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Post by reefwood on May 11, 2011 23:08:35 GMT -5
Are we playing next Monday? I believe we are tentatively scheduled to play the Eberron game next Monday. I was planning to run the next War Stories after we complete the next Eberron adventure (assuming we play Eberron in consecutive weeks). Reefwood, I think I remember hearing something about our next session being the next day(Day 75). Is that correct? Since the Zombie Headstone takes 24 hours to turn a sacrificed creature into a zombie lord, it seems like Nim might have to wait for his next time off. This is especially true if we are going to play the following day. Since, the sacrifice might halt Nimarious from gaining any more necromancer levels for the rest of this game, I think I might wait till after he hits level 15, so he has level 8 spells. This will hopefully coincide with some time off, anyway. Level 17 has crossed my mind, too, so he gets level 9 spells. Yes, the next mission will begin on the next story day, so Nim would miss the first day of the mission, which wouldn't be a big deal for this next one. |
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Post by icnivad on May 11, 2011 23:17:58 GMT -5
Another thing to keep in mind is that War Stories will probably wrap up after 3 more missions. I'm not positive about this, but I know what the next mission will be and the last mission, and I have an idea for something in between, but that may all. It would be cool to reach Level 20, but oddly enough, none of the current builds get a super special ability at Level 20 anyway, and we will at least have had 20 missions. Also, if anyone does survive the last mission and wants to tie up loose ends, I would be up for one last side quest too. And seeing how WS happens about once a month, this would take us through the summer, so it's not like it will be over soon. I'd like to say that I've really enjoyed War Stories. And I wanted to thank Reefwood for running it. I recognize that maybe you're getting tired of the adventure and want to move on, but I also wanted to say that I've really enjoyed the story, and characters and would be happy to play this adventure into epic levels. |
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Post by reefwood on May 12, 2011 11:28:50 GMT -5
Another thing to keep in mind is that War Stories will probably wrap up after 3 more missions. I'm not positive about this, but I know what the next mission will be and the last mission, and I have an idea for something in between, but that may all. It would be cool to reach Level 20, but oddly enough, none of the current builds get a super special ability at Level 20 anyway, and we will at least have had 20 missions. Also, if anyone does survive the last mission and wants to tie up loose ends, I would be up for one last side quest too. And seeing how WS happens about once a month, this would take us through the summer, so it's not like it will be over soon. I'd like to say that I've really enjoyed War Stories. And I wanted to thank Reefwood for running it. I recognize that maybe you're getting tired of the adventure and want to move on, but I also wanted to say that I've really enjoyed the story, and characters and would be happy to play this adventure into epic levels. Thanks! I'm still having fun with it, but we are getting close to the level that I was hoping we'd reach, and my idea tank is running a bit low, so I thought I should give fair warning that the end may be near. But that isn't guaranteed either. What seems most likely right now is the 3 missions I have lined up, possibly followed by another side quest (which could include Nim getting sacrificed?). After that, I don't know, and this is probably still a ways off, so maybe more ideas pop up by then. |
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Post by icnivad on May 12, 2011 12:35:26 GMT -5
Yeah. I totally understand about the idea tank drying up. If you're having troubles with mission ideas, maybe it's time for some more player driven missions. As far as the army goes, we are becoming high enough in rank that we are probably going to have to start creating our own missions, rather than follow orders. I've also always liked the idea of an adventure across planes, and we are the perfect group (heavy in magic) to do so.
Do you know if an amulet of mighty fists can be given magic abilities? or just +1 to +5? As a zombie lord, I'm thinking of making Nimarious a little more martial in nature, and his slam attack would mesh well with spellcasting.
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Post by icnivad on May 12, 2011 12:40:09 GMT -5
Nevermind on that last question. Found my answer: "Alternatively, this amulet can grant melee weapon special abilities, so long as they can be applied to unarmed attacks." Also interesting: "An amulet of mighty fists does not need to have a +1 enhancement bonus to grant a melee weapon special ability"
Would a "+0 amulet of mighty fists of fire(+1d6)" make your attacks considered magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction?
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Post by reefwood on May 12, 2011 14:02:28 GMT -5
Yeah. I totally understand about the idea tank drying up. If you're having troubles with mission ideas, maybe it's time for some more player driven missions. As far as the army goes, we are becoming high enough in rank that we are probably going to have to start creating our own missions, rather than follow orders. I've also always liked the idea of an adventure across planes, and we are the perfect group (heavy in magic) to do so. Player-driven missions have been on my mind too, and that is one of the things that I have liked about the side quests. They has dipped into that idea, and that is mainly why I thought it might be a good way to end things. I might not have any big ideas left, but they may be things that the players still want to do. The one tricky thing about the side quests has been time. There may not be enough time in one session for each PC to do something they want. It has helped that the side quests have only happened with 2 PCs and with 1 player being the main driving force. If we do delve into player-driven missions, it will probably be with one main task per session: either an idea that everyone really likes, or we could rotate from player to player, or something in between. As far as the PCs go, I don't ever see them being in charge of the army, but they certainly have much more say and sway than they did as low-level grunts. It's kind of funny how the game works in terms of world balance, but I try to have it make as much sense as possible. Since this world has been in a somewhat ambiguous state of war, I can now see how the overall "level" of the world could ebb and flow overtime. Eventually, most of the powerful high level people kill each other off, and the few (if any) that are left over could take over or go into hiding...and either way, the overall "level" of the world dips down for a time until it comes back up again, and repeat. I see the top brass commanders as multiclassed NPCs who probably topped out around Level 15 when War Stories began but are probably up to Level 25 or higher by now. Such as an Ftr10/Exp15, an Aris13/Rog13, and so forth. They are not on the front lines, so their combat classes don't level up much, if at all, but they continue to grow more powerful overall. The PCs probably fall into a niche area that has them close to being the highest level character of what they specifically do but not necessarily in their overall field, let alone the world. Brion may be the highest level officer in the Nemedoran army that is a straight up Cleric of Gorum who reveres Glory and War, but the High Priest of Gorum in the army might be a Clr10/Exp10, and the Nemedoran overall religious leader back home might be an Aris5/Exp15/Clr5. Nim may be the most powerful necromancer Wizard in the army, but there are probably higher level universalist Wizards in the ranks who have access to more powerful necromancy spells, along with a Cleric of death that matches up equally, and a Mystic Theurge who has the biggest undead army. Also, Nemedor has been winning for most of the campaign, but the surviving losing sides on the Hydrahead Peninsula have also had their victories, which is why they are still alive and fighting, so they may be losing the war, but those that win their individual battles to fight another day do level up to keep pace with and even surpass the PCs so that helps keep challenges out there. Anyway, I do like the idea of player-driven missions. From the story perspective, the top brass still call the shots, but they can be guided by the PCs. Behind the scenes, the players tell me what they want to do, and I build a mission around the premise. Do you know if an amulet of mighty fists can be given magic abilities? or just +1 to +5? As a zombie lord, I'm thinking of making Nimarious a little more martial in nature, and his slam attack would mesh well with spellcasting. An amulet of mighty fists can provide an enhancement bonus up to +5 and/or melee weapon special abilities as long as they don't total more than +5 (magic weapons can normally total up to +10), and the special abilities have to be ones that can be given to unarmed attacks, so it couldn't be keen (slashing or piercing weapon) or vorpal (slashing weapon) because unarmed attacks do bludgeoning damage. Additionally, you can add a special ability to this item without having to add an enhancement bonus first. A few examples are: - Amulet of Mighty Fists +1 (5,000 gp) - unarmed attacks and natural weapons receive a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, and they overcome DR/magic.
- Flaming Amulet of Mighty Fists (5,000 gp) - unarmed attacks and natural weapons each do an additional +1d6 points of fire (energy) damage but do not overcome DR/magic.
- Flaming Amulet of Mighty Fists +1 (20,000 gp) - unarmed attacks and natural weapons receive a +1 enhancement bonus to attack and damage rolls, they each do an additional +1d6 points of fire (energy) damage, and they overcome DR/magic.
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Post by reefwood on May 12, 2011 14:27:34 GMT -5
Re: DR/magicWould a "+0 amulet of mighty fists of fire(+1d6)" make your attacks considered magic for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction? The answer is no. It does seem a little strange, but I think this is why it makes sense: -DR blocks weapon damage. -You need a magic weapon to overcome DR/magic. -A magic enhancement bonus affects weapon damage. -The flaming special ability adds energy damage to your attack but does not affect the weapon damage, nor is it blocked by DR. A human zombie slam would do 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage if it was flaming or not, and the flaming damage would still apply even if the slam did not overcome DR because energy damage is not stopped by DR. I'm not sure if that was easy to follow or not, but the point is that energy damage and DR do not affect each other. Nor does the energy damage affect your weapon damage. The energy damage adds extra damage, but the weapon part of the damage is still the same. However, when you add a +1 magic enhancement bonus to the weapon, that changes the weapon damage, so instead of 1d6 from a mundane weapon, you have 1d6+1 from a magic weapon. Another way to think about it might be to imagine having a flaming sphere attached to a masterwork longsword. When the sword hits, it does weapon damage, and the magic energy does fire damage because it touches the target when the sword hits. Okay, maybe not the best example. A different example is the flame blade spell. This uses magic to create a sword of fire. It's not a +1 sword of fire. It's just a sword made of fire. This would bypass DR/anything, but not because it is made magic but because all the damage is fire damage (not weapon damage), and energy damage is not stopped by DR. This amulet is a little funny because it circumvents the normal rules of needing a +1 enhancement bonus to add a special ability to a weapon, but I am pretty sure that it is the enhancement bonus that overcomes DR/magic for weapon damage while the energy damage part of it bypasses DR either way.
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Post by reefwood on May 12, 2011 15:00:43 GMT -5
Re: Plane JumpingI've also always liked the idea of an adventure across planes, and we are the perfect group (heavy in magic) to do so. Oh, my earlier post got so long that I forgot to address this. Plane jumping is one thing that I don't think would make sense for War Stories. This world is so caught up in trying to take over itself that I don't see it making a push into other worlds or making alien enemies. The aim of this campaign has been to take over the Hydrahead Peninsula, which is one small part of a much larger continent that is part of an even larger realm/alliance/etc. Even in this effort, the entire Nemedoran army only makes up one-third of the coalition forces attacking the Hydra. The next (and possibly last) mini-arc will push toward wrapping this up (or not, depending on how things go). However, even if the Hydrahead is completely captured, there are still things inside the front lines and below the surface that are not under control. Factors that may be somewhat unknown but didn't present any direct opposition to victory. One example is the Sahuagin kingdom in the bay between Dragon Dock and the western shore of greater Vallest (the main continent), and the Dead Spike is a weird, freaky, cursed land that should not be left unchecked. Plus, there will probably still be some "rebels" fighting back, and the effort will expand from the conquest of enemy troops to making amends with the people. Although, there could be something of use on another plane. Some item of legend or ancient magical knowledge or whatnot, so perhaps a brief dip into another world is worth the effort.
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Post by icnivad on May 12, 2011 16:15:24 GMT -5
or, perhaps our army wants to enter negotiations with a group of demons (or any otherworldy beings), and needs to send someone to negotiate with them.
Another thing that I think we've been interested in, is carving out a stronghold for us. This could be self created o in the form of: "The enemy has a fort on a hill that is heavily protected and needs to come down anyway. If you guys can clear it out, it's yours"
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Post by michael on May 12, 2011 16:38:41 GMT -5
I second all of this. War Stories has been tons of fun. I also really like the idea of us creating our own missions. Another thing worth noting, if there's interest in it, I'd like to try my hand at running that Kingmaker Pathfinder module that Rabbit posted here. I know Rabbit wants to go to level 6 or so in his Eberron game then take a break, so I was thinking that would be a good time to start my campaign, but if reefwood wanted to take a break from War Stories before we transition into player generated missions, then that could serve as a good time to start Kingmaker as well. That's all months down the line at the earliest, though, so no pressing need to figure it out. The enhancement bonus for an Amulet of Mighty Fists doesn't seem to be worth it, cost wise. If you used the spellcasting services, Nim could get Permanency and Greater Magic Fang cast on him. A 16th level caster would cost 8780 gp, and give Nim a +4 enhancement bonus to his slam attack. If we had access to a 20th level caster, it would cost 9100 gp and grant a +5 bonus. Then you could get an Amulet just for the Flaming bonus, if you wanted. The only downside to this is that it can be dispelled, but getting a +5 for less than half the cost of a +2 more than makes up for that. |
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Post by icnivad on May 12, 2011 18:07:16 GMT -5
Yeah, that's a good idea about the enhancement. One of the biggest downsides with the amulet is that it can never go above +5, while a weapon can get up to +10. I was thinking of getting a weapon made, too, but then I can't cast spells while holding it unless I ditch my shield.
Since Nimarious has had some dealings with demons, and built up a relationship with at least one(the bearded devil), and probably a few others by the time we run out of missions. I think he will approach his commanding officer with the idea of negotiating with a group of demons to help their side. If that works, he will approach the most powerful devil he is in contact with about the idea and see if they can set up a meeting with the appropriate group.
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Post by Rabbit on May 13, 2011 10:34:22 GMT -5
Hey everyone, While I was out of town at the work seminar I did not have much time to check the site. So this is me just checking in and mentioning that if there is anything that was posted in the last two weeks and needs any of my attention, I likely missed it.  But I'm back. And congrats on routing out that nasty necromancer who has been giving our troops so much trouble! ;D |
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Post by reefwood on May 13, 2011 13:55:26 GMT -5
Re: SahmeHey everyone, While I was out of town at the work seminar I did not have much time to check the site. So this is me just checking in and mentioning that if there is anything that was posted in the last two weeks and needs any of my attention, I likely missed it. But I'm back. And congrats on routing out that nasty necromancer who has been giving our troops so much trouble! ;D Welcome back!  It looks like you got the gist of it. Nemedor finally found out what was creating the zombie horde. And Brion is going to start building a base in the current story thread, but we haven't gotten around to that yet. I think the only thing that Sahme needs to do right now is to level up if he wants, and he can use the reward package to recharge his staff (under the Additional Magic Items limit...since that is the line that would be used to obtain a staff), and/or he could even have a custom staff created.
Re: KingmakerAnother thing worth noting, if there's interest in it, I'd like to try my hand at running that Kingmaker Pathfinder module that Rabbit posted here. I know Rabbit wants to go to level 6 or so in his Eberron game then take a break, so I was thinking that would be a good time to start my campaign, but if reefwood wanted to take a break from War Stories before we transition into player generated missions, then that could serve as a good time to start Kingmaker as well. That's all months down the line at the earliest, though, so no pressing need to figure it out. Yeah, I would definitely be up for being a player in a Pathfinder game
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Post by icnivad on May 16, 2011 12:03:58 GMT -5
There hasn't been any discussion about playing either game tonight, has there? I usually leave Mondays free for gaming, so I wanted to make sure I haven't missed anything before I make other plans.
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Post by reefwood on May 16, 2011 13:43:23 GMT -5
There hasn't been any discussion about playing either game tonight, has there? I usually leave Mondays free for gaming, so I wanted to make sure I haven't missed anything before I make other plans. There is no gaming tonight. I had no plans to run War Stories until after the next Eberron adventure, and in the Eberron board we figured out that we are not playing tonight. |
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