring it.

Within the pit was a skeleton, which we paid no attention to. We make it past the pit trap and into a chamber with four statues dedicated to ancient fey gods (duh). We didn't have long to explore this area before a feyborn ant swarm crawled out of the pit trap to attack us from behind.

We were at a disadvantage. Our melee characters (myself included) were at the front, while the ranged characters (the two elf rangers and the bard) were at the back. Despite this setback, we quickly move into position.

My first attack against the feyborn ant swarm was a Color Spray (which is quickly becoming my signature opening attack). The swarm is hit and is dazed. Because Color Spray is an area effect, the swarm takes extra damage from it. Nice!

On the swarm's next turn, it teleports and attacks the injured level 1 fighter (I think he got bitten during the swarm's first turn). He takes ongoing poison damage, and everyone is startled by an insect swarm that can teleport.

At least, until I ask the DM, "Hey, isn't the swarm dazed? It should only be able to take one action per turn." She replies with a playful, "Aw... You're ruining my fun. Fine! It just teleports next to Petrocles!"

On my next turn, I use Knight's Move to move Petrocles the level 1 fighter out of the way, giving me a clear shot with Scorching Burst. Because I had a Master's Wand of Scorching Burst, I deal an extra 1d6 damage to the origin square, for a total of 2d6 + intelligence modifier damage. The swarm takes even more damage from its vulnerability to area attacks.

Having effectively lost one turn, the swarm was now at a disadvantage. We quickly finish it off, crushing it beneath our heels. The DM cheerfully told us that there was much crunching done in the aftermath.

Moving on, we make our way deeper into the temple. We find the mysterious waif lying in a pool imbued with healing magic (as a standard action, a character within the pool can spend a healing surge). She tells us that she is the dryad who came here to investigate, and that she briefly possessed an old woman in town to give us a message.

She has been away from her tree too long, and she won't make it out alive. She tells us of the Cult of Voldini, a group of fey who are trying to revive the old fey gods. The ritual they are performing is causing the corruption of the temple. The dryad uses the last of her life force to imbue a crystal with purifying magic. If placed on the tree at the heart of the temple, it should undo the damage that the Voldini have done.

The dryad dies, and reverts from a beautiful elven woman into her true form, that of a creature made of wood.

And now, for the final encounter. We enter the heart of the temple in the middle of the Voldini ritual, and we fight a group of over a dozen Bishounen (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Bishonen?from=Main.Bishounen) eladrin and elves.

There were about seven or eight eladrin minions, two elven archers, two guard drakes, and one eladrin mage named Berrian Truescourge. The minions engage, effectively wasting two of the party's turns while the mage and the archers attack us from behind.

After dealing with the minions, we advanced towards the remaining five combatants. She had the Voldini stand on the roots of the tree at the heart of the temple, which would react violently to non-fey who stepped on them. Unfortunately for her, I was able to hit all five of them with my Color Spray. The DM says, "Aw... I wish the elven archers could teleport!" NOt that it would've helped; the party quickly moves in and finishes them off.

In the middle of the battle, the DM asked us if we were going to knock out the Voldini or kill them. Some of them thought about knocking them out (bishounen, hint hint), but I explained to them that if we didn't kill them, they'd probably just recast the ritual. The party decides to leave a few alive for questioning and some pixie love (genki girl torture). These serious Voldini would probably hate the hyperactive Powerpuff Girls.

The final encounter can more accurately be described as a "daily nova". Thanks to the presence of two healers in the party, we didn't have to spend any of our dailies earlier in the adventure. I didn't even get to use my daily, Lead the Attack.

So we place the crystal on the tree at the heart of the temple. Mission accomplished.

We're still waiting for the DM to tell us how much gold and XP we got and which item bundles and story rewards are available.

Tempest Fennac
2009-02-22, 03:36 AM
It sounds like an interresting game. Could you have revived the Dryad if you wanted to, and what exactly is Genki Girl torture?

Aron Times
2009-02-22, 03:46 AM
Basically being tied up and subjected to the pixies' absurdly cheerful sugar-rush nature. They're so sweet it hurts!

As for the dryad, we didn't have access to Raise Dead, nor could we afford it. Raise Dead is a level 8 ritual. The cleric was basically five levels away from doing so.

Besides, it was a scripted heroic sacrifice.

Tempest Fennac
2009-02-22, 03:52 AM
Thanks for explaining. Why were you on level 4 while other people were only level 1, 2 or 3 though?

horseboy
2009-02-22, 04:12 AM
Guarding it were a group of four polecats, 4th has stats for skunks? :smallconfused:
And I thought being attacked by the army of o'possums in Rolemaster was bad.

FoE
2009-02-22, 04:32 AM
4th has stats for skunks? :smallconfused:
And I thought being attacked by the army of o'possums in Rolemaster was bad.

Polecats are a kind of weasel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel) Skunks actually have their own family now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk).

But no, 4E doesn't have stats for polecats OR skunks. Very few "mundane" animals made it into the Monster Manual. This must have been a homebrewed monster.

Aron Times
2009-02-22, 04:56 AM
Thanks for explaining. Why were you on level 4 while other people were only level 1, 2 or 3 though?
This was a Living Forgotten Realms game. The level range for this adventure was 1 to 4, which means that only characters in this range can join the game.

Tempest Fennac
2009-02-22, 05:13 AM
Thanks. So people who joined the game later had to start at lower levels? (I don;t know how Living Greyhawk works.)

horseboy
2009-02-22, 05:21 AM
Polecats are a kind of weasel. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel) Skunks actually have their own family now (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skunk).
Huh, I'd always heard it as a colloquialism for skunk, kinda like "coney". (Hot dog or rabbit)

Aron Times
2009-02-22, 08:27 AM
Thanks. So people who joined the game later had to start at lower levels? (I don;t know how Living Greyhawk works.)
Most LFR adventures, like this one, are one-shot games designed to run for about four hours (we played AGLA1-1 for five hours due to technical difficulties).

Unlike your typical one-shot adventure, you can use your character in other LFR adventures. Argent has been in about ten adventures so far, each of them one-shots. LFR itself is considered a campaign, while the individual modules are its quests.

At the end of each adventure, each character gains story rewards in addition to the usual gold, XP, and magic items. These story rewards let you take the next step of the adventure (another module).

For example, successfully completing CORE1-2 The Radiant Vessel of Thesk gives you a story reward that lets you go on the Radiance Against Thay major quest, to be concluded in a future adventure.

There are longer adventures, like Scepter Tower of Spellguard, which have been adapted for use in LFR games. Unlike one-shot adventures, these adapted adventures take more than one four-hour session (I believe that Scepter Tower was adapted to be run in three sessions).

Basically, you can think of LFR as an MMORPG on paper, with all the positive and negative connotations that come with it.

Aron Times
2009-02-22, 09:29 AM
A little background information about Argent...

Argent's real name is Marcus Victor II of the Waterdhavian House Meridian. House Meridian dealt in supplies for the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, and it went bankrupt during the Spellplague, when magic went awry (very bad for business). Argent's family kept their noble title despite not having any money to back it up.

To sum it up, he is an "impoverished noble". He adventures to restore his family name to power and to hopefully sire the next generation of Meridians.

Since I'm playing my character in a public campaign, I made my background simple enough not to demand too much free stuff from the DM but significant enough to actually matter (i.e. when it comes to matters of etiquette, Argent is the man to ask).

Argent is a level 4 warlord/wizard and has the following powers:

At-Will: Commander's Strike, Viper's Strike, Wolf Pack Tactics
Encounter: Inspiring Word (2x/encounter), Scorching Burst (2x/encounter), Warlord's Favor, Knight's Move, Color Spray
Daily: Lead the Attack

Unlike the 3.5 Argent (my first NWN2 character), the 4E Argent actually feels like both warrior and mage at the same time. He can cast up to three spells per encounter (two Scorching Bursts and one Color Spray), and when he runs out of magic, he has his exploits to fall back on.

Compare this to a fighter 1/wizard 3 in 3.5, who has nine spells per day, four of which are cantrips. There are about three to four combat encounters per LFR adventure, which means that the 4E Argent actually has more spells per day than his predecessor. And that's not counting his martial exploits.

4E multiclassing may seem bad at first glance, but once you get to play with it, you'll find that it's a lot better than the 3.5 version.

I'm going to post about yesterday's game later (TYMA1-1 Elder Wisdom).

Grynning
2009-02-22, 10:24 AM
How are you getting scorching burst twice per encounter? It seems as if you've invested two feats in multi-classing so far (once for the initial multi and once to swap for color spray), but I can't think of another feat you could take that would let you use your wizard at-will-turned-encounter power a second time.

I agree with your point though, gish characters are way easier to build in 4th. I am seriously considering multi-classing with my warlord, though most likely into swordmage rather than wizard.

Thanatos 51-50
2009-02-22, 10:32 AM
How are you getting three encounter powers from your alt-class at level four, anyway? Isn't there a minimum level for that power swap feat?
You have four feats (Human, lvl 1, lvl 2, lvl 4), You'd have had to spend literally all your feats on power swaps and multiclasses.
I'm confused.

Tempest Fennac
2009-02-22, 10:32 AM
Thanks for the explanation. That sounds like a really interresting way of running games. If I had more of a clue about how to DM, I'd be tempted to try that in my campaign world (so far, I've limited it to things the other players in other games have done being mentioned or refered to).

Grynning
2009-02-22, 10:35 AM
Novice Power (multi-class encounter attack power swap) requires level 4. He'd only need to take Arcane Initiate and Novice power to get Color Spray. The only thing that I see that's questionable is the two Scorching Bursts.

Blackdrop
2009-02-22, 10:45 AM
Flame Wand/ Master's Wand of Scorching Burst would be my guess. They both give you Scorchig Burst 1 per encounter.

Grynning
2009-02-22, 10:48 AM
Ahhhhh........

Those crazy items with their crazy powers. Always forget about them :smalltongue:

Aron Times
2009-02-22, 11:07 AM
Argent has four magic items:

1. Lightning Longsword +1
2. Master's Wand of Scorching Burst +1
3. Wavestrider Boots - a.k.a. Jesus Boots; allows the wearer to walk on water.
4. Cloak of Resistance +1

He has the following nonmagical items:
1. Hide Armor
2. Light Shield
3. 3 Javelins - Just in case I need to attack from range and I'm out of spells.
4. Adventurer's Kit

He doesn't have magical armor yet. I was planning on getting the overpowered Veteran's Armor, but after the much-needed nerf, I think I'll go with something else.

The Master's Wand of Scorching Burst isn't really that good. If I want to deal the extra 1d6 damage, I have to center the burst on a creature, which limits my tactical options. I'll probably sell it and buy a Flame Wand +2 when I can afford one (I might as well use this +1 wand so as not to waste it).

Argent fights with a longsword and a wand. When he runs out of spells, he stows his wand and equips his light shield. I have not had to do this for a while now, since I rarely use magic three times in a row (I save my spells until I can get a lot of enemies within the area).

Argent is 100% RAW, being an RPGA character. He is practically optimized (I am a CharOp regular, after all), which makes him more powerful than the average character but not as broken as theoretical optimizations. His stats at level 4 are:

Strength 17
Constitution 12
Dexterity 10
Intelligence 19
Wisdom 8
Charisma 12

Argent's stat allocation is what some CharOp folks call "The General". He sacrifices fighting ability for maximum buffing potential. Alone, he's actually underpowered, but to make up for it he makes the other party members overpowered.

Basically, if you want to get away with a powerbuild, play a leader class. The other players are less likely to think of your character as overpowered when they're the ones dealing all the damage.

To save space, I'm going to link to my character sheet.

http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=81338

Enjoy.

Izmir Stinger
2009-02-22, 05:06 PM
I still don't understand how Argent can use Scorching Burst twice per encounter. You should just have the one use from the wand; there isn't anything else on your character sheet that would give him an additional use.

Grynning
2009-02-23, 02:24 AM
I still don't understand how Argent can use Scorching Burst twice per encounter. You should just have the one use from the wand; there isn't anything else on your character sheet that would give him an additional use.

Umm, yeah there is, his very first feat. Arcane Initiate. It gives you the use of one wizard at-will once per encounter. It's the basic wizard multi-class feat. Without it he wouldn't even be able to use the wand.

I apologize for even bringing it up in the first place. The OP's character is in fact 100% RAW as far as I can tell, and appears to be a screaming badass to boot. I congratulate the OP on his fun and flavorful build and will be glad to here about the further adventures of Argent the Warlord...Wizard...Wizlord...Warzard...
Mage-Knight of Awesome. I like that one.

Aron Times
2009-02-23, 10:12 AM
Finally got in touch with my DM. Argent earned 560 XP and 175 gold in AGLA1-1 Lost Temple of the Fey Gods. This brings his gold total to 637 gold (I actually kept track of all of his earnings and expenditures since level 1).

On Saturday, February 21, 2009, we played TYMA1-1 Elder Wisdom. As the name suggests, this adventure is set in the dragonborn nation of Tymanther. The party was hired to do a scouting mission; we were to explore some ancient ruins and the surrounding area.

Our party was made up of the following:

1. Argent (Human Warlord/Wizard 4) - Me.
2. Var14n (Warforged Barbarian 4) - A polearm wielder (glaive or halberd).
3. Relic (Warforged Fighter 1) - Another polearm wielder (glaive or halberd).
4. Arkolis (Human Ranger 1) - A double axe beastmaster. I can't remember the name of his wolf.
5. Lyathan Greven (Human Wizard 1) - A wizard who specializes in fire magic.

One of warforged used a frost glaive, while the other used a flaming halberd. I can't remember which used which.

So. Three level 1's and two level 4's. Interesting. Despite this, we chose the high-level version of the adventure so we could get moar phat l3wt and XP.

LFR adventures have a low version and a high version. The low-level version is for the bottom half of the level range, while the high-level version is for the upper half. TYMA1-1 is a level 1 to 4 adventure, so the low version is for 1 to 2 while the high version is for 3 to 4.

Along the way to the ruins, we encounter a large group of kobolds gathered around a Stonehenge type of structure. I call out to them, in Draconic, "Hello friends! We are here to explore this area! Will you let us pass?"

They reply with a volley of javelins, invoking Tiamat's name for help. Roll for Initiative.

We were up against more or less ten javelin throwers (minions), a dragonshield, a wyrmpriest, and their pet drake.

Lyathan and I quickly take out about half of the minions with a few well-placed Scorching Bursts while the other members of the party close in on them. The dragonshield charges towards the warforged fighter and they mark each other, and the wyrmpriest orders everyone else to "attack the wizard", that is, me (remember, I speak Draconic). The warpriest also casts a spell that gives everyone his side 5 temporary HP.

Time to be Lelouch. I tell Var14n that I'm going to move him to a flanking position with me against the wyrmpriest using Knight's Move, causing him to provoke an opportunity attack from the dragonshield. If the dragonshield does attack him, Relic will be able to use his Combat Challenge attack against him (the dragonshield).

I say this over voice chat, and the DM of course changes the kobold's tactics to compensate (kobolds speak Common, after all). The wyrmpriest shifts away from me and breathes fire on the two warforged, Arkolis, and his wolf.

I switch targets to the drake, connecting with a Warlord's Favor and then activating my lightning longsword's daily item power as a free action. I roll a 3, and the drake and all other enemies within two squares are hit for an extra 3 lightning damage. Unfortunately, because the minions also got the temporary HP, they don't fall from this automatic damage (I should look up whether minions can get temp HP).

Meanwhile, Lyathan the wizard has been busy firing Scorching Bursts and Illusory Ambushes from afar (wizards are still squishy in 4E). The former take care of the remaining minions while the latter severely hinders the dragonshield, making it easier for us melee combatants to take him out. I think he also got in a Burning Hands, but I can't recall if he did.

We take out everyone else except the wyrmpriest, and I decide to ham it up. "Flee, fool, or DIE WHERE YOU STAND!" However, before he could take its next turn, the rest of the party kill him.

We take a breather (short rest) to heal up before continuing.

On the way to the ruins, we see a campsite with a lone dwarf. We approach, and I tell him, "This place is dangerous to be alone in, friend. It is safer in a group." He invites us to join him for lunch, and we introduce ourselves. After a bit of chit-chat, I sit down to rest and to sense the presence of magic in the area; this dwarf could be a magically disguised kobold.

Detect Magic, along with Spellcraft, has been folded into the Arcana skill in 4E. To sense the presence of magic, a character trained in Arcana spends a minute concentrating and makes a single Arcana check and detects all magic whose DC he beats within a 5 + level squares. Since Argent is a level 4 character, he can detect magic in a close burst 9, which is the equivalent of a 45 ft. radius. Detect Magic is not blocked by anything in 4E (except when demanded by the plot), which makes it superior to the 3.5 version.

Ignoring my allies' magic items, I sense one other presence on the dwarf, a magic item. Not sensing any illusory magic, I decide that he is not a kobold in disguise. I ask him if his magic item would allow him to come with us on our quest, since it would be safer in a group. He declines, telling us that he is too old for adventure.

We ask him what he knew about any opposition we might encounter. He mentioned kobolds making their lair in the ruins. I ask him if there were any other dangers in the area, like undead, and he says no, there are only kobolds there.

He hands each of us a pouch with some pungent herbs, good luck charms, he says. We take them, thanking him for his generosity. He packs up and leaves, and we continue on our journey.

We enter the ruins, expecting to find kobolds. We find only kobold bones in the first chamber. Odd. All the traps have deteriorated, but we find a conveniently placed double axe +1 in the room (the module calls for a +1 weapon to be there, and we decided the level 1 ranger could use it).

There are two paths before us, one going to the left, the other to the right. The party waits for my decision. "Since when did I become the party leader", I ask. They tell me that since I was playing a leader class, I was the de facto leader.

I explain to them that I avoid issuing orders when playing D&D, despite my tactical prowess, because I know that most people don't like being bossed around. I phrase my commands as suggestions so as not to annoy the party, but if they were fine with me giving them orders, I will do so.

Nice. Marcus V. Meridian commands you! Obey me, world! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOP0ykpYjA4)

I ask for a coin flip. Tails. We go left, first.

We hear some swishing and splashing sounds in this area. Soon afterwards, we are attacked by a dire stirge from the left and two other stirges to the right. Roll for Initiative.

The dire stirge charges towards Relic, the warforged fighter, and latches on to him, sucking whatever it is stirges suck from warforged (oil?). Whatever, this is 4E, so we just handwave this ludicrous circumstance.

Var14n, Arkolis, and his wolf engage the other two stirges. Us two wizards launch Scorching Bursts from behind to soften up the two regular stirges.

I wanted to get the bonus damage from my Master's Wand, so I ask Var14n if he's alright if I blast him, too (besides, I can just heal him on the same turn). He's alright with it, so I fire away, hitting him with both Scorching Bursts. I only need to use one Inspiring Word on him to heal him back to almost full because he has a lot of HP (primal classes have huge HP).

Lythan advances to get in a Burning Hands, hitting the two stirges, but one of them latches on to him to sahk hees blahd (Bela Lugosi accent). The other stirge sucks on Var14n (moar oil?). Relic manages to pull the dire stirge from him and hitting it, but it attaches itself back to him on its next turn.

I need a clear shot on my Color Spray, so I ask Arkolis to move away so I could go in. Next, Lyathan uses Thunderwave to get the stirges off him and Var14n, pushing them back 1 square.

We quickly take out the dazed stirges, allowing us to gang up on the dire stirge. It flees before we kill it. Fortunately, the DM gave us full XP for defeating it.

We explore the rest of the area, which is a dead end. In the middle is a pool of stagnant water with stirge maggots squirming in them. One of the warforged, who had a flaming halberd (can't remember which) uses his scorching hot weapon to smash and boil the maggots.

Within the pool, we find a pair of Wavestrider Boots; the DM tells the party that I identified them as such. I tell him that I'm not the only wizard in the party, pointing to Lyathan, and he corrects himself. Lyathan and I identify the pair as Wavestrider Boots.

The Water Walk spell from 3.5 has been turned into a magic item, the abovementioned Wavestrider Boots. I nickname them Jesus Boots. None of us put it on (still needs a lot of cleaning with all the maggots once squirming inside it).

We go back to the entrance chamber and take the right path, which was very dark. Lyathan casts Light on his staff (ZOMG RAISTLIN), but its soft glow only illuminates a small area. Lyathan and I both pull out a sunrod. He activates his sunrod first, so I keep the one I have in reserve. This illuminates most of the area, but it attracts the kobolds' pet drakes, orphaned by the stirges that kill their masters.

We are set upon by a needlefang drake swarm and two spitting drakes. Uh-oh. Needlefang drakes are notorious for being incredibly overpowered at their level. I direct the warforged to take advantage of their reach weapons to keep getting swarmed, while Lyathan and I would rain area attacks on it (swarms take extra damage from area attacks).

Our area attacks deal a lot of damage to the swarm. It's nice getting to act first on Initiative.

Despite my instructions, Var14n moves closer to the swarm. He needed to get close because Great Cleave is a close burst 1, which means that he has to be adjacent to the swarm to be able to hit it. He rolls, and his Great Cleave misses. Oh dear.

Arkolis and his wolf also advance on the swarm, dealing half damage to it with their attacks (swarms take half damage from most attacks). I'm not sure what happens next, but now Relic, Var14n, Arkolis, and his wolf surrounded the swarm.

Here it comes...

They each get swarmed and are knocked to the ground. Damn. I use Inspiring Word to heal one of them, and Knight's Move on another to get him back on his feet. On their next turn, the three of them all shift away from the swarm, giving us two wizards a clear shot at it. A Color Spray from me and a Thunder Wave and a Burning Hands from Lyathan take it out.

We quickly defeat the spitting drakes afterwards.

We take a moment to patch ourselves up (short rest). Arkolis asks us if we could take an extended rest here, since he's out of healing surges; he only gets 6 per day, and he's out of them (he probably dumped constitution).

I tell him that it would be extremely dangerous to rest six hours in here, and that he should hang back and let us handle the rest. I didn't want to metagame, but I go ahead and tell them that some LFR adventures cause an automatic failure if you take an extended rest, e.g. taking an extended rest in the Lost Temple of the Fey Gods will result in the Voldini completing the ritual and stranding the party in the Feywild when the temple disappears from the Prime.

So we move on, to the final chamber. This is a burial chamber, with several broken sarcophagi within. We encounter a specter and several skeleton warriors (all minions except for two).

I roll highest on Initiative, and I advance and use Color Spray on the specter, two skeleton minions, and a skeleton warrior. I take out the two minions and daze the specter, missing the skeleton warrior. Since undead are usually vulnerable to radiant damage, the specter takes extra damage from my Color Spray. Unfortunately, because it was insubstantial, it took only half damage (insubstantial creatures take half damage from everything).

The specter yells at us, telling us that we had no respect for those who had come before us. I reply with, "You are a soulless undead, a slave to your hunger. In the Sun God's name, I shall smite you!" Oh yeah, I was really hamming it up all day.

It moves forward and attacks us. Deja vu. Isn't the monster dazed? The DM goes, "Alright, he instead goes invisible."

Var14n uses his first turn to go into a rage, while the two skeleton warriors mark the two warforged. We turn our attention to the still visible undead while unbeknownst to us, the specter had moved into the middle of the party to unleash a close burst 2 attack. Ow.

It hits all of us, I think, knocking the entire party (and the wolf) prone. Arkolis was now dying, and with no healing surges left, we wouldn't be able to heal him. Crap.

I use Knight's Move to get Var14n on his feet. I also use Inspiring Word on him and on another party member (damn the once per turn limitation) to keep them alive.

Now, I'm not sure when he did it, but Lyathan uses his daily spell, Flaming Sphere. He uses it to attack the skeleton marking Var14n and then later uses it to try and find the specter (he fails to do so).

We deal a lot of damage to the specter before it turns invisible again. It then unleashes another area attack, this time hitting everyone except Relic, Arkolis, and me. Arkolis' wolf goes down.

My Warlord's Favor connects with the skeleton marking Relic and vice-versa, and it goes down. Next, I use Lead the Attack on the skeleton marking Var14n and I miss! Instead of giving the party a +5 power bonus to attacks against it for the rest of the encounter, we only get a +1.

The specter fails to recharge its power and uses its basic attack against us. We roll consecutive hits against it, and we bring it down. The skeleton warrior soon falls afterwards.

Victory!

After a short rest, Arkolis is back to 1 HP. We return to the dragonborn lord and tell him everything that happened. He knows of the dwarf that we encountered, and he is suspicious of him (the dwarf). The dwarf hasn't done anything wrong, though, so they leave him alone.

Mission Accomplished.

Argent earns 560 XP and 100 gold on this adventure. He also gets a new pair of boots (Jesus Boots!).

Colmarr
2009-02-23, 08:47 PM
So. Three level 1's and two level 4's. Interesting. Despite this, we chose the high-level version of the adventure so we could get moar phat l3wt and XP.

How did you find it having your defender as one of the lower level characters? You generally seem to have done ok.


(I should look up whether minions can get temp HP).

CustServe (and I believe the FAQ) has said that they can (and were specifically dealing with the Wyrmpriest’s ability when they did so). Some of the bigger rules-lawyers says that that ruling is RAW wrong, but it does seem to be the ruling.


We go back to the entrance chamber and take the right path, which was very dark. Lyathan casts Light on his staff (ZOMG RAISTLIN)

I smiled, but for any D&D player under the age of 20, it’s probably more appropriate to say ZOMG Gandalf.


I didn't want to metagame, but I go ahead and tell them that some LFR adventures cause an automatic failure if you take an extended rest

Interesting. I didn’t know that. Do the LFR guidelines spell that out or is it left for players to blunder into?


Arkolis was now dying, and with no healing surges left, we wouldn't be able to heal him. Crap.

My group discovered last session that this isn’t quite the case. If someone who is dying receives healing that requires them to spend a healing surge, they do not get the full value of the healing, but they are returned to 1 hp.

It’s in boxed text in the PHB section dealing with healing the dying. And it makes potions of healing incredibly valuable. Effectively, they become the 4e equivalent of (perhaps even better than) 3e’s Cure Minor Wounds.

Izmir Stinger
2009-02-24, 02:05 PM
Umm, yeah there is, his very first feat. Arcane Initiate. It gives you the use of one wizard at-will once per encounter. It's the basic wizard multi-class feat. Without it he wouldn't even be able to use the wand.

Gahh! Seems you noticed the feat and not the wand, and I noticed the wand and not the feat. Together we are less than half as stupid as we are separately. Don't ask me how I thought his Color Spray was legit without realizing he had a wizard at-will, too.

Izmir Stinger
2009-02-24, 02:33 PM
Since undead are usually vulnerable to radiant damage, the specter takes extra damage from my Color Spray. Unfortunately, because it was insubstantial, it took only half damage (insubstantial creatures take half damage from everything).

Everything worked out OK, but a common mistake that can screw over a party facing an insubstantial creature with a vulnerability is misapplying the vulnerability damage bonus. The correct way (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=5035039&postcount=532) is to add up the damage from the attack (Color Spray: 1d6 + Int + Implement bonus), then halve it, then add the vulnerability damage amount. Do you remember how the damage was applied in your fight? You point out a few other mistakes the DM has made in combat, so you might want to check her on this one.

Aron Times
2009-02-24, 06:39 PM
I shall keep that in mind, Izmir. Applying the resist insubstantial before the vulnerable radiant 5 would've resulted in only 3 extra damage since I was the only one with a radiant attack.

Anyway, it wasn't really that bad having a low-level defender. Now that I think about it, he was probably the glaive-wielder since he had no problems hitting with his opportunity attacks. We also intentionally triggered opportunity attacks on enemies marked by him so he could get a free Combat Challenge attack on them.

Also, someone did check the PHB about healing allies without healing surges, and yes, it does bring him back to 1 HP.

I hope someone will run a 4 to 7 game today. Higher-level adventures mean moar l3wt and XP.

Grynning
2009-02-24, 10:59 PM
I smiled, but for any D&D player under the age of 20, it’s probably more appropriate to say ZOMG Gandalf.

This almost triggered a nerd rage, but I suppose you're correct with the movies and all. However, I would be remiss in my nitpicker duties if I didn't point out that Gandalf predates Raistlin for those of us who read books.



It’s in boxed text in the PHB section dealing with healing the dying. And it makes potions of healing incredibly valuable. Effectively, they become the 4e equivalent of (perhaps even better than) 3e’s Cure Minor Wounds.

This is very handy to know, I'll have to hand out a couple to my players. It looks like the encounter we left off of in the middle of is going to end with at least one of them down for the count with no surges.

Izmir Stinger
2009-02-25, 10:46 AM
I shall keep that in mind, Izmir. Applying the resist insubstantial before the vulnerable radiant 5 would've resulted in only 3 extra damage since I was the only one with a radiant attack.

Yeah, no biggy for you guys, but if you wind up in a party with a Paladin defender and an insubstantial undead decides he can ignore the Paladin's mark (because the math is misapplied), it can become a big deal.


This is very handy to know, I'll have to hand out a couple to my players. It looks like the encounter we left off of in the middle of is going to end with at least one of them down for the count with no surges.

Administering potions to the dying is a standard action, and usually you will have to move to get them and burn your minor to get it out of a pouch, so doing this is a full round action to give them 1 HP. Add to that the fact that any death saving throw failures remain even if they regain consciousness (you need to rest to reset them) and it is a questionable tactic that should be undertaken only with careful consideration. If they are approaching their negative bloodied value due to burst and blast attacks this can save them, but if lots of those are being thrown around that 1 HP isn't going to last long. In many cases, spending those actions to kill the enemy will have a higher chance of helping the fallen. Or even just picking up their limp body and hauling ass.

Colmarr
2009-02-25, 05:16 PM
it is a questionable tactic that should be undertaken only with careful consideration... In many cases, spending those actions to kill the enemy will have a higher chance of helping the fallen. Or even just picking up their limp body and hauling ass.

Every tactic is questionable in certain circumstances.

Spoiler to avoid hijack:

But the point remains that administering a potion of healing to a dying comrade with 0 surges is guaranteed to revive them, whereas administering first aid via the heal skill is neither guaranteed to succeed, nor will it do anything other than stabilise them.

Healing spells obviously trump both alternatives, but (1) are a limited resource in combat that are better used for their full value on someone with surges and (2) aren't really a viable option if it's the healer who is down and dying.

I'm not advocating potions of healing as plan A, but a group that ignores their utility in these circumstances is IMO making a serious mistake.