OOC

[reefwood]

Welcome all!

Who is all? Looks like Michael, Rabbit, and icnivad will try to make every game, sil will make every game that she's in town for, Enric will try to make some games, and Evan might even make it at some point if his crazy schedule allows.

I will probably send out most info and figure out scheduling via email, but everything will also be posted here for easy reference, and of course, you can post whatever you want in this thread.

Woo!!!

[silanariel]

Excited to be playing with you fine folks again! it has been too long.

[Rabbit]

Yeah! We get to hang out again!

[reefwood]

In case I forget to mention it... each PC will start the first adventure with 1 hero point. I can explain/refresh how that works at the character creation session tonight. However, hero points won't carry over between adventures, so use it or lose it!

[reefwood]

Good job on the first adventure! It seemed like everyone got a feel for their character and fun was had even if we only got halfway though it. I anticipated this possibility, so I'm glad the big battle happened when it did, and this has given me a better idea for pacing next time. Also, I'll be able to take some of what we didn't get to and use it in the future, and the next adventure will be much more action packed.

[reefwood]

I posted a bunch of swimming and water rules in the Adventure #2 thread. Here is a little more info focused on this game.

Those of you with a speed of 20 ft can swim 5 ft as a move action or 10 ft as a full-round action IF you succeed on a Swim check (DC 10 calm water, DC 15 rough water, DC 20 stormy water). Those of you with a speed of 30 ft can swim 5 ft as a move action or 15 ft as a full-round action. If anyone has a speed of 40 ft, you can swim 10 ft as a move action or 20 ft as a full-round action. If you fail, you make no progress and lose that action. Expect mostly rough and stormy water.

Swim checks in combat will made each round you want to move. Outside of combat, they may sometimes be made based on distance (i.e. 100 ft) or time (i.e. 1 hour).

Melee piercing weapons work better than bludgeoning or slashing weapons, but only if you succeeded on a Swim check or have firm footing. Thrown weapons (i.e. javelin) don't work. Other ranged weapons (i.e. bows) take -2 attack penalties every 5 feet.

A potion of water breathing (750 gp, CL 5) provides 10 hours of water breathing to the drinker. A scroll of water breathing (375 gp, CL 5 - cleric or sor/wiz) provides 10 hours of water breathing that can be divided evenly among multiple creatures (2.5 hours each among a party of 4).

A scroll of freedom of movement (700 gp, CL 7 - cleric) provides 70 minutes of normal movement and attack underwater to one creature touched.

Attempting to use a scroll above your caster level (CL) requires a caster level check (DC = scroll caster level +1).

[icnivad]

Thanks for the info. We might want to get a couple scrolls of water breathing. It sounds like the plan is to stay above water, correct? If everything goes right, we shouldn't have to go through the water? (Obviously things don't always go right

[reefwood]

Feb 19, 2014 15:53:27 GMT -5 icnivad said:

Thanks for the info. We might want to get a couple scrolls of water breathing. It sounds like the plan is to stay above water, correct? If everything goes right, we shouldn't have to go through the water? (Obviously things don't always go right

Rabbit asked this last night, and I didn't have a very good answer at the time, but I think this sums it up:

You are looking for a "vault" in the middle of the ocean. Expect to get wet.

[Rabbit]

I'm kind of tempted to play a Summoner and build a water suited eidolon to play with... let's give it a few days and see if the idea sticks.

[reefwood]

Feb 19, 2014 20:08:00 GMT -5 Rabbit said:

I'm kind of tempted to play a Summoner and build a water suited eidolon to play with... let's give it a few days and see if the idea sticks.

I never really looked at the Summoner before but gave it a quick glance last night. Looks like at 6th-level you get 9 evolution points. Gills are 1 point and Swim is 1 point (+1 more for every 20 ft increase to swim speed). Also, you could ride it if you were a Small humanoid (because you can't make the eidolon Large until 8th-level).


And here's a slight edit to my comment above about getting wet:

You are looking for the vault of a water lord in the middle of the ocean next to the biggest hurricane ever. Expect to get wet.

Also, you will have an opportunity to ask questions and make Knowledge rolls at the mission briefing before you get on your way.

[Rabbit]

Feb 20, 2014 12:17:14 GMT -5 reefwood said:

Feb 19, 2014 20:08:00 GMT -5 Rabbit said:

I'm kind of tempted to play a Summoner and build a water suited eidolon to play with... let's give it a few days and see if the idea sticks.

I never really looked at the Summoner before but gave it a quick glance last night. Looks like at 6th-level you get 9 evolution points. Gills are 1 point and Swim is 1 point (+1 more for every 20 ft increase to swim speed). Also, you could ride it if you were a Small humanoid (because you can't make the eidolon Large until 8th-level).

Yep. And thinking ahead, Summoners can rebuild their eidolon every time they level up. In this game, if we keep getting pre-mission briefings, I can reform the eidolon to suit each coming adventure. And in-character that kind of makes sense. Commander comes to Summoner and says, "Hey, there is a mission in the works that's going to be a wet one. Get you and your beast ready."

[reefwood]

Feb 20, 2014 16:56:24 GMT -5 Rabbit said:

Yep. And thinking ahead, Summoners can rebuild their eidolon every time they level up. In this game, if we keep getting pre-mission briefings, I can reform the eidolon to suit each coming adventure. And in-character that kind of makes sense. Commander comes to Summoner and says, "Hey, there is a mission in the works that's going to be a wet one. Get you and your beast ready."

Yes, you will always receive information a week or two before a new adventure.

Also, you could bring Ly'lue back later on as a full-fledged Eldritch Knight.

[Rabbit]

I didn't see it mentioned in the first read through, but how do water conditions (both shallow/standing and deep/swimming) effect trip attacks? I'm asking because I believe icnivad's character was built largely to utilize that.

[reefwood]

Feb 21, 2014 12:19:51 GMT -5 Rabbit said:

I didn't see it mentioned in the first read through, but how do water conditions (both shallow/standing and deep/swimming) effect trip attacks? I'm asking because I believe icnivad's character was built largely to utilize that.

I have already given some thought to this, but you've brought up some stuff that didn't come to mind.

First off, "Some creatures - such as oozes, creatures without legs, and flying creatures - cannot be tripped," so a shark or sea serpent can't be tripped in water or on land. A shark on land (or a boat) probably isn't very effective, but a sea serpent out of water can probably still act normally (at least until it starts to suffocate if it can't breathe air).

Swimming sort of seems like flying in a sense, so I would rule that a swimming creature can't be tripped, especially since a lot of swimming takes place while laying horizontal already -at least more horizontal than vertical- and you already don't have your feet on the ground anyway.

One thing that is different is if you are standing on the bottom of the ocean (or some other solid surface underwater). "Firm footing" is one of the stat lines in the Combat Adjustments Underwater, so in that instance, you can trip someone with firm footing underwater. One funny thing that comes to mind is if they would fall prone. Probably not exactly, but they would be off their feet and floating, so they would have to spend a move action to regain firm footing, which would provoke an attack of opportunity like standing up. Alternative, they could just swim away, but unless they have a swim speed, they could not take a 5-ft step (because swimming at half- or quarter-speed means that even 1 square would count as 2 or 4 squares) and would provoke an attack of opportunity.

One thing I didn't yet consider is shallow water. I'd say that below the knees would have no effect. Close to waist level, it would be treated just like the creature was underwater (-2 attack). And somewhere in between would be a half penalty (-1 attack) penalty. Of course, this also depends on the size of the creature because the same depth of water has a different affect on Small, Medium, and Large creatures.

So, pretty much all combat underwater is more difficult (unless you are built to live underwater), and tripping will be impossible in some instances.

[icnivad]

Thanks for asking about trip. Taj has some other tricks up his sleeve that he might get to pull out this game. And can always fall back to just dealing raw damage. I've always through that summoners are interesting. Especially for those of us with character ADD.