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Absent
Dec 27, 2010 11:27:14 GMT -8
Post by reiphil on Dec 27, 2010 11:27:14 GMT -8
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zude
Iron Golem
Posts: 171
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Absent
Jan 24, 2011 16:37:48 GMT -8
Post by zude on Jan 24, 2011 16:37:48 GMT -8
As luck would have it, right after I get picked up, my mom informs me that skiing has been moved from Saturday to Sunday, so I will not be able to make it this week.
-sigh-
Sorry 'bout all this.
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 9:30:30 GMT -8
Post by earthwizard on Jan 25, 2011 9:30:30 GMT -8
That's a bummer, man. Skiing sounds fun, anyway. You'll get some exercise. Lol, you won't get that playing D&D. I've done snowboarding a couple times, but not skiing.
Well, I won't be hittin the slopes on Sunday. What's the plan, David?
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 10:28:17 GMT -8
Post by kore on Jan 25, 2011 10:28:17 GMT -8
For head-count purposes: I'm available.
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 11:28:53 GMT -8
Post by David on Jan 25, 2011 11:28:53 GMT -8
head count is 3 (micah, kyle, and gabe expected), so I'm calling it a quorum. Game on.
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 16:30:49 GMT -8
Post by earthwizard on Jan 25, 2011 16:30:49 GMT -8
OK. Micah, Gabe, bring your A game, because we're goin up against Swamp Thing this Sunday.
-Wait, we have absolutely no damage output. Fuck. Time to get creative, gentlemen!
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gabe
Iron Golem
Posts: 174
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 22:07:04 GMT -8
Post by gabe on Jan 25, 2011 22:07:04 GMT -8
Its ok. We have a pacifist cleric. That's going to help with the 'no damage output' problem.
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Absent
Jan 25, 2011 23:21:36 GMT -8
Post by kore on Jan 25, 2011 23:21:36 GMT -8
Let's list assets and some possible strategies:
Aeron has Bloodsoaked Bracers. He just needs to become bloodied and stay that way without dying, that's another 5 dmg. per dmg roll. :/
We'll want Consecrated Ground early as well as one of Mummy-John's summons. Josan should keep his distance, though he may need to be able to reposition for heals.
Josan needs to lay into the damage early until the thing is bloodied, perhaps holding action until after Mummy-John who will most likely use Pounce and grant CA to the next attack.
Once bloodied, Josan will go to the old standby of Astral Seal to grant some healing to the first hit and debuff the Swamp Thing.
One of the things I've thought about is whether or not it is worth it to free ourselves from the Thing's grabs. I remember one grab dazes while the other slows w/OG10 poison dmg. Using our actions to free allies prolongs the fight which might be more costly; we know it's pointless for Josan to attempt escapes. Also, the Thing did slide Mummy-John while he was grabbed, meaning it had to some good control.
Watcher's mark gives it a -3 penalty to attacks with a MBA as punishment, assuming he hasn't been moved. Aeron's mark is standard at -2 to hit, though he can negate 8 points of damage from the attack.
Aeron has a few teleports for ease of freedom from grabs.
Does Mummy-John have Storm Spike? I believe he does and it might be insentive for the Thing to move back, giving Josan some space and creating potential auto-breaks of grabs. Additionally, the Fire Beetle, positioned between the Thing and grabbed targets, its blast 3 attack provides more voluntary moment insentive. Finally, Consecrated ground can hover around for more incentive and damage.
This seems like a lot and it needs to be formatted better...new post.
Also, we still need to acquire the key and I think there is still one chamber we haven't explored, near the cliff and the bridges.
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 0:33:53 GMT -8
Post by kore on Jan 26, 2011 0:33:53 GMT -8
- (MJ) Fire beetle with burst attack. If the Thing moves, it won't leave this particular summon without the ability to attack, which we want it to do instinctively so that MJ can continue to lay his own brand of hurt on the Thing. Positioning of the beetle is key because its attack is not party friendly. - (MJ) Pack wolf with an attack that prones if it has CA. Proning is useful if the Thing wants to move, like out of reach of pack wolf or any zones that it's in, and has to choose between attacking and moving. - (MJ) Storm Spike: this gives the creature incentive to move, which may be useful for auto-breaking grabs. Coupled with immobilization or proning would make this better. It either takes damage in order to attack or moves. - (MJ) Pounce: good damage and grants CA to next attacker. This could be helpful to Josan unless a summon is called; in the case of the pack wolf, this would be ideal as it means proning on a hit each round. - (MJ) Grasping Claws: slowing the creature to keep him in zones/blasts easy could be useful.
- (Watcher) Tide of Iron: pushing to keep the Thing in place. - (Watcher) Crack the Shell: ongoing damage and AC penalty. Needs to be recovered because it has been used. - (Watcher) Mark: -3 penalty to attacks. Will require Watcher being adjacent to the Thing to punish it, giving it insentive to grab Watcher and slide him, freeing one party member from potential grabs. Though, the Thing could slide him, release, and attack another party member. Dazing prevents immediate actions. - (Watcher) great defenses and hit points.
- (Josan) Consecrated Ground: heals for the party and damage for the Thing. Controlling the Thing will be key to the effectiveness of this power. Keeping Josan out the grab that dazes insures the zone is sustained, though the other grab is no picnic either. - (Josan) Astral Seal: very useful debuff to insure better hitting round after round coupled with some minor healing. Getting Josan at the top of the initiative order would be nice. The party can hold action to provide the healing effect to whomever the Thing is targeting or whomever needs it. - (Josan) the best heals anyone could ask for. - (Josan) Beacon of Hope: burst heal that boosts his healing by 5 for the encounter. This applies to Consecrated Ground and Astral Seal. - (Josan) Rebuke Violence: gives the party a reprieve from battle until the Thing saves and it is -5 to save while the party does not attack it; ongoing damage and zone effects are not attacks. Summons will be a problem, though, due to instinctive action.
- (Aeron) Overwhelming Strike: a bit of control for keeping the Thing where we need it. - (Aeron) Many teleportation powers: ease of escape from grabs, just need to convince it to target him. - (Aeron) Blade Repulsion: slows the Thing the entire encounter if it is my oath or allows me to push if it is not, though this is not really a choice. - (Aeron) Menacing Presence: penalty to the Thing's AC. Benefits only Watcher and Aeron, though it stacks with the penalty from Astral Seal. - (Aeron) Vanishing Blade: allows free teleport after hitting with melee attacks. - (Aeron) Mark: standard -2 penalty to attack, though the 'punishment' can be applied from a distance; prevents 8 damage on a hit. Dazing prevents immediate actions.
Sorry Kyle, I don't know much more about the powers you have except things like Shield Edge Block and Hack and Hew. Does Watcher have Shield Deflection and/or Shield and a Hard Place?
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 9:10:33 GMT -8
Post by David on Jan 26, 2011 9:10:33 GMT -8
Mike will not be there this Sunday.
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 9:11:01 GMT -8
Post by earthwizard on Jan 26, 2011 9:11:01 GMT -8
I was thinking more along the lines of "Talk to it", but hey, a detailed battle plan might work too.
If it comes to a battle we will likely have to improvise. It didn't seem to want to leave the room in which it started - why? Can we force it out and somehow break it's strength? There were holes in the walls of that room letting in sunlight. Maybe we can find a way to block them from the outside and deprive it of that source. Etc.
PS- I think Mike will be absent, so it's just Watcher, Aeron'eth, and Jozan. As I said, "zero" damage.
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 10:34:02 GMT -8
Post by kore on Jan 26, 2011 10:34:02 GMT -8
Well, down two party-members, there are other intrinsic problems I can see beside not having any damage output. To get a little meta on the topic, the difficulty built into the scenario by having a L15 creature attacking 4 or 5 L10-ish PCs is compounded by having only 3 PCs who now have all of the following going against them: less damage (moreso for our party composition), fewer targets for the Thing to control, fewer hit point with less distribution allowing the Thing to focus fire, fewer healing surges lending to less damage mitigation.
The Thing has to have on the order of 300+ hit points and I was going to suggest that Josan spam, from round 1, Astral Seal to help insure hits for MJ, his summon, Watcher, and Aeron'eth. I would still recommend this because it stacks with the debuff that Aeron can put on with Menacing Presence for a nice -4 to AC. Down two more damage-dealing components, we're looking at around 25 points of damage per round plus whatever Consecrated ground can do, assuming Watcher and Aeron hit every round.
However, if Josan is dazed, he won't be able to spam the Seal turn after turn and sustain Consecrated Ground. This means that, optimally, Watcher and Aeron will be grabbed. If so, the Thing can fling us around the room with impunity, out of Concecrated Ground, left to escape (Aeron has several teleports to make this easy) the grab and charge for an attack. Attacking the vines didn't seem to damage it before, so doing that doesn't seem viable. There are also unknowns: what was it doing to MJ with the gem-eye? Does it have regenerate?
My intent is not to be a naysayer, but to give a good picture of the obstacle in front of us. Having MJ, I think, would provide enough control (proning/slow) and extra damage to pull this off. Granted the Thing doesn't have its companions, we're still looking at over 10 rounds (a minute of game-time fighting) to bring this guy down.
If it can't attack while two people are grabbed, it's not dealing damage, though it could keep the grab throughout the round, let go on its turn, and then re-attack with the grab. It's other attack (ongoing 10/slow) doesn't grab (I think), so we have that going for us. Depriving it of sunlight sounds like a good idea. Maybe we could collapse some walls on the Thing for some damage and immobilization, then sit back out of range and let Consecrate Ground nibble at it for 20 to 25 minutes. We could set the ivy in the room on fire, maybe that will weaken and/or damage it if there is a link.
There is much about which to strategize and though the task seems daunting, the challenge is tempting.
*Aeron'eth prays to Corellon for guidance and divine intervention*
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gabe
Iron Golem
Posts: 174
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 10:34:38 GMT -8
Post by gabe on Jan 26, 2011 10:34:38 GMT -8
Oh. "Talk to it". Jozan's good at talking! I feel we should investigate that crystal thing. There is also the matter of that key we're missing.
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 10:39:08 GMT -8
Post by kore on Jan 26, 2011 10:39:08 GMT -8
Oh. "Talk to it". Jozan's good at talking! I feel we should investigate that crystal thing. There is also the matter of that key we're missing. Aeron'eth is not opposed to this but is skeptical.
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Absent
Jan 26, 2011 11:32:21 GMT -8
Post by earthwizard on Jan 26, 2011 11:32:21 GMT -8
It may be a mindless golem of sorts, which we can use to our advantage. I suggest we focus on obtaining the key first, because we'll need it to get through the door that Swamp Thing guards, anyway. If possible, we might collapse a section of wall or something luring the creature away from the door. Send it over that 60' cliff somehow (e.g., water snake teleport into river) and we should be all clear to enter the door ourselves.
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