d-n-dblog

The draft equipment list has been (slightly) updated. The xls file is here.

"People, we have no resources to waste, but least of all time. It is clear that Agar and his team were moving as fast as they could, avoiding all encounters, and forging a direct path. We have been waylaid again and again, and it is costing us dearly in our race against Hextor's Flail. I think we were right to come here -- surely we have gained equipment of some value in our quest, and were able to spend a night in some security. But we have a long way to go, according to this map, and it will take several long marches to reach as far as Agar did.

"Let me be plain: at the rate we've been going, without the horses, we'll make it to the unhallowed valley on the 13th day, which is too late by any reckoning. If we march hard, long into the dusk, and are not further hampered and harried, we can make it as much as a day earlier. Not more, unless a friendly flock of giant eagles appears to carry us.

"Each of us have our reasons for pursuing this bold, perhaps foolhardy, path -- I ask you to think upon your own reasons. Focus on the goal ahead, and perhaps the difficulties on the way will not upset you as much.

"Yesterday was a hard day - we were beleaguered again and again, but we won through, with stout hearts, quick minds, and strong arms. Last night was a hard night, for other reasons. Perhaps you were touched by the unfortunate Rugrat, perhaps not -- but his story may be the story of children of all kinds - dwarf, human, gnoll, maybe even elf - if our enemy succeeds.

"Even more dangerous to our cause was friction between us. I am no diplomat, and we have not the time to forge bonds of friendship where there is enmity now. I offer my suggestions, do with them as you will, and if you think me abrupt, it is because time is of the essence.

"Slthm -- we mean no disrespect, and certainly you deserve your share of the spoils, just as we all do. But Drusilla here is not like the females of your people -- among some peoples, the females can prove themselves as warriors, and thenceforth are not just for breeding and raising children, but for fighting and even leading. 'Twould be better for all if you did not think of her as female at all, but as another warrior, like any of us.

"Drusilla -- you are strong, and you are smart. Smart enough, I think, to forbear from spiteful argument when it serves no purpose. Strong enough that you don't have to fight over every issue. If you think Slthm's ways primitive, then prove it by demonstrating a more civilized response. You've made clear how important to you your sleep is, and so to send Strae to pester someone else is all the more malicious. I don't know where your rage comes from, but direct it somewhere it might do some good.

"Grell, I think I do know where your rage comes from. I don't know, and don't particularly want to know, the details, but I don't question that a man can be moved to strike a blow in anger by offensive words. Furthermore, it seems you stopped a fight that our spellcasters couldn't bring to a stop themselves. But I, for one, am not someone who permits his companions to be trussed up for the night -- we are here to free prisoners from our enemies, not take prisoners of our allies.

"I would just as well leave last night behind us, forgotten, in the light of today. As I said, think of your reasons for pursuing our noble cause, and may your dedication drive you onward! For we have far to go, and by tonight, it will not be the steel in your sinews, but the iron in your will that will keep you walking!

"We will have to leave much behind. Carry what you can, but not so much that it will slow you down; the valuables we cannot bring we'll put in the chest. The rest we'll leave inside. I say we put the chest back where we found it, and of course take the key -- Linnam, perhaps you should wear it around your neck or some other very safe place."

"Now, let us be off! By tonight, I hope to be well out of the Dead Horse territory, and in the territory of the hill giants Agar mentioned. And, just in case there are any more wolves or worse things who'd like to hunt us down, I'll make sure it'll take more than a good nose to follow us."

My spells for the day are Longstrider and Pass Without Trace, both of which I cast as we head out.
posted by Scholeologist at 6/07/2004 11:49:00 AM

Here's a sample of Clangeddin's Prayer Book that the DM sent to me:

posted by Scholeologist at 6/07/2004 05:33:00 AM

In response to Slthm:
"I...think I see, at least a bit. There will be much to hash out in the morning, but better to wait until then. Get some sleep."
posted by Scholeologist at 6/06/2004 11:50:00 AM

Not to complain more about something that Jacob's working to change, but is Blogger being a pain for other people too? Like, I hit a button, and it doesn't seem to do anything, and I have to change a URL by hand or publish by hand to kick it into action? Maybe it's just my browser doing something weird...

"All right, let's not agitate this situation into something more dangerous. Right now, that's just a scared little boy who's lost his parents awakened in the middle of the night. Let's keep it that way. Bishop -- the ogre mage had a little boy, who you heard just now...Grell, if you could fill in the gaps for your patient? I'll try to calm the kid down...Drusilla, you cover me from the bedroom entrance, just in case. Everyone else, stay out here."

[Bob TB] If Jacob weren't offline this weekend, I'd have suggested different assignments, but as it is this might move things along faster.

Heading into the back room, first I listen to tell if he's just fallen back asleep. If he's still agitated, I softly call out "There, there, Rugrat, you go back to sleep...all these people will go away in the morning..."
posted by Scholeologist at 6/05/2004 07:25:00 AM

Oops, looking back I see that obviously the chainmail shirt trade happens in the morning, since that's when Bishop will bring up the black chainmail. Jacob mentioned the sword and rapier -- Barik wouldn't be particularly interested in those, even if he wasn't oversatisfied with the book, blurry cloak, and mail shirt upgrade. Seems to me Bishop should replace his sword, and Linnam would look much more dashing with a rapier. (mmm...Weapon Finesse...)

And I forgot to mention: during my watch I'll take a look at the prayer book of Clangeddin. Can I see what these prayers aim to do without invoking them?
posted by Scholeologist at 6/04/2004 07:45:00 PM

When Grell says there was scratching at the door, Barik goes out and does a recon of the area, telling Grell to see what's up if I'm not back in a couple of minutes. I'll look for tracks around the door, then do lots of listening and looking around in the tunnel and just outside. In particular, I'm thinking Rugrat might have gotten lonely, and after I've looked around, if I don't notice anything, I'll call out "Rugrat? Are you out there? It's Hairy Bear...are you there, Rugrat?"

If that doesn't lead anywhere, then when I come back, I will untie Slthm. In response to Grell: "I have trusted my life with each of this brave band, including Slthm, and shall do so again. Indeed, I owe my life to his people. If you think these consequences you describe are necessary, so be it. While I do not condone his behavior, which I was not witness to, I will not leave an ally trussed up like a prisoner."

If untying wakes him up, I'd be interested in hearing Slthm's version of events before he goes back to sleep, but it's up to him. The fact that Slthm won't be tied up when Dru starts her watch might affect her plans with Strae, and/or lead to an interesting conversation between her and Barik at the changing of the guard.

Barik's fine with the changing of mail shirts, which I assume'll happen in the morning.
posted by Scholeologist at 6/04/2004 06:37:00 PM

Like the majority, I think Slthm shouldn't change.

Barik doesn't feel strongly about who gets which chain shirt, although as a front line fighter who needs to wear light armor, Bob reckons he needs all the AC help he can get.

By "maxed out" on weight, I assume you mean you can't carry any more and stay in the "light" category. Barik's in essentially the same boat. I wouldn't be surprised if almost everyone is. The only real penalty for Barik to go into the next category is in skill checks, as far as I can tell. Of course, now might be the time we need a good move silently roll...

I'm in favor of leaving lots of stuff here in the ogre house, maybe locked up in the chest. There's a chance it might get taken, or claimed by something else, while we're gone, but then we'll just take it back from them. :)

With Durin backing Grell's account of events, Barik doesn't immediately pursue the issue, but he does make sure Slthm is okay.

If, when it's my watch, Slthm is awake and isn't a snarling freak, I untie him. If Slthm isn't awake, then when Grell and I are trading off, I ask if Grell's earlier comment about consequences was meant to say that Slthm was a danger to the party. Assuming Grell doesn't say something along the lines of "he was a savage ravening beast and he'll kill us all in our sleep," I untie him.
posted by Scholeologist at 6/03/2004 05:18:00 PM

It may be that I lacked the courage to do what had to be done; I am sorry for that. But I am sorry for him, too. I do not like to think of him flying alone through the woods looking for a mother who will never come.

"Indeed, he is easy to feel sorry for. It is a harsh world we live in, where a child must suffer so for the wickedness of his father. But that is indeed the way it is, and though he is young, he deserved to hear the truth -- or as near to it as he could understand -- and make his own decisions. We of all people are cold comfort indeed for him. And cold comfort it is for us, that now, unhappy though he is, he is at least not destined to learn the cruel and evil ways of his father."

When we go in and see Slthm unconscious and bound: "What the hell's going on here?"

Does anyone reply?
posted by Scholeologist at 6/03/2004 04:37:00 AM

"Durin? If this is your urgrosh, then allow me to happily return it to you. Is this your book, also?

(If Durin doesn't take either of them, I'm interested in them.)

"I'll leave you [Drusilla, Slthm, Grell] to pore over these arcane items. When he recovers, we should have Bishop take a look at those arrows, and see if he can make something of them.

"I think I'm going to check on Linnam. Charmed or no, running off alone was not his brightest idea. I've got the whistle -- I'll blow a signal if there's a problem. And when you have a spare moment, see if you can find out what he meant by `another way out'. I'd like our night watch to cover all the entrances. Whether he's trouble or not, having Rugrat sneak back in without us knowing it would be -- unsettling.

"Also, it wouldn't hurt to bar the door after me. Linnam or I can knock when we want to get back in."

With that, I head out and take a look around the tunnel, and then creep to the mouth of the tunnel to see if I can spot Linnam.
posted by Scholeologist at 6/01/2004 09:03:00 AM

I kinda need a DM summary of what the situation is now, for Barik to act appropriate to events. I want to know where his last speech fit in, and how everyone's actions up to this point fit together.

No rush, just so ya know why Barik's apparently not doing anything...
posted by Scholeologist at 5/28/2004 08:06:00 PM

Sigh. "Yes, a moment ago, we decided to come in and talk to him. And since we were heading in to talk to him, and since you [Linnam] knew more about him than anyone else, and since it is obvious to everyone that Slthm doesn't have the same cultural background that you do, isn't used to these improvised explanations, and might not be keen on explaining to everyone how he was embarrassed by a child, I might jump to the conclusion that perhaps you would give us a little bit of an idea of what you knew about him, what might upset him, and so forth. Really, I do sympathize with your position, but my comment was directed at both of you: the free flow of information between us is our road to success, and even relatively trifling matters can blow all out of proportion and cause discord between us. And that, I think we all agree, we cannot afford.

"Slthm, I know you are not used to us, but in matters both magical and mundane, please let us know what you know, as soon as you can. As you say, you are the wuwu, and able to see things we cannot. For the hunt to succeed, all the warriors must be told what the wuwu has seen, I think. Please be patient with us, for our ways are not your ways, and we often do not understand what you mean. But if you speak to us as plainly as you can, I am sure we will benefit greatly from your wisdom.

"And Linnam, I understand that this is a tense moment, and you are deeply concerned, but surely you know that you were better suited to prepare us for this meeting, and to tactfully describe both sides of that exchange, than Slthm was?

"But I said it once -- that's behind us now, and there's no use worrying about it. Now, if you stop to consider what Slthm was saying, it's clear that he's trying to proceed with, ah, `explaining' the situation, and no one's looking to, shall we say, set into motion any ideas that were tossed around in the other room.

"Now, the complex interactions between grown-ups are hard on my mind, and I would prefer to indulge in a more straightforward conversation with someone younger. So, would you like to acquaint us with each other?"

[regarding Linnam's concern over weapons, Barik didn't come in to talk with the kid with an axe ready. Or a bow. In Bob's experience, that doesn't usually help generate good rapport. Except with the tough kids. :) ]
posted by Scholeologist at 5/28/2004 11:27:00 AM

"Settle down, everyone. Clearly some rather significant things happened that no one saw fit to tell Drusilla and myself about. Come now people, we're a team! It can only hurt our cause when we keep such secrets from each other. Surely a little warning, a little `try not to startle him, he's rattled already and this is what he does when he's frightened' would have been appropriate, don't you think? Well, that's water under the bridge now. No point in getting our noses all out of joint.

"Slthm is fine where he is. [I assume he's at the doorway, not still near wherever the kid was.] Clearly dividing up the party leads to misapprehensions and strife." If Linnam looks doubtful, I add "You're not going to change his opinion unless he gets a chance to see the kid in a nonthreatening way." I walk into the middle of the room. "So, `Ack Ack', are you going to introduce me to your friend here?"
posted by Scholeologist at 5/28/2004 04:55:00 AM

I've got a proposed draft of the equipment list up: the .xls file is here. As before, the .sxc file should be right-clicked and saved, not left-clicked -- if you have OpenOffice, the .sxc file is here.

Notes: everything listed as gone "Tentatively now" is stuff I'm proposing to leave behind at the ogre cave. Much of this was chosen specifically so that Barik would be carrying a light load. I don't know what sort of load other players have, so I didn't try to tweak what they were carrying very much. Obviously, some of the silver would fit in the duffle bag too, but I wasn't going to worry about it until the other contents were agreed upon.

The most notable thing is that the equipment list has Drusilla toting the 50 lb. water keg, which she might not be thrilled with. (We can put it in the duffle bag, but then have to get rid of 50 lbs. worth of the stuff in there. Or we can leave the keg and keep the waterskins.) I don't know what other people had in their saddlebags that they wanted to bring -- we could make space in the duffle bag by throwing out some oil, rations, quivers, and/or gold.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/27/2004 09:14:00 AM

"Now, now, hold on, there's no need for fighting amongst ourselves. Linnam seems quite clear on the point -- he won't permit hurting the child regardless. Voting on whether we're in favor or not seems like it can only be divisive: let us accept that Linnam is dedicated to his principles, and not pursue this course further. Instead, let us each think on what we should do in the morning -- is there some way to take him with us? If not, shall we leave him here? A thorny problem, but perhaps not one that has to be solved right now.

"Besides, I haven't even seen this ogreling; how could I be asked to cast judgement on him? I would like to meet him myself, and see what he's like. In addition, we should search through this house for other entrances, other pets, perhaps useful items...Durin says the ogre mage kept his stuff in that back room, so let's go check it out, and meet this ogre child also.

"Last but not least, Linnam, you say you have found the treasure? You mean what the key goes to? If it's treasure of gold and jewels, I fear it will only weigh us down, and we may as well leave it here in the hopes that we might collect it on the way home. I hoped we might find something more immediately useful, such as weapons or magic. There's no need to be cagy with us, what is it?

Barik gets up and moves to follow Linnam into the back room.

"I said `let's go check it out', but I don't know if other people really want to come. Grell might prefer to stay with his patient, for example. Drusilla and Slthm, I know you've already seen the boy, and may have made up your mind about him, but I ask you to put that aside for the moment, and indulge Linnam for tonight at least.

"More to the point, your skills might be needed to determine the nature of any magic items in this treasure, and you might spot some other important object or feature in the room that Linnam and I miss. It looks like we'll be staying here tonight, and so we should be sure we are secure -- we don't want any nasty paralyzing crawlers sneaking up on us in our sleep, like the last time we stayed in a cave."
posted by Scholeologist at 5/27/2004 07:35:00 AM

While gravedigging, I've got another question for Durin:

"So, going about killing the ogreling -- would he put up much of a fight? As you can see, some of us are injured, and if it'd be a serious undertaking, we should prepare for it. Can he affect people's minds or shoot rays of frost like his father did?

"Also, what do you want to do now? We are not headed for Clangeddin's Peak, but we are going in that general direction [I think]. Do you wish to return home immediately? I must warn you, we are on an urgent mission against a new orc wizard who is threatening the land, and he has a vast army besieging Clangeddin's Peak. Our reports say the army is ten thousand strong, and that they have taken the Mines already. It would be a cruel fate indeed to escape the tyranny of these ogres only to be captured by foul orcs, but I fear that is what will befall you if you made your way straight home."

posted by Scholeologist at 5/26/2004 06:12:00 AM

That sounds fine with me -- unless someone buttonholes me while we're dragging out the last body, I'll just dig graves until the big "What do we do with the kid?" conference.

Does Durin know what that key might go to? Or of any significant items in the cave -- healing potions, normal-sized weapons, etc.?
posted by Scholeologist at 5/25/2004 05:25:00 AM

"Grandfather, I believe we have still more good news for you..." Barik finds/asks for whoever's got the ogre mage's head and shows the old dwarf. (If this is Linnam, then Barik'll show off his fancy cape instead, and just _say_ that the ogre mage's head is in the pack of one of my companions.)

As soon as I find out about Linnam and Rugrat, I'll take off the cape and put it in my backpack. "Hm. We have much to do then, and not much time. Grandfather, how do you feel about the ogre child? What do you know about him? I wish to hear your whole story, but urgent matters first."

"Let's make sure the area is secure -- Grandfather, is there anything dangerous, or that we need to know about, back down the passage you came from? If there's no immediate threat, then let Grell and I handle the bodies and collect the animals." (If Grell thinks Bishop needs more care, I give him one of my potions of CLW.)

"Drusilla, Slthm, wash away the blood. There's probably water or beer or something stored here -- if not, we can use the water in the barrel (which is in the duffle bag of holding, which I'll leave here with you), and refill it tomorrow." (Eying Slthm's bloody maw) "Don't forget to clean yourselves up, too, if you get blood on you. Indeed, that's a good idea for Grell and I also."

"Drusilla, it sounds like you thought Linnam...was not himself. The father was able to cloud Bishop's mind...do you think the son might have done the same to Linnam? Slthm, could you detect such a thing? Maybe this ogre-child is more than what he seems...try to find out what you can, as soon as you have the opportunity. Until then, though, we may as well go on with Linnam's charade. We'll probably need a few minutes -- if anyone thinks they're presentable and can help Linnam occupy Blue Boy, go right ahead.

"Grandfather, you are free to do as you choose. If you would like to tell me of yourself, I would appreciate the company, but perhaps you'd rather stay here with these friends of mine." [or even hang with the kid, if the two of them get along...]

I'll start dragging bodies out -- both weasels and ogres (Grell can probably drag out the ogres on his own -- I can only drag 1150 lbs. on my own, so I might need help with dragging one.) Let's drag them a little out of the way outside -- I don't want the tyke seeing them if he leaves the house. The mother, at least, I'll bury, and I'll try to get Spade (the badger, not the tool) to help me. (This would count as a "push", since he doesn't know a "Dig" trick.) Since he's got a burrow speed of 10', I would think that he could dig a hole large enough to throw bodies in pretty freakin' fast. If Barik figures it'd be worth it, I'll take the couple of minutes to take 20, if I can. I'll help dig with a pick (if the ground's hard) or my hands (if it's not.) If only we'd kept the spade... :)

While burying the bodies, I'll give them a quick once-over -- the ogress might have something worthwhile on her.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/24/2004 09:06:00 AM

Barik calls back to Grell: "I'll be right there -- it looks like there's another one here in need of healing."

[A lifetime of healing, from the look of it.]

I carry the dwarf to Grell. He (the dwarf) and Bishop can have whatever healing potions I've got that Grell sees fit to give.

[Bob's TB] Of course, we may decide to stay here for the night, and we can worry about healing more tomorrow, if they're not going to croak.

After a few minutes of checking out the dwarf and seeing if he can talk coherently, if Dru and Linnam haven't come out or said anything Barik'll wonder what's happened with them.

Oh, and yay, 7th level! One step closer to that Quick Draw feat I covet so... :)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/23/2004 01:27:00 PM

oops -- belay that until I get that DM email (DMail?)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/22/2004 01:09:00 PM

"I have healing potions, and Pelor's Holy Oil, if Bishop needs more than the salve."

While Grell is attending to Bishop, and Linnam is checking out the other room, Barik goes to cover the southern passageway. And though the back and forth of Drusilla and Slthm amuses him, he can't help but be consumed with curiosity as to who he heard...

"I'm just going to take a look down here..." Barik looks down the southern tunnel. Making sure he's not _too_ far away from the rest of the party, he takes a few steps in...
posted by Scholeologist at 5/22/2004 12:55:00 PM

I don't think I can close to the ogress last round, can I? It looks too far away.
Assuming that's true:

For the last-round move action, I come around the table, sort of cutting off the
ogress from retreat (like
that's gonna happen!) From the map, I'm guessing I'm pretty close to the westward
tunnel. If I can sneak a peek down it, I do. (I stay out of the ogress's
threatened squares.)

And, in reply to Linnam: "And swift are the arrows of Amn!"

For the current round, I throw one of my axes, and draw another one to replace it.
Attack +8(-range penalty, maybe: range inc. = 10'), +5 damage. I don't think the
ogress has actually connected yet, but Barik's pretty sure he can't take a whack
from her.

Yay displacement! Though it's freakin' Barik out a little bit -- I've heard of
getting bitten and not knowing it, but knowing it and not getting bitten? It hurts
my head... :)

And yay x3 critical hits! You know, when you're giving them out they seem so much
more worthwhile than when you're taking them...

Grell, generally the rule is that you get an extra attack at +6, so it would be +6/+1,
and when you get up to +11, you get three attacks: +11/+6/+1.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/21/2004 11:46:00 AM

So the normal ogres are dead, right? Barik engages the weasel.

If the weasel's close enough that a 5' step last round and a 5' step this
round lets me full attack him, I do. If he's too far away, then I'll just
attack him with the waraxe. (Barik's damage is only +3 vs. weasels, but
you already knew that.)

Barik tries to keep the weasel from being able to get to Bishop, since
Grell probably could use some backup..."That spike attack might settle her
down a bit, Bishop!"

posted by Scholeologist at 5/20/2004 09:23:00 AM

Yes, it is this sort of luck that I was worried about. If you miss shooting arrows or lighting
oil from a distance, it doesn't hurt so bad, because it doesn't matter then what the blind
ogre rolls (Barik's AC is 17+4=21 vs. giant, and the ogre had a 50% miss chance, so he rolled
pretty well.)

It occurs to me, after losing half my remaining hp, that Barik's invisibility and blurriness did
him no good, since the ogre was blind. Sigh. (Just so you know, Barik has 18 hp left, according
to my sheet. If he gets hit again, he'll either retreat or fall down and bleed, whichever seems
most prudent.)

Well, it's not like it's all bad -- the other guys did well, and the ogress is "only" a barbarian. :)

Barik proceeds to full attack the near ogre -- and I wouldn't mind a cleave on the weasel
(if I should be so lucky.) Attacks (not counting blindness) +8/+7/+3/+2,
damage +5. (And, for the probability geeks, I think there's approximately a 15% chance I get a
critical hit. Well, assuming I don't fumble one of the axes...man, D&D odds are hard. Okay, a
better than 12.5% chance for a critical.)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/20/2004 05:09:00 AM

Not Nemesis from Alpha Flight? :)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/19/2004 10:05:00 AM

Barik's heart is weary of this fighting, and he wishes to bury the hatchet -- in the nearest ogre's skull.

If I can charge, I will (it looks like Bishop is blocking me). Not counting the possible charge, my waraxe attack is +10 hit/+5 dam. Heck, since he's stunned, I'll Power Attack and make it +8/+7.

Before that, Barik says, quiet like Linnam -- "The ogre westward is a she -- probably his mate. Hope she's like these and not him!"

[Barik TB, regarding the sound to the south] I said it was unthinkable -- it is unthinkable...perhaps a slave?

Oh, and I forgot Grell in my Dukes of Hazzard re-creation. How do ya like Roscoe, big guy? :)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/19/2004 09:30:00 AM

Hmm...if Linnam is Hannibal, Grell _has_ to be B.A. Slthm could easily be Murdock. So that leaves Bishop to be Face, which I guess makes Drusilla the babe-in-distress of the week, and Barik her gruff but kind uncle.

Hmf. If I'm going to be the uncle, I wanna be Uncle Jesse. Linnam and Bishop can be Bo and Luke, Dru is Daisy, and Slthm is Cooter. :)

Uncanny, isn't it?
posted by Scholeologist at 5/19/2004 09:24:00 AM

Fine, let's do the invisible Barik and Linnam sneak into the sides of the room, Slthm and Dru blast 'em thing.

I'll stop whining -- apparently I can't get my ideas across. I'll just disagree, and hope this all comes out ok.

Barik puts on the blurriness cloak, then draws an axe in each hand. "Blurriness power -- activate!"
posted by Scholeologist at 5/18/2004 11:44:00 AM

I don't understand what was wrong with the ruse plan. I know I'm biased, but still, this current plan seems to require more luck. Not to give the DM ideas, but...

a) Four people have to sneak up to a door quietly enough that it'll be surprising when the door opens.
b) The whole goal is to get four of us in a small room with at least 2 ogres (maybe 3), and duke it out.
c) The other exits to the room go places they know about, and we don't.

Other than trying to achieve some surprise, this seems to pit our brute force against theirs -- and they're ogres. The ruse idea starts by pitting their wisdom against our sneakiness -- and again, they're ogres...

Rather than come up with a convoluted plan to get us all into the room, why not a plan that puts them in the narrow hallway, or even outside it? Maybe I'm missing something -- why are we so all-fired to fight them in their house?

I don't want to make it seem like I only want to go with my plan, but the other plan seems to be getting more complicated instead of less, and I'm a little worried that if things go wrong, they could go really really wrong. If we're going to do it that way, let's not worry about trying to get the spears while invisible, or trying to hide the bar to the door...I don't think there'll be enough time, and I'm not clear on how it would work anyway. And losing our invisibility just to get an arrow shot doesn't seem worth it -- Barik will go in with his axes armed, ready to behead stunned/blinded ogres.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/18/2004 03:44:00 AM

I kinda want to wait and hear Grell's opinion (I suspect he'll be the healer administering the salve to Linnam).

"This third voice need not be an ogre, Linnam. One set of tracks is from someone shorter than I. It would be unthinkable that a dwarf might be here, except as a captive, but there are less upstanding folk that might consort with ogres.

"Too bad Drusilla doesn't have one of her disguise spells, or she could pretend to be the blue devil and walk right in.

"They don't know we're here. If they're arguing, they're probably arguing about whether they should come out and investigate, and which of them has to go...

"Hm, looks like four beds, six chairs...odds are one of the passages leads to the blue fiend's private room. I sure hope he didn't have a mate. The other passage might be where the short one is...

"I like the idea of opening the door from a distance, or at least unseen. I'm not keen on anyone trying to sneak around a couple of ogres through the doorway, though. Is there no way we can get them to come out? Lighting them on fire in the passageway really seems like a good idea to me...

"Perhaps a ruse? Why not oil the passageway, then have Drusilla, and Slthm call out to anyone in the cave, claim they ran into some ferocious weasels and killed them but are dangerously injured and need help. Surely the ogres will see this as an opportunity, and come out to finish them off. At which point, Drusilla and Slthm let loose their blasts, we light the oil (if it hasn't lit already), perhaps cutting them off from retreat, and our warriors make sure to finish them off.

"The risk, then, is that one of them might hang back and bar the door when we strike. I don't know about this little fellow, but he worries me...perhaps Linnam, invisible, can sneak in when some of them come out? I guess this is back to the sneaking past them invisibly again, but Linnam looks skinny enough..."

If no one's keen on this, Barik will go along with some variation of the other plan, although there seems to be some weird pieces in it...it seems to require more stealth (from people other than Linnam) and puts our spellcasters in the front. And if you're walking up to the door invisibly, why cast a spell to open it? Why not just open it?
posted by Scholeologist at 5/17/2004 06:08:00 PM

This is Barik's idea if the recent tracks seem to be leading in...

"I think we should assume that they've heard us -- what do you think, Linnam? If so, then they'll be ready behind that door, and may burst out at us at any time. If we mean to go in, and I'd prefer that than having them attack us later, then I'd like to either bash that door in or pull it out in a hurry. If we put oil on the hall before the door, we can set it alight if they try to come out. If they just hunker down, we can throw oil and alchemist's fire further in the cave, maybe smoking them out.

"Someone else might have a more...immediate idea for getting the door down. The one I have is this: if we can get a rope, or several, attached to the door, we can rig up two of the blocks so that a rope hitched to Darkstar, or even just a few of us, will easily bring it down. Getting that set up won't be exactly fast, though, and if they see what we're about, they might jump out early. And I'm not sure how we can get the ropes fixed to the door...suggestions?"

(Apparently this is what happens when you've been staring at the equipment list too long.)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/17/2004 07:59:00 AM

Moving off blogger: depends on how much hassle it is. I can work with the new interface, but if there are errors like I was having yesterday posting, then I'd definitely vote for a move. I don't want a move to force someone into doing a lot of system admin and stuff, though -- the game already takes enough of our spare time. :)

Linnam's healing: "Hmm. I know you'd rather wait and conserve our resources, but if this key goes to something in the ogre mage's lair, something that might have other traps, I'd rather you be in shape to try to deal with it. I can't imagine anyone else would be suited to the task. I suppose we can wait and see what the cave holds."

Are the tracks walking the weasel (which sounds like some crude euphemism...) going into or out of the cave?

If out, I propose trying to track the isolated pair down and getting rid of them before they come back. (By the way, I am so loving the Track checks. Someone restrain Barik from looking for tracks everywhere.)

If the tracks are going in -- uh, lemme think about it.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/17/2004 07:32:00 AM

Updated the equipment list. Updates by Linnam and Grell taken into account.

Grell, I had 2 CLW for you also, but I wrote that they were used because the DM said we didn't have any healing except for the potions Barik has, and the salves Bishop and Linnam have. I changed them back to unused in the spreadsheet.

As far as the scrolls go, it's fine with me not to know about stuff -- as long as someone remembers what they are, and that they have them. :)

The avalanche-blocking-the-road idea was, I'm pretty sure, Linnam's, although I suppose a dwarf can't in good conscience dislike any plan that involves moving a lot of rocks quickly. Even so, here's a list of equipment we might be better off leaving behind...

10 ft pole (actually, I had been operating as if this got left behind at the gnolls anyway, after the last horse-kill)
200' hemp rope (we've got loads of silk already)
silk rope? We've got 50' lengths with Bishop, Linnam, and Barik, not to mention another length of 200'.
grappling hooks? We have four -- are we all going to scale up Taur'egk's castle wall? Other climbing equipment (climbing kits, pitons, light hammer) add up to 21 lbs.
block and tackle? Other than moving stuff around, these aren't immediately useful, and they're heavy. And we've got Grell for heavy lifting anyway. :) Other mining equipment includes a crowbar, spade, warhammer/sledge and pick; the total weight for all this stuff is 43 lbs.
Linnam's spare longsword (heavy to lug around if you've got a better one)
Food and Water? The keg is 50 lbs (found where Scott mentioned it), and we've got two waterskins of 4 lbs each. Do we need all that? What about rations (which still need to be figured out -- but incidentally, Jacob, I think the 12 rations you mentioned might be the same as the two weeeks rations you found on the Orc In Black)? It's less than a week before Hextor's Flail rises -- mebbe we just need enough rations to get there?
Money? The copper for sure, but it's not like we're likely to buy anything from Taur'egk.

Whatever we decide to drop, I suggest we bury it/hide it/keep it in the ogre mage's chest so that we have a chance of collecting it on the way back. No point in just leaving it on the ground.

The spreadsheet has some tentative suggestions of what to put in the duffle bag and what to get rid of, and includes total weights for each character. This is a little deceptive, since it only includes the items in the list that have their weights entered, but it might help you figure out what sort of load your character's carrying.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/16/2004 11:03:00 AM

There's a little Excel spreadsheet of equipment that I made here. If you are blessed with OpenOffice, I have the .sxc file too, but be warned, you have to right-click and "save link target", rather than just clicking on the link (at least, my browser tries to display it, which looks like a mess of junk). Anyway, the link is here.

I have grand delusions of sometime setting up a kewl little spreadsheet thing that would track all the equipment, weight carried by everyone, etc., but this is all I'm really capable of tonight. I'd like to have a version of the equipment list in a plain text file too, but getting all the tabs to line up to look nice is slightly more work than I want to do right now.

First, if anyone wants to comment or point out mistakes and omissions, please let me know. (I know that I haven't included the excellent ogre mage swag in it yet -- that's first on the list.) In particular, here are some questions you could help me out with:

In a DM post on 12/28/03, Kevlor mentions (to Grell, I think) to keep in mind the holy oil and scrolls we'd already gotten. By oil, I assume he meant the oil he gave to Barik, but what scrolls is he talking about? Does he mean the fireball scroll Drusilla got from the alchemist? I didn't find any other scrolls that were gotten in Two Towers...

Also, I couldn't find where the DM mentioned how much the water keg weighed. I put in 40 lbs., since that's about what 5 gallons of water would weigh, but that doesn't count the keg.

I have the weight of quivers of arrows wrong at least one place. I'll check in the PH when I go home, but they're 3lbs each, either short or long, right?

"Shadowsomething" in the file means Linnam's horse, whose name I'm unable to recall.

Barik has two torches and a flask of oil that aren't on the equipment list, because I didn't know for sure where they originated. I believe Kray's stuff breaks down like this:
keg of water - Drusilla (on her horse)
10 flasks of oil - 9 on Linnam's horse, 1 on Barik
10 torches - 2 each to Linnam, Barik, Drusilla, Grell, and Alonzo
grappling hook and 200' silk rope - on Linnam's horse
3 quivers of longbow arrows - Bishop (in addition to the 8 he had on his horse at the time)
2 quivers of shortbow arrows - 1 each to Barik and Linnam [this part I'm sure of]

If that makes sense to everyone, I'll edit the equipment lists appropriately.

Keeping track of consumables like arrows is tricky. And particularly rations, which I have been ignoring entirely. (Not many days have gone by, and we've had some meat to supplement our food supply, so these probably won't matter so much.) I recall that in our assessment at Argunn Lode, it seemed like we had more than enough.

Without horses, we're going to have to dump a lot of stuff. A lot of Barik's stuff is heavy and replaceable (mining equipment, for example.) Also, we have 3 grappling hooks and a total of 500' of rope. I'm not sure how we could possibly need all that. I'll come up with what Barik wants to part with tomorrow...
posted by Scholeologist at 5/15/2004 07:39:00 PM

[Bob's TB] I'm working out a (pretty comprehensive) equipment list of bits and pieces we've acquired here and there, to be put up shortly.

[Barik's TB] I wonder if Drusilla's cycles of mood are some strange effect of elven physiology -- are they all that way? Or maybe it's some sort of curse.

In any case, this group is clearly not up to stealth missions. I don't hold out high hopes that we'll be able to sneak past Taur'egk's defenses...

Barik runs toward the noises, putting an arrow to his bow. He follows the direction of Grell and Dru until he gets past the big tree on the right. Then he bends right, passing to the right of the little trees in the way, hoping to flank/surround whatever Linnam's tangled up with.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/15/2004 04:36:00 PM

Maybe the critter noise was actually Linnam's carefully-disguised and encoded message to Spade!

I hate to break it to you, but sending encoded messages to Spade has exactly the same effect as talking to him in Aramaic. I know he looks scholarly in his glasses, but while he is ferocious, courageous, loyal, and true, he is not capable of solving word puzzles. Or, for that matter, understanding what the word "word" means.

He is, however, irresistably cute.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/15/2004 12:15:00 PM

I'll post later on the "Jacob's guilty pleasure" thread. No time now...

As far as the game goes, while Linnam's casing the joint, Barik will move (quietly) to the rear of the party. If our order is like it was, let's protect the spellcasters with Grell and Bishop in front, and Barik in back.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/14/2004 01:19:00 PM

Woo-hoo! I am Barik, the Purple Avenger! Okay, okay...before Strae tries to sue me for trademark infringement, I prefer Barik the Blurry. (And multiple LOLs for Strae's cloak covetousness.)

Not that I expect it, but just in case I look for pockets in the cloak, in case the ogre mage had anything small stored in there.

I vote for tracking the ogres back...if I were an ogre mage, my iron key would certainly be to my chest o'goodies at home. And "not exactly on course" is close enough for me. If we spot serious resistance (I sure don't want to fight another one of these today!) or it takes us too far afield (like, we're going to lose a whole day) then I say break it off, but until then...I'm thinking it was a heck of a fight, maybe there's some powerful treasure to be had.

Of course, if it's just more coins, it's not clear what we could do with it...maybe bury it somewhere and hope to collect it later?

Like Linnam says, it definitely doesn't make sense to try to lug barding and saddles around. The best barding is still on Darkstar anyway.

Barik can easily put 10 lbs worth of stuff he's got now in the DBoH, and carry it (along with whatever else we want to put in it.) I'll put my equipment list of stuff that was once on poor Lightfoot up tomorrow to help us decide what to take and what to leave.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/13/2004 07:48:00 PM

Good golly, Linnam, that seems like -- pardon the pun -- overkill, doesn't it? :)

If the body-scattering job takes more than a couple of minutes, Barik says "Surely, all these pieces are scattered enough? If we take the head with us, I can't imagine he can grow one of those back."

Regardless, Barik says "Well fought, brave friends! I have only heard rumors of a fiend like this -- and in that story, there was only one survivor. Perhaps some of our fortune comes from luck, but much more comes from our teamwork and the fantastic skills and spells we can bring to bear."

For the record (and for distribution of CLW spells), Barik has 29 hp left (and a net of 25 pts in damage). That Cure Serious Wounds he took was most invigorating (note the freshly braided beard), so it might make sense to heal Grell and Barik in equal amounts or something (I don't know how Bishop's doing -- but I think he's suffered the 17hp or so from the cone of cold).

And let's keep an eye out -- those ogres were fighting something before we ran into them...
posted by Scholeologist at 5/13/2004 12:53:00 PM

'most anything I do provokes an AoO right now.

I'm just curious/wondering...in general, can't you take a 5' step back and then shoot arrows to avoid an attack of opportunity?

(In looking up in the PH to make sure this wasn't a stupid question, I just saw that "If you have the Two-Weapon fighting feat, you can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the time it would ordinarily take you to draw one." So, for a _heck_ of a long time I've been drawing first one axe, then the other, and I didn't have to. I hope Barik has a better head for tactics than I do.)

If I'm close enough, I drop my bow and charge at the tiger, slicing at him with my waraxe. If I'm too far away, I move towards him and shoot an arrow (at him but not into melee, if I can).
posted by Scholeologist at 5/13/2004 03:28:00 AM

The map was in one of Jacob's recent posts (9:00 am), but it disappeared, I know not where.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/12/2004 10:18:00 AM

I'm guessing it's the Chicken of the Sea mermaid's angry father. :)

Barik doesn't shoot the frost arrow until he sees something. I guess that might be some kind of "ready action" thing -- like, um, "Barik's ready to fire the frost arrow at the blue guy if he sees him."
posted by Scholeologist at 5/12/2004 09:33:00 AM

Hey now, that's Bishop talking. Not everything is the blasted dwarf's fault. :)

Barik's thoughts are parallel to Linnam's, except that he's not worried about Bishop being bigger than him. Maybe a good knock on the head is exactly what Bishop needs...

"Grell, I greatly appreciate your offer. I would also appreciate it if you'd come on back toward us...no point in us getting too separated."

Barik stays where he is, back to the tree, frost arrow on the bowstring. He's deeply apprehensive that the ogre mage is going to try to gut one of the spellcasters from behind, or Grell before he heals up. Therefore, he's trying to watch everyone's back at once, ready to shoot any big blue things that appear near them.

Since Linnam is trying to listen, Barik stays still and similarly tries to Spot/Listen.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/12/2004 04:40:00 AM

The rest of us should cover him/ help Grell. We're fixing up the line, not full-on retreating (which we could hardly do anyways-- I'm sure the bad guys are faster.)

Close, but I'm/Barik's a bit more serious about pulling back than you think. Like you say, Barik's been nailed pretty bad, and (even with his healing) Grell can't be much better, and he's off on his own going toe-to-toe with one of the ogres. Bishop is charmed, so our whole front line isn't very useful.

In addition, Barik has reason to believe that the ogre mage can turn invisible (and possibly fly) all day if it feels like it, and it clearly regenerates. That means that there's a pretty good chance that we won't be able to kill it.

Our best chance, Barik thinks, is to kill off the ogres so that the ogre mage thinks maybe it's not worth it to pursue us, at least not right now. (If we'd been lucky and hit the ogre mage some more, our best chance would've been killing him before he could react, but that didn't happen, and he's essentially undamageable now.) Our second best chance is just to get the heck out of there and perhaps the ogres have other business to take care of rather than wiping us out. (I think we can move the same speed as the ogres, if not the mage.)

In either scenario, pulling back from the ogres and using missiles rather than trying to move through their long reach seems like the best idea. If we manage to kill one or both of them off this way, splendid -- if not, we'll at least be in a better position to run.

So, yes, Barik wants to pull back and quaff, and wants cover while he's doing it. He also wants the party as a whole to keep from getting separated, and disengage towards the southwest. Once that happens, unless the ogres are both near death, he's seriously considering retreat (in the direction we want to go).
posted by Scholeologist at 5/11/2004 08:06:00 PM

There is no other portable healing around other than Grell’s right hand (or do you use your left?)

I'm just guessing, but I bet Grell goes both ways. Not that way... :)

Yeah, I'll drink the Cure Serious Wounds potion and only retreat half as far.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/11/2004 08:32:00 AM

Barik retreats from the ogre, south west.
"Regroup! Southwest! Everyone!" Barik keeps his eye on Grell, who (other than himself) seems the most likely to get dropped. If that happens, Barik will switch directions toward him, yelling "Bishop, Linnam! To Grell!"

Parenthetically, I note that Alonzo had some healing potions (one each Light, Medium, and Serious wounds) at one time, and somebody might still be carrying them around. Barik wouldn't mind one or two of them right now... :)
posted by Scholeologist at 5/11/2004 05:31:00 AM

If I can get a clear shot (that is, without a -4 or more for shooting into melee or cover), I move toward the ogre mage and fire another frost arrow (I have two left). If the chance of hitting him is worse than that, I'll just fire a regular arrow.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/10/2004 03:38:00 AM

Barik moves east (20') and shoots a frost arrow at the ogre mage. Hopefully that'll get around his tree cover. BAB +10, Damage +6 (+2 Str, +2 Mag, +2 Fav Enemy). (Scott already knows this, but I like typing it, in the hopes it'll apply: damage 1d6 + 1d6 (frost), critical x3).

I know this goes against the "scatter!" idea, but the other logical place to go is northwest, and Barik, as the only person still bearing the full brunt of the cold attack, doesn't want to be the only party member that the ogres have a clear shot at.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/08/2004 06:33:00 AM

Barik's got a while before it's his turn to act, and a lot might change by then. In the meantime, here's a window into his thoughts:

"These flying ruukwenders really p!$$ me off! Them and their bedamned magic blasts! I have come back from the dead to strike you down, you bastard son of a snake! If there were justice, you would feel my steel rend your black heart ere you could run away, coward! Though you are right to tremble, for justice or no, I will find you, I will kill you, and your stain will be wiped from these mountains by my hand!"
posted by Scholeologist at 5/07/2004 07:26:00 AM

Barik went south because, although we want to go west in general, going west now means going closer to the ogres that we just spotted (who are NW of us). Barik plans therefore to lead the way south, which isn't backwards (toward the east, where something nasty might be), but isn't forwards (where something nasty is), hopefully until we're out of sight of the ogres. Then we can bend westward.

But technically, this is a bump in the route -- the party isn't discussing what direction to go now that we've seen the ogres, we're changing direction now that we've seen them to avoid them. (Talking while in their earshot doesn't earn us stealth points.)

Back in pre-ogre conversation, Barik intended the cavalry to go "in front". The stealthies can see us and where we're going, but not the other way around. If the lead group spots something and has to change direction, the stealthies can continue to follow us; it doesn't work the other way. Except in the case of running away, I didn't think we'd be out of sight of them (they, of course, are practically already out of sight of us), so setting up a meeting point wouldn't be necessary.

posted by Scholeologist at 5/06/2004 08:25:00 PM

"Yes, by `cover us' I mean that if we have to fight, you should come in -- but by surprise, from a position of strength. If you are discovered first, then we shall charge to your aid, though that should be unlikely. We will not take flight if you are exposed -- our flight should serve to distract anyone from you, and hopefully you will follow after us undetected. If the battle is forced upon us, I think you will have no doubt -- you will see who sets upon us, whether we run or fight, and how best to blindside them."

Once we spot the ogres, I'll try to continue with the plan -- Barik leads the horsemen along, quietly quietly, further south and away from the ogres. Keep looking east, ogres, keep watching out for whatever it is you're watching out for...
posted by Scholeologist at 5/06/2004 09:27:00 AM

For lack of something better to do, Barik takes the horse from Linnam.

I've got a few questions.

What's the terrain like? Are Grell and Bishop still mounted, or are we having to walk the horses through dense trees and stuff? If they're still mounted, Barik gets on Linnam's horse too. Are we free to ride, or is the terrain too rough for any galloping (without Ride checks)?

Can we see much of the ogres? Are they behind cover (from the trees) relative to us? If we can see them, do they look injured? Armed? Are there convenient ogre-hand-sized rocks around them?

I'm all for letting the ogres get eaten. The issue is, how do we get out of the midst of the fight, when we're not all footpads? Slthm and Drusilla are both invisible, right?

Assuming that we can ride, here's Barik's plan: "Okay, it's not ideal, but let's try to do the same thing we did in the valley before the orc army. Linnam, Slthm, Drusilla -- you're much less likely to get spotted than the rest of us. Cover the rest of us from a bit away -- follow Linnam's lead. We three will try to continue on without being noticed -- but if the ogres catch sight of us, we'll try to gallop away. Follow us as quietly as you can -- we'll pull up when we're out of danger, and wait for you. If you somehow lose sight of us and our trail and get lost, stick together. If you haven't caught up when we expect, Spade and I can retrace our steps and find you."

[Bob's TB] Of course, whether we actually gallop away depends a little bit on circumstances.
posted by Scholeologist at 5/06/2004 06:52:00 AM

Good golly. Why'd we bother turning this guy invisible for? I can barely see him where he is.

Barik: Listen +6, Spot +5, Hide +2, Move Silently +2. (incl. armor, and with at least a point spent on each one.)

"As we go, if you see my hand go up, freeze. If I wave my hand, take cover as best you can. If someone else hears or spots something, give a whisper, and we'll freeze."

Barik's going to switch to his shortbow and a frost arrow [Bob's TB: and every time he switches weapons, I covet the Quick Draw feat], figuring he might be shooting at a big target. If there's anywhere we can pass and a big critter couldn't (under a thicket of tree branches, a rocky outcropping, whatever), Barik heads for it. After Linnam's comment, Barik tries to keep the group under the foliage. He tries to cut a very wide berth around whatever that was.

Barik keeps his eyes and ears peeled for anything (particularly anything blue), and talks in a whisper. "Dragon or not, anything strong enough to take out a group of hill giants, or whatever they were, is nothing to get tangled with. If Slthm's got more of those lightning bolts, throwing a couple of those might make it reconsider. But unless it's sleeping, or gets fried by those bolts, I think running might be the best choice. The mounted men could speed away, Drusilla could use her invisibility, and after the danger's passed, we walkers can catch up."
posted by Scholeologist at 5/05/2004 09:57:00 AM