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Post by reefwood on May 5, 2011 19:30:10 GMT -5
Day 74
12:00pm – The squad winds back through the tunnels with Skeletor holding the zombie headstone. When they reach the cavern leading to the surface, Garm mounts a Nightmare, and Nim directs it over the horde of zombies. Nim is also able to order the Zombie Ogre from the surface to help destroy the zombie horde, but the Zombie Horse refuses to jump down the hole. However, as the Zombie Ogre lands on the slope (11 pts damage), its legs literally fall apart, and the rest of the body rolls limply over the edge and into the horde.
12:30 – After Garm single-handedly finishes off the last of the zombies, the squad returns to the surface.
[OOC: Wanted to move things along a bit before we get too ahead of ourselves since that could affect other things already being discussed.
Seems like the next step is to destroy the Zombie Horse and exit the grove as you entered while lighting trees with continual flame along the way (4 miles).
Will Skeletor move with the squad through the grove, or is he going to go straight up 6 miles and head to Verdas immediately? What is Skeletor's Survival modifier?
Once of out the grove, the rest of the squad will also fly to Verdas, right?]
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Post by michael on May 5, 2011 20:10:28 GMT -5
Let's destroy the zombie horse and send Skeletor straight to Verdas as soon as we're out of the tunnels. For lighting trees, Garm will teleport 360 feet, light a tree, teleport 360 feet, light a tree, etc. That way he's keeping pace with the double movement of a nightmare. We'll all go to Verdas as soon as we're out of the grove, but we'll also keep an eye out for the Nemedoran army that's being sent to the area. If they're spotted, Brion will make a detour to report the situation to them.
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Post by reefwood on May 6, 2011 0:20:43 GMT -5
Let's destroy the zombie horse and send Skeletor straight to Verdas as soon as we're out of the tunnels. For lighting trees, Garm will teleport 360 feet, light a tree, teleport 360 feet, light a tree, etc. That way he's keeping pace with the double movement of a nightmare. We'll all go to Verdas as soon as we're out of the grove, but we'll also keep an eye out for the Nemedoran army that's being sent to the area. If they're spotted, Brion will make a detour to report the situation to them. [ OOC: This grove is a dense forest, but not super dense. In a dense forest, the maximum distance to spot others is 2d6 × 10 feet. The average distance would be 2*3.5 x10 = 70 ft, but let's go with 2*4 x10 = 80 ft. The skeletal Nightmares have a speed of 90 ft which is cut in half for overland movement because they need to fly around trees, so that is 45 ft, so they can hustle at 90 ft per round, which is 9 mi/hr. Garm would use a standard action to light a tree and could move at half-speed for the rest of his turn, so 20 ft. The next round, he could move another 20 ft and teleport an average of 80 ft, so that is a total of 120 ft every 2 rounds. That is an average of 60 ft per round, so 6 mi/hr. It is 4 miles out of the grove if you backtrack.] |
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Post by michael on May 6, 2011 16:11:21 GMT -5
Since we're going out the same way we came in, Garm doesn't need to see where he's going to be able to teleport there. He saw it all on his way in.
He'll teleport / light trees in a way that keeps him going at 9 miles/hr, and he'll be leading the way. Everyone on the Nightmares will follow him.
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Post by reefwood on May 6, 2011 18:39:57 GMT -5
Day 74
12:30pm – Skeletor turns into mist and circles up through the trees and out of sight. Meanwhile, Garm finishes off the already injured Zombie Horse with a single blow, and then, the squad departs without him. Leaving the Hound Archon behind to create a path of trees lit with his continual flame.
Zombies continue to amble toward the squad as they ride through the grove. Each time that enough of the undead amass, Brion orders the squad to turn around and cut them down.
1:05pm - The remaining squad members emerge along the southwest edge of the grove. They take to the sky as mist or on Skeletal Nightmares or on Huge Phantom Steeds and turn east-southeast toward Verdas.
[OOC: Skeletor is supposedly on his way to Verdas. Still waiting on his Survival modifier, but that doesn't really matter for right now since his whereabouts will be unknown until contact is attempted.
Garm moved at 4 mi/hr to use this technique as stated previously. He made no effort to memorize the location of every tree and bush in the forest, so he could not simply teleport beyond line of sight without winding up in a tree. Though, this does bring up a good point about greater teleport that I need to look into. You cannot arrive Off Target, but there are other things that can happen like Similar Area or Mishap, so I wonder if those still apply, and greater teleport can still fail with poor information, which would seem to apply to an area that you might not be able to remember in detail. And I wonder what happens if you do teleport into a tree? Does he just die?]
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Post by michael on May 6, 2011 20:06:27 GMT -5
Viewed once is an option with regular teleport. It never says you have to consciously make the effort to study the area with your one viewing, merely that lack of study increases your chances of arriving off target. Since off target isn't an option with Greater Teleport, passing through the forest should be enough. Perhaps the magics of greater teleport bring the knowledge forth from his subconscious or something, who knows. If a reliable description is enough for a successful teleport, than having passed through the area about an hour ago should be too.
I would consider "Similar Area" more a subset of off target. The wording to me suggests Greater Teleport is meant to either succeed automatically, or simply have you reappear at your starting point.
This replaces "Mishap" in my mind. I don't think you roll a % die at all for Greater Teleport, you either arrive or the spell does nothing. No teleporting into a tree or getting scrambled.
If, for whatever reason, you did end up teleporting into something else, it would probably be treated as one of those "1d6 damage for every 5 feet it takes to shunt you out of the object" deals, not an insta-kill.
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Post by michael on May 6, 2011 20:17:10 GMT -5
If Garm can't teleport the way I described, the others will still move at the full Nightmare speed of 9 mph, and Garm will be left behind to light the trail alone. Once the trial is lit, he'll just teleport back to Verdas.
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Post by reefwood on May 8, 2011 12:02:29 GMT -5
Day 74
2:45pm – The squad, minus Garm or Skeletor, begins to descend into the valley that holds Verdas and the Nemedoran camp surrounding it...
[OOC: Edited the last post to reflect changes and included the grove zombie killing that I accidentally left out. General Shaw is stationed in the camp.]
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Post by michael on May 12, 2011 16:42:08 GMT -5
Did you need something from me to continue this thread? It's fine if you just haven't gotten around to posting the next scene, I just want to make sure you're not waiting on me.
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Post by reefwood on May 12, 2011 17:05:31 GMT -5
Did you need something from me to continue this thread? It's fine if you just haven't gotten around to posting the next scene, I just want to make sure you're not waiting on me. [ OOC: Yeah, I was waiting to see how you wanted to proceed. I know you laid out the overall plan in an earlier post, but it seems like some of that may change, so I wanted to take it one section at a time. Just let me know everything you want to do now that you have reached Verdas, and I'll take it as far as it can go until I need more input.] |
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Post by michael on May 12, 2011 20:34:27 GMT -5
Once the squad is in Verdas, Brion and Nim will report to General Shaw. The undead should probably all wait wherever they usually wait when they're in Verdas. Nim's tent, or something. Garm will exit the forest after the rest of us, but since he can teleport directly from the edge of the forest to Verdas, he may or may not beat us there. Either way, once he gets to Verdas, he'll wait outside the general's tent.
The report itself will remain largely unchanged from how I outlined it earlier. I'll give him a run through of what we did and what we learned, then make the case for keeping the headstone for use by Nemedor.
I'll suggest that members of our squad can take it to the Spike now, and Covert Ops would be well suited to take charge of dealings with the headstone from this point forward. I'll also mention the lit-tree path to the underground, and suggest someone should be dispatched to inform the approaching Nemedoran battalion about it.
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Post by reefwood on May 13, 2011 13:11:35 GMT -5
Day 74
[OOC: Verdas has been a warzone, so the undead haven't been an issue. Nemedor is taking over Verdas, but New Briar remains independent, so that's why there are different standards and allowances. That may change as Verdas transitions from warzone to Nemedoran city, but that doesn't matter either way at this point, and the command tents for officers in charge of the war effort (as opposed to the transition effort) are still outside the city anyway.]
1:50 2:50pm – Garm is waiting outside General Shaw's tent when Brion and Nimarius arrive. The officers are saluted by the guard but also given a thorough inspection by a mage and priest before being allowed to enter.
General Shaw listens carefully while Brion presents the findings of the mission and his case on how to proceed with the Headstone [Diplomacy 35].
The elder Shaw takes a few moments to himself and replies, “Gorum is an unrestrained but fair god. His methods may be unpredictable, but he will undoubtedly reward brave warriors who honor him and punish spineless cowards who fail him. Saint or sinner alike, as long as victory is in their heart, and they revere his mantra. On the other hand, Urgathoa is a cruel goddess, and I'm sure she takes pleasure in being described as such. She and Gorum share a lust for battle, but there is no honor in her heart. Greed fuels her desire to vanquish those around her. She twists the heart & mind in life and twists the body & soul in death. You have seen firsthand the kind of army she raises. How she turns our own soldiers against us. How she turned Preston into...”
Again, the General pauses. This time he clasps his hands to his chin and closes his eyes. “This headstone, from what you tell me, seems imbued with her taint. It turns good men evil.” His eyes open and hands lower, “Still, there may be an opportunity here. At least for study. To gain something from what we have lost, and a field test,” his gaze veers to Nimarius, “could provide important information as well. Perhaps someone who has already stepped into the darkness will not lose himself so completely in her embrace.” Looking back to Brion, “However, a warzone or cursed land is no place to safeguard such a powerful item. Especially since we may not know the extent of what it can do. Tell your soldier with the headstone hand it over to the warforged detail that will be arriving shortly.” The General writes on a slip of paper, folds it in half, and hands it to Brion. A coded phrase for Skeletor to give the warforged, and their expected response.
[OOC: If and when Nim wants to sacrifice himself, you should take it up with General Shaw.]
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Post by michael on May 13, 2011 16:55:22 GMT -5
"By your command, General. Sergeant Steerhelm, contact your cohort and begin preparations for transfer of the headstone. I'll join you shortly."
After Nimarius leaves the tent, the younger Shaw addresses his father once more.
"Resources must be carefully spent in wartime, this we both know. But know also, he's not lost forever. It may be a time, but I shall bring him back."
With a salute, Brion turns and exits the tent.
[OOC: For some reason, it never occurred to me that my brother's death might affect the General's perception of the headstone. Brion always thought of it as Preston's failure, and didn't really blame the headstone. Anyway, I really like this aspect.]
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Post by reefwood on May 13, 2011 18:00:31 GMT -5
Day 74
Before Brion departs, the General shares some thoughts on the Covert Ops and final orders regarding them, "I heard that the Major recruited you for an operation not too long ago. Don't know the details, nor am I asking. The unit shrouds itself in secrecy. They say it is to protect us: the top brass. This is true, but they hide their work just as much to protect themselves. Anyway, it won't be long before they catch wind of the headstone - which from this point is codenamed red ribbon. We may need their help, but if they want answers, tell them to report to me. Otherwise, speak of it to no one, and tell your men to do the same."
[OOC: Brion has the amulet of sending, but it is easy enough to hand it to Nim. Nim has to remove any current amulet he is wearing to use the amulet of sending, but again, this should be easy enough and not affect his regular amulet.
It is now 3:00pm. Is Brion going to look for a place to build a base (Gather Info) or do something else? Does Nim want to do anything?]
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Post by michael on May 13, 2011 19:05:31 GMT -5
Yeah, Brion's going to look for a place to build his base now. My preference is for a solid stone foundation large enough that it can be carved into a base with Stone Shape. If I can't find that, then just a small outcropping of rock will do, since I can cast Wall of Stone on it.
[OOC: Could we get a list of the spoils from the sidequest? I think most of it was distributed to Nim's undead, but I want to get a full inventory.
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