AVB - NPC James (DM Trial)

[Debatra]

Thread for AVB DMs and potential DMs only.


Aldhaven City Streets

One of the main thoroughfares of Aldhaven is Mastiff's Road. It is currently filled with all manner of people, though few seem to stand out to you. The Plaza, arguably the center of the city, sits right in the center of the flow of life through the city, where Midtown meets Old Town. To the north is Old Town and the Nobles' Quarter; to the south and east is The Market. Guildsmen District, to the northeast, is where most of the hard work of the city is done; to the west is the Temple District and Mages' Quarter. Far to the north, on the other side of the river, is The Docks and a clustering of housing for the poor which can be described only as Slums.

Here you stand in the heart of the city, watching people come and go, functioning as the very lifeblood of the city. The most prominent building in the area is a three-story inn named The Sad Flint. It is known as the place to be for relaxing adventurers and those seeking a good story, a good drink, or a good night's rest. Across the Plaza from The Sad Flint is Ezekiel's Supplies, one of two major suppliers of adventuring and exploration gear in the city. Numerous other shops line the sides of The Plaza, including a music shop named The Howling Song, Jim Juweliers's Gem Jewelry, Erbauer's Enchanted Devices and Dynamos, Sendungen Imports, Ranuna's Superior Toppers, and numerous other shops and merchant carts.

The center of the Plaza is kept mostly clear of vendors, the few legal locations for mobile stalls fiercely fought over by small vendors, each jockeying for position and claiming the best prices in town. In the center of it all is a large fountain, topped by a statue of King Alben Rosen, fair and just ruler of Aldhaven, who now lies sick and dying... or so the rumors go.

There is a pair of bored-looking city guards near the fountain lazily keeping an eye on the goings-on within the plaza. They are there to keep the peace, which seems rather quiet for now, although a fair amount of traffic exists.


Useful Public Threads
Recruiting Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?395075-3-5-Sandbox-Return-to-Aldhaven-Vicious-Betrayals), for when you need to roll a new character.
AVB Out of Character Thread (www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=18777030#post18777030), for all your chatting, alliance making, and plotting needs. (Approved players only, please.)
Aldhaven City Map (http://www.mornproductions.com/aldhaven/AVB/maps/Map.html) (in progress) very rough district map (http://www.mornproductions.com/aldhaven/AVB/maps/Districts.png)

[planswalker]

The warrior clanking about in fullplate with a massive shield seemingly made from water observes the bustle of the crowd and comes to the conclusion that there is nothing for him here. None of these ignorant mundanes have a hope of truly adding to the sum of knowledge. He doesn't understand why this place is so popular.

His business at the Docks concluded, he returns to the Aldhaven chapterhouse of the Paragnostic Assembly in the Mages' Quarter. Perhaps there among his fellow scholar brethren he might learn of a more worthy pursuit for his time.

Upon arrival, he takes a moment to look around and see who all were present today. It had been five years since he had traveled to this city in pursuit of knowledge. First at the university and then here among his brothers in the Assembly. He cared not that the school had rejected his research. Here among the assembly, he had found a home among fellow scholars who sought knowledge for its own sake without fussing over the history of any particular line of research.

note that he pre-casts his empowered retributive magic missile before donning his armor.

edit: also, totally claiming the Aldhaven anniversary feat. I think I'll take invisible spell from Cityscape. Thataway, no one can tell what that silly warrior is doing muttering nonsense under his breath and then suddenly BAM! something takes damage.

[Debatra]

From outside, the building appears quite small. This is because the Paragnostic Assembly generally prefers to dig into the ground rather than build tall structures. At the moment, the main room is empty save for Elmina, an Elf woman, sitting behind a counter handling some papers. She looks up as you walk in.

"Hey there, Jim" she says casually, "What's your pleasure this morning?"


I think I'll take invisible spell from Cityscape.

You really need to start sleeping before you post. Or was that one intentional?

[planswalker]

What? It's a real feat (found on page 61 of cityscape), and while it has little bearing on the outcome of direct combat, I really like the flavor and Jim already has more than enough metamagic to help with that. Plus, it doesn't modify spell levels, allowing me to tack it onto everything he prepares tomorrow morning.

Also, with medium range and therefore it being possible for Jim to fire it from 190 ft away, I see utility in making it so that people wouldn't be able to tell what direction it came from or precisely what hit them.

"Greetings, Elmina. I'm looking for work this morning, if you know of anyone who's looking for labor. I'm interested in trying a practical application on my thesis about the magic missile spell."

[Debatra]

It's also on the banlist.

[planswalker]

... dern, I apparently need to refresh myself on the ban list, as I'm clearly not cognizant of what all is on there.

still, mind if we move the IC bit along while I re-think my feat choice?

[Debatra]

"Are you looking for anything in particular?"

[planswalker]

"So long as I get a chance to apply my theories on magic missile in a practical scenario, I'm not particular."

[Debatra]

"'Practical use', eh? Well let's see..." She reaches below the counter and pulls out a few small papers. After a moment or two of shuffling through them, she takes one in particular and places it in front of you.

"How about this one? Seems a guy in Oldtown has an unwelcome guest in his basement. 'Strange tentacle-y creature', he says. He doesn't know what it is, and can't really describe it well enough for us to figure it out. He says he wants it dead; but he probably just wants it gone, and we wouldn't say no to being able to study a live capture. Dead or alive would be your choice though, but we want you to bring either it or its body back here. Interested?"

[planswalker]

"I don't exactly do "live" well, but it sounds more than doable. I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning after preparing something to aid me in a live capture. Do you know anyone who could provide me with a new spell to copy to my spellbook? Specifically, the malevolent miasma spell?"

[Debatra]

Copy to your Spellbook? You have Conjuration barred.

"There's probably someone downstairs who can help you. Go on ahe- Oh, wait."

Elmina produces a blank paper and what looks like a steel pen. She taps it to the paper she showed you, then the blank, and writing appears on the latter. After taking a moment to compare them, she hands you the new copy and puts away the original and the pen.

"All the details are on this sheet. Good luck."

At-will Wondrous Item of Amanuensis (http://dndtools.pw/spells/spell-compendium--86/amanuensis--3785/). It also has the nonmagical quality of actually being an inkpen.

[planswalker]

it is? Seems like an evocation effect to me, but oh well. I guess everything Evocation tries to do, Conjuration gets to do with no spell resistance, and then a lot more. Frickafrackin' WotC. Why couldn't magic missile be in a school of magic that doesn't totally suck?

Guess I'll have to figure out something else non-lethal to do or just go for a kill. Dammit.

Jim reads through the sheet as he heads downstairs.

[Debatra]

Incidentally, about how much advice is it generally appropriate to give a player in Aldhaven?

There isn't much more there than Elmina told you, though it does have some information about the client (J. Tornac, Dwarf, Male) and an address in Old Town.

[planswalker]

So long as you stop short of actually playing the character for them, as much or as little advice as you feel appropriate to increasing everyone's mutual enjoyment of the game.

After arriving at the end of the stairs, Jim tears his eyes off the page to see who's all around and say, "Greetings, my fellow scholars. I was wondering if anyone could aid me in expanding the breadth of magical lore contained in my spellbook?"

[Debatra]

A bald Halfling woman approaches you. "Well, I'm sure a lot of us could help you with that. Are you looking for anything specific?"

[planswalker]

"Well, yes and no. I'm interested in going and helping that gentleman in Old Town with his 'tentacle-y monster' troubles to give me some practical experience applying my thesis on magic missile. I know the Assembly would rather I bring in a live capture if possible. Therefore, I am looking to expand my spellcasting repertoire with a spell of the first or second circle that could aid me in subduing the beast after my missiles have worn it down. The first spell I thought of was malevolent miasma, but I then recalled that it is, in fact, of the conjuration school, and I spent so much time focusing on the evocation school that I had neglected to master the vagaries of that school."

[Debatra]

"When the Assembly talks about live captures, it's usually just a request, not a 'request', if you get my meaning. Oh, but why dissuade you?" She takes a few moments to think. "Well, if Evocation's you thing, you should try Bigby's Striking Fist. Or maybe Force Hammer or Shockwave- wait, no. You said first or second level; that last is third. Oh! If you don't mind a little Necromancy, I can teach you a spell myself that will give things a heatstroke. The others should be in the library. Of course, there are bound to be others if you want to check."

"Regardless, the thing to remember about live captures is to deal the nonlethal damage early, not after wearing it down like you said. You never know exactly how tough things are."

[planswalker]

"I'm aware that it's not a mandatory stipulation, but why settle for less than excellence? I appreciate your advice and would be quite intrigued to learn this spell you mentioned to cause heat stroke. I will also keep your advice in mind about the timing for such things. After all, this is why I am seeking practical applications for that which has been only theoretical conjecture up to this junction."

[Debatra]

"Okay then, let's get started." She takes out her spellbook, leads you to a nearby table and turns to the page holding the Sunstroke (http://dndtools.pw/spells/sandstorm--85/sunstroke--3168/) spell. "By the way, the name's Rinti. Now for this spell, it usually helps to..."

So... by RAW, it takes a minimum of 32 hours to learn a spell that isn't granted to you by your level (like a Wizard's two free spells/level, or a Sorcerer's Spells Known).

[planswalker]

Would you mind giving me the citation for that? It's been a while since I've dealt with wizards learning new spells, but I recall it being 1 hour per spell level. Unfortunately, I'm away from my books for the next two days and the SRD didn't seem overly helpful on this matter.

edit: also, thanks for the spell suggestion. 2d6 damage with no save to mitigate it with a chance for a debuff sounds just exactly right for my needs. It not being quite so easily healed as normal is a bonus.

"My name is James." He says as they work on transcribing the spell to his spellbook.

[Debatra]

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#arcaneMagicalWritings

Had it bookmarked for exactly this reason. First you have to decipher it, which would normally be include a Spellcraft check, but success is automatic since it's from Rinti's spellbook and she's willingly helping you. Then you have to learn it (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/arcaneSpells.htm#addingSpellstoaWizardsSpellbook), which takes eight hours (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/spellcraft.htm). Then putting it into your spellbook (which is a separate step for some reason) takes another 24 hours.

Yes, this is really stupid. No, I'm not aware of anything that fixes this. Maybe we can convince Rizban to allow a better way.

Rinti can automatically succeed the DC 10 check to Aid Another, so you can automatically pass the Spellcraft checks required.

The 1/spell level thing you were thinking of is probably either 1 spellbook page/level or the materials cost of 100gp/level (which are also kind of stupid, but not quite that stupid).

Also, the Assembly is willing to provide materials that will cut that gp cost in half since you're a Member in Good Standing.

[planswalker]

Thanks for the reference. Useful to know where that particular set of rules is in the SRD.

Yeah, let's bring this up in the dm discussion thread. Meanwhile, we'll just have Paul spend the 32 hours for now. It's not like he's on a time-sensitive mission.

btw, I had been planning to take 10 on the relevant spellcraft checks.

[Debatra]

You learn Sunstroke, and it's about half an hour until dusk.

[planswalker]

After learning the spell and transcribing it into his spellbook, Jim will drag himself back to his home to sleep so that in the morning he can awaken refreshed and prepare a new set of spells to handle the quest before him.

[Debatra]

You arrive and sleep without incident.

[planswalker]

After preparing a stilled sunstroke or three, Jim will skip breakfast and head straight to the house with the tentacle monster problem.

[Debatra]

Okay, just making sure I'm interpreting this correctly. You have prepared:

3 Flares
3 Lights

1 Feather Fall
1 Deep Breath
4 Still Magic Missiles

1 Knock
1 Fell Weaken Still MM
1 Still Nerveskitter
3 Still Sunstroke

1 (cast already) Empowered Retributive MM
3 Empowered Still MM

Is this correct?

[planswalker]

yes, that is correct. Did you want me to list out my preparations each day or is updating my sheet good enough?

[Debatra]

Updating the sheet is enough, but Sunstroke is Necromancy; and Nerveskitter and Knock are Transmutation. Not Evocation.

[planswalker]

... *grumbles to self over the hassle of keeping up with spell schools as a specialist wizard and reminds self why the previous build just prepared magic missile in every slot*

fixed to a 3/3 split of stilled sunstroke and stilled weakening magic missile

[Debatra]

You arrive at the Dwarf's house without incident.

[planswalker]

Jim will politely knock on the door.

[Debatra]

A Dwarf with short brown hair answers. While polite, he appears nervous about something. "Oh, hello there... Can I help you with something?"

[planswalker]

"I believe it is I who can help you. The Paragnostic Assembly sent me to remove a monster from your basement, I believe."

[Debatra]

His mood brightens considerably. "Oh, excellent! I was hoping someone would come before I lost everything I had down there." Barely able to contain his joy, he gestures for you to enter.

[planswalker]

"I am here to help." Jim says as he steps inside.

[Debatra]

He closes the door behind you and retrieves a brass key from one of his pockets. "Yes, it's just this way. I don't care what you do to that... whatever the hell it is, but try not to do any more damage than it already has." He leads you to a side door, which he opens with the key.

"Oh," he adds, almost at a whisper, "last time I went down there, it was perched above the lower doorway, like it was waiting for something to go under it... Not sure if they always do that, but watch yourself."

[planswalker]

"Thank you for the warning." Jim says. He'll step through the door and ready to cast stilled sunstroke as soon as he see the creature.

[Debatra]

You hear the click of the door locking behind you as you head down the stairs. The Dwarf's warning turned out to be a boon; as the creature is indeed perched above the lower doorway, looking right at you.

Initiative: [roll0]

You have no idea what this Medium-sized creature is, though "strange tentacle-y creature" isn't quite inaccurate.

http://i.imgur.com/x78u0aS.jpg

[planswalker]

Yeah, Jim doesn't have the dungeoneering it takes to ID that choker, does he? - I'm aware it might be a different monster that you've just pulled the pic for chokers from, but yeah. Jim's arcana, religion, and local won't help here.

[roll0]

Jim will throw a stilled sunstroke the creature's way. [roll1]

Should the creature hit him with a melee attack, his retributive empowered magic missile will trigger, dealing [roll2]x1.5 damage.

[Debatra]

Yeah, it's a Choker.

And what's your caster level for those missiles? You'd need CL9 to do 5d4.

The creature will drop down in front of you and attack.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning

Improved Grab: [roll2]
Constrict: [roll3] bludgeoning

---

Attack: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5] bludgeoning

Improved Grab: [roll6]
Constrict: [roll7] bludgeoning

---

Attack: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9] bludgeoning

Improved Grab: [roll10]
Constrict: [roll11] bludgeoning

If the creature manages to get a hold, Jim will find that he can't speak.

[planswalker]

9. His baseline CL is 6, he's getting +2 on magic missile from arcane thesis and +1 from paragnostic apostle's knowledge is power feature, choosing the divine understanding mode keyed to the Force domain, which grants +1 to caster levels for the spells in the domain. magic missile is the Force domain's 2nd-level spell.

btw, Jim has 25 ac

Jim will attempt to resist the first grapple attempt, and, should that be successful, the second one as well. [roll0] [roll1]

Either way, this does still trigger his empowered retributive magic missiles on the first hit.

If the creature isn't downed by that, Jim has very, very, very little that he can do on his turn besides try to escape this grapple. [roll2]

[Debatra]

Okay then.

And triggering a Retributive Spell requires an Immediate Action from you, which you couldn't do since you were flat-footed. The next one can though.

The beast continues its attempts to strangle you.

Grapple: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning

I'm going to say this counts as an attack, so it takes 24 force damage if successful. (Unless you suddenly don't want to use it for some reason; either way, it's still up.)

Preemptive Grapple roll to prevent you escaping on your turn:
[roll2]

[planswalker]

After getting off his one spell, Jim is completely unable to do much of anything this round as he is choked and therefore cannot cast any of his spells with verbal components (which is all his spells that might impact this fight), and his [roll0] cannot succeed.

unless you can make a very convincing case for why the hell you thought this was a good encounter to set up, we're done here. You're now 2 for 2 in creating designer enemies to gank the test characters thrown at you which exploit the character's weaknesses to get them killed.

Yes, it's going to take this choker a while longer to kill Jim, but unless it rolls abysmally low on a successive series of grapples AND Jim rolls high at the same time, Jim is dead.

[Debatra]

Other than increasing its HD to the point of a +1 to CR, it's a completely unaltered Choker. That's hardly "designer". I made that decision completely independently of any knowledge I had of Jim. (Hell, it's not even in my Aldhaven folder; I just like Chokers.) Once I figured out its stats, I reasoned that between your high AC, fatigue (possibly leading to exhaustion)-inducing spells and a Fell-Weaken MM, you would be able to handle it unless... well, unless this exact situation happened. With your current spells, you could end up reducing its Str to the point where it needs a natural 20 to hit you at all.

And that assumes it even survived that long. That Retributive MM alone took almost half its health. (31/55 remaining) And that was only one point higher than an average roll. You still have a chance, and you'll be at the advantage the moment you escape the grapple.

You also seem to be forgetting your DR at least some of the time. You should have only taken 14 damage.

[planswalker]

You just so happened to pick one of the few monsters I can think of which can nullify a caster in a grapple who isn't using somatic components? Really? You expect me to believe that?

All your hypothetical "if's" all assumed that I would get a chance to weaken it at all, which was essentially entirely stripped away by you deciding to perch it right over the doorway. With 3 attacks in its first round from there, the odds of it not starting a grapple round 1 were low (70% miss chance for each attack, 3 attacks, that's .7^3=.343, or a 34% chance of it not grappling me and therefore choking away all my spells and leaving me unable to participate in the fight. This fight ultimately came down to "win initiative or die" for me.

While that choker might only be a cr3, it has specific advantages which make it entirely deadly to any caster in a 1v1 fight so that it's not suitable for this context.

If you weren't interested in this exact situation happening, you really shouldn't have set up this exact situation to happen if I should happen to have lost initiative. If you had meant for me to have a chance to do something to it, literally dropping it on my head was the wrong call.

Honestly, you've convinced me that you don't actually enjoy arbitrarily killing off characters but that you're singularly bad at designing encounters that don't gank solo characters. While a single choker wouldn't be too much of a problem for four lvl 2 pc's, that doesn't mean it's a good encounter to throw at a solo mage. Granted that you designed the encounter before I finished my character, you still should have re-considered this choice of monster when you saw my character.

You're now 2 for 2 ganking the test characters in the first encounter with a single opponent. I honestly just don't have faith in you to not end up doing the same thing to a real player when their character finally gets off the waiting list after months. Killing them off in the first encounter that feels tailor-made to exploiting their vulnerabilities (though I can understand why you claim it's not) is not a fun experience for anyone. Can you see why I'm having problems here with this?

However, all that being said, you are good with the rules, and Rizban would really find it useful to have someone who could help him evaluate characters and such. If you were up for it, you might even be able to get the waiting list moving once more, which would be a good thing.

I'm willing to let this scene play out and give you a chance to show me that you know how to build an encounter which doesn't kill off a solo character in one go.

edit: and you're right, I did neglect the dr. Not used to seeing adamantine fullplate on a lvl 6 character.

Seeing as Jim failed to escape the grapple, it's the choker's turn. Assuming it continues to constrict him, [roll0]

[Debatra]

Instead of constricting again, it tries to attack in order to deal more damage.

[roll0]
[roll1]

If you try to escape again this turn, you can use the 18 if you want.

[planswalker]

... if it's not contstricting me, doesn't that mean it's no longer choking me as that's part of its constrict text? As in, I can attempt a stilled sunstroke now?

that would make much more sense for me to do than trying to escape the grapple. Even with the 15 I rolled for an 18 total, the thing still beats me on a 4+. Even IF I make that 15% chance, I'm still looking at having used my standard action for the turn to do that, meaning I get to hobble 20ft away and then it's the choker's turn once more where it gets two more chances to re-start the grapple all over again, putting me right back where I was the round before.

If, instead, I manage to take a few points off its str, then I should find it a LOT easier to escape.

Surprised that the thing stopped constricting his throat, Jim takes the opportunity to mutter out a few words and try to give the beast sunstroke.

[roll0]. If successful, the choker takes [roll1] nonlethal damage and has to make a fort save dc 14 or become fatigued.

[Debatra]

It will try to penetrate your armor twice more.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

I... hadn't considered that, but it seems you're correct. I'm choosing to justify that by pointing out that it A) had no way of knowing you're a spellcaster, and B) probably doesn't understand all that much about magic with its 4 Int anyway.

As for why it hasn't been using its extra Standard Action per round... Well, because I forgot. :smallredface:

[planswalker]

yeah, that's the thing that really doesn't sit right with me about this coincidence... I looked my character over when I was done and went, "Hm... I should avoid being completely nulled unless my opponent has shield or is a choker. Even in a grapple, I can still get my stilled spells off, provided they don't choke my verbal components."

What's the FIRST thing you send against me? A choker, who shuts off my verbal components.

Jim will try again to give it a stilled sunstroke.

[roll0] If successful, the choker takes [roll1] nonlethal damage and has to make a fort save dc 14 or become fatigued.

[Debatra]

It will try again to beat you into submission.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[planswalker]

Jim will try once more...

[roll0] If successful, [roll1] along with a dc 14 fort save to avoid becoming fatigued.

[Debatra]

[roll0]

The following rolls assume it passes the save. If it fails, subtract one from everything.

It will try one more regular attack. If that fails, it will go back to trying to constrict.

[roll1]
[roll2]

Second attack only if the first hits.
[roll3]
[roll4]

Constrict if the first attack fails.
[roll5]
[roll6]

Also, how are you getting a DC of 22? It's just a flat 20 (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/concentration.htm), not 20 + spell level or something.

[planswalker]

1. If you are trying to cast, concentrate on, or direct a spell when the distraction occurs, add the level of the spell to the indicated DC.

You missed something.

[roll0]

On Jim's turn, he'll try to escape from the grapple. [roll1]

If his escape is successful, Jim will buy a lotto ticket move 20 ft away and hope to avoid getting re-entangled so soon.

[Debatra]

So I did.

Although there might be some way out of this besides brute force. If you can't think of one, feel free to roll either a Wisdom or Intelligence check. (but not both)

The creature continues its attempts to strangle you.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[planswalker]

[roll0]

[roll1]

For his turn, Jim wracks his brain to try and find a clever way out of this. [roll2]

I gotta confess, I'm drawing a total blank on how one might get out of a grapple beyond out-bruting the other person and/or escape artist-ing your way. Or magic-blasting it to death.

[Debatra]

Maybe roll bluff and try playing dead. You can do that as a move action.

[planswalker]

hell, that's a check where I'm at only a modifier 2 lower than its. Can't hurt.

Hoping that playing dead might give it a false sense of security, Jim ceases struggling for a moment and ceases breathing. [roll0]

If it seems like the creature believes this charade, he'll keep it up for the rest of his turn. If it is clear that it's not falling for it, he'll try to escape the grapple. [roll1] If it looks like the creature believes the act, he won't immediately sabotage the effort.

[Debatra]

Realizing that you aren't struggling anymore, it gives you one final squeeze before dropping you to the ground and walking away.

Take [roll0] minus your DR and you're free to act. It's about 30' away, facing away from you, and appears to be checking its wounds.

[planswalker]

Jim will stand up and hit it with a weakening magic missile for [roll0] damage and imposing a -4 penalty to strength. All that accomplished, he'll take a 5' step back and pray that he can avoid a grapple this coming round. The thing had already taken two salvos of missiles. Jim suspects that if he could just get another off, this fight would be over.

At least, that is his sincere hope.

[Debatra]

It yells out in pain, cursing in Undercommon. It turns and, stumbling slightly, moves in for another attack.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

You're pretty sure it could survive another bolt of magic, but certainly not five.

EDIT: To be clear, it's adjacent to you now.

[planswalker]

Seeing that his last spell was particularly effective, Jim will cast his next spell, stilled magic missile at a reduced caster level such that only three missiles shoot forth this time.

btw, I've thought about it, and I think I'll just go with fell drain for my anniversary bonus feat. Couldn't hurt to have another debuff in my arsenal.

[planswalker]

[roll0] that I forgot to roll

[Debatra]

Attack of Opportunity
[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]
[roll3]

[planswalker]

[roll0]

[roll1]

dammit, why did I forget to take my 5' step back? I swear I meant to and NOT depend on my ac tanking this hit. If that grapple takes, I don't think Jim survives this.

[Debatra]

Chokers have reach anyway. My question is why you didn't cast defensively.

...And I'm not actually sure what happens here. You made your Concentration check to keep your spell, but would Improved Grab mean it still fizzles? Because at this point, I'll just say it: You only need to deal two points of damage to win.

[planswalker]

I'm... not totally sure that this is 100% covered in the rules. I could see it being ruled that I concentrated through the interrupting attack and so my spell goes off as the thing is trying to establish a hold and begin its grapple OR that the grapple is an automatic part of what's trying to interrupt the spell and therefore the choker chokes me.

I think this is a scenario where a DM ruling is called for, and I can understand it going either way. I believe this one really is just your call.

as for why I didn't cast defensively: that requires a dc 17 concentration check, thus a 20% chance of failure which would give it another round to try to hit me and if it connected, likely kill me in the ensuing stranglehold. I deemed there was likely only a 15% chance of the AoO hitting me and so long as it didn't the fight was over right then and there.

I just forgot that chokers had reach, the evil little devils.

[Debatra]

Ah, yes. I forgot that failing to cast defensively automatically ruined the spell.

You complete your spell as the creature pulls you in, and it now lies dying on the floor.

[planswalker]

yeah, and since the conentration dc is only 10+ damage dealt and Jim has 3/- dr, it actually isn't the smartest choice for him to cast defensively unless he's looking at taking 7 or more damage and the thing's likely to hit his stratospheric ac with their attacks. Jim is a strange spellcaster.

Glad that this nightmarish fight is over, Jim takes a moment to remove his gauntlet and beat the thing with his fist until it's well and truly subdued. Also because it feels good. He figures giving it a good smack should suffice, assuming the thing stabilizes. If not, well, he tried to bring it in alive. He honestly tried his damndest. [roll0]

After doing that, if it still breathes, he'll see if he can stabilize it himself. After all, a live bounty would be appreciated.

[roll1]

That accomplished and regardless of if the thing is still breathing or not, Jim will drag it upstairs and tell the man "The problem is taken care of".

going to coup de grace with my unarmed strike (a nonlethal weapon, so therefore doesn't threaten auto-death. Not that Jim will cry over this thing dying.)

[Debatra]

Comically, he manages to stabilize on his own right after you punch him.

The click of a key in its lock. The light of day through a nearby window. A Dwarf, practically in tears as he thanks you and gives you a pouch containing fifty pieces of platinum.

And no doubt a long, awkward journey back to the Assembly dragging along 280 pounds of unconscious Choker. At least the roads are flat.

[planswalker]

Jim finds himself completely uncaring about what anyone of this spectacle. The damn thing nearly choked him to death, but he won.

it might be worth investing in a bag of holding. Jim thinks to himself as he returns to the Assembly, mission accomplished.

"I've found the 'tentacle-y monster' in the dwarf's basement. Damned thing nearly choked me to death." Jim calls out upon his arrival.

[Debatra]

A Half-Orc you haven't met yet comes up from one of the lower floors and checks on the creature. "Huh, and still alive too. Well done. Well done indeed."

He helps you take it down a few floors and into a cage. "I've never seen a Choker so big before. Do you require healing?"

[planswalker]

"Yes." James croaks, his throat still sore from his life-and-death struggle with the thing.

[Debatra]

"Lucky for you I'm a Cleric as well as a Scholar." He takes a moment to inspect your bruises, then casts Empowered Cure Moderate Wounds.

[roll0]

[Debatra]

Upon seeing that this fully healed you, he reaches into the cage and casts Quickened Cure Light Wounds on the Choker.

[roll0]

Dragon Prophesier: With the right feats, you can cast the equivalent of a seventh-level spell at Character Level one.

...I'm just going to get that thing banned, aren't I?

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it; the only way I can think of to do that particular trick in Aldhaven is to be a Human Bard with two Flaws. And it's not like you'd be getting actual seventh-level spells. Just some occasional free metamagic.

[planswalker]

what source is that feat from?

"I don't mean to be crass, but do you know if the Assembly will be giving me any compensation for bringing this thing back alive rather than dead? Having nearly been strangled by the beast yet still finding the time to preserve its life for further study, I'd appreciate it if my efforts received recognition."

I'm actually assuming that the Assembly isn't going to give Jim much in the way monetarily reward, but that the payoff for live capture is going to be seen in the story reward for this little mission. That and earning a little favor among the Assembly.

how much xp was that encounter worth, anyways?

[Debatra]

Magic of Eberron.

And it's actually three feats. Dragon Prophesier (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/dragon-prophesier--721/) gives you an ability similar to Psionic Focus called "Prophetic Favor". Prophecy's Shepherd (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/prophecys-shepherd--2257/) lets you Quicken Cure and/or Inflict spells for free (if you can cast them spontaneously) while you're in Favor. Prophecy's Shaper (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/prophecys-shaper--2256/) lets you Empower any spell once per round as long as it isn't the highest level you can cast (again, while you're in Prophetic Favor.

There are others, but those are the big three.

"Oh, didn't the posting say so? In addition to the five-hundred gold Jotun offered, you're getting an extra hundred." He leans in a bit before continuing. "Though if I may; the real reward is that the Assembly is a little surer that we can rely on you, and that you can rely on us Jim. My name's Grenak, by the way. Grenak Fairhair."

And you would be mostly right.

For the live capture, all totaled you net 700 XP.

[planswalker]

Eh, they're not really as powerful as you're making them out to be. You're blowing a turn to empower your spells and quicken cure spells for 7 rounds at CL6. And this is costing you three feats. The others all offer things that are... not really related to spellcasting and thus not likely to be worth pursuing. That "seventh-level equivalent" is an empowered quickened cure light wounds. dropping 1d8+1 x 1.5 as a swift action is hardly breaking anything at lvl 1. For those numbers of feats and the same number of turns, I know how to do a straight 24 fire damage at cl1.

If the other feats were a list of other further metamagic feats, we might just have to worry about getting them reigned in. As-is, it's certainly an interesting, powerful option, but not out of line for AVB.

"I'm James Miller. I recently had a... falling out with the University over my chosen line of research, and thus I'm unused to the concept of collaboration with my colleagues. Open-minded acceptance of pursuits of knowledge is quite a refreshing change from the strictures of censorship I experienced at school."

[Rizban]

Dragon Prophesier: With the right feats, you can cast the equivalent of a seventh-level spell at Character Level one.

...I'm just going to get that thing banned, aren't I?

EDIT: Actually, now that I think of it; the only way I can think of to do that particular trick in Aldhaven is to be a Human Bard with two Flaws. And it's not like you'd be getting actual seventh-level spells. Just some occasional free metamagic.
Magic of Eberron.

And it's actually three feats. Dragon Prophesier (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/dragon-prophesier--721/) gives you an ability similar to Psionic Focus called "Prophetic Favor". Prophecy's Shepherd (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/prophecys-shepherd--2257/) lets you Quicken Cure and/or Inflict spells for free (if you can cast them spontaneously) while you're in Favor. Prophecy's Shaper (http://dndtools.pw/feats/magic-of-eberron--9/prophecys-shaper--2256/) lets you Empower any spell once per round as long as it isn't the highest level you can cast (again, while you're in Prophetic Favor.

There are others, but those are the big three.Dragon Prophesier requires a full-round action to enter Prophetic Favor, with a limited duration 3+1/2 K(arcana) Ranks rounds. It's also limited to 1/2HD+Wis mod/day. Assuming min/maxed character, that's a max of 8 rounds at ECL6.

Prophecy's Shaper requires 2nd-level spells (so not at 1st-level without a 3 feat investment) and can't empower the highest spell level you can cast.

Prophecy's Shepherd is limited to cure/inflict spells.

I'm really not seeing where this is all overly broken. You're using a 3 feat investment to rapidly burn through your spells for quickened, empowered healing, which is nice but not all that effective a strategy.

[Debatra]

"Oh yes, I know who you are. I'm not much of a fighter, but in a practical sense I mostly have to agree with your thesis. And most members of the Assembly know that there's a difference between knowing how to do harm and wanting to."

"As for your monetary bonus, would you prefer coins or credit to your bank account?"

[planswalker]

"Coins, as I've not set up an account in Aldhaven. I don't trust banks."

[Debatra]

He shrugs and hands you a pouch with the money before leaving you to your business.

[planswalker]

okay, Riz and I have discussed things, and I believe we have enough to make a decision on whether or not you'll make a suitable DM for Aldhaven.

Ultimately, we really like your mastery of the ruleset and this is your single biggest asset you bring to the table. It's the reason you're being given a player or two to run.

That being said, we both have some significant reservations about your ability to create a fair encounter in solo games. Both of the fights I've seen you run left a rather sour taste in my mouth. It should be telling to you that you don't have down what's balanced for a solo encounter well that both fights should have ended in player death and that the second one only didn't because you very intentionally had the monster act out of character to enable the pc to have a fighting chance. Don't bother getting into an argument with me about why that choker encounter was "supposed to" be fair and how it's my fault or that I was unlucky. Ad hominem excuses or blaming the dice doesn't change the fact that it was an unfun encounter.

However, the very fact that you didn't blindly follow the choker's typical tactic but found a way to justify it leaving the pc with an opening to even out the fight is exactly what gives me hope. Without having to arbitrarily abort the encounter, you managed to find a way to turn a bad encounter into something that wasn't a one-sided murder. That took a little bit of ingenuity and thinking on your feet, and that earned you points in my eyes.


Anyways, I said all that to say this: I feel as if I've learned enough from this test thread to give you a pc or two to run to see how you do "in the wild", and I do not see continuing to play Jim as justified at this time. I already have a pc in this game and this test thread was not intended to be a workaround in the rules for me to play a second pc.

However, Riz has informed me that your own application for this game is in fact on the waiting list. One of the perks of being a dm is that your character is taken off the waiting list and is taken in the game. After all, it only seems fair for someone who is doing a major thing to get the waiting list moving to get to play as well. Part of the perk in playing in a multi-DM game is that we get to run characters as well. If you'll have me, I'll run your pc for this game once Rizban has approved the sheet.

[Debatra]

I'm not pretending that fight was anyone's fault but my own. And for what it's worth, I've learned my lesson from it.

I have no problem with you running Aeirthir.

[planswalker]

Okay, then. I guess you and I are just waiting on Rizban to get some sheets ready for approval.