Chapter 12 [Pushing into the City]

[reefwood]

Chapter 12 [Pushing into the City]

[OOC: This mission will take you back to Verdas.

The city had been defensively surrounded by numerous wall of fire spells after Nemedor was turned away in Chapter 5 [Taking the Tower]. Since then, Nemedor has breached the outer wall and more or less taken control of the outer half of the city. The inner half of the city is protected by a second layer of wall of fire, and the city center is protected by yet a third layer. Nemedor is preparing for another big push that will involve several steps:

1) Take out the defenses along the second layer
2) Breach the second layer
3) Fight through the inner half to reach the third layer
4) Take out the defenses along the third layer
5) Breach the third layer
6) Fight to take control of the city center.


Wall of fire
You won't be involved in all those steps because that would be too much for a single session, but you would be briefed on the spell wall of fire. It is a spell that can be maintained through concentration or made permanent with permanency. One thing that isn't spelled out directly is that as a spell that creates a non-instantaneous fire, wall of fire can catch you on fire if you pass through it, take damage, and fail on a DC 15 Reflex save.

Anyway, you may want to brainstorm ideas on how to deal with a wall of fire and tactics may differ if you are in combat vs out of combat. You can certainly fly over it, fire resistance will reduce or negate damage if you pass through it, and spell resistance negates damage entirely. Also, you can teleport to the other side of it, but keep in mind that you cannot see through the wall, so you need to have a way seeing a location on the other side of the wall, and there is a chance that you may wind up in the wrong location. What I can tell you is that PCs will definitively survive one pass through the wall of fire and probably two or maybe even more. NPC squad members should be able to get through one pass, and I think there are still plenty of healing potions to go around. However, the undead probably don't stand much chance of passing through it. At least not the 1-2 HD skeletons.


Time
This mission will be a little different because not only will it be important to decide how you spend your time as characters but also as players. This mission will only be one session, and it will run from 7pm to midnight. I know we don't always start right on time, and I will need time to draw maps during the session, so there will be about 4 hours or so of actual gaming time. I am prepping for 3 hours worth of gaming (or rather, you should be able to gain enough points in this time) because things tend to run longer than expected, and there will be side/bonus challenges too.

Part of me is reminded of a video game in the sense that you will be running through levels with multiple potential challenges along the way and receiving a break when you get to the end of a level. But not quite that linear. In fact, it will often be up to you to decide which way to go. There might be hints as to which fork leads to what, but the direction will be your choice. Also, it may not always be obvious as to which one is a main challenge and which is a side challenge (or maybe they both are), but anything you do to help your army will earn points. The more you do, the more you get, and maybe things will even come up that are more important to your characters than points. I guess "choose-your-own" adventure might be a better comparison than avideo game. So, I am actually prepping more challenges than we will be able to complete, and that is fine for me because with a little modification, some of them are things from the past that weren't played out, and others I can still use in the future.

Also, this is one reason I want to give you mission info ahead of time. So you can be ready to go when we sit down at the table. Figure out what spells you want for the day and how they work and how they may be useful in urban warfare. Maybe you don't want to take the entire squad because controlling more people takes up more time? Or maybe you do want everyone because it will give you more fighting power to take out enemies faster?

Finally, the ending time won't be a hard limit. If we are close to finishing a challenge, and the clock hits midnight, we can probably go a little bit longer. And like parts of some of the previous missions, this kind of "real time" time limit is an experiment on my end. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. If it does, I may use it again, but if doesn't, I won't unless I can make it work better.


Reinforcements
The commanding officer (Sahme in this mission) will be able to call for reinforcements one time during this mission. I don't have the rules yet figured out for this, but the number of reinforcements will be randomly rolled, and the deeper you are in enemy territory, the greater chance that some of them are killed on the way to reach you, and the longer it may take.


Points
I won't tell you everything that scores points or the point values, but taking out threats to the army will always earn points in this mission, though, relevant threats may not always be obvious. On the flipside, losing squad members or other Nemedoran soldiers will always lose points. The point values simply depend on the level of the character on both sides. Although, the undead created or controlled by spells are PC resources just like any other spell or summoned creature, so losing the undead won't lose points.

[michael]

Sounds like a fun mission! Good luck everyone.

[reefwood]

Day 47


6:00am - Nemedoran forces move into Verdas. They march between gaps in the outer wall of fire and up through siege engines over the stone wall.
- Nimarious casts phantom steed (expires in 10 hrs @ 4pm).

The bulk of fighting breaks out a mile into the city near the second wall of fire that surrounds the inner portion of the city.


7:10am - As openings are created in the line of Verdasian troops defending the second wall of fire, Nemedorans squads are sent through the flaming wall to push deeper into the city and establish secure staging areas.
- Sahme casts fly on himself (expires in 9 min @ 7:19am) and detect thoughts
- Nimarious casts resist energy is cast on himself, the hill giant ghoul, his phantom steed, the rock crab zombie, and Bodyguard (expires in 100 min @ 8:50am).

Verdasian troops and members from the Order of Kem hurry to fill the gap in the defensive line but are no match for the magically-enhanced Nemedorans with their enslaved undead and summoned allies.
- Sahme casts fireball x2, fly, greater invisibility, scorching ray; 1 ch. of phantasmal killer, 1 ch of summon monster IV
- Bard Mage uses 6 rnds of bardic performance, 1 ch. of sound burst
- Nim casts resist energy x5, haste x2, summon monster V, summon monster IV


7:12am - Fast Encounter #1 (1d2 hp, 1d2 spells)
Sahme - 10% hp bumped to spells; 1+1 = 2 spell levels worth of slots
Nim - 10% hp bumped to spells; 1+2 = 3 spell levels worth of slots


7:14am - The Nemedoran squad is ambushed by young would-be heroes who open their assault with a poor placed fireball and are quickly cut down. However, PFC Paulson is weakened by a pair of poison tipped arrows (2 Con damage) and falls unconscious.
- Sahme casts fireball, magic missile
- Bard Mage uses 3 (?) rnds of bardic performance
- Nim casts haste, summon monster V


[OOC: I tried to keep track of spells cast and limited abilities in order to help track durations, but my notes may not be complete, so if you have more things marked off as used, your list is probably correct, but my totals are:
- Sahme cast greater invisibility, fireball x3, fly, detect thoughts, scorching ray, magic missile, +2 spell levels of slots (or 4th-level x1, 3rd-level x4, 2nd-level x1 x2, 1st-level x1, +2 spell levels of slots); 1 ch. of phantasmal killer, 1 ch of summon monster IV
- Bard Mage used 9 (?) rnds of bardic performance, 1 ch. of sound burst
- Nim cast summon monster V x2, summon monster IV x1, haste x3, resist energy x5, +3 spell levels of slots (or 5th-level x2, 4th-level x1, 3rd-level x3, 2nd-level x5, +3 spell levels of slots)

As usual, not everything in this mission went as expected. I don't mean this in a bad way and won't go into all the details, but some adjustments on my part were required - both during the session and after. This isn't a criticism - especially since I don't want to give away what was done well or not; that is for you to figure out - but I want to explain the main adjustments.

First, I thought we would get through at least 1 more fast encounter and 1 more regular encounter for a guaranteed Fair to Good rating as long as losses weren't too bad and too many enemies didn't escape. Maybe even more encounters if one was completed very fast, which could have led to a possible Great rating, or Superb rating if no losses were taken. Success was also dependent on the players using their time and resources wisely. Pack enough punch to get through an encounter quickly but not so much that there isn't enough punch for the next one. While at the same time using actions that are familiar or looking them up ahead of time, so game time is used efficiently.

However, the main encounter took twice as long as I expected. It became clear that I underestimated the game time required, so I decided to double its point value. Also, I added points for getting through the wall of fire because, even though this was practically guaranteed, it did consume resources and some of the NPC soldiers may have not made it if the reinforcements arrived earlier.

Another reason the main encounter may have taken longer is that the Verdasian set-up was altered by the apparent Nemedoran presence and danger. I excepted the dwarves to set up a shield wall on the main road with archers behind them and casters supporting all around. Basically, one big battle with the Nemedoran squad needing to close the gap and/or use ranged attacks. But it didn't play out that way. The casters heard that they were spotted, so they split up down alleys, and then, seeing the casters being fireballed, the other troops split up to avoid that danger and get behind the invaders. As a result, it kind of turned into 3 or 4 smaller battles that were spread out.

The last thing to mention is my realization that there was no system in place to account for NPCs who are taken out temporarily. Usually, if a friendly soldier or enemy is taken out (i.e. killed, captured, etc), then that status is considered permanent, and points are awarded or penalized accordingly. However, the status of PFC Paulson (Sahme's ranger) is unknown. He isn't dead yet, but he isn't conscious either, so he has been taken out for the time being. Even if he recovers for the next Chapter, points have never been scored based on the next Chapter, and he would have been unavailable for the other encounters in this Chapter. Therefore, I will say for now that if a friendly soldier is taken out during a mission and not recovered by the end but not removed permanently, then the loss penalty is reduced by half. Also, this particular instance is a unique circumstance because you will usually know if your soldiers are alive or dead at the end of a Chapter, but for this one, even if PFC Paulson dies later, his loss penatly will not increase.]

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Mission Score
150 pts = Superb
125 pts = Great
100 pts = Good
75 pts = Fair
50 pts = Poor
25 pts = Terrible

Encounter #1 (Wall of Fire): 1 pt per Nemedoran x6 = 6 pts

Encounter #2 (Verdasian Reinforcements): 30 pts x2 = 60 pts

Fast Encounter #1: 2 pts + 3 pts = 5 pts

Encounter #3 (Young Heroes): 10 pts

Losses (-1 pt per level): PFC Paulson (5 pts)/2 = -2.5 pts

Total = 78.5 pts for a Fair rating (2 APs)
Brion Shaw: 3 AP +0 AP = 3 AP
Sahme Sweetwater: 0 AP + 2 AP = 2 AP
Nimarious: 3 AP + 2 AP = 5 AP

Nimarious can level up with a 75% of standard increase to wealth (+15,000 gp from 10th to 11th). The next Chapter (13) will begin only a couple hours later in game time, so the only class abilities that would be gained are those that kick in immediately and do not require rest. Therefore, no new spell slots can be filled, but if the arcane bond slot has not been used yet, it can be used to cast a new spell. The new feat, increased skills, and anything else should kick in right away unless they say otherwise. Also, any item that can be obtained as new through a reward package can be obtained immediately, but upgrading items will probably make them unavailable for the start of Chapter 13.

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Income
Income is earned at the end of the day, so nothing yet for today.

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Spoils
I have the spoils from the last encounter divided by NPC, and then at the end, there is a summary of all the equipment pulled off the bodies.

Gnome
Mw Chainshirt (Small - 12.5 lb)
Darkwood Shield (Small - 2.5 lb)
Mw Drum (Small - 0.75 lb)
Spellpouch (2 lb)
Pouch (0.125 lb)
2x Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb each)
Potion of invisibility (CL3: 3 min - 0.1 lb)

Half-elf
Mw Breastplate (30 lb)
Mw Heavy Steel Shield (15 lb)
Mw Heavy Mace (8 lb)
Mw Light Crossbow (4 lb)
Case of 10 bolts (1 lb)
Silver holy symbol of Sarenrae (1 lb)
Spellpouch (2 lb)
Backpack (2 lb)
2x Holy water (1 lb each)
Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb)

Half-orc
Mw Breastplate (30 lb)
Mw Heavy Steel Shield (15 lb)
Mw Warhammer (5 lb)
Mw Shortspear (6 lb)
2x Tanglefootbag (4 lb each)

Kobold
Mw Chainshirt (Small - 12.5 lb)
Mw Rapier (Small - 1 lb)
Mw Shortbow (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver of 20 arrows (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver w/ 5 arrows (Small - 0.75 lb, 3 poison tipped)
Backpack (Small - 0.5 lb)
Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb)

Elf
Backpack (2 lb)
Spellbook (3 lb)
Spellpouch (2 lb)
Wand of fireball (CL5: 5d6 fire @ 600 ft vs Ref DC 14 w/ 1 charge - 0.1 lb)
2x Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb each)
Potion of cat's grace (CL3: +4 Dex, 3 min - 0.1 lb)
Potion of invisibility (CL3: 3 min - 0.1 lb)


Summary
2x Mw Breastplate (30 lb each)
2x Mw Heavy Steel Shield (15 lb each)
2x Mw Chainshirt (Small - 12.5 lb each)
Darkwood Shield (Small - 2.5 lb)

Mw Heavy Mace (8 lb)
Mw Warhammer (5 lb)
Mw Shortspear (6 lb)
Mw Rapier (Small - 1 lb)
Mw Light Crossbow (4 lb)
Case of 10 bolts (1 lb)
Mw Shortbow (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver of 20 arrows (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver w/ 5 arrows (Small - 0.75 lb, 3 poison tipped)

2x Backpack (2 lb each)
Backpack (Small - 0.5 lb)
Pouch (0.125 lb)
Mw Drum (Small - 0.75 lb)
Silver holy symbol of Sarenrae (1 lb)
3x Spellpouch (2 lb each)
Spellbook (3 lb)
2x Holy water (1 lb each)
2x Tanglefootbag (4 lb each)

Wand of fireball (CL5: 5d6 fire @ 600 ft vs Ref DC 14 w/ 1 charge - 0.1 lb)
6x Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb each)
2x Potion of invisibility (CL3: 3 min - 0.1 lb each)
Potion of cat's grace (CL3: +4 Dex, 3 min - 0.1 lb)

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Time Off
Since the next Chapter will begin later in the later, Time Off will be a special short break equal to 1 hour per AP. Therefore, 2 AP means 2 hours, so Chapter 13 will begin at 9:15am on Day 47.

[reefwood]

Re: Spoils

Do icnivad or Rabbit want any of these spoils from the last session? If so, please post your preferences before the next session, and we can sort it out online.

Michael may select from the leftovers at the start of the next session, and anything left unclaimed will be left behind (just like we handled the other combat of the last session).

Jan 7, 2011 13:47:19 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Summary
2x Mw Breastplate (30 lb each)
2x Mw Heavy Steel Shield (15 lb each)
2x Mw Chainshirt (Small - 12.5 lb each)
Darkwood Shield (Small - 2.5 lb)

Mw Heavy Mace (8 lb)
Mw Warhammer (5 lb)
Mw Shortspear (6 lb)
Mw Rapier (Small - 1 lb)
Mw Light Crossbow (4 lb)
Case of 10 bolts (1 lb)
Mw Shortbow (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver of 20 arrows (Small - 1.5 lb)
Quiver w/ 5 arrows (Small - 0.75 lb, 3 poison tipped)

2x Backpack (2 lb each)
Backpack (Small - 0.5 lb)
Pouch (0.125 lb)
Mw Drum (Small - 0.75 lb)
Silver holy symbol of Sarenrae (1 lb)
3x Spellpouch (2 lb each)
Spellbook (3 lb)
2x Holy water (1 lb each)
2x Tanglefootbag (4 lb each)

Wand of fireball (CL5: 5d6 fire @ 600 ft vs Ref DC 14 w/ 1 charge - 0.1 lb)
6x Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL3: 2d8+3 - 0.1 lb each)
2x Potion of invisibility (CL3: 3 min - 0.1 lb each)
Potion of cat's grace (CL3: +4 Dex, 3 min - 0.1 lb)