The beetles in 0709 and 1309 are both stunned, so they are no threat; the hexes around them are not considered melee hexes, as these beetles cannot engage.
However, 1209 can engage against Aleksandra and does. It rolls an 8, missing.
The beetle that Engelhart tried to push, in 1009, attacks. It rolls a 7, also missing.
Beetles continue to harry Gudbrand, from 0807 and 0907, the latter climbing up and over the tomb to engage him from above. 0907 rolls a modified 13, missing, but 0807 rolls a 16 and hits. [I see that Gudbrand lists his armor class as 5, but it is actually only 6; a 16 dexterity makes an 8 AC, not a 7]. Gudbrand takes 7 more damage . . . and now he really is in trouble, as he stumbles and falls into 0809.
I will need a d20 roll from Gudbrand. A really important one.
Rowan, too, is in great danger. He is being attacked from 0907, 1008 and 1009.
0907, 1008 and 1009 against Rowan, as the beetle's attack centers on him. With an AC of 8, he is hit by an modified 15 from above, causing 3 damage. Stunned, he falls back into 0909. The beetle in 1008 rushes forward and attacks him again, rolling a 10. The third beetle, in 1009, turns and bites, missing with a 9. Over all, Rowan was very lucky.
At the end of the beetle's attack, here is how it looks:
Now, we're going to have to manage some unpleasantness. I need the CLO for everyone in the party this round. Please post it on the blog, even if it is on your character (will make it easier for me).
As well, Engelhart, Lothar and Aleksandra can all act. Gudbrand is in trouble. He will probably be unconscious. I leave it to the party to handle that. Best of luck.
Here is the x.p. distribution thus far:
The players round ends with everyone in this position:
29 comments:
2.95 CLO
Ugh, I knew I should have taken off my cloak up above. I was thinking about it, I said to myself "Huh, you know, with my cloak and spear both gone, that sure does free up a lot of CLO and AP" and then I did neither.
I am just not bringing my A-game right now.
With that in mind, I really got lucky on these beetles. I knew it was gonna be bad, but it could have been a lot worse.
Well, shit.
I have a CLO of 1.4.
I move to 1109 and attack the beetle facing Rowan. That's a 3...
With my remaining 1AP, I shout "Get Gudbrand out of here". I then try to make as much noise as I can to draw the beetles towards me.
Oh shit I'm at -8 HP!
d20 roll: 16
Gaaaah, of course THIS one has to be high when it's probably an ability check against my 20% stats. I may never taste those sweet sweet mountains of XP... I really hope I don't die! I've never thrown my axe! I'm super tense right now.
(Guys if I eat it but the rest of you survive and can get the corpse out, please sell my shit to make yourselves some cash. Don't forget to sell my corpse to the guy who cuts people up for alchemy parts -- not trying to make light of it, just reminding my cash-strapped friends of some opportunities. Anyway hopefully this doesn't have to happen! Because I'm gonna LIVE)
Oh and my CLO is 2.4
Yup.
It is an ability check against your 20% stat. So Gudbrand is definitely unconscious.
On the good side, since he won't be fighting, he won't be taking heat damage - though as a chandler's son, he gets a -1 modifier to heat damage.
I'm going to adjust the heat-damage rules for CLO slightly. The damage per round will begin with rounds 9 to 16, so that everyone gets the first rounds free.
Rowan, this is the 8th round, so you won't take damage ~ but you will take 1d3 the next round, if you don't drop some clothing somewhere, or fall unconscious as Gudbrand has.
Aleksandra is fine at 1.4; she's quite safe until round 25.
Aleksandra, if you survive please take good care of my axe :(
We're in for it, that's for sure. I see two, maybe three of us making it through depending how the round shakes out.
If only my Shillelagh didn't take a full round to cast, I'd be able to even the odds before going down like a punk.
If Gudbrand is lying on the floor unconscious, can I stand over him and fight effectively?
Might seem like a dumb question, but where's our torch?
Barrow Entrance post indicates that we might just never have lowered it, given that consensus was it wouldn't do anything, but that still leaves Aleksandra with (Lothar's?) tinder and the actual stick somewhere, right? Or is it swinging pointlessly nearby?
I had assumed we were being illuminated by the daylight above, but since I'm about to die and all, I figured I'd find every straw I could grasp at.
Current CLO is 1.05
Rowan, there is so much glow coming off the beetles, it is lit better than a tavern on a Saturday night.
Neat!
Am I correct in assuming the torch is gone though?
I sidestep into 1109 and swing at the beetle that is facing Rowan at 1009.
Attack roll: 10, modified to 13.
Damage roll: 1.
I end the turn facing that way.
My Clo is about 2.71.
Crud, rereading the post later in the day, to better assess our chances, I've come to notice that my move is wholly illegal. Aleksandra claimed that positioning first.
I instead move: 0910, 0810 then attack the stunned beetle. It already being wounded is a way to ensure that a successful hit (if ever) won't be reduced to naught by my rolling a 1-2 on the damage die.
The more I look at it, the more dire this situation appears, so I'll ask a few questions before I imperil myself or others further. My max load is 97 lbs, so I don't think I'll be able to drag Gudbrand anywhere by myself fast enough to make a difference. If I am incorrect in this, please tell me. Second, my first thought is to go stand over his (still living) body. Are there penalties for fighting over a prone body? We've been treating the dead beetles like flooring, but Gudbrand is quite a bit bigger (and less likely to scoot if kicked), so if this is obviously impractical, I'd like to know before committing myself. However, if this is too much to assess in the limited time of 12 seconds, I will understand and endeavor to act according to my conscience.
I gurgle encouragingly from the floor.
(ooc: today through Thursday I have plans every evening around 7 PST. Visits to family and then flying back up north on Thurs. I'll be able to check in each day during the morning and afternoon though)
[Okay, ready to catch up now]
I know the CLO issue is going to be a bitch, particularly coming at this time as everyone talks TPK. Try to roll with it.
Aleksandra misses the beetle in 1009 facing Engelhart, not Rowan . . . it is nearer to 1109, where Aleksandra moved. Can't fight the beetle behind that one.
I didn't answer Lothar's question: Yes, you can stand over Gudbrand and fight effectively.
Rowan,
I forgot about the torch when the decision was that it wouldn't do any good. I'll rule that it is tucked into the belt of whomever the torch belonged to.
Lothar's CLO makes him safe from all combat activities. Can you please just let me know what you ARE wearing, Lothar? Not much, I'm guessing ~ but you seem to have found the sweet spot.
Engelhart, you're going to want to strip off some clothes also.
Engelhart, I've recorded that move: go ahead and swing at the beetle.
Lothar, I know I've left you hanging here. No, no penalties for fighting overtop of Gudbrand; I'm not that cruel. I have no trouble with you assessing this ahead of time. Go ahead and move.
I'm wearing my armor and a pair of boots. It was warm enough for tramping through the forest, so I figured why not?
As for my move: I go stand over Gudbrand, via hexes 0910, 0810, 0809. Then I'll attack the beetle in 0709.
Attack: 20(how am I so lucky all of a sudden?) confirmation roll: 3
Damage: 1(oh, that's how...)-2+1=0 Damage
Hopefully Engelhart will be able to kill it...
I end by turning to face hex 0808.
Lothar, I'm going to insist on a loin cloth and some kind of fabric between you and your leather armor, else I'm going to do damage to you for chafing.
You cannot turn to face 0808; you used the very last of your movement to attack 0709. That leaves you facing 0709.
I do appreciate that I said changing facing did not cost any movement; apparently, that was interpreted to mean that you can all magically change your facing without any logic whatsoever. I guess this is my fault. Typical 3rd Edition interpretation of the rules ~ however, it just doesn't make any sense that you can attack one hex with your last AP and then, instantly, spin around in whatever direction you want.
I understand that much of this makes it sound like I'm "changing the rules" on you constantly; that may be frustrating you. I cannot see you at your keyboard, cannot hear you shouting, "F-you Alexis!" But I think in your hearts you all know perfectly well that the "end by turning to a hex that I did not remotely attack" was viewed with a goodly amount of, "Well, it doesn't make sense, but if that's the rule, I'm sure as hell going to take advantage of it!"
When you choose a target to attack, THAT is your facing. It doesn't cost any movement to turn to attack that target, but if that's your last move, that's where you face.
On another note, I can absolutely assure the party that continued rounds of failing to hit or cause damage will absolutely result in a TPK.
I'm fairly sure that even if anyone ever doubted that, the piling up of heat damage on top of beetle mandible pretty much gave it away.
And yes,
Attack roll: 6.
My word, if I were looking from the outside, I should think of myself as dynamiting the whole affair on purpose. I feel guiltier with each roll, I've come to be hellishly tempted to embellish my die-rolls just to defuse that feeling. I've never seen, much less experienced, such a string of dismal tosses.
The facing thing makes sense. I'm not shouting at my screen in anger, to be sure. Maybe pounding my head on my keyboard in shame and regret, but not shouting in anger. Yeah, I'm used to the 3e rules and it seems they've become deeper assumptions than I imagined they would have done. Learning all the time. Hopefully I'm not making the same mistake more than once.
Regarding clothing, I have added a loincloth and a chemise to my "equipped items". I still need to add another layer of leg covering, I presume? Is there any chance there might be some cotton hose added to the market, if not retroactively then for the future?
If not, my breeches, chemise and loincloth will bring my Clo. up to 1.51. Which means I'll start taking damage soon, I believe. Regarding that, I'm wondering if the clothing table might be a bit... extreme. I've been playing around with temperatures, and at 22°C, wearing armor and the minimum protection therefrom, the only safe activity is sleeping. Perhaps after this fight (slaughter?) it might bear some investigation, at least. I'm really not meaning to sound whiny, the stress of the situation is making me rather anxious, and I feel like I'm starting to... So I'll just stop for now.
I have the highest respect for you as a DM and as such will respect your final decisions. Rest assured I am definitely emotionally invested in this game. Thank you.
Lothar,
Thankfully, your leather armor does not cover your legs ~ I like the old Roman army/Hollywood concept of a bare-legged Hercules wearing his leather armor, so I prefer to go with that and call it AC 8.
At 1.51, you're safe until the 17th round.
I can send you terrific masses of information about how even a few degrees above room temperature vastly reduces the amount of effective work that people do. I also have found research to show that what happens in battles is that when the combatants starts to feel overheated, they retreat, even doing so with intelligent combatants agreeing to "give a rest," as they're burning out too. In a battle like this, the logical thing to do is for someone to say, "I take a rest and DRINK some water," thus hydrating and then reducing their over all heat level (maybe 2-5 rounds worth of overheating per round of hydrating and resting ~ haven't written rules for this yet, you're a guinea pig I'm using to test the system).
I didn't find that your position was anything but a position. Not the least out of place or complaining.
It is hard to tell that people are emotionally invested. But I am assuming that you all are. I am sick about the situation ~ and now I have to go and play out round 9. I also notice that Engelhart completely ignored my call for him to reduce his CLO, so I'm going to have to roll damage against him for it.
Sigh. I am hating this. About to work on the next post and I am sorely unhappy about it.
But what is, is.
The party's move is posted above. Working on Round 9.
The next move is up.
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