Oh man. That horse. That fucking horse. Poor poor Julie. I mean I'd feel really bad if it wasn't one of the most elaborate and long jokes ever to play out from a very very very simple spell. What did I name that spell anyway, Jay? The guy who sold it to you had a name for it. Like Summon Artificial Intelligence or something like that.[DOUBLEPOST=1363586529][/DOUBLEPOST]How did she eventually figure out that the horse was a prank?
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One of those dudes arrived and tried to give us a mission. He was another of those Q Continuum-like guys who just kind of appeared every once in a while to give us a sidequest, usually with disastrous consequences. So when this second guy showed up, we basically pulled a Picard and said we weren't gonna play along with his shenanigans. He pulled a hissy fit by revealing some of our most hidden secrets, including the horse prank, and disappearing.
... I just started playing a slightly rebooted version of Errik again. Still so much fun, especially now that I don't really have to worry about allies in the AoE anymore.
Ah yes. Those "Q-Continuum guys". Basically I saw them as "recruiters" sent by the Dark Powers of the Dark Realms (Ravenloft) to find heroes to use as tools in their continuing quest to... basically just fuck with people. The Dark Powers really are just a DM tool in the long run, but with a sort of dark purpose behind them. It's assumed they consider themselves the wardens for the beings they have trapped within the realms. Each "prisoner" gets their own realm usually, which they often do with as they please, but they are still trapped. Often enough the Dark Powers also bestow a curse upon each prisoner. Something that makes their containment completely unbearable. Such as Strahd having to watch his beloved plummet to her death each night. Or the wooden puppet Maligno who dreams of becoming human, but is the only magical puppet in his realm who cannot steal a human body.
Very often (again as a DM tool) the Dark Powers draw heroes into the realms for often undisclosed reasons. Sometimes they wish to see the heroes triumphantly vanquish evil, but more-often they just enjoy tempting good souls into performing evil deeds while within the realms.
Euric, and his replacement (after Euric saved you guys from being forever claimed by the Dark Powers and was imprisoned himself) were there to find potential heroes/victims. They could sense the potential evil or goodness in people, and only sought out those that truly embraced their alignments. A similar character in the books was often referred to as the "gentleman caller" who was never seen but usually preceded the party and put things in motion.
Euric was a slightly more decent individual than you ever gave him credit for. While doing his job for the Dark Powers he brought you to places that often truly needed your help such as the town that Maligno had taken control over. At first the Dark Powers were entertained by your stomping of their prisoners, but after the events that occurred in the realm ruled by Julie's character's brother they had decided that they wanted to keep Julie and continue to tempt her down a darker path. Euric gave his bosses the ultimate finger, and tossed you out of their grasp just in time.
Euric basically became number 1 on the Dark Power's shit list. Imprisonment, torture, etc. Eventually the old gypsy that Errik owed several favors to would have found the party and informed them that the only way to settle the debt would be to rescue her son (Euric).
Very often (again as a DM tool) the Dark Powers draw heroes into the realms for often undisclosed reasons. Sometimes they wish to see the heroes triumphantly vanquish evil, but more-often they just enjoy tempting good souls into performing evil deeds while within the realms.
Euric, and his replacement (after Euric saved you guys from being forever claimed by the Dark Powers and was imprisoned himself) were there to find potential heroes/victims. They could sense the potential evil or goodness in people, and only sought out those that truly embraced their alignments. A similar character in the books was often referred to as the "gentleman caller" who was never seen but usually preceded the party and put things in motion.
Euric was a slightly more decent individual than you ever gave him credit for. While doing his job for the Dark Powers he brought you to places that often truly needed your help such as the town that Maligno had taken control over. At first the Dark Powers were entertained by your stomping of their prisoners, but after the events that occurred in the realm ruled by Julie's character's brother they had decided that they wanted to keep Julie and continue to tempt her down a darker path. Euric gave his bosses the ultimate finger, and tossed you out of their grasp just in time.
Euric basically became number 1 on the Dark Power's shit list. Imprisonment, torture, etc. Eventually the old gypsy that Errik owed several favors to would have found the party and informed them that the only way to settle the debt would be to rescue her son (Euric).
I had a feeling.
I've even gone on to tell my current GM that Errik owes gypsy fortunetellers 4 favours, and that my Leomund's Secret Chest is special. The ritual of the same name demands that a chest be constructed of at least a certain value and something personal must be part of its construction. I described the chest itself being carved of the willows of Adia's Aiurwood and the lid is inset with a glass globe containing Kratash's ashes.
I've even gone on to tell my current GM that Errik owes gypsy fortunetellers 4 favours, and that my Leomund's Secret Chest is special. The ritual of the same name demands that a chest be constructed of at least a certain value and something personal must be part of its construction. I described the chest itself being carved of the willows of Adia's Aiurwood and the lid is inset with a glass globe containing Kratash's ashes.
awwwwwI had a feeling.
I've even gone on to tell my current GM that Errik owes gypsy fortunetellers 4 favours, and that my Leomund's Secret Chest is special. The ritual of the same name demands that a chest be constructed of at least a certain value and something personal must be part of its construction. I described the chest itself being carved of the willows of Adia's Aiurwood and the lid is inset with a glass globe containing Kratash's ashes.
So I'm DMing for a group of friends on Monday nights. We're doing Pathfinder, so it's a little different from 3.5 and I made a bit of a mistake by not consulting everyone on what source material we're all using. It's been going alright. We're still shaking the rust off, but we're having fun for the most part. We do have a problem though.
One of our guys, Nick, is dominating the field. He's a bit of a rules lawyer, and I don't think his character is breaking any rules but it's a maxed out gnome cavalier on a wolf-mount. He's got over 50hp now that he's lvl3. It's starting to hurt the fun of everyone else because now we have him charging in and tanking, while the rogue does some crazy sneak attack dmg but our Bard and Oracle are left kind of twiddling their thumbs.
I'm thinking of making changes to the module we're playing so instead of each room having like 3 kobolds or whatever, maybe it should have like 5 kobolds and also maybe an ogre or something. Enough to keep Nick occupied while giving everyone else something to do.
Anyone else have any ideas? Besides just focus firing on Nick until he dies.
One of our guys, Nick, is dominating the field. He's a bit of a rules lawyer, and I don't think his character is breaking any rules but it's a maxed out gnome cavalier on a wolf-mount. He's got over 50hp now that he's lvl3. It's starting to hurt the fun of everyone else because now we have him charging in and tanking, while the rogue does some crazy sneak attack dmg but our Bard and Oracle are left kind of twiddling their thumbs.
I'm thinking of making changes to the module we're playing so instead of each room having like 3 kobolds or whatever, maybe it should have like 5 kobolds and also maybe an ogre or something. Enough to keep Nick occupied while giving everyone else something to do.
Anyone else have any ideas? Besides just focus firing on Nick until he dies.
1) More encounters (in the event of using daily abilities) OR bigger encounters (if otherwise).
2) Tight, indoor combat that might limit his ability to charge or even have a mount.[DOUBLEPOST=1365628738][/DOUBLEPOST]In short terms, figure out what he's doing well and limit his ability to do that, either by increasing monster defences in a certain way, changing the environment, etc.
2) Tight, indoor combat that might limit his ability to charge or even have a mount.[DOUBLEPOST=1365628738][/DOUBLEPOST]In short terms, figure out what he's doing well and limit his ability to do that, either by increasing monster defences in a certain way, changing the environment, etc.
Have situations where the wolf will not be allowed, like in a public indoor place or some sort of formal court.
Have combat situations wherein the wolf will be less easy to control, like faced with significant enough predator that it's first instinct is to flee, against enemies with some sort of animal control ability, or even in a situation with confusing/frightening sounds and smells.
Have enemy types/formations that makes approaching mounted more dangerous, such as against spearmen or phalanxes.
Have combat situations wherein the wolf will be less easy to control, like faced with significant enough predator that it's first instinct is to flee, against enemies with some sort of animal control ability, or even in a situation with confusing/frightening sounds and smells.
Have enemy types/formations that makes approaching mounted more dangerous, such as against spearmen or phalanxes.
North_Ranger
Staff member
Just some ideas, phil ...
1.) Battlefield control: limit his chances for cavalry charges, or provide environments where he can't get on wolfback. Caltrops, marbles, kobolds on top of walls with spears, tanglefoot bags... even something as simple as having to climb up a ladder.
2.) Magic: have the party encounter spellcasters who don't try to whittle down their hp but go after their minds with illusions, mind control spells or simply thins like cause fear. If he's a cavalier, his Will saving throws probably aren't very good, unless he pumped up Wisdom during character creation. Also remember that a lot of direct-damage spells resolve their attacks against touch AC, meaning that heavy armor won't save his bacon all the time.
3.) Ability score damage: introduce enemies that cause ability score damage. Something as simple as a pack of giant spiders whose venom causes Str damage can be a nice way to make him think twice about charging right into the fray. Web him with multiple spiders, then have them chomp down for multiple doses of spider venom. He apparently has a decent Fortitude save, but all it takes is a single bad roll...
4.) Reach weapons and ranged weapons: take a lesson from history, and use the weapons that were the bane of armored cavalry. Or if he himself favors reach weapons, throw in a lot of combatants that get on his skin, thus denying him the use of reach weapons.
5.) Firearms: campaign-dependant, of course, but even rudimentary firearms in Pathfinder resolve attack rolls against touch AC, effectively making a heavily-armored cavalier very, very squishy indeed.
1.) Battlefield control: limit his chances for cavalry charges, or provide environments where he can't get on wolfback. Caltrops, marbles, kobolds on top of walls with spears, tanglefoot bags... even something as simple as having to climb up a ladder.
2.) Magic: have the party encounter spellcasters who don't try to whittle down their hp but go after their minds with illusions, mind control spells or simply thins like cause fear. If he's a cavalier, his Will saving throws probably aren't very good, unless he pumped up Wisdom during character creation. Also remember that a lot of direct-damage spells resolve their attacks against touch AC, meaning that heavy armor won't save his bacon all the time.
3.) Ability score damage: introduce enemies that cause ability score damage. Something as simple as a pack of giant spiders whose venom causes Str damage can be a nice way to make him think twice about charging right into the fray. Web him with multiple spiders, then have them chomp down for multiple doses of spider venom. He apparently has a decent Fortitude save, but all it takes is a single bad roll...
4.) Reach weapons and ranged weapons: take a lesson from history, and use the weapons that were the bane of armored cavalry. Or if he himself favors reach weapons, throw in a lot of combatants that get on his skin, thus denying him the use of reach weapons.
5.) Firearms: campaign-dependant, of course, but even rudimentary firearms in Pathfinder resolve attack rolls against touch AC, effectively making a heavily-armored cavalier very, very squishy indeed.
Have the three kobolds throw pepper at the wolf.
Have the wolf go into heat.
It's a gnome on a wolf. a small ditch, fence or stream nearly incapacitates it.
Have more flying range attack critters.
Or the classic rust monster riding a rhinoceros.
Or be a nice GM and treat the wolf like Lady.
Have the wolf go into heat.
It's a gnome on a wolf. a small ditch, fence or stream nearly incapacitates it.
Have more flying range attack critters.
Or the classic rust monster riding a rhinoceros.
Or be a nice GM and treat the wolf like Lady.
Fuck, a ladder. I love it. They're about to reach the room with a rope leading down to level 2 of the dungeon. If I make it deep enough he won't risk just having the wolf jump down. I don't think anyone knows fetherfall or anything either. He'll still be a bit of a powerhouse but at least it'll speed up combat a bit.
And the best part is that it's just the right level of sinisterly dickish.
And the best part is that it's just the right level of sinisterly dickish.
Don't pets/mounts level with the player? I know they did in 3/3.5.
Cater to the other players. If you feel they are not being utilized, find ways to involve them in the combat that might not require battles. Also consider using varying heights so that baddies are attempting to shoot at the players from places a wolf cannot go. (as mentioned before). Plus use a system of traps. Kobolds are like the kings of traps. One little pit trap can mean pretty much certain doom for a gnome on a wolf. Then he's at the mercy of his party who doesn't rush into combat to help him out.[DOUBLEPOST=1365680435][/DOUBLEPOST]Just remember not to make the guy playing the cavalier feel too useless either. It may not be possible to cater to everyone in a battle, but make sure you give those who missed out an opportunity to shine in the next one.
Hmmm, I think you can get away with something simpler than that. Have them attacked by something which he could conceivably meatshield (or challenge) for that can't be charged by him. If he goes charging into the thick of things while his party is under fire from a ranged attacker from a higher altitude (for example), that could constitute abandoning his edict. You're not trying to force a Batman scenario, just make him pause and possibly not immediately charge.[DOUBLEPOST=1365712005][/DOUBLEPOST]If you can get him to do something useful besides charge, while the others get a chance to actually do something, the problem is theoretically solved at least for that encounter, no?
Well by sticking to his guns and roleplaying the character perfectly, Errik was killed last night. Not a very satisfying end for the character either, but at least he stayed true to himself.
My reroll for this campaign will be a slightly-rebuilt version of Helga Stormfist the Dwarven Battlerager.
My reroll for this campaign will be a slightly-rebuilt version of Helga Stormfist the Dwarven Battlerager.
My game is still going well. I've got some time this week so I'm going to do a lot of redesigning of the 2nd level of this dungeon (which we still didn't get to last time, even though I thought we would) to really tailor it to the players in a way that I think will be fun.
1) I'm going to have the decent down be a rope or something to get Nick off the wolf.
2) I'll also encourage him to do so by having the NPCs with them (three of the five children they've been looking for) saying they're too scared to go back down into the pit to search for the other children. There's three other NPCs with them, who will also volunteer to stay with the children to guard them. This will hopefully speed combat up a bit. I could say that they need at least 3 guards to keep the children safe, so even if they do something crazy to get the wolf down, the party as a whole is nerfed.
3) I'm designing rooms for each player specifically. The bard has slippers of Spider Climb, and is good with a bow so I'll have a room where he'll want to utilize various rock formations as cover to take out enemies and retrieve a key that is on the ceiling. The Rogue is going to have a Metal Gear Solid style sneaking challenge. The Cavalier I might have a scenario where he has to choose between one of the children and a teammate, or maybe since he's designed with tanking in mind a kind of flood of weaker enemies that he has to defeat before they get to his teammates.
What I don't know is what kind of challenge to give the necromancer of the group. He can't raise dead yet but he can control 3HD worth. Maybe a necromancer face off?
1) I'm going to have the decent down be a rope or something to get Nick off the wolf.
2) I'll also encourage him to do so by having the NPCs with them (three of the five children they've been looking for) saying they're too scared to go back down into the pit to search for the other children. There's three other NPCs with them, who will also volunteer to stay with the children to guard them. This will hopefully speed combat up a bit. I could say that they need at least 3 guards to keep the children safe, so even if they do something crazy to get the wolf down, the party as a whole is nerfed.
3) I'm designing rooms for each player specifically. The bard has slippers of Spider Climb, and is good with a bow so I'll have a room where he'll want to utilize various rock formations as cover to take out enemies and retrieve a key that is on the ceiling. The Rogue is going to have a Metal Gear Solid style sneaking challenge. The Cavalier I might have a scenario where he has to choose between one of the children and a teammate, or maybe since he's designed with tanking in mind a kind of flood of weaker enemies that he has to defeat before they get to his teammates.
What I don't know is what kind of challenge to give the necromancer of the group. He can't raise dead yet but he can control 3HD worth. Maybe a necromancer face off?
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