Oops -- Rapid Shot != Manyshot. Got it. The talk about "both shots" musta formed a Green Arrow moment in my mind :)

Well, I was going to put up post 1 about elevations and stuff, but terrifically fun things have distracted me for the last hour or two, and I mean fun in the most ironic sense. And it's past 1:30am here, so I'm going home. Mebbe tomorrow I'll have a website and pictures with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what it is.
posted by Scholeologist at 11/14/2003 07:15:00 PM

[Bob's jabber until further notice, and remember that even if Barik thought something, the other characters probably can't hear him express it] Jacob, you'd appreciate the 3.5e PH version of Haste (right now, perhaps we all would): as far as what you can do during a round, there are only two effects: (1) if you take a full attack action, you get one more attack at highest base attack bonus, and (2) your movement rate is increased by 30', up to max double normal speed, in all modes. No full attacks and a move, no multiple spells. In fact, the 3.5e PH fly is base speed 60', and vertical ascent is half that (in the book, not me going on about elevation), so skully (tell me it's not a good name; also, this is assuming that he actually did cast normal fly -- for all we know, he's an orcish djinn or something) wouldn't be able to fly up more than 60' in a round.

But putting that aside, my assumption was that rather than casting some spell that involved yelling the words "NOW" and "ROCKS" toward the cliffside (and I can't find "Hail of Rocks" as a spell in the benighted 3.5e PH anyway), that maybe, just maybe, he was telling _somebody else_ to, say, push over some rocks, and do it now. This might suggest implications for who's up in this particular watch tower, which might further lead to notions that it might have been a clue that we saw somebody in a uniform wave, but heard no horns. Then again, there was apparently no indication from anyone in the second tower, horns or wave, so maybe I'm just being paranoid.

As yet another side note about 3.5e PH, in it the Manyshot feat is specified as a standard action, and you can ready a standard action (or move action, or free action), so according to it you could ready both arrows to put down skully's gullet if he opened his mouth.

[Barik's TB] Clangeddin's beard! Bad enough he fries us -- with this much magic, he may well have another lightning bolt or two up his sleeve. He appears from nowhere -- even if we do nick him, he'll probably just vanish to where he came from. And his cohort dropping rocks from above! The question isn't why they're attacking this many men, it's why haven't they destroyed Argunn Lode and Two Towers already!

Hm. The only useful activity I can come up with is shooting frost arrows at him -- maybe the cold after the fire will be more painful. :) I'm going to try to move to where he was before he took flight and shoot up at him. As an added bonus, I'm hoping that when I get there, I'll be out of the zone of silence.

[BMTB]Just so I know my action isn't totally stupid, check my attack bonus calculation: from where he was, he's about 83 feet away (basically he's about 80-85 feet from where I start, from where he was, and from directly below him now.) The bow's range inc. is normally 70', but up like this it's 35' (and the rant page will be up soon, promise). So he's inside of three increments, so -4 to attack. My base attack with the frost arrows (+1) is +9, so we're at +5. Assuming he's hasted, he gets a +1 Dodge AC bonus (this is 3.5e, so it could be wrong), but if we also assume he's an orc or half-orc, I get +1 to attack him (because I'm a dwarf), so those cancel out. We don't know if he's got Mage Armor or if those bracers do more than just look tough, but other than that, I'm at +5, right? If this is wrong, let me know. If I'm fortunate enough to hit and the magic arrows do something more effective than Kray's sword, the damage calculation is pretty favorable, but we all know how well my attack rolls seem to go, so let's try to get over that hurdle first. :)


posted by Scholeologist at 11/14/2003 05:32:00 PM

Hey, cut me some slack. We spun our wheels until the Levys got back with it -- just because the storyline's accelerated doesn't mean my deadline should be shorter than theirs. :)

I'll post an action this evening (English time); I'm in meetings all day. :(

Btw, I assume skully's initiative was after Kray and before me?
posted by Scholeologist at 11/14/2003 09:08:00 AM

Well, that's a new way to lose your long post -- my computer had a little power nap, and made me login again, with everything I had open lost.

With that bit of frustration, I will only say that my ranting on about vertical distances is going to go on its own website, and I'll put the link here when it's ready. Oh, and just remember that while these MOS moments are a moment's fancy to you, they compose a lifetime for me. The range limits for thrown weapons are all ridiculous compared to the projectile weapons anyway, as I will describe on the rant page.
posted by Scholeologist at 11/13/2003 04:57:00 PM

"Other than what you see before you, and the fine state that the watch-towers are currently in, there's been little out of the ordinary to mention."

If I notice Sandarkar climb more than ten feet up the wall, (in addition to assessing how good a climber he is) I will feel compelled to point out that there's a riding path up to the watch-tower in about a half-mile, and though it's a series of switchbacks, it may well be faster to go up that way, if he wants to check out the top. Since that's probably the way the boulder-droppers came down (if they did), it might have been worthwhile to look for traces along the trail as well, but the guardsmen have probably obscured anything that might have remained. Not that it's likely that any clue would have lasted so long.
posted by Scholeologist at 11/12/2003 06:15:00 PM

"I think I know what you mean, Grell. In fact...ah, and here they are now, satisfied with their excursions, I hope! Ah, Lieutenant John, if it's not too much trouble, is it possible for me to investigate this scene before the caravan obscures any traces that might remain?"

Regardless of the reply, I look over the site carefully -- first, to seek out any traces of my Stone Brother companions, who were probably here last (except the vultures) and may have left an indication of where they were going. Second, for any tracks and traces of the attackers, both to get an impression of numbers, type, etc., and also in the faint hope of finding out where they came from or went to. Third, I am obligated to try to identify the bodies, unlikely as that is. If Little John is willing to spare the men to dig a mass grave for them, I would appreciate it, but they breathed out their souls long since -- the shells that have remained separated from the earth this long can wait a while longer if need be.
posted by Scholeologist at 11/12/2003 05:07:00 PM

"Interesting. My first impressions were almost the opposite, in that I can't figure Sandarkar out, but I thought I had some idea about Drusilla. I would have thought that she was the one that doesn't want anyone getting too close. Of course, I've barely seen either one -- I was supposed to talk to Sandarkar, but no sooner did I run into you than he had to go on some business of his own. I previously had the impression that he was a planner, a coordinator type, but he seems to be running all over the place for reasons I don't understand."

"Why, do you suppose, does Drusilla `get so much crap from others'? Is it because she's a mage? I don't really know too much about the ins and outs of the cultures south of Two Towers -- are elves not thought highly of any more?"
posted by Scholeologist at 11/12/2003 09:02:00 AM

"So, good priest, tell me of this Drusilla of the Pomarj and Sandarkar the Amnite. Have you known them long? What are they like?"
posted by Scholeologist at 11/12/2003 05:36:00 AM

[Bob] hey, Grell fights orcs; this is something Barik understands. What the other two are doing here, he hasn't a clue.

[Barik] "Lieutenant, your manning of the watch-towers is fine indeed. I hope someday this road will always be so safeguarded!"

posted by Scholeologist at 11/09/2003 12:22:00 PM

Woo-hoo! Barik is happy to talk with Grell, sharing old war stories and discussing tactics. If it comes up, Barik is also happy to practice speaking Orcish, since he only really got the hang of it after perusing an excellent book on the subject in the temple of Moradin in Two Towers.
posted by Scholeologist at 11/09/2003 11:10:00 AM

Excellent. Assuming Grell's with me, we head up toward the front. If I see either Little John or Captain Kray, and either is available to speak to, I greet him and announce my intentions: "Good (Captain or Lieutenant), I thought I might serve as a lookout and let you know if anything seems different or peculiar about the road ahead. The good priest Grell's experience with orcs and ogres in this area will also serve well in this capacity, and I appreciate his company in any case. I am also keen to investigate the site of the raid on the silver train before the caravan passes over it, if I may."
posted by Scholeologist at 11/09/2003 08:15:00 AM