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View Full Version : "Sending, sending..." *splortch*



Caractacus
2008-11-20, 04:51 AM
What do you think the chances are of the cleric getting that spell off before the grumpy and aggressive folk outside get the door open?

Reckon that anything gets through to the rest of the order?

Will Belkar 'make a difference'?

Will Mr Scruffy? :smallcool:

I think we all expect him (the cleric) not to make it through the scene, but will he make that contact we've been waiting so long for... :smallfrown:

SPoD
2008-11-20, 06:18 AM
Well, I think whatever is most interesting will be what happens. In this case, I think the most interesting result would be a partial message. Yes, the rules don't support that, but since when has that stopped Rich? Imagine if all Durkon gets is:

"From Haley: Alive, in danger in—"

Tempest Fennac
2008-11-20, 07:12 AM
I hope the Cleric doesn't die. (He's one of my favourite characters, even if he does channel engative energy.*) I'm guessing the message will be sent before anyone breaks in due to how ling the Order have been separate combined with how much the plot can progress on the Order's side while they are separate.


*Unless he meant things like Restoration and Remove Disease when he mentioned mostly having healing spells.

Kish
2008-11-20, 07:20 AM
I hope the Cleric doesn't die. (He's one of my favourite characters, even if he does channel engative energy.*)
[...]
*Unless he meant things like Restoration and Remove Disease when he mentioned mostly having healing spells.
I doubt a cleric of Loki in the OotS world would ever have the option of channeling positive energy. (Evil cleric of an evil god, or Neutral cleric of an evil god.)

Caractacus
2008-11-20, 07:41 AM
Yeah, I like the idea of a partial message, too.

I think the possibilities from that are excellent:

1) It's not a total success for the Haley's team, so it prevents everything being solved at once
2) It establishes SOME sort of contact
3) We get to see the worried faces of those who receive the partial news
4) We can have misunderstandings and other unexpected elements generated from the partial nature of the message
5) It marks the start of the beginning of the reunification...

Tempest Fennac
2008-11-20, 08:34 AM
Kish, there is some evidence that it works differently in OotS: in the crayon-based flashback, Loki comments about his level 1 Clerics only being able to bless water all day, and Hilgya used 2 Cure Light Wounds in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0077.html (I dout that a Cleric of her level would store many of those if they couldn't cast them spontaneously, so I'm guessing she channeled positive energy).

Lissibith
2008-11-20, 08:39 AM
I think from a storyline point of view, it doesn't matter if the whole message gets through or part of one does, but I think *something* has to get through. Just from a storytelling point of view, Haley has been stopped at every turn so many times that if it continues it's going to start feeling stale and predictable.

heroe_de_leyenda
2008-11-20, 08:47 AM
Kish, there is some evidence that it works differently in OotS: in the crayon-based flashback, Loki comments about his level 1 Clerics only being able to bless water all day, and Hilgya used 2 Cure Light Wounds in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0077.html (I dout that a Cleric of her level would store many of those if they couldn't cast them spontaneously, so I'm guessing she channeled positive energy).

Actually, I think it is the other way around.
I've never played an Evil Cleric, but I guess that since healing spells are very, very useful, and being unable to spontaneously swap normal spells for cure spells, evil clerics probably prepare a lot of them -and swap them for the more offensive inflict spells if they need more firepower.

Kaytara
2008-11-20, 08:48 AM
Where in heavens does the idea of evil clerics not being able to channel positive energy come from? :smallconfused: We've had Redcloak and other evil clerics casting healing spells many, many times.

Count me in on the 'partial message' camp. I vote "From Haley: Alive, in danger in Greysky-". It's enough for them to go on with but leaves plenty of room for chaos and misunderstanding. Completely failing to cast the Sending would at this point be far too frustrating and anti-climactic after such a build-up and I'm sure Rich is aware of it.

Maybe "From Haley: Alive, in danger in Greysky with Belkar". :smallamused:

hamishspence
2008-11-20, 08:57 AM
Channel, not cast. All clerics can cast positive and negative energy spells, but the Turn/rebuke thing is what Channeling is. Also, spontaneous casting- Good cleric can spontaneously convert his spells to healing, Evil, to Inflicting.

For neutral, some gods let you choose, some don't.

"Channelling negative energy" is apparently an evil act. Oddly, Casting Negative Energy spells, isn't.

Tempest Fennac
2008-11-20, 09:05 AM
I know how the rules work (sorry about using the wrong terminology; "chanelling" is used to describe what happens when using Reiki, so I was using the term here as well). I was just saying that I wouldn't expect a Cleiric of her level to bother with Cure Light Wounds like that (I was refering to the idea that she stored them rather then saying she couldn't use them).

In regards to Sending, isn't the message sent in 1 go in normal D&D?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-11-20, 09:09 AM
It takes 10 minutes to cast the spell. 100 rounds. The battle will be over long before then in all likelihood. I can see modifications of that for Rule of Cool or plain suspense, but when was the last battle you had that lasted 10 rounds, let alone 100?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-11-20, 09:12 AM
It takes 10 minutes to cast the spell. 100 rounds. The battle will be over long before then in all likelihood. I can see modifications of that for Rule of Cool or plain suspense, but when was the last battle you had that lasted 10 rounds, let alone 100?

Tempest Fennac
2008-11-20, 09:18 AM
The problem is that we don't know the Thief's Guild's CR. While Haley was able to one-shot some members, others are likely to be tougher, and Crystal is at least Haley's level as well.

whitelaughter
2008-11-20, 09:24 AM
It takes 10 minutes to cast the spell. 100 rounds. The battle will be over long before then in all likelihood. I can see modifications of that for Rule of Cool or plain suspense, but when was the last battle you had that lasted 10 rounds, let alone 100?

Point, but remember that Haley and Celia have been fighting to buy time: they'll have made maximum use of delaying tactics - frex, the fog cloud. There will have been several rounds with no combat, due to fog, barred doors, and so on. And killing a PC is a time consuming activity, due to potions of healing etc.

amuletts
2008-11-20, 09:40 AM
Yeah, it's pretty easy to delay a battle. I wonder how long Crystal spent checking that barrel of pickles? I also like the cleric of Loki, but then I have a soft spot for them as my 'main' is one. See the avatar? Loki Cleric!

Vagnarok
2008-11-20, 10:30 AM
There also might have been a minute or so before the combat rounds started.

I really hope that he gets the whole message off. I want my friends to get back together and start kicking some BBEG Butt!

Caractacus
2008-11-20, 02:16 PM
We just have to hope that 100 rounds passes quickly here. Could he have started sending even a minute or so before the fight started? That would 'save' ten rounds...

Sounds hard though to spin it out for ninety more, especially if the others are at the door already and Haley is fighting Crystal.

Do you think that:

this will be the moment for Celia to save the cleric at the last minute and the sending gets off okay?

or that Celia 'saves' him by hitting the whole group of bad guys and him with lightning and is surprised when he, too, dies easily through not having 'resistance to lightning' or something?

Tempest Fennac
2008-11-20, 02:23 PM
I can't quite see her being that naive.:smalltongue: She'd probably either assume that all humans have resistance, or none of them do anyway.

raphfrk
2008-11-20, 02:33 PM
Probably Belkar will save the cleric as part of his pretending to have character growth thing.

Flame of Anor
2008-11-21, 12:59 AM
Ooh, good point.

Chronos
2008-11-21, 01:26 AM
Actually, I think it is the other way around.
I've never played an Evil Cleric, but I guess that since healing spells are very, very useful, and being unable to spontaneously swap normal spells for cure spells, evil clerics probably prepare a lot of them -and swap them for the more offensive inflict spells if they need more firepower.A low-level negative cleric would face difficult choices for those spell slots, but a higher level cleric? Most 1st-level spells cease being very useful at around 5th or 6th character level, but Cure Light Wounds is always useful. It's quite plausible for a negative cleric after a certain point to fill all of their first-level slots with cures.

Scion_of_Darkness
2008-11-21, 04:33 AM
I suspect Belkar will save them. I have a feeling that the "hallucinatory" Lord Sojo will play a part in the removal of the Mark of Justice. I suspect it is customized to allow Lord Sojo to influence Belkar somehow.

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-11-21, 04:47 AM
A low-level negative cleric would face difficult choices for those spell slots, but a higher level cleric? Most 1st-level spells cease being very useful at around 5th or 6th character level, but Cure Light Wounds is always useful. It's quite plausible for a negative cleric after a certain point to fill all of their first-level slots with cures.Unless he has access to the SpC, in which case if he has more CLW than Lesser Vigor he deserves death.

Linkavitch
2008-11-21, 01:24 PM
I hope the Cleric doesn't die. (He's one of my favourite characters, even if he does channel engative energy.*) I'm guessing the message will be sent before anyone breaks in due to how ling the Order have been separate combined with how much the plot can progress on the Order's side while they are separate.


*Unless he meant things like Restoration and Remove Disease when he mentioned mostly having healing spells.

Do you mean 'negative' energy? Or, if you mean the anti-negative do you mean positive?

Raging Gene Ray
2008-11-21, 09:20 PM
The question now is: Did the cleric ever get the message to Durkon, or did he run off to rally Belkar to his defense?