World of Warcraft - Interbellum (OOC Thread)

[BananaPhone]

Taking actions for next turn?

I'm assuming Group 1 + 4 of raptors are swarming the ogre?

[MrAbdiel]

You can queue up an action, sure; I'm all about juicing whatever extra speed we can get our of otherwise sluggish PBP shackles! Yes, groups 1 and 4 are swarming towards Mor'Lag. Group 4 will attack next turn, the others will still have to fight through the bloody wind to get close enough to attack the turn after.

[BananaPhone]

Hmmm, well if each square is 5 feet, then a 30ft radius area effect will about cover an entire half of the map, almost - at least practically speaking it'll cover all the 'enemies'.

[MrAbdiel]

Map’s not to scale, it’s just a prompt to better manage theatre of the mind for now!

[hand ax ranger]

Oh yes I have this bullet. Might want to use it lol.

Edit to prevent double posting: Well shoot that went poorly. Granted i goofed up the math and didn't add the aim bonus by accident but still.....I don't think that would hit as a 10 anyway.

Hop you enjoyed the perspective though. just kind of came to me.

[MrAbdiel]

I did enjoy the perspective! But alas, there is little that can be done to redeem a natural 2 on the dice. :(

As for your rifle - Hmm! Well, the crossbow is Ranged Damage 3. Let's use that, except we'll penalize it with a 1 flat point quirk (Loud and Smokey); and benefit it with a 1 flat point bonus (Dangerous) to give it a critical range of 19-20. There. Your starter rifle - starting to get a little old and in need of retirement, but functional enough!

With your ranged attack of +6, and the weapon's damage of 3, you go one point above the power cap; so I'll let you decide if you want the attack profile to be henceforth "+5 attack, 3 rank effect" or "+6 attack, 2 rank effect". But you'll have to decide it once for this item and lock it in - there's advantages to buy that allow shifting back and forth between damage effect and attack bonus. Or you could find another gun and have it be the 'accurate' one by contrast, if you like.

[MrAbdiel]

Preparation Turn Sequence:

20 - Marion conjures her Death and Decay, and holds it ready for the first targets to emerge.
16 - Jakk'ari arrives at the wagons, and compels the spirits of air to hinder the movement of attackers incoming.
8 - Zachary arrives at the wagons, hurls himself into cover in the northmost one, and begins scanning around where he saw glimpses of red scale on his way in with an Aim action.
8 - Isaera offers an unprompted and hilarious accusation to the GM's delight, and casts arcane missiles. Strictly speaking she isn't holding her action, since her magic requires a turn to cast and then 'goes off' at the beginning of her next turn. Functionally, she casts the spell and prepares to fling it at an emerging target on her turn.
3 - Mor'Lag charges out into the open space between the treeline and the wagons, making herself an obvious target for the raptors.
1 - The medics try to calm the horses, which are skittish at the group's tension. The drivers take up spears and step into the spaces between the wagons encouraging Isaera and Marion to keep behind them for protection - not a particularly progressive offer, but one they seem intent to follow through on.

Turn 1:

The raptors become visible as their stalking effect is broken by the pack leader's command to attack. All four groups become visable.

Trigger: Marion's prepared action goes off. She launches her Death and Decay at Raptor group 3, which emerges into her view. (Rolls here.) One is immediately killed, the other two survive.

22 - Raptor group 1 moves forward; but because of Jakk'ari's buffeting winds, they cross only half the distance to the wagons.
21 - Raptor group 3 moves forward, with the two surviving raptors struggling out of the radius of the death and decay - but in doing so, they pass their decaying comrade, triggering another roll from the contagion. One more keels over, the last survivor pushes halfway to the wagons through the winds.
20 - Marion's turn again!

BananaPhone, it's your action. I'll render these results dynamically in the IC thread presently.

But while I'm showing my greenness with the system, since your Death and Decay is an area damage 3 effect, let me see if I understand how it works.

Because it's area, there's no attack roll; just a dodge roll to experience it at half ranks.

After that, everyone makes a damage resistance check - a toughness check - at either the full ranks of the power, or half the ranks if they passed the dodge. Your power lists a DC of 18 - shouldn't it be 13? Is there an extra 5 from somewhere I don't understand?

Doesn't change the rolls as they lay, but I am here to learn! :)

Spoiler: Map at the beginning of Turn 1

Show

20 - Marion casts Corruption, killing the last raptor in group 3.
20 - Raptor group 2 moves forward, now halfway to the wagons.
16 - Jakk'ari throws lighting at a raptor in group 2, but misses.
13 - Raptor group 4 closes to melee with Mor'Lag, and will begin attacking next turn.
8 - Zachary takes his aimed shot, but misses.
8 - Isaera snipes one of the minions from group 1 with an arcane missile.
1 - The medics kill a raptor in group 2 with their wands, Brother Bright fails to cast Power Word: Shield, and the driver near Marion moves up to support the driver facing off against group 2.

Turn 2:

Mor'Lag and Isaera suffer the effects of their failed saves against the bugbites, and are Impaired on all checks that involve mental focus including fighting, and casting spells.
22: Raptor group 1 moves into melee with Mor'Lag. They will begin attacking next turn.
21: Raptor group 3 moulders quietly on the ground.
20: Marion moves to the midst of the wagons where she can see Mor'Lag, uses extra effort, and casts a death and decay which excludes Mor'Lag on the scrum. Marion is fatigued by the extra effort. It kills a minion from group 4, and wounds the pack leader of group 1 (-1). The zone remains, and will impact them again next turn if Marion sustains it.
20: Raptor group 2 closes the distance, and are now in melee range of the two drivers on the north east. They will begin attacking next turn.
16: Jakk'ari's turn!

Spoiler: Map at the beginning of Turn 2

Show

Edit: Forgot to nix the one Isaera killed. There's one less raptor in group 4, at the beginning of turn 2!

There remain 2 raptors bearing down on the drivers nearby Jakk'ari; 2 raptors and 2 pack leader raptors engaging Mor'Lag. After Jakk'ari's action, the remaining minion and pack leader from group 4 will attack Mor'Lag - the first actual attack the enemies will have been able to attempt this combat!

Also, I used dodge as the defense roll against D&D before, but now that I think about it, it's more of a fortitude thing for sure. The tradeoff made no difference in the rolls so far, but it feels more appropriate.

Spoiler: Look, you are all tokens now.

Show

[hand ax ranger]

I did enjoy the perspective! But alas, there is little that can be done to redeem a natural 2 on the dice. :(

As for your rifle - Hmm! Well, the crossbow is Ranged Damage 3. Let's use that, except we'll penalize it with a 1 flat point quirk (Loud and Smokey); and benefit it with a 1 flat point bonus (Dangerous) to give it a critical range of 19-20. There. Your starter rifle - starting to get a little old and in need of retirement, but functional enough!

With your ranged attack of +6, and the weapon's damage of 3, you go one point above the power cap; so I'll let you decide if you want the attack profile to be henceforth "+5 attack, 3 rank effect" or "+6 attack, 2 rank effect". But you'll have to decide it once for this item and lock it in - there's advantages to buy that allow shifting back and forth between damage effect and attack bonus. Or you could find another gun and have it be the 'accurate' one by contrast, if you like.

Neat.

yeah shoot I'll have to think just give the rifle-musket inaccurate, decreasing it by two and having it work out. Thus atack +4 Damage 3, Dangerous, Quirk (Loud and Smokey, Inaccurate (Due to decayed rifling).

I also have it based of the long rifles style muzzle-loaders, but this one being as old as it is it makes sense it's not shooting too straight now...

Edit: wait this is a muzzle loader, so it would have activation (standard action) wouldn't it? In that case it give me a -2 flaw, which means I could go attack +4,, Damage 4, etc etc.

[WindStruck]

Hm. How would you be handling this disease for being impaired?

Normally what I did for Isaera's spellcasting complications was make it a DC 15 (or higher) expertise: magic DC if something was wrong. She could always make that, except now being impaired on her rolls, there's a small chance it fails?

[Plaids]

I made some small changes to my character since the ranged attack mod was above the campaign power level.
So some power points were reallocated to the Deflect power and Leadership advantage.

[MrAbdiel]

Hm. How would you be handling this disease for being impaired?

Normally what I did for Isaera's spellcasting complications was make it a DC 15 (or higher) expertise: magic DC if something was wrong. She could always make that, except now being impaired on her rolls, there's a small chance it fails?

Nah, it's not big enough to trigger a complication. It's just a -2 to attack rolls with spells in addition to with weapons, and also to expertise checks if they are already being called for. It won't independently make you roll something you weren't rolling, just make it harder to succeed existing rolls. :)

[hand ax ranger]

On that note, thoughts on gun?

[MrAbdiel]

Neat.

yeah shoot I'll have to think just give the rifle-musket inaccurate, decreasing it by two and having it work out. Thus atack +4 Damage 3, Dangerous, Quirk (Loud and Smokey, Inaccurate (Due to decayed rifling).

I also have it based of the long rifles style muzzle-loaders, but this one being as old as it is it makes sense it's not shooting too straight now...

Edit: wait this is a muzzle loader, so it would have activation (standard action) wouldn't it? In that case it give me a -2 flaw, which means I could go attack +4,, Damage 4, etc etc.

Sorry sorry, meant to do that. I’d rather not tinker around and make it a very customised power at this stage. That’s very much the kind of thing you can do with an engineer on hand, but for now,

atack +4 Damage 3, Dangerous, Quirk (Loud and Smokey, Inaccurate (Due to decayed rifling).

Looks alright to me!

[Feathersnow]

I'm unclear on when I need to roll. But, when Mor'Lag hits their turn in initiative, they will punch the biggest threat in range and follow up the punch with a grab attempt, as per their advantage.

(1d20+13)[19] hit
(1d20+13)[26] grab

[MrAbdiel]

When ever it looks like there’s unlikely to be a big change in your circumstances and you can afford to declare actions a roll before your initiative, do it! What you did now was perfect for example.

Edit: Though you do need to make a toughness roll against that raptor-slash, DC24!

[MrAbdiel]

Victory! You have murdered these poor, endangered animals. The couple of survivors have fled. I made the assumption Marion would trigger her death and decay again while she had the chance, but since Mor'Lag isn't whispering in sadistic pleasure while fighting these things like Marion was, Mor'Lag can decide if they're going to let this sick, injured raptor go or if they're going to give it a tombstone from the top rope. Mor'Lag can kill it in as grisly a fashion as she prefers, with no roll required at this point!

Everyone may gain 2 Character Points, at the end of this 'session', on account of your success and the good times had by all. Feel free to post your character's reaction in the aftermath, questions/appreciation they have for each other now that their first test of arms is over, or the likewise for the NPC's. I'll pack up the scene and move it on with the assumption that there is a pause for retrieval of the injured cadet from the swamp hut, and I'll set up the next point in the adventure later today. Though I will obsessively check the thread for updates all of today.

[Feathersnow]

Mor'Lag is an amoral pragmatist, not a sadist. She would probably release the thing if the party doesn't want to eat it.

[MrAbdiel]

By some standards, that's pretty damn humanitarian.

Ogretarian?

Goritarian?

[BananaPhone]

Victory! You have murdered these poor, endangered animals.

F***'em.



Out of curiosity, what was the Fort roll for? I'm assuming that was a typo and meant Reflex to save against an AoE?

[MrAbdiel]

I think I mentioned it in one of the spoiler tags, somewhere up there, but after the first D&D, reading the rules on the damage power in the SRD, it used the loose indication of “using the defence most appropriate”. And I thought if any power is going to require a fortitude roll rather than a dodge one, it’s a zone that is literally trying to rot you to death; so I started rolling it as Fort. It’s hard to imagine “dodging” the zone as it stands, after all.

[BananaPhone]

Interesting.


My CP expenditures are thus:

- A new spell: blast wave, details to come.
- New Advantage: Move-by Action.

[MrAbdiel]

CP spends look good to me.

Does the Fort shift bother you at all, by the way? I understand it happened kind of mid stream, but I’m open to persuasion back to dodge if thats what you were counting on.

[Feathersnow]

Think I'm going to raise my Agility or else save my CP to possibly RP gaining magic.

Any thoughts?

[BananaPhone]

It changes some things a bit, but ultimately as you mentioned it's 'as the GM sees fit', and your reasoning works. I don't mind .


New spell for approval:

Spoiler

Show

"Blast Wave" (Blast: Cone Area Damage 4)
400ft range, DC 19, Cone Area 2: 120 feet cone, DC 14.


Pretty simple and straight forward: a big AoE fire wave spell.

[Plaids]

I'm thinking of giving Jakk'ari some more defenses attributed to being rejuvenated by the wilderness and away from the Theramore bureaucracy.

I think either option for Mor'Lag could work well. The DEX based one could dovetail into a parable on how "you don't need dripping magic swag to be cool since you had the power inside all along" while the other could be "friends help bring out the best in you" if this was a novel.

[MrAbdiel]

Think I'm going to raise my Agility or else save my CP to possibly RP gaining magic.

Any thoughts?

Agility is nice. We are forced to picture it as a kind of 'physical awareness' of her supermuscled platform of a body rather than ballet skill, but it's hard to go past the dodge bonus AND some initiative AND some mitigation to your stealth difficulties. And Mor'Lag learning magic - perhaps from one of her party members - would be a cool route to take, but I think you're right to set it down the track a bit. It's fun seeing Mor'Lag as a physical wrecking machine who is fascinated by the mysterious powers of weedy little finger wigglers.

It changes some things a bit, but ultimately as you mentioned it's 'as the GM sees fit', and your reasoning works. I don't mind .

New spell for approval:

Spoiler

Show

"Blast Wave" (Blast: Cone Area Damage 4)
400ft range, DC 19, Cone Area 2: 120 feet cone, DC 14.


Pretty simple and straight forward: a big AoE fire wave spell.

I like the spell, and it's fun seeing Marion get power drunk with her destruction spells in combat, so I'm inclined to encourage more of that. 400ft range is hyuuuuuge though. It's like being a magical artillery piece. Is that kind of how you're picturing Marion? Raining fire from extreme ranges?

I'm thinking of giving Jakk'ari some more defenses attributed to being rejuvenated by the wilderness and away from the Theramore bureaucracy.

Works for me. Getting out of the necessary but suffocating confines of 'civilization' and back close to the elemental heart of the world.


While we're talking about it, I'm happy for CP expenditure to happen outside of active challenges as long as the changes are subtle enough it's conceivably understood as the expression of increasing skill; or as the first manifestation of a previously undisclosed ability. So an increase in atheltics, or the gaining of a new fighting technique or spell permutation is great. But if, for example, Zachary decided he wanted to become a druid, I would want to RP our way to something justifying that before the points were committed!

[BananaPhone]

I like the spell, and it's fun seeing Marion get power drunk with her destruction spells in combat, so I'm inclined to encourage more of that. 400ft range is hyuuuuuge though. It's like being a magical artillery piece. Is that kind of how you're picturing Marion? Raining fire from extreme ranges?

It's a product of the system, as each "spell" gets 100 feet of range per 1 rank of effect. (so rank 4 = 400 feet)

What is "big" about it though is the cone effect, as it's 120 ft (2 ranks of area (cone)). So it has a 400 ft range and from any point within that 400 ft the spell gets cast, which is a 120ft range 90' degree cone. Is that alright?

[MrAbdiel]

Oooooh yeah. Hmm. Well, it's alright. I expect you not to grieve me by doing something horrifying like casting it 400ft away, 120ft up in the air, deleting everything in a downward firecone before giggling and hiding behind a rock. The spell's implied image is that Marion focuses on a point between her and the target and the fire rolls outward from there, right?

Edit: Lol Plaids. Crazy Old Swamp Man: Blearg, pay me in eyeballs! Troll Chef Jakk'ari: This is perfectly acceptable currency.

[BananaPhone]

Oooooh yeah. Hmm. Well, it's alright. I expect you not to grieve me by doing something horrifying like casting it 400ft away, 120ft up in the air, deleting everything in a downward firecone before giggling and hiding behind a rock.

*thinks*


....no, I promise I won't do that .

[WindStruck]

Hm. Not sure how to spend CP at the moment..