Story Commentary

Duhn, Duhn. Duhn!

That's not suspicious at all. Doubt everyone!

Asterion is just being a hard-ass hehe! Yeah he can sometimes be paranoid as f**k but no, he doesn't really believe Ulskah is involved :-D

Asterion has just suggested splitting up the party! Dun dun duuuuuuuuun! :-D

Rule 1: Don't split the party.
Rule 2: NEVER split the party!
;)

I know, right?! :-D

"Sometimes, the best hiding place is in plain sight." - the weird scientist guy from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the Movie...
the original original movie, not that Michael Bay mess.

Haha...I'm out stealth-ing the stealthy guy!

Asterion is pacing back and forth back at the temple, wishing Rynekel would wake up already so he can send him home and not have to deal with the damn parents. XD But don't cut to us yet, I am quite enjoying Kirriand and Uhlskah's scene :-)

Before I post Asterion's reply to Lord Rynekel I'd like to know:

What is the public's perception of the Rynekel family in general, and of Lord Istraud in particular? Is he kind? Corrupt? Just? Popular?

Fox and Keleem are pretty much equal in station. What is their opinion of each other, if any? How about the public? One of the common folk asked "Is he going to be alright?" Is Keleem well-liked among the public so that comment is to be expected, or is that something unusual that would alert a good detective?

He is lawful and Just. Which can make him seem unkind/not merciful. His voice on the council represents law, order, stability, not making changes to the statues quo or bringing in new ideas. The Rynkekel family is the smallest of the ruling families, containing only three people. If Keleem dies, Istraud has no heir. The lord and Lady are older and there are whispers/gossip that the lady is now barren.
Keleem is unmarried and seems to have had the creative and adventuring spirit exhausted out of him. From fighting and loosing a war-of-wills his father. He is generally liked but not strongly loved. Most of the common people don't want to stick out in eyes of the nobles. Their wrath can at least stop them from making any income.

Argh what a sucky diplomacy roll for Asterion!

Qralloq, not only did did you roll really well for Ravastine, but that was also beautifully roleplayed! Kudos! :-)

LOL! How old is Keleem exactly? I thought he and Fox might be of the same age but I realize that was never specified. If Keleem is any age past than puberty then yeah a beautiful half-elf in armor would have his total attention haha!

Hi, I'm back. Sorry about that.

Keleem is an approximate 17.

I'm going on holiday/vacation for three weeks in an area with patchy Internet access. I will do my best to post frequently, but if you don't hear from me for longer than usual, you know why.

If I go completely missing, feel free to play Uhlskah as an NPC following his established modus operandi:
* Investigate mysteries, not necessarily keeping to the rules
* Use force of personality to overcome social obstacles
* Back up the team in combat with his Bard abilities

Ya, I keep thinking I can't skip time when when narrating. So I spend forever trying to figure out how to write several paragraphs for short journeys between places or scenes. It's my flaw. I'm working on it.

I think it's cool that you're so concerned with the quality of your writing - motivates me to think harder about my posts too. But yeah, cut scenes are fine in my book.

As a Kubi, Asterion would have said, "Master Kirrian, take your people and cover the rear exit. Uhlskah, you're with them. Ravastine, with me, but protect the girl." but as a player I don't want to spoil anyone's fun by being so bossy :-)

I can't speak for everyone else, but I think it's OK for Asterion to be bossy - it moves the game along, and there's nothing to stop us disobeying or liberally interpreting the Kubi's orders. From my experience of playing other games here, group decision-making can slow things down a lot, so having a 'leader' character might be a boon.

But one little point of order: Is Lia - the girl - with us? I thought we took directions from her and left her at the temple?

Yes. You left her at the temple.

I absolutely love your description of your weapon, Asterion.

Oops, I'm sorry, I misunderstood! Thought Lia was with us. Will edit my post. And if it's all the same, will use the bossy post. Good points, harlandski! Thanks!

I wish I could take credit for the description of the Starshadow blade, but that's the official description :-)

Asterion's intent is to have Uhlskah scout ahead a little then (because he seems the most stealthy of the group) then come back and bring everyone down there if there's any exploring to be done. But if the other PC's have any other ideas then I guess we're in for some roleplay :-)

Wow, this cellar has been producing some really pathetic dice rolls! :-D

Everyone's line of sight is blocked except Uhlskah's. But it only lasts until Uhlskah's next turn. He's done it to buy himself a little time to recover, and maybe turn the surprise attack tables on the eyes in the darkness.

"OOC: Ummm, I attack the darkness?" Lols!

-Ravastine your AC is 20? Just making sure I'm reading these weirdly formatted sheets right.

-Can you guys see the result when I hide the roll and dice?

Correct, 20... and I can't see the results of your rolls.

I can't see the results either. Are the 4e character sheets still buggy or have they been fixed? I still have my entire character crammed into the Notes box.

So Ravastine didn't get hit either time.

Did anyone bloody the wolf? Uhlskah has a power which boosts an ally when that ally reduces an enemy to 0 HP (obviously not the case), or bloodies an enemy (maybe the case from your description, ShadowFire).

Yes, the wolf is, just barely, bloodied.

So I take it it was Asterion who bloodied the wolf? Shame, as Ravastine probably needs the HP more right now (My power grants temporary HP to the ally who bloodied an enemy).

Yes it was Asterion

This is my very first 4E combat so please bear with me.

Asterion wields the Starshadow Blade, a magical weapon granted to him by his pact.
This round Asterion activates the encounter power Wield the Warp:
It has both the Implement and Weapon tags, so both of Asterion's feats (Rod Expertise and Heavy blade Expertise) come into play.

So here is my attack roll calculation:
Wield the Warp: 1d20 + Cha (4) + Heavy Blade Expertise (1) + Rod Expertise (1) = 1d20+6

Should I have also added the weapon's proficiency bonus to (+3) that?

From his previous action (Eyebite) Asterion is invisible to the creature when he makes the attack. What bonuses, if any, does this grant to this attack?

Same here: Surprisingly complex for 1st level, huh? At least with play by post we can figure it all out without slowing the game down too much :-D

Yeah, I find the 4e PHB confusing, too. Double checked everything and I've been shorting myself on attack bonuses a bit. Took awhile to figure out what was right.

Qralloq, how's Ravastine's Heal skill? I'm not sure how bad things are for Kirrian, but maybe Ravastine could stabilize him, or grant him another saving throw against the poison? Uhlskah could try using his skill versatility, but as we've all seen Wisdom isn't Uhlskah's strongest card :-/

Oops I forgot - Kirrian is foolsmask's character, and foolsmask has left the site for now:http://gamersplane.com/forums/thread/948/

Ravastine doesn't have the Heal skill, and only +1 Wis.

Yeah, my post was purely roleplay. I was wondering why you guys were burning slots. I thought, "Well, kudos to them for full commitment to roleplay! We all know Kirrian is dying anyway." :-D

Then again, who knows, Shadowfire might keep Kirrian as an NPC!

Gentle bump! I've been slack myself for the last week, but raring to get back into my games now!

I second that :-)

Sorry about that, got a little busy, then a little sidetracked.
Glad you guys are still excited to play!

Woot woot

I've asked a similar question before but it hasn't been answered yet.

Asterion wields the Starshadow Blade, a magical weapon granted to him by his hexblade pact.
This round Asterion activates the at-will power Resplendent Blade:
The power has both the Implement and Weapon tags, so both of Asterion's feats (Rod Expertise and Heavy blade Expertise) come into play.

So here is my attack roll calculation:
Resplendent Blade: 1d20 + Cha (4) + Heavy Blade Expertise (1) + Rod Expertise (1) + Combat Advantage from Uhlskah's Darkfire (2) = 1d20+8

Should I have also added the weapon's proficiency bonus (+3) to that?

I take it the wererat has acted, but the woman hasn't yet. Is she going to, or can Uhlskah act now?

You may act.

Jabes.
as to your proficiency +3 I'm still debating that. I can't decide. :(

Asterion actually only attacks once. The 2nd roll is confirmation for the possible extra 1d8 damage from Inevitable Strike. If the attack roll of 14 missed the wererat then Asterion dealt no damage at all.

Also, I included +2 to that for Uhlskah's Darkfire because I didn't know he'd missed with the spell. So Asterion's attack roll result is actually 12 :-(

Unless I can add proficiency, which would make it 15 :-)

4e is so fiddly! :-P

Yes, I liked that you showed the where the darkfire added to the roll so I deducted it. But if the attack hitting is based only on the first roll then regardless you did miss.

Rules Compendium p.275:

Weapons as Implements and Vice Versa

Some adventurers have the ability to use a weapon as an implement or an implement as a weapon, and some magic items grant this ability. For example, the holy avenger weapon can be used as a holy symbol, which is a type of implement. The following rules govern such uses.

Using a Weapon as an Implement: If an adventurer is able to use a weapon as an implement, the weapon works like a normal implement, but the adventurer uses neither the weapon’s proficiency bonus nor its nonmagical weapon properties with his or her implement powers. For example, if a weapon has the high crit property, that property does not work with implement powers if the weapon can be used as an implement.

When an adventurer uses a magic version of the weapon as an implement, he or she can use the magic weapon’s enhancement bonus, critical hit effects, properties, and powers. However, some magic weapons have properties and powers that work only with weapon powers. Also, a weapon’s range and damage dice are usually irrelevant to an implement power, since such a power has its own range and damage expression.

Because Resplendent Blade is listed as all of these- Arcane, Implement, Radiant, Weapon
I feel like you should get the proficiency for both the weapon and the implement...

That'd be great, thanks! :-)

On another topic: Do the 4E character sheets work properly now? All my stuff is still crammed in the Notes section.

Not sure if I can do all of that in one round, and don't have the books to refer to. But if not, I just change weapons and prepare to do the same next round.

- War Song Strike
Bard Attack 1
You sing a song of war and victory, invigorating your allies as they press the attack.
At-Will Arcane, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon
Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC
Hit: 1[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and any ally who hits the target before the end of your next turn gains
temporary hit points equal to your Constitution modifier.

My constitution modifier is +1.

Edit: I checked the rules and now see I can do all that in one round, but also that a critical 'only' gives me maximum damage, ie 12, not an extra damage die.

Edit edit: aha! But my scimitar has the property "high crit" which does give me the extra die of damage in addition to the maximum. Up to the DM to take my first or second damage roll for this.

Okay, so 20 damage total?
12 crit plus the extra D8 which was rolled as an 8.

I won't say no to that! :-)

Asterion is standing in the doorway. Is the woman attempting to muscle her way through him? Is that what the Strength roll is for?

If you intend to stop her, yes. Otherwise she'll leave.

Rolled a 1. LOL! I guess now she flips Asterion over and pulls his underwear over his head! :-D

How does 4E handle damage and dying? I know Kirrian already received some healing (Lay On Hands from Ravastine and Song of Rest from Uhlskah) I know he's still down but is he in danger of bleeding out and dying? The answer will influence Asterion's next action.

Kirrian is conscious so he is above 0 hitpoints and not dying, nor bleeding, but he is probably suffering from strong effects of slowness, weakness ect. The creature which stung him is not one any of you recognize. It is probably from experimentation. Kirrian doesn't look like his life is at risk for the time being but because of the unknown nature of creature you don't know what the long term effects could be.

When you drop below 0 hitpoints you make death saving throws each round, D20 10+ =pass. When you reach 3 failures you are dead. Before you are dead you are unstable, a successful heal check will make the person stable but unconscious.

Ah. So pretty much the same as 5E then. Thanks! :-)

I added Uhlskah's (pathetic) Dex roll to my original post.

I also added a dex roll to my existing post.

Got it

Looks like this game is dead. Too bad, it's been fun, though I never did fully wrap my head around how to add up the attack modifiers. I'm leaving the game to clean up my games list, but please do drop me a PM if this adventure is going to continue so I can rejoin. Thanks!