[D&D 4th Ed.] Official GT Campaign 3: No Business Like Gnome Business

[kadnod]

OK, I think I've got Maptool more or less figured out, so we're good on that at least.   

If memory serves, Ventrillo worked best for us before. But I think all of us have Steam installed as well.

Does somebody already have a Ventrillo server running?  And if not, could somebody please direct me towards an idiot-proof guide to setting one up? 

I just heard from Lockdown.  His work schedule is not clearing up at all, so will not be able to join us anytime soon.

He let me know, too.  Definitely not a problem if he wants to join up at a later date.

[Destructor]

Well, here's a guide for you that looks easy enough:
http://www.ventrilo.com/tutorial.php

Scratch that. That's only if you happen to be connecting to one (and assuming you have one already set up).

This looks like a tutorial on setting one up so you can be the host:
http://www.ventrilo.com/setup.php

As for somebody having one - I thought we used somebody's Vent server in the past. Not sure who's it was though.

[Autistic Angel]

I updated the original post with details of the version of MapTool we'll be using, including a direct download link from their site.  It's a bummer about losing Lockdown, though...hopefully he'll be able to join up with us later!

I still need to sit down and buy my starting equipment.  I pretty much know what it'll be: the adventurers kit, a spear, some cloth armor, and maybe some shurikens so he can make basic ranged attacks as needed.  Just need to sit down and do the math so I know how much I have left to throw in the party pot.

Man, I'm really looking forward to playing this Wednesday!

-Autistic Angel

[Destructor]

FYI - GT, thanks to the kindness of USMC Kato, has a Mumble (like Vent but higher quality and seems decently popular) server we can all use. Here's some more info on it if you're all interested.

Kadnod, if you're interested in trying that, let me know. Kato doesn't mind if we use it, but he doesn't want the info just pasted on the forums either, so I'll PM it around if you want to try it out.

[kadnod]

FYI - GT, thanks to the kindness of USMC Kato, has a Mumble (like Vent but higher quality and seems decently popular) server we can all use. Here's some more info on it if you're all interested.

Kadnod, if you're interested in trying that, let me know. Kato doesn't mind if we use it, but he doesn't want the info just pasted on the forums either, so I'll PM it around if you want to try it out.

That's awesome!  Mucho thanks to you & Kato.  If you could please PM the necessary info to everyone in the game, that would be great.

[Autistic Angel]

Hey, is it possible we can have the MapTool server up Tuesday night for a while?  Experience shows that propagating the map information to everyone can take a while, so we can probably save some time if we preload that stuff in advance....

-Autistic Angel

[Arkon]

I won't be home much Tuesday, (wife and I are going to see The Producers (starring Joey Fatone...   ), but if it is still up at 11PM Eastern I can get on to preload some stuff.

[kadnod]

Hey, is it possible we can have the MapTool server up Tuesday night for a while?  Experience shows that propagating the map information to everyone can take a while, so we can probably save some time if we preload that stuff in advance....

-Autistic Angel

That's a a good idea.  I'll try to have the server up for preloading stuff tomorrow evening, around 7:30 EST, and will leave it up for a few hours.  I'll post a message here when it is up and PM everyone password info.  If anyone can't get on, please PM me.  I seem to be having some weirdness going on with my wireless network today, so any problems could be on my end. 


I'll try to have the server up a bit before we get started on Weds, too.

[Arnir]

What kind/version of software do we need to download for Tuesday?

Don't you mean Wednesday?

Yep, Wednesday.

We're using MapTool 1.3b70 for the maps.
Anyone have a suggestion for voice chat?  I've got ventrillo and steam already, but haven't used either of them that much.

Thanks, and yes, I should have said Wednesday.

[Arnir]

I think I have all the software set up.  Took forever to get maptools (had to uninstall the previous version to get .70 to work) but I got it working.  Also got the Mumble loaded.  I don't know if I need the backward Mumble or not but I loaded it as well.

[Doopri]

okay long wait but here he is!  ill either show up tonight or a bit early tomorrow to make myself some macros and drop my pic-y!

Spoiler for Hiden:

Winnish Haversham, level 1
Human, Rogue
Rogue Tactics: Brutal Scoundrel

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 10, Dex 18, Int 11, Wis 8, Cha 13.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 16, Con 10, Dex 16, Int 11, Wis 8, Cha 13.


AC: 16 Fort: 14 Reflex: 17 Will: 12
HP: 22 Surges: 6 Surge Value: 5

TRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +9, Athletics +8, Bluff +6, Insight +4, Stealth +9, Streetwise +6, Thievery +9

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Arcana +0, Diplomacy +1, Dungeoneering -1, Endurance +0, Heal -1, History +1, Intimidate +1, Nature -1, Perception -1, Religion +1

FEATS
Weapon Proficiency: Rapier
Weapon Expertise: Light Blade

POWERS
At-will 1: Sly Flourish
At-will 2: Riposte Strike
At-will 3: Deft Strike
Encounter 1: Torturous Strike
Daily 1: Precise Incision

ITEMS
Leather Armor, Rapier, Dagger X6, Thieves' Tools, Sunrods X2, 20gp

[kadnod]

server should be up for pre-load and everyone in the game should have a PM with the password.  I'll try to leave it up for the evening.  Any problems, please shoot me a PM.

[Arnir]

I've logged into Maptools okay and think I got into Mumble okay

[kadnod]

aaand the server is down.  Thanks to everybody who helped test stuff out and a special thanks to Doopri who told me how to do a bunch of code stuff I wouldn't have figured out in 10 billion years.


All characters are now up here for your veiwing pleasure.

[Destructor]

Sorry I couldn't get on today - at work the entire time you had the server up. The character sheets look great on iPlay4e, and I look forward to all kinds of fun at GT Campaign 3: Left 4 Dwarf.

[Autistic Angel]

Sorry I couldn't get on today - at work the entire time you had the server up. The character sheets look great on iPlay4e, and I look forward to all kinds of fun at GT Campaign 3: Left 4 Dwarf.

The good news is that the maps seem to come down in a fraction of a second.  As far as I could tell, I had all the map data within moments of logging in, so we should be able to jump in and play right away!

The only thing you missed was a quick test encounter we had against blue dragon named Rawr.  I'm really glad we did that because I learned a lot:

1) I had my maximum HP listed as 13 when it should have been about 24.  Turns out you're supposed to add your entire Constitution score to your total HP, rather than just the modifier.  Now I need to rejigger my Bloodied and Healing Surge values before tonight's game....

2) In the first round, I should have used the Full Discipline aspect of my Dancing Cobra ability to close distance to the dragon more quickly.  It's going to take some practice to remember that I have options for Move actions as well as Attacks, but at least I got to practice making a basic ranged attack.

3) I'd originally thought that Monks could mix the movement skill of one Full Discipline power with the attack skill of another, but as kadnod pointed out, they have to commit to just one.  That's a good thing to learn in a practice fight instead of a high-stakes real one.

4) After provoking an Attack of Opportunity so I could psych the dragon out and punch him in the face -- and rolled a '1' for damage -- I completely forgot to follow up with my Centered Flurry of Blows.  I need to remember that that triggers in any round that I land a hit.

5) Holy crap: Liquor Pirates do *crazy* amounts of flanking damage!  We should basically make sure that Doopri has an enemy backed up against another ally in every single round.

6) Temporary HP don't appear on the mouse-over token pop-up for some reason, so we'll need to remember to calculate those manually.

7) My monk wields his spear as an Implement rather than a Weapon.  That means he's using it more as a counterbalance for flipping out than as a stabbing tool, so Pointed Step Style makes a lot more sense now!  Now I just need to go back and re-read the differences between having a magical weapon, a beneficial implement, and a potent ki focus....

8 ) As a random aside, I'm surprised the damage bonus for shurikens is based on Strength.  I'd have thought the force of the impact is less important than where it lands...but then, I guess you could make say that for just about any attack.  If I wind up making frequent basic ranged attacks, I'll check to see if there's a Feat that can make them give them a little more bite.


Anyway, I'll be there by 8:00pm Eastern tonight!  I just need to get Mumble and my microphone up and working before then....

-Autistic Angel

[Destructor]

Very informative information there, AA. And your descriptions on how your powers 'work' (#7) makes a lot of sense and gives me much more visualization on how a Monk actually works in D&D. Very cool.

And I think my mainstay At-Will power will mesh perfectly with characters trying to move around in combat - if it hits in a Burst 1 (and it's party friendly), it gives enemies "and the target cannot take opportunity actions until the end of your next turn." So in short you'll be able to freely move around everyone hit with this power without provoking AoO. And it almost sounds like it should stop flanking bonuses as well (you're too busy swatting flies to attack when somebody moves, you shouldn't help somebody get a bonus to hit, no?), but I can't tell exactly.

[Arkon]

Ok, I messed around with MapTools today and I think I have all my powers set up.  Hopefully the macros don't bog things down.

[Destructor]

You know, I really hate Arizona time (the whole 'we don't change time zones bit). Why do you ask? Until I got curious and went looking as to what time zone we're in right now, I was going to be an hour early to our game tonight.

Just to be sure, this post was posted at about 3PM MST (2PM PST, 5PM EST), right?

[Autistic Angel]

5:00pm Eastern is the time stamp I see on your post, Destructor.

-Autistic Angel

[Destructor]

5:00pm Eastern is the time stamp I see on your post, Destructor.

-Autistic Angel

Confirms that then. Thank you. I'll see you all in about 2.5 hours then if not earlier to make sure this all works.

[kadnod]

OK, Maptool is up and I think I'm in the Mumble room.  Game starting in 15!

[Doopri]

whats the maptool server name i cant find it

[Destructor]

Wow, that went really, really well. Thanks to everyone around for making this a great start to our adventure. And it had everything too - a sheepherder that refused to die, one heck of a gum-based dinosaur thing, and the attack of the unrecently deceased. And the combos I saw flying around from everyone - fantastic tactical knowledge.

A couple of thoughts for everyone - depending on how heavy and/or large that cart is, I could conjure up a Tenser's Floating Disk. It's only 3 feet in diameter, but it would hold at least 500 pounds of weight. We could get it home ourselves that way, and maybe bring a body or two with us for further investigation. Your thoughts if any on that.

Plus, as much as I'd rather get back home for a decent night's rest, I think it's too far to walk tonight. Time to turn in for the night here. I call dibs on some place that doesn't have an undead lying underneath.

As for the items: Assuming it was a Boots of Stealth (+2 to Stealth checks) I heard from kadnod, I have no use for such items. And the Healing Potion would be much better used on somebody getting into the thick of things in combat.

[kadnod]

Yes, good game, lots o' fun and a fine performance by our intrepid adventurers.  Looking forward to the next game!

XP -  450 each

Loot-

Spoiler for Hiden:

3 drake hides worth 10 gp each.
25 drake talons (monetary worth negligible).
one black gemstone  - worth approx 70 gp
1 potion of healing
1 pair black metal anklets (count as boots of stealth).
Location of a busted up wagon.

And one semi-important story element I forgot to mention

Spoiler for Hiden:

As you examine the corpse of the dragonborn woman, you notice a small, silver spike has been driven into her throat, where a human's voicebox would be.  There appear to be runes engraved into the surface of the spike.  You think the spike would have kept her from using her breath weapon and from speaking, but the enchantment seems to have faded. . .

[Arkon]

I started an AAR for the campaign.  Feel free to contribute!

[Destructor]

I started an AAR for the campaign.  Feel free to contribute!

I didn't want to post in the other thread as I'd break the flow of it, but oh wow did I love your writing. Perfectly in character and funny to boot. Can't wait to see what you think of us as you go over our night.

[Autistic Angel]

I'm looking forward to hearing what he was thinking as he watched my character run directly into the jaws of the biggest dinosaur on the map and get chomped to death within the first round of combat.

The whole game was a lot of fun!  Those zones of control Destructor was setting up were a big factor in swaying the fight in our favor, and if we didn't have Arkon to mark and disable so many enemies at a time, that second combat would have gone very differently.

-Autistic Angel

[Arkon]

I'm looking forward to hearing what he was thinking as he watched my character run directly into the jaws of the biggest dinosaur on the map and get chomped to death within the first round of combat.

The whole game was a lot of fun!  Those zones of control Destructor was setting up were a big factor in swaying the fight in our favor, and if we didn't have Arkon to mark and disable so many enemies at a time, that second combat would have gone very differently.

-Autistic Angel

AA does your monk have a name?

[Arkon]

I started an AAR for the campaign.  Feel free to contribute!

I didn't want to post in the other thread as I'd break the flow of it, but oh wow did I love your writing. Perfectly in character and funny to boot. Can't wait to see what you think of us as you go over our night.

It would be really cool to have a tabbed forum thread where each character could have a tab for their own view in the AAR.  I could also append my character name onto the AAR and you could create one of your own, same title just append your char name instead.  Would be cool if anyone else is up for writing it from their perspective.

[Arkon]

Yes, good game, lots o' fun and a fine performance by our intrepid adventurers.  Looking forward to the next game!

XP -  450 each

Loot-

Spoiler for Hiden:

3 drake hides worth 10 gp each.
25 drake talons (monetary worth negligible).
one black gemstone  - worth approx 70 gp
1 potion of healing
1 pair black metal anklets (count as boots of stealth).
Location of a busted up wagon.

And one semi-important story element I forgot to mention

Spoiler for Hiden:

As you examine the corpse of the dragonborn woman, you notice a small, silver spike has been driven into her throat, where a human's voicebox would be.  There appear to be runes engraved into the surface of the spike.  You think the spike would have kept her from using her breath weapon and from speaking, but the enchantment seems to have faded. . .

Jett, any chance you can do some sort of fancy Arcane check to try and identify the runes?

[Destructor]

Yes, good game, lots o' fun and a fine performance by our intrepid adventurers.  Looking forward to the next game!

XP -  450 each

Loot-

Spoiler for Hiden:

3 drake hides worth 10 gp each.
25 drake talons (monetary worth negligible).
one black gemstone  - worth approx 70 gp
1 potion of healing
1 pair black metal anklets (count as boots of stealth).
Location of a busted up wagon.

And one semi-important story element I forgot to mention

Spoiler for Hiden:

As you examine the corpse of the dragonborn woman, you notice a small, silver spike has been driven into her throat, where a human's voicebox would be.  There appear to be runes engraved into the surface of the spike.  You think the spike would have kept her from using her breath weapon and from speaking, but the enchantment seems to have faded. . .

Jett, any chance you can do some sort of fancy Arcane check to try and identify the runes?

Infact, I'll do a few things (that the kadnod will need to roll on himself as I don't know of a way offhand to make a dice roll that can be verified).

---
"A curious device. Why or how would somebody come up with such a barbaric item?"

I roll a Arcana, History, and Religion check (all at +9), to determine if I can tell if the item in question did what we're guessing it did via magical means or anything else (or if the runes are arcane in nature), if I've read of such an item being used in the past (say, as a method of restraining prisoners of war), and to think back and see if maybe it's a religious device of some sort or possibly using it to augment their powers due to some ritual.

"One question is this - when did the enchantment fade? When she died, or was it before and did she not realize it? Or did it augment her draconic powers instead of limit them? Obviously, unless anybody has any objections, this item needs to be taken back for further study."

While Jett will let everyone else carry the loot found, he wants to hold onto this device. Unless stopped, he'll use Mage Hand to remove it from the corpse, Prestidigitation to clean it off, and he'll find a small cloth from somewhere to wrap it up in before tucking it away.
---

Also, for everybody here, our characters are currently loaded into iPlay4e (direct link to our campaign). Plus, if you're currently subscribed to Insider, you'll be able to click on the powers and such and get descriptions on what everything does. It's not meant for live updating (but it can be in a pinch), but it's a great way to see our characters at a glance without having the Character Creator running.

[Autistic Angel]

AA does your monk have a name?

Probably, but the monastery where he was trained had such strict vows of silence that he's primarily known by a complex hand gesture that is challenging to mimic in text.

I'm open suggestions about what his verbal name should be.

-Autistic Angel

[kadnod]

Lets' say skill checks done outside the game-table are the equivalent of "taking 10."

I roll a Arcana, History, and Religion check (all at +9), to determine if I can tell if the item in question did what we're guessing it did via magical means or anything else (or if the runes are arcane in nature), if I've read of such an item being used in the past (say, as a method of restraining prisoners of war), and to think back and see if maybe it's a religious device of some sort or possibly using it to augment their powers due to some ritual.

Spoiler for Hiden:

Only arcana provides any useful info.  You doubt the spike provided the woman with any sort of benefit.  The enchantment seems to have faded within the past day or so, which would mean it likely lost its power when she died or not long after.

And I really dig the AAR, Arkon.  Good stuff!

[Destructor]

AA does your monk have a name?

Probably, but the monastery where he was trained had such strict vows of silence that he's primarily known by a complex hand gesture that is challenging to mimic in text.

I'm open suggestions about what his verbal name should be.

-Autistic Angel

So he's the Monk formally known as Prince? Sorry, I just had to.  

I'll see if I can come up with a redeeming name in return for that comment.

---
"Team, after studying this device, I believe that it did little to benefit the Dragonborn's health. In fact, I think it had to do with restricting her natural powers more than anything else, and/or possibly stopped her from speaking. It used to be magical, but no longer. I think her life force powered it more than anything else. Still, somebody back at camp might know more than I do, so I say we bring it with us."

"It's unfortunate she died before we could get here though. I would find it fascinating to know if she was here of her own accord, or if she was forced to this location to get killed. Alas, speaking with the dead is just slightly beyond my powers."

[Arkon]

"Not that I know much of magic, is it normal for them there runes to not disappear once the magic has faded?  I also find it strange that a pack of ghouls would be able to come up with such a complex device..."

I would like to search the ghouls, do they actually have anything useful on them?

[Autistic Angel]

My character likes the idea of using Tenser's Floating Disc to try and float the entire wagon back to base camp, but he's wondering if we know what caused the halflings and horses to suddenly rise from the dead.  Unless that sort of thing just happens from time to time, he thinks we should be careful not to bring something nasty back to a (more) heavily populated area.

-Autistic Angel

[kadnod]

My character likes the idea of using Tenser's Floating Disc to try and float the entire wagon back to base camp, but he's wondering if we know what caused the halflings and horses to suddenly rise from the dead.  Unless that sort of thing just happens from time to time, he thinks we should be careful not to bring something nasty back to a (more) heavily populated area.

Spoiler for Hiden:

As you examine the halfling ghouls more closely, you are almost postitive they were not recently raised from the dead.  It looks like they were wearing their tattered clothes for years.  It's quite probable that they've come from the ruined city of Tiam-Krey.  That area is overrun by ghouls and all the local tribes do their best to avoid it.  It's rare for the ghouls to raid this far away from their home, but not completely without precedent.

[kadnod]

"Not that I know much of magic, is it normal for them there runes to not disappear once the magic has faded?  I also find it strange that a pack of ghouls would be able to come up with such a complex device..."

I would like to search the ghouls, do they actually have anything useful on them?

Spoiler for Hiden:

After discussing the matter with Jett, you learn it is possible that the actual runes would remain after the enchantment has faded.  Neither of you can recall ever hearing of the ghouls of Tiam-Krey using this type of magic before, but who knows what sort of forgotten power hides in the ruins of that once great city?

The ghouls do not appear to have anything of use on them, but their bellies appear grossly distended.  It looks as if they consumed the flesh of two of the horse corpses, likely the ones that were pulling the wagon, along with half of the corpse of the dragonborn woman.    You think it likely that the undead horses you fought were mounts of the ghouls, allowing them to catch this wagon and cause it to crash.  The ghouls then consumed their victims.  You're not sure why these monsters chose to stay at the ruined wagon, though.  Perhaps they did not want to travel by daylight?  Or maybe they were simply too tired to move after their massive feast?

[Destructor]

"All this talk about ghouls, undead, and flesh eating and all of that is really starting to get me sick to my stomach." He shudders. "At this point, we have two decisions we need to make."

"One - do we stay around here for the night or trudge back home? I'm not a fan of sleeping among the recently dead undead, or whatever these things are, as I've heard and read many conflicting stories on them. But I think it's getting too late to head home. I'll take first watch."

"Two - do we take the wagon with us back to camp and/or anything else? I can conjure up the magicks needed to do so easily enough." He pauses. "And for that matter, has any of us actually searched the thing?"
---

kadnod - I don't know if we've actually thoroughly searched the cart or not. If not, Jett, possibly along with the assistance of someone else, will carefully work his way through the remains of the wagon to see if there's anything inside possibly explaining what this Dragonborn was doing out here.

Additionally, is there any way to tell in the dimming light which direction the wagon was going when it got attacked? Was it going to or coming from any settlements that we know of, like Tiam-Krey or the currently guessed location of tribe that was tattooed on her body?