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Post by reefwood on Jan 28, 2011 18:53:17 GMT -5
Into the Heart of the Heart Across the entire Hydrahead Peninsula there are only three major cities: - The port city of Ione (Eye of the Hydra) sits atop the northmost head and has been conquered by D'henna.
- Min'tatha (Belly of the Hydra) is nestled among volcanoes at the base of the two southernmost heads with Kashadan about to bear down upon this mining metropolis.
- The wide valley surrounded by rolling hills at the center of the peninsula is home to Verdas (Heart of the Hydra), which Nemedor is on the verge of overtaking.
VerdasNemedoran forces control more than half the city. The vast majority of Verdasian troops have been killed or captured. However, these gains have not come without great cost. Nemedor has suffered heavy casualties and has had to be patient more out of need than strategy. The more than month long siege has taken a toll on morale as well with unexpected reinforcements helping to hold off the invaders. The powerful Order of Kem has provided quite the potent boon to the defense, and even though less than half of the orcs made it into the city, they have been proven very difficult to put down... Day 49The final push into Verdas will commence in the early morning. Nemedoran forces are poised to reach the innermost wall of fire that surrounds the central wall around the core of the city. Once the defenders are cleared from the wall, key facilities and strongholds inside will be targeted. [ OOC: This big push will involve the following steps: 1) Fight through the inner portion of the city 2) Take out the defenders on the central wall 3) Get past the central wall of fire and stone wall 4) Fight to take control of the city center The PC squad may or may not be involved with all of these steps. This chapter will only be one-session long, and more than one combat will need to be completed successfully to earn a decent score. The squad may choose to bring the survivors found in Chapter 12 with them or call for basic reinforcements. More info on these options in the next post. Finally, the squad may retreat from an encounter (for whatever reason) and still continue with the overall mission after regrouping. This will impose no additional penalty other than the obvious: no points will be scored for defenders left alive or uncaptured, and any items left behind will be lost.] |
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Post by reefwood on Jan 28, 2011 19:38:59 GMT -5
AlliesThe attached file has all the stats for the surviving squad members, reinforcements, and PC grunts.
Surviving SquadThe three surviving members of the other squad from Chapter 13 will join the PC squad for this mission, if asked. All their limited resources (potions, scrolls, wands) were used up in their orc battle, but they are still very capable. There are two 5th-level Fighters who are built to do equally well in ranged, reach, or melee combat. Their commander is a 10th-level Cleric who focuses on healing with re-roll and movement domain abilities. The pros are pretty obvious. The cons are that 1) their deaths will penalize your final mission score [-5 per Ftr, -10 Clr], 2) more NPCs could slow the game down, and 3) they will get an equal share of the spoils. For this third con, PCs may each select one spoil, and then, the Cleric will select a spoil. Next, the PC grunts can each select one spoil, and then, each Fighter will choose a spoil. If there are any spoils left, we will repeat the process. If any of these soldiers are killed, their equipment will be returned to the main army. These NPCs can be divded among players however you choose, and you will have full control of them unless you try to make them do something against their nature. EDIT: These NPCs are a package deal. It's all or none.
ReinforcementsThe PC squad may elect to begin play with up to ten 5th-level Warriors. You can choose to bring less reinforcements at no penalty. Once the session starts, you may call on reinforcements by using the amulet of sending that will be issued to the highest ranking officer in the squad, but there is a chance that some will be killed on their way to reach you. The number that may killed will increase as you get further into the city, and it will take longer for them to reach you. Each reinforcement killed on the way or in battle will reduce your final mission score by -4 pts. However, reinforcements will not get spoils (unless given by PCs). Also, you only get reinforcements once, so if you start with them, you don't get to call for anymore later.
GruntsThese stats are mostly unchanged. Just updated. Potions, scroll, and wands have been removed because you should be keeping track of those limited resources. Arrows have been reset to 20 per grunt. You can give them more for free but be sure to add them to load. One minor change is that the +1 darkwood buckler given to the Rangers (Hunter and Paulson) is actually a light wooden shield, which means it cannot be worn while using a bow. Therefore, I changed it to a regular +1 buckler, which only increased load by 2.5 lbs, so it shouldn't change their current load and still provides the same AC bonus. Attachments:
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Post by reefwood on Feb 10, 2011 13:11:04 GMT -5
Allies - Deadline
If you want to use the "Surviving Squad Members" for this mission, let me know by the end of today. Otherwise, they are off the table, which is also totally fine. If you do choose them, please download or print out or download their stats before game time, or let me know that you need them printed out. I will not be giving them out during the game since there has been ample time to prepare ahead of time.
The "Reinforcements" can be selected at any point before or during the mission, and their stats were already printed out 2 missions ago and will be available at the table.
Selecting either or both groups will not impact the difficulty of this mission, but all deaths will penalize the final mission score, and the first group gets an equal share of the spoils.
Mission Scoring
I have made some adjustments to the scoring system for this mission. Defeating NPC enemies will still work the same (points equal to CR), but other challenges will now also have a similar "flat rate" instead of depending on what the players roll or how many squad members succeed.
One example from the last mission is the wall of fire. A point was awarded for every squad member that made it through, but under the adjusted system, the wall of fire would have been a challenge worth X points to get past - regardless of who tried to make it to the other side or succeeded - as long as the squad (intact or not) kept pushing into enemy territory. In terms of earning these points, it wouldn't have mattered if the entire squad made it across unscathed or if half were killed or if some stayed behind because it was too dangerous. What would have mattered is if this challenge stopped the squad or not. Of course, if squad members were killed by the wall of fire, that would result in penalties which could result in a net loss of points from this challenge, but that can happen in any encounter... and at least being able to press on would provide the opportunity for scoring more points. Or the decision could have been made to stop at the wall to prevent further losses, but this also means no more points would be scored (at least not for this challenge). Or the decision could have been made to send only the squad members that could get past the wall uninjured, so there would have been no losses, and the squad could have pressed on but with less members.
Another example that will probably come up in this and all future missions is the Fast Encounter. This will now be worth a set amount of points, which increases with difficulty, but this does not depend on the actual numbers rolled. If a Fast Encounter is 1d2 hp and 1d2 spells, it will be worth X points, regardless of whether everyone rolls 1's (which could total as little as 4 with 2 PCs) or everyone rolls 2's (as much as 12 with 3 PCs). I think this does a better job of representing a challenge in this system because the points earned by defeating NPCs are based on their CR, not on how many resources the PCs spend while defeating them. The one downside to Fast Encounters is that they provide no spoils, but not every encounter needs to have treasure, and the points earned will help obtain more rewards in the end.
The main reason for these changes is that I want the total amount of points that can be scored during a mission to be the same regardless of the number of PCs that play or NPCs that are brought along. I don't want a squad of 10 soldiers to be able to score more points than a squad of 5 soldiers because that would penalize the smaller group for not having enough players or leaving behind NPCs. This also means that the points that can be scored or lost through challenges will be the same for a group or 2 PCs or 3 PCs (although, the points that can be lost from squad death still depends on how many are on the mission). For example, either group would have to fight three CR 8 opponents and save six CR 1 allies in an encounter (30 pt total), but I would adjust the difficulty by upgrading or downgrading their equipment or other elements instead of changing the amount of people or CR. This will also make it easier to do quick adjustments if a player is able to play or has to cancel at the last moment.
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Post by michael on Feb 10, 2011 14:28:20 GMT -5
I think my vote is for taking the extra squad. The benefits of another high level cleric outweigh the downsides. I do think we should keep all of the grunts moving as one unit as much as possible. No more splitting them up, and always keep them near the cleric for healing. That should increase their chances of survival and reduce the time it takes to manage them.
Will we be able to select which spells the cleric prepares?
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Post by reefwood on Feb 10, 2011 14:35:31 GMT -5
Re: Surviving Squad MembersI think my vote is for taking the extra squad. The benefits of another high level cleric outweigh the downsides. I do think we should keep all of the grunts moving as one unit as much as possible. No more splitting them up, and always keep them near the cleric for healing. That should increase their chances of survival and reduce the time it takes to manage them. Will we be able to select which spells the cleric prepares? Good question. I mentioned this earlier but forgot to include it in the post above. The cleric has a preselected spell set, and everything he can do is listed on the stat sheet, but you can give him scrolls, wands, or other equipment.
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Post by michael on Feb 10, 2011 15:57:23 GMT -5
Could you print out the stats for the extra squad members for me? My printer's out of ink at the moment.
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Post by reefwood on Feb 10, 2011 17:34:15 GMT -5
Could you print out the stats for the extra squad members for me? My printer's out of ink at the moment. So you do want to use these 3 extra NPCs, right? I just don't want to use paper and ink unless you are certain. Either way, I will wait to see if anyone else chimes in by the end of today, but unless both other players vote NO, it is good to go since the highest ranking officer breaks ties  And if it winds up as YES, I'll print out the stats in the morning. |
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Post by michael on Feb 10, 2011 17:50:42 GMT -5
Cool. Thanks.
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Post by icnivad on Feb 11, 2011 14:50:07 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm down for the extra cleric.
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Post by icnivad on Feb 11, 2011 15:25:51 GMT -5
Also, concerning our forces, my commanding officer should probably be aware that my undead army has slightly changed. I've created skeletal horses for the half elves, and I've given the skeletons bows.
So, I have 5 bloody skeletal half elves mounted on bloody skeletal horses. The skeletons have glaives, +1 longbows, and longswords.
I still have 3 bloody skeletal boars,
and 1 ghoul giant.
(I have gotten rid of the crab. The 20 ft/rnd seems like it's causing more hassle than help.)
And still Bodyguard, of course.
Reefwood, What would the attack for the horses be? I know horses have some weird non-proficiency thing going on, but skeletons generally get proficient claw attacks, even if they don't have any weapons they are proficient with, so I wasn't sure how this would translate to horses.
and I'll send you my final character sheet before the game.
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Post by reefwood on Feb 11, 2011 15:51:22 GMT -5
Also, concerning our forces, my commanding officer should probably be aware that my undead army has slightly changed. I've created skeletal horses for the half elves, and I've given the skeletons bows. So, I have 5 bloody skeletal half elves mounted on bloody skeletal horses. The skeletons have glaives, +1 longbows, and longswords. I still have 3 bloody skeletal boars, and 1 ghoul giant. (I have gotten rid of the crab. The 20 ft/rnd seems like it's causing more hassle than help.) And still Bodyguard, of course. Reefwood, What would the attack for the horses be? I know horses have some weird non-proficiency thing going on, but skeletons generally get proficient claw attacks, even if they don't have any weapons they are proficient with, so I wasn't sure how this would translate to horses. and I'll send you my final character sheet before the game. The zombie crab has not been gotten rid of. You can leave it behind on this mission, but it will have to be destroyed by the squad (or at least Nim) if you want to get rid of it. The horse thing is an extraordinary ability called Docile, which treats the hooves as secondary attacks, so it's not actually about proficiency. The horse is still proficient with its hooves. A skeleton retains any extraordinary special abilites that improve its attacks, but since Docile does not improve its attacks, I'd say that is loses the Docile extraordinary ability. It looks like a horse skeleton hoof attack should be: Attack: +1 BAB +3 Str -1 size = +3 attack Damage: 1d4 +3 Str 2 hooves +3 (1d4+3) |
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Post by reefwood on Feb 13, 2011 14:37:08 GMT -5
Day 49
12:00pm - The final push into Verdas begins.
12:06pm - Street Ambush
12:20 - Fast Encounter #1
12:25 - Assault on the Wall
12:28 - Fast Encounter #2
12:30pm - The rest of the day is spent battling through the remaining defenses and taking control of strongholds within the city center. The sounds of combat fade as the sun touches the horizon, and while it will still take days to secure the city and round up all its citizens, the siege has come to an end. Verdas is under Nemedoran control.
[OOC: The PCs and other squad members use up the rest of their daily resources (spells, special abilities, etc) during the rest of the day, but there are 4 hours left in the day (8pm-12am) to do any personal work (study scrolls, mundane crafting, tracking down skeletons, etc). No magical healing can take place, but you can use magic items (potions, wands, etc) to heal and will receive natural healing during Time Off.
I am going to make random rolls to determine the fate of the skeletons left behind, and Gather Information checks will be required to track down their equipment by group. Anyone can make these checks on behalf of Nimarius. And if I recall correctly, there are 3 groups of skeletons in the city: 1 half-elf & 1 horse destroyed in the street ambush, 3 boars & 4 half-elves & 1 horse destroyed during the wall assault, and 3 horses left standing in front of the wall. I believe that last group doesn't have any equipment, so only 2 Gather Info checks are required.
Gather Info is now part of Diplomacy and each check requires 1d4 hrs, so decide which check to make first. After it is made, I will let you know if it succeeded and how long it took. Also, this takes place before anyone levels up, and the person making the check cannot do other tasks during this time. If there is any time left after the first check, another check can be made.
No check needs to be made to find the skeletons that are not permanently destroyed. If they survive, Nim gets them back automatically.]
Mission Score
up to 150 pts = Superb
up to 125 pts = Great
up to 100 pts = Good
up to 75 pts = Fair
up to 50 pts = Poor
up to 25 pts = Terrible
Street Ambush (scouts): 26 pts
Fast Encounter #1 (mage): 5 pts
Wall Assault (archers/mage): 30 pts
Wall of Fire (5 +5 dispel): 10 pts
Fast Encounter #2 (wood golems): 10 pts
Total = 81 for a Good rating (4 AP)
B.S. = 0 AP + 4 AP = 4 AP
S.S. = 3 AP + 4 AP = 7 AP
N.S. = 0 AP + 4 AP = 4 AP
Everyone can choose to level up. Sahme could go up to 11th-level and receive a 100% reward package (+20,000 gp). Brion and Nim could go up to 12th-level and receive a 75% reward package (+19,500 gp). Any leveling up happens at the end of Day 49 (i.e. overnight while resting).
Spoils
The extra NPCs receive an equal share of the spoils, so we will handle this “round robin” style in order of rank. To help this go a little faster and not overload this thread with back & forth posts, please PM (or email) me the top three items you want in the order that you want them (for your PC and soldier grunts). Each Nemedoran will receive their #1 item in order of rank if it is still available, and if not, then their #2, or if that is already claimed, their #3 item. Once everyone has responded, I will sort it out and should be able to post the first round or two of results. This is the rank order:
First Sgt. Shaw
Staff Sgt. Sweetwater
Sgt. Steerhelm
Sgt. Cleric
PFC Duncan
PFC Hunter
PFC Paulson
PFC Bodyguard
PFC Fighter #1
PFC Fighter #2
Below is the summary of all the spoils taken off bodies. Everything is magic except for the Arcane Tome. All the Verdasian troops were Medium creatures, except for the Imp Mage, so his wondrous items resize from Tiny to Medium. The rest resize from Small to Large. Weapons and armor do no resize. Identical items are lumped together (i.e. 2x +1 rapier), but each item is a separate pick, so if you want both +1 rapiers, they will be 2 out of your 3 picks. The only set of items that is 1 pick are the six magic arrows.
Summary
2x +1 Rapier (2 lb)
1x +1 Mithral Morningstar (3 lb)
1x +1 Dw Light Crossbow (2 lb)
3x +1 Comp. L-bow [Str+2] (3 lb)
1x set of +1 shock arrows (6 arrows total, 0.6 lb)
2x +1 Mithral shirt (10 lb)
1x +1 Dw Shield (5 lb)
1x Amulet of natural armor +1 (only fits Tiny to Medium creatures)
2x Belt of incredible dexterity +1 (1 lb)
1x Cloak of resistance +2 (1 lb)
2x Cloak of resistance +1 (1 lb)
1x Cloak of resistance +1 (only fits Tiny to Medium creatures, 1 lb)
2x Elixir of hiding (0.2 lb)
2x Elixir of tumbling (0.2 lb)
1x Elixir of fire breath (0.2 lb)
1x Potion of cure serious wounds (CL5: 3d8+5, 0.1 lb)
2x Potion of cure moderate wounds (CL5: 2d8+5, 0.1 lb)
5x Potion of cure light wounds (CL1: 1d8+1, 0.1 lb)
1x Potion of shield of faith +4 (CL 12: 12 min, 0.1 lb)
2x Potion of invisibility (CL3: 3 min, 0.1 lb)
8x Oil of flame arrow (CL5: 50 min, 0.1 lb)
1x Wand of enervation (CL7: @ 40 ft, 7 hr; x7 ch, 0.1 lb)
1x Wand of magic missile [9th] (CL9: 5 missiles 1d4+1 @ 190 ft; x4 ch, 0.1 lb)
1x Wand of scorching ray (CL7: 2 rays 4d6 fire @ 40 ft w/in 30 ft; x5 ch, 0.1 lb)
1x Arcane Tome (not magic, 3 lb)
Income
1 day (Day 49)
Sahme:
{[Level 10 x5] + Profession (military) modifier = daily wage in gp} x1 day
Brion & Nimarius:
{[Level 11 x10] + Profession (military) modifier = daily wage in gp} x1 day
Time Off
4 days (Day 50 - 53)
This income will be paid at the end of the next mission.
Living squad members and the Giant Ghoul heal for 4 nights over this time (HD x4).
EDIT: As stated earlier, special situations during Time Off will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The default scenario is that PCs spend all their time and resources on duty. Nothing in specific will be outlined, but you can imagine that there is plenty to do in post-siege Verdas. Anyway...
Any command undead spells on mindless undead that expire during Time Off will be automatically recast. This happens as soon as the spell expires. If you want to recast it at a different time, this must be done during a mission.
Undead will automatically fail Will saves and remain under control of the Command Undead feat during Time Off.
One thing I forgot to ask during the mission is... what time did Nimarius use this feat on the giant ghoul? It could have happened any time between 7am and noon.
Promotions
First Sergeant Brion Shaw is promoted to Sergeant Major.
Staff Sergeant Sahme Sweetwater is promoted to First Sergeant.
Sergeant Nimarious Steerhelm is promoted to Staff Sergeant.
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Post by michael on Feb 13, 2011 15:21:08 GMT -5
I'd like to learn more about that Arcane Tome before we divide the loot up. Perhaps we could take it to an expert in the army? If not, Nimareous, Brion, and the other cleric can all cast read magic.
Also, did the firebomber not have any more of his firebombs left? Those aren't listed on the loot sheet, and we definitely would have taken those.
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Post by reefwood on Feb 13, 2011 15:40:05 GMT -5
Re: Arcane Tome & FirebombsI'd like to learn more about that Arcane Tome before we divide the loot up. Perhaps we could take it to an expert in the army? If not, Nimareous, Brion, and the other cleric can all cast read magic. Also, did the firebomber not have any more of his firebombs left? Those aren't listed on the loot sheet, and we definitely would have taken those. Casting read magic does not decipher the arcane tome. Nim already made a Spellcraft check (32?) and failed to decipher it. Brion and the Sgt. Cleric can also make Spellcraft checks. There were a couple dozen or so vials and flasks still strapped to the firebomber. No one asked about it, but none of the vials or flasks strapped to the firebomber had a magic aura, and only the magical items and arcane tome were taken off him.
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Post by michael on Feb 13, 2011 15:52:45 GMT -5
This was a miscommunication, then. I thought you described all the vials and flasks on him as glowing magical. I definitely would have taken those off of him, magical or not.
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