Friday, June 30, 2017

It's Only a Frog ~ Round 2

The frog makes another attack against Embla, apparently too stupid to realize the assassin is too big to be grabbed with its tongue.  It rolls a 10, hitting AC 8; Embla is AC 7 and is missed.

Engelhart's spell is cast; it will take 1 AP to discharge. Pandred is holding Embla's javelin ~ and, for all reasonable purposes, the fighter's axe is probably gone. It is somewhere under water, around 0612.

If Embla wants to use the javelin, Pandred has to spend 1 AP to throw it to her; Embla should roll a dex check to see if it uses 1 AP to catch it (success) or 2 AP to snag it out of the water (failure).

Lothar's arrow is nocked and ready.  Fjall has completed the second round of loading the crossbow.

Go ahead and act.

Very well, having killed the frog, here are the x.p. earned this time around:


37 comments:

Embla Strand said...

I don't want to roll the check before Pandred decides to toss it to me. I'm at 4AP right now, regardless of whether I succeed or fail in catching the javelin, I should be able to attack with it.

Does the rock between me and the frog give it cover from my attack?

Alexis Smolensk said...

The frog is large enough that what can be seen would be equal to a full-sized humanoid; so it gets no protection from the rock nor the water obscuring its lower body.

Lothar Svensson said...

I loose the arrow!

Attack: 16, hits AC 3!
Damage: 8

Fjall continues loading the crossbow.

Can Bergthora swap places with Lothar and head down the hill?

Alexis Smolensk said...

Bergthora can move freely through Lothar's hex because it is not a melee hex; Lothar isn't engaged. Therefore, there's no need to change places. She just moves past him in a moment when he's not actually firing and moves down the slope. What hex does she end up in? Should be 2 AP per hex moving down slope.

Lothar's shot hits and the creature is stunned.

Lothar Svensson said...

Bergthora ends her move in 0407. In the water she has 3 AP.

Lothar Svensson said...

And to clarify, Lothar ends his turn in 0304, so Willa has room to move up and shoot.

Embla Strand said...

I forgot to mention this last round, but Willa would have loaded her bow to fire this round. If you'll allow it, Alexis, that's an 18 to-hit and 2 damage.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Willa has her bow loaded, but we've agreed that two combatants cannot attack out of the same hex in a single round; therefore, she cannot move into 0405 and fire. She can't see the frog from 0404 and it would require her three moves to get into place at 0406. So logically, while Lothar moves into 0304, Willa will move into 0405 and set up for firing the next round.

Unless you'd prefer she moves into 0406. The way I have the map laid out, she can't get into 0305 without moving into 0406 first, which would be too many moves.

Bergthora, incidentally, needs 1 AP to get into 0405, then 2 AP to reach 0406. I'll rule that the bottom of 0406 is the bottom of the slope, so she can jump into 0407 with 1 AP.

That leaves Pandred and Engelhart.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

I discharge the Dust Devil, directing it atop the frog. The Devil has a 6 hex move, I'm assuming that the bulky frog takes up 3 hexes, so any one of them will do as a target?

I then try to get nearer the beast, since it is stunned, climbing atop the rock I was hiding behind.

Now, Alexis, it is written that the Dust Devil attacks as a "9 HD monster", what does this mean, exactly?

Alexis Smolensk said...

"9 HD creature" actually. See the THAC0 rules (I've added a link on the dust devil page as well). It means the dust devil hits with a thaco of 14 and is treated as a 9 hit die creature for spells that affect up to a certain number of hit dice.

It also means it doesn't automatically "hit" ~ so you must roll a d20 to see if the effect causes any damage each round. I see that the description needs a little AP updating, so let me add this paragraph to the spell:

"The cleric must only expend 1 AP to move the dust devil, regardless of the distance the dust devil is moved. No actual concentration is necessary and the dust devil will continue to whirl and attack in a space if not moved. Attacked creatures who are not stunned are -4 to attack when harried by a dust devil, and must expend 2 AP to move away from the dust devil."

This has been added to the spell description. I've also boosted the damage done to 1d8.

Alexis Smolensk said...

It will cost Engelhart 3 AP to climb up on the rock, as you're pulling yourself out of the water. I did not calculate your change in weight/move due to being in the water.

At this point, I'm going to have to ask everyone to tell me the total weight you're carrying, so I can calculate your adjusted move in the water.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Roll a d20, Engelhart. And a d8 for damage, if you hit AC 7.

Embla Strand said...

I'm carrying 39lbs (sans javelin).

Alexis Smolensk said...

Yes, let's keep it to the nearest pound. I don't need to be too exact. Thank you Embla.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Attack Roll: 20 (FINALLY!!), second roll nets only a 9.

Damage Roll: 8 (!!!)

That's 16 righteous points of damage on the frog.

*activate swagger*

Engelhart Askjellson said...

I'm carrying near to 60 lbs.

Since discharging is 1 AP and directing is another, it seems like I'm not getting up the rock on this round, or do you merge the two costs on the round of casting?

Alexis Smolensk said...

The frog is still alive; there's some x.p. for the cleric.

*swagger activated*

Alexis Smolensk said...

Take note, Engelhart, that the range on your spell is 30 feet, or six hexes. It only costs 1 AP to move it; the initial discharge also sets it in place, so you can make it appear six hexes from you without needing to also move it. So you've still got 1 AP.

Note also that unless you are in six hexes of the devil, you can't move it; but if you move more than six hexes away from it, the devil will last until the spell rounds out; it just can't be moved. It won't disappear if you're out of range.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Understood.

Then I clamber atop the rock.

It feels like there won't be enough frog to last even the paltry 3-round duration of my new spell.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Looking at the adjustment to Engelhart's immersion, his total movement is not at this time adjusted. You're still moving 4 AP. 60 lb. is the cut-off line.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Okay, let's move this along. Haven't heard from Pandred and Embla didn't answer my Willa question.

Pandred will toss the javelin to Embla and remain where he is. Embla makes her dex check and catches the javelin.

Willa will move to 0405.

The frog is stunned, so we can see if it survives until the next round; if it doesn't, I don't need to make a map.

Willa can attack faster than anyone, so she will fire her bow, rolling a 14. The spell has no subtractions for missile weapons fired into the wind (which is magical anyway), so she hits, causing 5 damage. That stuns the frog again.

Engelhart, can you make another round happen with the "water" devil?

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Affirmative.

That's a 10 on the d20, hitting AC 4.

6 on the damage die.

Alexis Smolensk said...

It is very obviously dead. Engelhart gets 3 more damage for x.p. purposes, the last of the frog's hit points.

Time to sort yourselves out. I'll get the x.p. posted.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

I move from stone to stone to the edge of our vision, I make a cursive check on the frog and ask Embla to shine the light further down.


Question time:

"The spell has no subtractions for missile weapons fired into the wind (which is magical anyway)"

Is this to imply that I shouldn't count on it to act as a barrier of any sort against missile weaponry, friendly or otherwise, right?

Alexis Smolensk said...

As you can see, the stones are about four feet apart and slippery. If you try to hop from one to the next like a frog, without a good balance skill and dexterity, you will slip and fall in. Want to try it? You're -1 dex per attempt.

Alexis Smolensk said...

Regarding dust devil; apparently not. The original description for the spell did not indicate a line-of-sight restriction nor any effect on missile weapons. Since it is only a 2nd level cleric spell, I don't think it should also be used as a mini-obscurement. Sorry.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Might as well... I roll an 11.

I don't follow on the "-1 per attempt". What's the cumulative for? In case I try to cram too many skips on a round?

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Refering to Dust Devil: no need to say sorry, it's quite good as it stands, I just inquired to know where to store it in my tactical headspace.

I'm bound to crash into the water if I keep pushing my luck and I'm in armour, I'll try to ascertain its depth from where I stand (0408?).

Alexis Smolensk said...

It's covered on the rules under balance knowledge, on the wiki? I linked it last week. Under the right circumstances, the penalties to dexterity checks under Fight while Unsteady can also apply to things like uncomfortable leaps from rock to rock. I'm identifying the rocks as slippery and "uncertain" ~ so, -1 dexterity.

You make it to the rock in 0408. Continue?

Alexis Smolensk said...

The depth in 0408 seems to be the same as it was in 0306.

Embla Strand said...

If you need it, Englehart, we could use one of the spears we looted from the frogs to probe depth.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Ah, quite right. Sorry, I don't know why but I read the "per attempt" as to be cumulative, which it is obviously not.

I've the feeling that little good can come of it, but there's no one active with better balance (and less armour) to take up the slack, and I'm just too damn elated to let off.

I clatter the bone and it comes up a "1", don't tell me I get to drown like a total tool...

Engelhart Askjellson said...

Oh, you're here, miss Sure-footness.

C'mon, Embla, get near that we can at least see what's on the further side of this tunnel.

I'm placing money on "frogling underwater ambush", right now.

Alexis Smolensk said...

A 1 is GOOD when rolling a dex check. You reach the rock that extends from 0308 into 0309. The next rock is 0410.

From your location, in the light that lights the water, that there is a ledge that begins in 0414, just off the original map I posted last week. It is two feet above the waterline and seems to be the start of a tunnel.

Engelhart Askjellson said...

A'right, I rolled a 9 and then a 13, which is a clear miss. What happens?

Alexis Smolensk said...

I know the tendency is to hurry, but one at a time is better. Let's take the 9 first. That gets you to 0410.

After that, looking at it, it is a shorter distance to the rocks at 0411 and 0412. Then the rock at 0413-0512 is much bigger, so it is easier to jump on.

After that, it is only three and a half feet to the tunnel. So I'm going to make a map and a post that will show that to you.

If I forgot to mention it, there's a new post about grappling that people should look at.

Alexis Smolensk said...

The next post is up; I'm going to bow out for the day, now, and probably the weekend. I'm off work Monday, though, so we can move forward a bit from there.