Habololy Forum
Icefian Campaign => Noble Missions => Topic started by: whitesword on September 20, 2023, 12:35:48 AM
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A brief recap as a good bit of info was conveyed in the last few minutes:
After two weeks at sea you arrived at the largest of the northernmost of the Glittering Islands. On the 3rd day sailing around it, you came upon the besieged town of Northfacet. You were met by the garrison commander Blenten Suremetal, a cleric of Gaerdal (who was one of the avatars that appeared after you escaped the beholder temple). He and his headquarters informed you that the island has been conquered over the course of the last year by a hobgoblin unholy warrior Sacran Brokanbones. He also told you that there are rumors that a DoomKnight has joined their ranks and may have effectively taken command. He also told you none of the clerics of the protector powers are getting their spells. Based on your knowledge of warfare (and lots of magical aid) it is clear that the defenders are doomed with at most a week to hold out. They have sent two ships north across the Sea of Jewels in search of relief and had hoped you were the aid.
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Fziret was the name the Arcanaloth gave you before.
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...and had hoped you were the aid.
We are the aid.
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Giant’s gems less the pearls for the identify spells = 5600 gc total. So that’s 800 gc each for the 7 of us.
Was there coin too? I didn’t write that down.
Giant’s unholy chain was dumped in the ocean.
Godrick has his belt of str +4.
We traded the signet ring to the rainbow-loth for a restraining order.
Where are the giant’s cursed boots of striding and springing?
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Where are the giant’s cursed boots of striding and springing?
In my trunk of clothes. Unless we didn't have time to retrieve our stuff. I am blurry on the timing of the Whitesword disappearing. If we were only temporarily off it and not expecting to be away for a long time I wouldn't have the trunk (and we wouldn't have any of our non-adventuring items).
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Ruby is very excited and energetic, more so that usual. Thoughts of planning a magnificent defense in Dourvan's name is her dream (2nd to finding her dad).
She is often striking heroic poses as she points and speaks.
She is tireless is collecting the names and details on the inhabitants and all of the resources.
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Since the giant was planar sent, does that mean we can use planar travel whenever we want?
Ruby suggests she go to an upper plane and return with help. Or, send others to an upper plane so they can ask for help.
Do we know if time on the planes is moving faster, or just other worlds?
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Ruby also says to the group, "I have been getting a really bad headache when I expand, I don't think I'm going to try that anymore."
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"Lady Ruby, let me know what your strategic skills uncover regarding our adversaries. If it is decided that challenging their champion to single combat is the best course of action, I will ready myself to take on that responsibility. My friends, if there's anything you can buff me with prior to that encounter, I would greatly appreciate it."
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Since the giant was planar sent, does that mean we can use planar travel whenever we want?
Ruby suggests she go to an upper plane and return with help. Or, send others to an upper plane so they can ask for help.
Do we know if time on the planes is moving faster, or just other worlds?
I believe travel between planes from here is risky. Accuracy is a problem, so attempting to plane shift to the upper planes may dump you somewhere else entirely.
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She is tireless is collecting the names and details on the inhabitants and all of the resources.
What’s the composition of the defenders? E.g., headcount and competency of arcane casters, divine casters (breakdown of functional and non-functional), warriors, non-combatants.
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Giant’s gems less the pearls for the identify spells = 5600 gc total. So that’s 800 gc each for the 7 of us.
Was there coin too? I didn’t write that down.
Giant’s unholy chain was dumped in the ocean.
Godrick has his belt of str +4.
We traded the signet ring to the rainbow-loth for a restraining order.
Where are the giant’s cursed boots of striding and springing?
There’s a total of 1500gc in gold, silver and platinum.
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In my trunk of clothes. Unless we didn't have time to retrieve our stuff. I am blurry on the timing of the Whitesword disappearing. If we were only temporarily off it and not expecting to be away for a long time I wouldn't have the trunk (and we wouldn't have any of our non-adventuring items).
You definitely didn’t drag the whole trunk to the Temple. More likely you have a few outfits in your pack.
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Ruby is very excited and energetic, more so that usual. Thoughts of planning a magnificent defense in Dourvan's name is her dream (2nd to finding her dad).
She is often striking heroic poses as she points and speaks.
She is tireless is collecting the names and details on the inhabitants and all of the resources.
The Saurial paladin is Rux. The other Saurial, with the bone crest, Tolik. He is a wizard/fighter. There is a female Gnome named Pala. She is an illusionist and is the most powerful spell caster left in the city but doesn’t have evocation spells.
The city has been here for thousands of years but was only recently repopulated. Exactly when is a little fuzzy. The gnomes are mostly miners and lumberjacks. The Saurials are shipwrights and carpenters.
The city has very few warriors, though the survivors of the other towns made their way here so there are more than before. The town has a decent number of siege weapons but too few who know how to use them. The biggest issue is food is almost gone. There are roughly 28000 in the town 70/30 Gnomes to Saurials.
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What’s the composition of the defenders? E.g., headcount and competency of arcane casters, divine casters (breakdown of functional and non-functional), warriors, non-combatants.
Other than Blenten you quickly determine that the other leaders are no more competent than any of you.
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I cast "Know thy Greatest Enemy" so I can figure out who is the larger threat. Yay for finally using a knowledge domain spell.
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I cast "Know thy Greatest Enemy" so I can figure out who is the larger threat. Yay for finally using a knowledge domain spell.
Nevermind, it's a 60' cone where i'm looking.. bleh
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They other interesting thing, is Rainbow Bright knew of your quest to find your father Ruby, which i'm pretty sure we haven't talked to him about before. And we really don't bring it up often, so the changes of him scrying us while talking about it are pretty slim. So, I think there is a positive sign that they are somewhere out there.
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"Lady Ruby, let me know what your strategic skills uncover regarding our adversaries. If it is decided that challenging their champion to single combat is the best course of action, I will ready myself to take on that responsibility. My friends, if there's anything you can buff me with prior to that encounter, I would greatly appreciate it."
I will need to see him to evaluate him. If someone can point him out and hand me a spyglass.
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There’s a total of 1500gc in gold, silver and platinum.
Do we think we could buy off some of the attackers?
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The biggest issue is food is almost gone.
Have they been fishing?
Clerics with Create Food & Water?
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They other interesting thing, is Rainbow Bright knew of your quest to find your father Ruby, which i'm pretty sure we haven't talked to him about before. And we really don't bring it up often, so the changes of him scrying us while talking about it are pretty slim. So, I think there is a positive sign that they are somewhere out there.
Marina points out, “He was there for our back and forth with Marius at the Temple.â€
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Do we think we could buy off some of the attackers?
That seems unlikely- they have an entire island of resources to pay the troops with.
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Have they been fishing?
Clerics with Create Food & Water?
Yes and yes but no where near enough to feed 28000
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I will need to see him to evaluate him. If someone can point him out and hand me a spyglass.
Who are you looking for?
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How far is the enemy line from the wall?
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Who are you looking for?
Either the doom knight or the general they mentioned.
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How are the different humanoid groups arrayed against us? Kobalds all together and separate or mixed in?
Other than the spotting wyverns, what other monsters do they have to help them?
The catamaran is still here. Can we pay it to do lots of fishing to help?
Can the illusionist make other invisible, the in the improved way?
Does our friend the gnome have a rifle?
Have they used illusion to infiltrate the enemy to get some intelligence?
How well is the gate fortified, how many are there?
Have they ever attacked from the sea?
Do they have any ships?
Have they used any strong magic, divine or arcane?
Have they summoned any magical creatures?
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The Saurial paladin is Rux. The other Saurial, with the bone crest, Tolik. He is a wizard/fighter. There is a female Gnome named Pala. She is an illusionist and is the most powerful spell caster left in the city but doesn’t have evocation spells.
Uther is an evocation specialist but still early in his studies (those bard levels seemed like a good idea at the time…). Just got 3rd level spells and don’t have fireball yet, though I am developing it for next level. Happy to share those spells I do have with Tolik and Pala (who probably has evocation barred).
The town has a decent number of siege weapons but too few who know how to use them.
We just learned that the Wieldskill spell gives temporary proficiency in a skill plus a bonus for a minute/CL. Can we use that to get off some more volleys from the siege engines for a short time?
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We just learned that the Wieldskill spell gives temporary proficiency in a skill plus a bonus for a minute/CL. Can we use that to get off some more volleys from the siege engines for a short time?
I believe Seige Weapons is a Weapon Feat not a skill.
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I believe Seige Weapons is a Weapon Feat not a skill.
What if we have someone touch the siege weapon, then cast this?
https://dndtools.org/spells/spell-compendium--86/masters-touch--4546/ (https://dndtools.org/spells/spell-compendium--86/masters-touch--4546/)
Even better...cast this after the first spell for a serious pummeling.
https://dndtools.org/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/true-strike--2521/ (https://dndtools.org/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/true-strike--2521/)
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What if we have someone touch the siege weapon, then cast this?
https://dndtools.org/spells/spell-compendium--86/masters-touch--4546/ (https://dndtools.org/spells/spell-compendium--86/masters-touch--4546/)
Even better...cast this after the first spell for a serious pummeling.
https://dndtools.org/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/true-strike--2521/ (https://dndtools.org/spells/players-handbook-v35--6/true-strike--2521/)
That would work, if we had a spellcaster with those spells.
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That would work, if we had a spellcaster with those spells.
Perhaps one of the casters in town has them available. We can ask around.
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I believe Seige Weapons is a Weapon Feat not a skill.
Rules are in Heroes of Battle, uses the Profession(siege engineer) skill to aim catapults and the like, while ballista require an attack roll to aim and a feat (Ballista Proficiency) to eliminate the -4 penalty:
https://www.realmshelps.net/adventuring/combat/siegeengines.shtml (https://www.realmshelps.net/adventuring/combat/siegeengines.shtml)
See middle of the page in the text box with beige shading.
There are feats that give bonuses (Expert Siege Engineer) to rolls.
So sounds like Wieldskill will work for catapults and masters touch for ballista.
My 3rd era halfling grovetender Finn had goblin followers at his plantation focusing on siege engines in case Vestillion ever attacked. They’re probably dead undead now.
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How far is the enemy line from the wall?
The enemy lines are about 400 yards from the outer defenses and 550 from the walls. They have been digging trenches at a rate of 75 yards a day.
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Either the doom knight or the general they mentioned.
The general, Sacran, is fairly easy to spot. He has a retinue with him at all times and the bloody axe standard of Maglubiyet accompanies him. After a little searching you spot a medium sized tent with a black banner, but that day you do not see anyone exit.
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How are the different humanoid groups arrayed against us? Kobalds all together and separate or mixed in?
Other than the spotting wyverns, what other monsters do they have to help them?
The catamaran is still here. Can we pay it to do lots of fishing to help?
Can the illusionist make other invisible, the in the improved way?
Does our friend the gnome have a rifle?
Have they used illusion to infiltrate the enemy to get some intelligence?
How well is the gate fortified, how many are there?
Have they ever attacked from the sea?
Do they have any ships?
Have they used any strong magic, divine or arcane?
Have they summoned any magical creatures?
How are the different humanoid groups arrayed against us? Kobalds all together and separate or mixed in? The kobolds are digging and screening the diggers. The goblins and hobgoblins are out of range of the siege weapons in company sized groups.
Other than the spotting wyverns, what other monsters do they have to help them? There are a few ogres
The catamaran is still here. Can we pay it to do lots of fishing to help? They can’t stay very long, there’s no where for them to safely get fresh water. There’s also no way they can catch enough fish to sustain 28000 people.
Can the illusionist make other invisible, the in the improved way? Yes 1x a day
Does our friend the gnome have a rifle? No
Have they used illusion to infiltrate the enemy to get some intelligence? Yes, as the army approached but not since the start of the siege.
How well is the gate fortified, how many are there? There is only one gate and it is stout. It is also currently blocked inside with crates full of stones and wood, doused in oil.
Have they ever attacked from the sea? Neither side has attacked from the sea.
Do they have any ships? The enemy does not have any ships.
Have they used any strong magic, divine or arcane? No.
Have they summoned any magical creatures? No.
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The enemy lines are about 400 yards from the outer defenses and 550 from the walls. They have been digging trenches at a rate of 75 yards a day.
75 yards closer to the wall each day?
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The general, Sacran, is fairly easy to spot. He has a retinue with him at all times and the bloody axe standard of Maglubiyet accompanies him. After a little searching you spot a medium sized tent with a black banner, but that day you do not see anyone exit.
Nevermind, I have to be much closer to get this to work.
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Other than the spotting wyverns, what other monsters do they have to help them? There are a few ogres
Where are they located? I think we should try to eliminate them.
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75 yards closer to the wall each day?
Yes. There are four active trenches and three others that they have abandoned for now.
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Where are they located? I think we should try to eliminate them.
They are just sitting around in the rear. You can see two large battering rams. One has a shelter and wheels. The other is just carried.
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I suggest that the illusionist make me invisible and I go out and do some electric psionic damage. I have been training to create energy attacks and think I can create a ball of lightning at about 210 yards distance. I suggest we start this right away. I can skate out invisible, moving swiftly and damaging their front lines. I will put the cursed boots back on and once out there will be moving quickly (55ft). I will blast a section filled with humanoids (20ft. radius).
It deals 7d6 damage, DC 19 to everyone in the radius. I look to see how the first one goes before unleashing a 2nd.
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I suggest that the illusionist make me invisible and I go out and do some electric psionic damage. I have been training to create energy attacks and think I can create a ball of lightning at about 210 yards distance. I suggest we start this right away. I can skate out invisible, moving swiftly and damaging their front lines. I will put the cursed boots back on and once out there will be moving quickly (55ft). I will blast a section filled with humanoids (20ft. radius).
It deals 7d6 damage, DC 19 to everyone in the radius. I look to see how the first one goes before unleashing a 2nd.
Check my math-The enemy is 400 yards away but you have a 210 yard range. So you need to move 570’ to get into range. 55’ a round it will take you 11 rounds (get down the wall)?
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I suggest that the illusionist make me invisible and I go out and do some electric psionic damage. I have been training to create energy attacks and think I can create a ball of lightning at about 210 yards distance. I suggest we start this right away. I can skate out invisible, moving swiftly and damaging their front lines. I will put the cursed boots back on and once out there will be moving quickly (55ft). I will blast a section filled with humanoids (20ft. radius).
It deals 7d6 damage, DC 19 to everyone in the radius. I look to see how the first one goes before unleashing a 2nd.
Might I suggest pairing the attack with an illusion of some other threat to draw attention away from Ruby.
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Check my math-The enemy is 400 yards away but you have a 210 yard range. So you need to move 570’ to get into range. 55’ a round it will take you 11 rounds (get down the wall)?
I move at 55, but can 4x speed, so I can move 220 per round. So three rounds. Skate allows me to ignore any difficult terrain. I can also Catfall down the wall if needed. Note that I will only have 6 lightning balls, not 7, so I can skate and catfall.
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Might I suggest pairing the attack with an illusion of some other threat to draw attention away from Ruby.
If I'm invisible it won't matter. But still might be a good head fake. Storm Giant?
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We should also plan for a rushed attack if the come after the illusion giant. Perhaps Lachlyn and Godric hiding near to the giant illusion to mow down a small attacking force? Backed up by archers.
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Overall, our goal isn't to defeat the army. But we can buy time for other aid or ideas or maybe even make it so painful they retreat for a while.
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The enemy is not aware yet of our capabilities - should we try to make the first strike against the more elite troops at the rear while we still have surprise?
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I suggest that the illusionist make me invisible and I go out and do some electric psionic damage. I have been training to create energy attacks and think I can create a ball of lightning at about 210 yards distance. I suggest we start this right away. I can skate out invisible, moving swiftly and damaging their front lines.
Lachlan nods his head at this. "Yes, I agree. This is a good plan."
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The enemy is not aware yet of our capabilities - should we try to make the first strike against the more elite troops at the rear while we still have surprise?
Lachlan nods his head at this. "Yes, I agree. This is a good plan."
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The enemy is not aware yet of our capabilities - should we try to make the first strike against the more elite troops at the rear while we still have surprise?
I am not sure how we safely get to the back of their lines safely and the return safely. We can't travel magically and the wyverns would block a flight out. Also, I don't know if elite troops will be defeated by one blast before they scatter or protect themselves. I can switch energy types later if we choose to go after them so if they protect against lightning, fire can be the next attack.
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I might be able to approach the back of the lines as a Drow..but I don't know what I could do to help. The staff can do damage with Lightening, but probably not enough to have any real effect. I still think the best idea is to flee with as many as we can get out. What is left on this island but death, even if we defeat this army, there will be more.
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I might be able to approach the back of the lines as a Drow..but I don't know what I could do to help. The staff can do damage with Lightening, but probably not enough to have any real effect. I still think the best idea is to flee with as many as we can get out. What is left on this island but death, even if we defeat this army, there will be more.
Getting as many as possible out of here is the end goal, but we need to delay the siege to rescue many. Forcing the enemy to retreat and regroup could give us weeks.
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Getting as many as possible out of here is the end goal, but we need to delay the siege to rescue many. Forcing the enemy to retreat and regroup could give us weeks.
Lachlan nods his head at this. "Yes, I agree. This is a good plan."
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If I'm invisible it won't matter. But still might be a good head fake. Storm Giant?
An illusion of an exalted summoned creature, like a celestial, would have more credibility than a storm giant for its sudden appearance and disappearance.