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1175582__safe_oc_clothes_oc+only_open+mouth_animated_magic_weapon_prone_on+back_glowing+horn_gun_gritted+teeth_helmet_uniform_glare_badass_soldier_wa.gif
Occupied Equestria - OOC
Anonymous
12e5d56
?
No.179654
Parallel containment thread for out of character discussions related to the roleplay thread.
2119 replies and 279 files omitted.
Anonymous
f19f70d
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No.186252
>>186248
>>186250
No, am the Floofster. I'm coming up with plans for distracting the DIA and escaping the island.
GM Pony
c213f91
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No.186257
186259 186263 186279 186284
1512970917856.png
Okay Seriously. I would like responses. What do you want me to do when characters are not taking an action that I think is an obvious solution and next step, AND in situations where the consequences will be something the player will consider not desirable? Seriously. What should I do? Because if you don't tell me the answer is almost certainly going to be that I will just not respond for several days and do nothing.

I would say that it should just be played out as is and the characters get whatever end they are heading towards - but I'm afraid that If I do that, I'll either be blamed for it, or it will result in a generalized disappointment. I thought I could just hint things strongly enough, but I don't feel confident about that anymore.

How would you want me to handle it? Do an intelligence roll and spell it out? Have an NPC say something even if that would not be something the NPC would normally say? Drop more hints even if it isn't entirely sensible in context? Just outright say it? Do nothing and then what happens, happens? How should I handle this?
Anonymous
1ce56a5
?
No.186259
186279
>>186257
>Do an intelligence roll and spell it out? Have an NPC say something even if that would not be something the NPC would normally say? Drop more hints even if it isn't entirely sensible in context? Just outright say it?
Any of these are appropriate.
You could also just remind players that their characters should, given skills and background, know to do things that aren't necessary obvious to the player.
Whatever works.
Anonymous
1ce56a5
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No.186263
186265
>>186257
I think the DMG1 and DMG2 both have pages on how to handle these sorts of situations. Maybe flip through them again.
If you don't have the DMG2 I can link a PDF.
GM Pony
c213f91
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No.186265
186266
image0 (1).jpg
>>186263
>Instead of us telling you what we want in three sentences, why don't you go read this book while you're on vacation in France and still being harangued by work
Sure. Whatever
Anonymous
1ce56a5
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No.186266
>>186265
Just saying that Monte Cooke probably has a better answer than I do.
Overall, it really depends on what the situation is, what the preferred action is, what the consequences are, and what your goal is for the desired content. It's a case by case thing.
Also, I'm off my meds and severely jetlagged rn, so I can't formulate a long-winded, geeky response like usual.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186279
>>186259
This
>>186257
>your character might know to
>roll an insight (or whatever check)
Are good, and
>Youre reminded of a time in yournpast when you made a choice you wound up regretting
Or
>Help me out here, go with this
Are all in *my* acceptable thresholds
Anonymous
c812e3c
?
No.186284
186311
>>186257
Are you perhaps also referring to Vir and the bap?
GM Pony
c213f91
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No.186311
186342
>>186284
No, it was for the Mended Horn group.

I was always going to let Vir's bit play out
Anonymous
c812e3c
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No.186342
>>186311
Ah, I see. ^^
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186353
>Wakes
>its 1:07
This is why I said it early. Fucking nelw year,....
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186356
186359
3250258.png
>>186354 →
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186359
>>186356
>inb4 theyre both mares
Yes, it was an implied paraphrase/parallel
Anonymous
1ce56a5
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No.186379
186382 186386 186400
tumblr_inline_oev5oe3scn1rkapbx_400.jpg
>tactics

If we see a group of enemies within 180 ft, I would like to cast Kelgore's Grave Mist on them. This is preferable to use on enemies who can't move away easily, like those manning heavy artillery.
Kelgore's Grave Mist is a spell that does little damage, but the Fatigue+Exhaustion debuffs can end fights on its own if used strategically. The reason why I haven't been using it up until this point is because I didn't want to cripple fellow party members.
Posey is immune to the effects of Grave Mist, so she can use it at close range, but she can't avoid snapping the strength of other PCs if they are near her targets.

If someone with high perception spots a group of several enemies before they spot us, Posey could cast Grave Mist at medium range, while the rest of the party shoots into the AoE. Just don't enter the range of the spell unless you want to be crippled for the rest of the day.

I didn't use it last encounter because the melee character said that they would moving in, and I didn't want to screw them (Exhaustion is no joke). If I had access to Animate Dead I would normally animate a large/huge None Lurker to grapple the enemy and hold them down within the most, but alas, I have only a single scroll.
Wait... I guess I could animate two large bone lurkers using those leviathan bones, if I used up the rest of the castings/components in my scroll.... Yeah, those would be large sized flying creatures, that could carry non-flying PCs aboard the ship.... It would, however, mean that the Day Low Rain's sister at the manor would become uncontrolled though, although Baka is still there to rebuke her if things get ugly.

Thoughts?
Posey
1ce56a5
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No.186380
186382 186384 186400
Bone lurkers could also aid our extraction, since they're large sized creatures that could carry non-fliers to distant vessels.

It would piss off Dust, but Posey could excuse herself and run off to the leviathan skeleton while Kira leads the others to the Marines.
Because Posey is undead, she can take the Run action indefinitely: she can cover land twice as fast as another character could while hustling (four times regular travel). A bone lurker can fly at the same speed, so if she rides one back she could reconvene with the party in the time it takes for them to find the marines.
It subjects Posey to extra risk, but with the Traveller distracted she could avoid encounters.

Thoughts?
Anonymous
f19f70d
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No.186382
186388 186400
>>186379
>>186380
My plan for extraction following killing the Traveler involves using a spell to broadcast Silver's voice across the island, warning the newly-freed Kostroma crew members that the Defense Intelligence Agency has landed on the island with the goal of killing all witnesses to the Traveler's powers and that they need to get to the Kostroma before the GRU does and before high tide causes the boat to become unstuck. Once it does get unstuck and as many defecting soldiers and sailors get on board as possible, then them, the party, the marines, and the griffons will sail away to freedom aboard the Kostroma.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186384
186389
>>186380
>leviathan skeleton
I'm striggling to recall that being mentioned, unless that was part of the untranslated Russian
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186385
Did I mention Lacey speaks 12 languages just for tjis reason?
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186386
>>186379
If you intend to use this move, I would have to it as her "Gas" attack.
Or, if you (or anyone) wants to use an AoE attack/spell/effect, just tell Brie to

"Hold off, and draw their fire". He wont know what you have planned, but he'll (probably?) divert from his plans for a round.

Alot of Brie's maneuvers involved chained-round actions. Improved feint allows him to feint as a move action or a full round action, so if he's within 5' of a target, he can close with his 5', move action feint, and sneak attack in the same round.
Dodge being a full round action, he also has a strategy of literally fluttering around in midair, to draw enemy fire (full-round dodge action)
In order to sneak-stab 2 opponents without any initial flanking requires a full-round feint action (risky without his dodge), followed by 2 stabs.

His grapple technique youve seen. If solo he CAN turn a grapple into a murder (you recall the face stabbing? I was proud of that technique, slapping a blade into THEOR hand right before the pin maneuver so you can turn their weapon on them, while removing their dex bonus making it a sneak attack, where theyre forced to stab themselves,... I mean yeah it's raw,... still cool tho)

In a more chaotic battle, his tumble-dodge allows him to disengage and maneuver far more.readily than most, so of someone ISN'T getting flanking, he.can adjust to give it to them: Prior to Brie's turn, if any character wants flanking, let me know and I'll try

Other than THAT, hes a skill monkey, so alot of usefulness is contextual and strategic.
"I do not fear the pony who knows 10000 types of stabs, nor the pony who practiced 1 stab 10000 times. For I am the Bat who has practiced 10000 stabs, 10000 times." He would say, if this universe had a Bruce Lee equivalent to paraphrase.
Posey
f732ac7
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No.186388
186389
>>186382
That sounds like it involves a bit too many Diplomacy/Bluff checks to be foolproof.
We have no reason to assume that the liberated thralls will be in any condition to man the ship after the Traveller is removed, or that they would defect just from a story about the special forces supposedly coming to attack them. They ARE communists, and they're no more likely to trust us than their own country.
Besides, this is supposed to be a covert operation, with the party disguised as pirates. Stealing a ship full of defectors is plausible, but can we really sail an entire Stalliongrad freighter back to Baltimare covertly?

We still have the Swan Feather token, so we could leave using that.

On another note, how many languages are there in this setting? I'm revising my character sheet, and trying to decide which languages I know, and how many I have access to without skillpoint investure.
Anonymous
f19f70d
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No.186389
186390 186396
>>186388
Or it could involve no Diplomacy/Bluff checks. We'll have to see what GM pone decides, but something tells me the liberated thralls will quickly come to our side when the GRU starts killing them one-by-one. I think we can do it, and it's certainly the best/only plan that's been actually formulated beyond just a basic idea, and so far I haven't heard any outright criticisms or major concerns from GM pone so I'm assuming he's okay with it?

>languages
Basically if you can think of a real world language, there's probably a language for it in the setting. For languages that actually have common use in the current setting, you have Ponish (English), Feathesian (Dutch), Wechselbalg/Herzlander (German), Aquileian (French), and Severyanan (Russian). You might occasionally come across a character who speaks a different language, like Blue Skies who also speaks Nimbusi (Greek), or if/when we have an adventure somewhere else in the world we might hear the local language, like with Silver's plan to go search for the Tree of Life over in Zebrica.

>>186384
Back at the Whaling Station, an oversized whale skeleton was described, as well as a journal entry that described the griffons hauling it up from the ocean to the station in order to harvest it's meat and blubber.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186390
186391
>>186389
Oh, my bad. The responded-to statement seemed to imply we were walking toward such a skeleton
Anonymous
f19f70d
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No.186391
186392
>>186390
No prob, right now we're walking towards where Kira *thinks* she detected the marines from her Survival roll.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186392
186393
>>186391
Was Silver able to determine what the thrall experience is like? Like, are they in some way conscious? Are they trapped in a state of madness while their body is controlled?
Anonymous
f19f70d
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No.186393
186394 186396
>>186392
While he doesn't know anything for absolutely certain, it's clear these ponies have been completely mentally dominated, with the Traveler taking full control of their bodies to speak and act through them. They're still in there, helpless and trapped in their own minds, and horrifically it's possible they might be stuck watching their bodies act without them being able to do anything about it. Certain extreme stimulations such as fear seems to be able to at least temporarily allow the pony's consciousness to "fight back" against the Traveler's influence, such as the pony that Kira constricted seemingly returning to normal during the act.

All of this is conjecture, as Silver doesn't know anything for a fact, but the evidence he's gathered seems to be leaning towards this possibility.
Anonymous
1631e83
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No.186394
>>186393
Thats kind of what I had imagined, a basically null state of paralysis while something else gets to decide what the body does. And it probably doesnt shut off sensory/pain perception either.
Im trying to grasp the state they're "in" and to intuit what their reaction to liberation might be
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186395
If GM wanted to make it super-perverse, it could be a scenario where they can still control their body "ish", but any bodily commands are forceably exerted.
For example, imagine trying to hold your hand on your chest, with muscles and tendons and ligaments, but something forces against your resistance, and now your arm is ruined. And boy do it scream with pain. And more pain, cuz the sadistic fuck whos controlling you doesnt feel the pain (or doesnt care)

Posey
f732ac7
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No.186396
186400 186405
>>186389
I only start with "common" (Equestrian?) + 3 languages (because 16 Int). Idk which ones I should know.
Maybe I should invest in a Helm Of Comprehend Languages... Or find a way to cast Tongues.

How many languages does Silver speak? Did you invest any skillpoints to learn more?
>so far I haven't heard any outright criticisms or major concerns from GM pone so I'm assuming he's okay with it?
That doesn't mean it will work.
>>186393
>Certain extreme stimulations such as fear seems to be able to at least temporarily allow the pony's consciousness to "fight back
Fear is Posey's specialty, especially in the context of breaking chains of enemy command.
Anonymous
3705283
?
No.186400
186401
>>186380
>>186379
That could work. You can animate skeletons now?

>>186382
The downside of this involves the operatives also hearing it and beelining for the Kostroma, or sinking it if it looks to be sailing away.

>>186396
You also get a native language if Equestrian is not your native language.
Posey
f732ac7
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No.186401
186402
>>186400
>You can animate skeletons now?
No. Posey can't do that until she reaches lvl 8 (so probably never...), but she has a scroll of deathmaster Animate Dead, part of which she used to animate that zebra jenny at the beginning of the game. It had "enough to make six friends" (up to 12 HD). I think considering the stakes of this battle now would be a good time to use it.
Also, I would get to use those leviathan bones, and I would feel very validated as a Necromancer getting to do actually necromancy in a meaningful context for the first time in this game.
>>>186382
The downside of this involves the operatives also hearing it and beelining for the Kostroma, or sinking it if it looks to be sailing away.
Yeah, I really don't think we're equipped for naval battle.
>You also get a native language if Equestrian is not your native language
What language counts as Native to the Dread League? Can I take Abyssal (Hebrew) or Infernal (Sanskrit) as one of those languages?
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186402
>>186401
>I really don't think we're equipped for naval battle
Not with that attitude,.... Xp
Anonymous
f732ac7
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No.186403
Are we doing things this weekend?
I'm going to have next week off
Anonymous
2f59d97
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No.186404
https://srd.dndtools.org/srd/classes/prestigeCChamp/fistOfTheForest.html
Fist of the Forest is a great prestige class for Multiclass barbarian/monks.
It's also only 3 levels long, so you can easily fit it in any build.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
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No.186405
>>186396
>Fear is Posey's specialty, especially in the context of breaking chains of enemy command
Hold up a second, maybe theres something here thats been overlooked. Perhaps we might stop a moment with one of the thralls and Posey could try scaring the gay out of it
Posey
2f59d97
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No.186408
186410 186415
5d85396c-e525-4f8d-abb6-7d2dd70c51f9.jpg
mizuki_shigeru_bakekujira.png
bake_kujira__cursed_ghost_of_the_slain_whale_by_smokeboats_dcphwd3-fullview.jpg
bakekujira.jpg
game-of-thrones-white-walkers2.jpg
I know I argued against splitting the party earlier, but I would really like for Posey to run off alone and do spooky necromancy stuff while the party saves the marines. I believe that my plan may be pivotal in helping us defeat the Traveller and evade the Special Forces.
Posey can cover ground more quickly than most creatures can due to being able to run indefinitely (double-hustle).
Since the floating disk is tied to Posey, I would like to take the enthralled prisoner with me to test a tactic to break the Traveller's mind control, a tactic that is rather ugly and best done away from the good-aligned party members.
Posey
2f59d97
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No.186409
186410
I will accept the consequences if Posey runs into an encounter alone while racing to the leviathan skeleton.
Anonymous
2f98f0b
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No.186410
medium-24.png
>>186408
>>186409
Unironically, I can see this working out well for a number of reasons and would be interesting in helping develop the idea
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186411
186413
R3.png
Lacey's newly minted CM (tks Dark Star's player <3)
Anonymous
755625a
?
No.186413
DarkStarHappy.png
>>186411
Anonymous
3705283
?
No.186415
186420
>>186408
You can sneak away one of the captives if you want. If other PCs spot you they may raise some questions. Getting away from the island on skeletons is not viable in my opinion. Sending a signal for seaplanes to arrive and using dinghies to reach them is conventional but likely to work.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186420
186421 186423
medium-56.png
>>186415
Something Brie would like to try:
Improved feint (cause flat-foot) is a move action.
Attacking defensively (+3 ac) is part of a single-strike standard-action.

If Brie did an improved feint as his move action, could his standard action be a not-full-dodge, but comparable to fighting defensively? No attacks, but +3 ac and causing flat foot depending on bluff/perception?

Pleeeeeease? :3
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186421
>>186420
Note, the flat foot comes on Brie's next attact at that opponent, on principle that the deceptive nature of the bluff would prevent the opponent from realize when the attact comes
Dark Star
755625a
?
No.186423
186425
>>186420
>Pic
She's a Big Mare
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186425
186426
>>186423
Pretty sure shes inspired by a meme porno
Dark Star
755625a
?
No.186426
>>186425
Could Be
Anonymous
2f59d97
?
No.186428
Screenshot_20250103-185713.png
Screenshot_20250103-185810.png
I was reading Frostfell looking for a creatable monster for my plans, and I remembered they had Golden Compass armored polar bears there.
Would make great stats for the polar bear nation:
https://equestriaatwar.wiki.gg/wiki/Polar_Bear_Communities
Anonymous
2f59d97
?
No.186430
Screenshot_20250103-185308.png
Screenshot_20250103-185349.png
Screenshot_20250103-185403.png
Screenshot_20250103-185600.png
Frostburn has a lot of great monsters. I'm partial to the aberrant ice dolphin thingy.
Anonymous
f06dade
?
No.186442
186450 186454 186475 186479
Deborah-maradan-img490-2.jpg
I have this statblock for a Huge sized advanced Bone Lurker, based on the one that the demon made for me from the hydra bones. It doesn't have as much HP as the demon's, but it's as good as Posey could possibly make with her scroll.

Hone Kujira (advanced Bone Lurker)

Huge Undead
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Initiative: +3
AC: 13 (-2 size, -1 Dex, +6 natural), touch 7, flat-footed 14
Hit Dice: 9d12 (68 HP)
Fort +3, Ref +3, Will +6
Speed: 20 ft., fly 30 ft. (poor)
Space: 5 ft. by 15 ft./15 ft.
Base Attack +4; Grapple +22
Attack: slam +12 melee
Damage: Slam 2d6+15
Special Attacks/Actions: Constrict 2d6+15, improved grab, paralysis
Abilities: Str 30, Dex 8, Con -, Int -, Wis 10, Cha 11
Special Qualities: Immunities, undead traits
Feats: Improved Initiative
Skills: -

Constrict (Ex): Hone Kujira deals 2d6+15 points of damage with a successful grapple check.
Improved Grab (Ex): If Hone Kujira hits an opponent that is at least one size category smaller than itself with its slam attack, it deals normal damage and attempts to start a grapple as a free action without provoking an attack of opportunity (grapple bonus +21). Hone Kujira has the option to conduct the grapple normally, or simply use its body to hold the opponent. Either way, each successful grapple check it makes during successive rounds automatically deals slam damage and constrict damage.
Paralysis (Ex): Any creature hit by Hone Kujira's slam attack must succeed at a Fortitude save (DC 14) or be paralyzed for 1d6+2 minutes.
Immunities (Ex): Hone Kujira has cold immunity. Because it lacks flesh or internal organs, it takes only half damage from piercing or slashing weapons.
(This should probably be corrected to DR 5/bludgeoning)

Hone Kujira attacks by dropping onto its prey and wrapping itself around its victim. Dropping down in this fashion is considered a charge attack from higher ground. If Hone Kujira misses its initial attack, it often flies up and tries to drop on the opponent again.

https://www.realmshelps.net/monsters/block/Bone_Lurker%7Calpha%7CAll%7CUndead
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186450
186470
>>186442
So, I'm not here to poop on people's parades, I like being able to do cool stuff with my characters, but...I'm not sure riding a huge flying whale skeleton is exactly the most subtle way to get to the Kostroma. Like, we were worried enough already about Brie or Garv flying and getting shot out of the air.

Also, how does it fly?
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186451
186456 186469
Oh! What if you used it to prevent the enemy ship from pursuing the stolen Kostroma? Like, have it swim in the water and damage the ship's propulsion or engines, or even just beach it on the island like the Kostroma.
GM Pony
b10fc99
?
No.186454
186455
>>186442
Bone Lurkers don’t have DR/5
Anonymous
f06dade
?
No.186455
186456
>>186454
Okay, half damage from piercing and slashing then. The parentheses was a suggestion based on the updated version of damage resistance that WotC published.
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186456
186469
>>186455
What do you think of the idea in >>186451 ? I think it could mesh well with Silver's plan, and it means Posey still gets to do her cool raising the dead thing.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186459
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterFlaws.htm
For Lacey, I would like to take 2 flaws: Shaky (-2 on all ranged attacks), and Meager Fortitude (-3 on Fortitude saves)
Bringing her sum total of feats to 5. ^_^
Anonymous
7979881
?
No.186463
186468 186478
Did one of my posts get deleted? Weird.
Anyway, I'm pretty excited to do necromancy stuff, but it it's too complicated to deal with I'll abstain from it. I just really wanted to use my character's outlook and knowledge to contribute to the mission. I feel like I haven't really been doing very much to contribute as of late.
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186468
186469
>>186463
>tfw no thoughts on my idea
Awwwwww
Posey
c591ff8
?
No.186469
186471
>>186456
>>186468
>>186451
Pardon, I was distracted playing an IRL game with family.
Your idea sounds great. Using the bone lurker as a distraction is a great way to get use of it after it has exhausted its combat application. Posey could be persuaded to do so after the fight with the Traveller is done. Whatever contributes best to the mission.
Anonymous
c591ff8
?
No.186470
186471
>>186450
>I'm not sure riding a huge flying whale skeleton is exactly the most subtle way to get to the Kostroma.
The whale flies as fast as Posey runs. She only needs to ride the whale part of the way. I really just wanted it to take Posey to the tip of Mended Horn.
>Like, we were worried enough already about Brie or Garv flying and getting shot out of the air.
Every shell directed at the whale is a shell not directed at the rest of the party.
>Also, how does it fly?
Magic.
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186471
186472
>>186469
>>186470
Well, I'm thinking the distraction should hold the GRU and the Traveler up long enough that, if Posey asked the party to make a detour to the nearby leviathan skeleton after we rescue the airponies and blow up the airship's propulsion system, we could probably do so without Posey splitting off from the rest of the party.
Anonymous
c591ff8
?
No.186472
186473
>>186471
>>186471
Well, I also wanted it to fly me to the peak of mended horn to make a Binding Of Isaac reference and an Icegaunt, but....
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186473
186508
>>186472
It might be worth having Posey explain her ideas to the party and how she wants to implement them. That way the party members (especially in character) can figure out how to work them into the plan we've got going on to complete the mission in the best way possible.
GM Pony
e8c6f25
?
No.186475
186476 186478 186483 186485 186502
Okay, first of all, I am not done with IRL matters that have me very busy.

>>186442
That thing is a CR 8 or a CR 9. It’s definitely, on its own, more powerful than any encounter the party has faced. Could you imagine the party fighting it? Cavaliere and Brie would be close to useless against it. Kira would be ineffective. The only party member to have any effective use against it would be Dust… except actually no. Actually Dust would be less useful than Brie or Cavaliere, because it flies. So it’s out of reach of Dust and all the party can do is hope that it targets the tanks rather than picking off the weaker party members while they whittle down its massive health bar. The DR/5 is a black and white difference on any monster and you know this. Do not bullshit me and say it isn’t. Bludgeoning is so rare of a form of damage here as to be almost irrelevant. Yes yes yes, I get it. It’s a Bone lurker that is enlarged to 9 HD, which theoretically maybe should be possible from a scroll that reanimates 12 HD worth. Is that within the rules as written? I don’t know, but it sounds cheesy as fuck, because the bone lurker is a CR 2 monster and has the stats of one. 3 bone lurkers do not equal one of these things. I don’t think that even 6 bone lurkers equal one of these things.

There’s an argument to be made that in this case, yes. Posey should have a levitating tank. That isn’t what I’m concerned about. I’m concerned about what it means more broadly.

Those fucking dreads…

I haven’t said anything about the dreads, but yes, they do bother me. They were first mentioned back in like May or whenever. There was absolutely no explanation as to what a dread is or does, except that it was a reanimated arm. There was no link to any page to explain it, there was no explanation of intent, it’s just “hey I made dreads.” I had no idea what a dread was or does. But I saw no reason to say “no” at the time, so I said nothing.

Then the truth came out. A dread, apparently, is two free attacks per turn. It’s two extra limbs. And apparently it’s proficient in weapons Posey isn’t proficient in. Basically Posey just gave herself the attack power of a ranger in the same attack round, entirely for free. This is 100% not what I was expecting a dread to be, and I don’t think I would have approved it if I knew. But I didn’t say anything because… so what if Posey has two extra attacks? It isn’t hard for me to just add another enemy to the encounter. There was no real need to police it, so I didn’t. The one time I probably should have policed it was when they were being used for PvP. Brie outright said “I’m not acknowledging the attacks by the dreads because these things are cheesy as fuck and came out of nowhere.” You didn’t understand that that was what he was saying in context because he wasn’t explicit enough, but I knew. Sometime after that I found out that apparently the dreads have fucking DR/5 and are invincible. That irritated me.

And then “they fly now.” You said to make the dreads fly at 100 ft and attack with ranged attacks. I do not have the ability to articulate just how horrifically gay and cheesy this is, to use Posey’s two free extra attacks per turn to be invulnerable turrets. If this is within rules as written, if this is what was meant by “flying” - I don’t think it was, I think that just meant it levitates kind of close to the ground - then this is the equivalent of getting an enemy in a video game stuck on an invisible wall and then shooting at it from a distance. This is cheesier than any cheese board I have ever had or any grocery store cheese aisle I’ve seen. This is gayer than any Tamers video, or than any gay stallion art on any booru. This is Silver Star levels of gay. I need Elway here to write a paragraph on just how faggy this is, because I cannot. By the way, a bolt action rifle requires two hands to operate.

And then the Bone lurker that’s buried in the forest is evidently somehow stronger than the CR 9 posted here? What the fuck? What the actual fuck? You didn’t say how many HD it was, or post a link to any page, or really explain what a Bone lurker is. Instead you just name drop a creature that if I had looked it up had been a CR2, and then when you started to use it in combat it would have the stats of a CR 12, and that would have been my first time to learn about it. I don’t like being ambushed like that. It’s like everything you do is some kind of “gotcha” game where “lol you’re an idiot for not foreseeing that this would be a problem. Like I’m the frog in the parable of the frog and the scorpion, who is a complete dumbass for not questioning and investigating everything you do.

When I heard “necromancer,” what came to mind was large numbers of skeletons or zombies. Sure, it’s a decent number, but still relatively weak thralls. Or maybe something like the time in the swamp that Posey sent her two ghasts to kill the enemy. Two CR3’s. This is basically the level of control that Posry has already done with the amoebas or as I imagine a cleric would do. (No. I don’t need or want a paragraph explaining that Ackshually a level 6 cleric can make 20 CR6 summons at a time. Stop. I don’t fucking care and that isn’t my point. My point is that no one else who plays this game would try to control 20 CR6 monsters at once). No, I didn’t think that 2 CR3 thralls could or should be the limit. Doubling that isn’t unreasonable. But instead what I get is that Posey controls a ghast and those two dreads and apparently a fucking CR12 with an undisclosed number of hit die in the forest and this flying tank. It occurs to me that I don’t honestly know what the upper limit is. I would have thought it was.. 8HD at once? 12? Now apparently it’s 30 or more.

I know what you will say. “Why don’t you already know all of these things? Why don’t you already know what my character’s limits are and that of course these are advanced versions of the monster manual?”
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186476
186479
>>186475
>Brie would be close to useless
"Are are, kashō hyōka desu."
https://youtu.be/fTYUkIgpE_w?si=KAwtqRU-h5FtHWli
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186477
With the moderate min-maxing Im planning for Lacey, its more appropriate that she's lvl 5. That means 4 feats (still enough), and a few other details. But also keeps her from being unstoppable.
GM Pony
e8c6f25
?
No.186478
186483 186486 186487
>>186475
I ran out of characters

So I know you’re thinking “why don’t you already know everything I am doing and trying to do and going to do? Why don’t you spend hours of your life carefully studying every fucking one of the 58+ books that have been made for this game, carefully think through every possible combination or action, carefully read every word I post and look for key words like “large” or “huge,” then apply math to the book version, and then anticipate what I am going? You’re an idiot for not knowing what I am doing.”

I have a question for you. Why are you the only player out of 7 I can’t trust to just do their own thing? I don’t need to know the ins and outs of every published book for any other player. I don’t need to think “Oh God, what is this player going to build with this if I say yes to this?” with any other player. I don’t need to be suspicious or untrusting of the other players, because are always both upfront with their intentions and it’s reasonable for the level. Why do I need to police you? Why do I need to question every action you do because it’ll turn into a “gotcha”? Why do I need to play out the parable of the frog and the scorpion, with me as the frog, every month? Why are you like this? Why can’t you just be normal?

Letting you do things is like stories of making contracts with demons where you have to read every single word carefully and think of every possible scenario, because they are trying to fuck you over.

Yes, I’m sure that when you asked for the advanced bone lurker that you used some kind of key word like “huge,” and I was supposed to study the bone lurker, the rules of monster advancement, apply the math, and figure out that it was overpowered for the level, rather than just trust you to ask for things that are reasonable. Mea Culpa, Mea fucking Culpa. I had no idea that letting you do things was a Mephistopheles bargain every time.

I appreciate that you’ve posted the stats here. I really do. You didn’t do that for the I-don’t-know-how-how-many-HD bone lurked in the forest, or for bone lurkers period. You never did that for the dreads. And further, within the context of the quest, the whale isn’t that unreasonable of an ask. If ever there were a time to say yes to “hey GM, can I make a tank?” It’s probably now. In fact, if you hadn’t used the key word “DR/5” there’s a damn good chance I would not have been set on a tirade at all. If you haven’t caught on by now, “DR/5 nothing relevant” is a trigger phrase for me, and changes the chances of me saying “yes” from something like an 80+% chance to more like 0%.

The problem is what it meant going forward. Power does not scale linearly in 3.5 and you know it. That thing is more powerful than 3 bone lurkers, and you know it. So I realized that 1. Being a necromancer doesn’t mean zombies or ghasts or level appropriate monsters, it means spending all of your charges to make the biggest super monster you can 2. The number of hit die of undead that can be controlled at a given time is greatly higher than I realized and I do not actually know what that limit is, except that Posey is now at… 10+9+3+2+2=26 HD if control, and 3. Given that the Dreads have DR/5 Not Relevant, and this has DR/5 not relevant, this is what I have to look forward to in the future, and I’m going to have to either entirely redesign the game or force you to entirely redesign your character, because making 9+ HD of DR/5 Not Relevant is going to entirely break the game.

Am I making any sense? I don’t feel like I am being understood. I wouldn’t mind the ghast, the dreads, or even the whale all at once if I thought it were a one time thing or if I knew where the limit was. But all it does is prove that I don’t know where the limit is, I don’t know where this is going, and it just keeps growing and growing and growing and I don’t know if it will stop. This isn’t the limit, this is precedence for something even bigger in the future.

I know that technically, the whale is a one time thing because Posey will have used up the last of her one scroll, and she can’t create undead herself. But it’s far from unreasonable to assume that Posey would have the power to make undead in the future, whether she had a scroll or gets the powers herself. Hell, apparently I was tricked into making some kind of super monster for free for posey through the priest, rather than something more reasonable like the CR2 bone lurker that’s in the monster manual.

It’s sometimes reasonable to ask for a tank, and this might be it. But I want to control when it is so that I can make sure it is right for the mission and the mission is right for it. When things sneak up on me it shows me that I’m not in control of my own game. And it’s not a good feeling.

>>186463
Yes. I deleted my post because where the discourse was going was toxic. I thought that you would delete the orphaned reply eventually. You didn’t. That reply contained multiple lines that the reasonable answer to was “Go Fuck Yourself” like “i aM not suPpoSed tO be aFraId of level 1 fighters!” What was I supposed to say to that? Was I supposed to say “You lying fucking nigger, you know the enemies are level 3, and that’s irrelevant”? Would you have rather I responded like that rather than just delete the passive-aggressive post I made that provoked you to say that? Is everything supposed to be a fight? Does every spat need to be up? Do we need every emotionally charged post in this thread? Can we not delete emotionally charged posts and just move on with the game? Is it wrong to keep our emotional arguments off of the board? Do you want every one of those posts cluttering the thread? Does every post have to stay up? Do you want me to keep up the constant arguments with Brie in the thread? Is that how you want things? Do you want me to keep up your sneed spam when you shit all over the thread with sneed spam rather than just let Brie cool himself off? Can we not accept that some posts are better off never having been made?

Honestly, I am likely to delete my post here at some time in the future because I’m more angry in it than I want to be. I don’t want to be angry. I just don’t want to feel like my players are trying to sneak in overpowered weapons and I need to actively be suspicious of them because I don’t know what they’re going to do.

I appreciate that you posted the stats to the whale. But the post made me realize that while I had been thinking “yeah, posey probably needs to get the power to create undead at some point in the future” I don’t actually know what that means.
GM Pony
e8c6f25
?
No.186479
186482 186486 186487
>>186442
>>186476
Another thing. I don’t speak fucking Japanese. You two both bitch about NPCs speaking Dutch or Russian, but then you try to talk to me out of character in British zoomer slang or Japanese or Acronyms. Speak English, please.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186482
medium-26.jpg
>>186479
Okay. If I do zoomer/japanese at, I'll translste. It was a meta joke about how frustrating language barriers are.
What I attempted to say was "My my (are are), underestimation (the latter part, which I did pull from google.translate).
In my weenishness I thought "you csn slap them together snd out a 'desu' and youre good, right?"
You cannot slap them together, it means "Is there one".
In context of a giant skeletal whale and a meme about Ichigo chopping down a menos loke a minecraft tree, its kinda funny
GM Pony
0a38b50
?
No.186483
186486 186487 186506
>>186478
>>186475
I have a suspicion that one of the responses is going to be “But DR/5 Not Relevant is fine actually.”

Let’s do some math. We have a 68 HP creature with let’s say DR/5. A rifle bullet does 2d8 damage for a statistical average of 9. That means each bullet does 4 damage on average, for an average of 17 bullets to kill. If 40% of shots land, which may be low given its low AC, that’s 43 bullets to kill. A magazine and a half of a light machine gun. Or, take a submachine gun, which does 2d6 damage, or 7 damage on average, which is 2 damage after reduction. That’s 32 bullets to kill, or 80 bullets if 40% hit. More than two and a half magazines. That means that the thing could presumably run havok over any patrol, but would eventually die against a fortified foe. Actual anti aircraft guns - like a .50 cal of the anti-aircraft variety that shoots 1100 bullets a minute - would probably kill it very quickly.

Basically it functions kind of like a vehicle, which is strongly resistant against small arms fire but rather vulnerable to larger weapons. This contrasts against infantry, which are vulnerable to small arms fire and even more vulnerable to larger weapons, but the difference is linear and without a cliff face. Now, sometimes vehicles are fine, and there are many first and third person shooters that have vehicle sections. But that’s exactly the thing. They are sections. They are not constant or at will. Games where you play in vehicles the entire time are up front about what they are.

If it had 50% reduction on everything, rather than 5/DR, it would be much more vulnerable to short swords, pistols, arrows, and submachine guns. However it would actually be more resistant against .50 calls and larger weapons, a more linear approach to damage rather than the cliff of DR/5. Is that better? Is that worse? I’m not certain, but I can say for damn sure I prefer to have that discussion before it is decided, rather than only after the battle discovering “lol it took no damage.”

This is the first time that you’ve actually told me “hey this thing has DR/5 Not Relevant” in a post on a thread before introducing the monster. With Posey the DR/5 was mentioned for the first time on the board a year and a half after she came into the game, only after “lol that attack didn’t land.” Yes yes yes, the DR/5 probably was hidden somewhere in some small line somewhere on page three of the Myth Weavers document - it wasn’t posted on the board or in a visible portion of the character sheet. The Dread never had stats or a link posted, and neither did the original bone lurker. It was just “lol that attack did no damage” after a battle was already over. Do you have even the slightest idea how infuriating that is?

I appreciate very much that this stat block is actually posted. Seriously, I do. I suspect, however, that the reason that this was posted is because it’s technically a home brew since you wanted the Japanese mythic flavoring on it rather than a true Bone Lurker, and not because you were trying to be transparent. Either way, it does signal that you really want that fucking DR/5, and that’s what I have to look forward to if I give Posey another scroll or “create undead,” like I had originally planned…
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186484
Okay, I see. You have reasons to be frustrated.
Give me time to respond to individual points.
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186485
186488
>>186475
>That thing is a CR 8 or a CR 9
No it isn't. It is CR 3, based on the math of monster advancement. It only gained 6 undead HD, which means it rose from CR 2 to CR 3.5 (rounded down to 3). You could argue it's CR 4, based on the size increase.
A Gauth, from the monster manual, has a CR of 7: This flying pile of bones doesn't hold a candle to a small beholder. The dolphin-thing in the screencap above is also CR 7, but much more dangerous, imo. A Remorhaz is CR 7, and could probably kill half the party if it got a surprise attack.
>Could you imagine the party fighting it?
Well, being a mindless undead, Command Undead would neutralize it instantly.
Even without Posey, I believe the party would be able to handle it. It's basically a huge flying ghast.
>Brie would be close to useless against it. Kira would be ineffective
We should buy Brie some Deathstrike Bracers for undead monsters.
>Cavaliere
Cavalier and Brie can fly. Cavalier deals bludgeoning damage as a Monk.
>The only party member to have any effective use against it would be Dust…
Dust could turn it with a good roll, and functionally prevent it from attacking us. In fact, it's mindless attack routine is to charge, which means so long as it can't charge it can't really do anything.
>Actually Dust would be less useful than Brie or Cavaliere, because it flies.
It has no mind, and therefore should not use complicated evasive tactics.
>out of reach
It may fly, but it only has melee attacks, which means you can just take readied actions to attack/turn it when it attacks you.
Dust also has ranged spells, like Searing Light, Magic Stone, etc.
>The DR/5 is a black and white difference on any monster and you know this.
GM, I don't actually care about the DR/5. Go ahead and remove the DR/5. I made a note that the halving of damage should be corrected to DR/5 like skeletons were, but RAW, it doesn't have any DR, only halving of
I intended to use this thing as a short-term mount and shocktrooper/kamikaze bomber: its destiny is to be destroyed. The real reason I wanted it was to fly me to the top of the mountain so that I could attempt to make an Icegaunt.
Also note that even with the out-of-the-box damage halving, d20 modern guns do "ballistic" damage, which is neither piercing nor slashing, so their guns would do full damage to the bone lurker.
>Bludgeoning is so rare of a form of damage here as to be almost irrelevant.
Clubs cost 0 gp. Slings cost 0 gp. Quarterstaffs cost 0 gp. The most common natural weapon is a bite attack, which deals bludgeoning, piercing and slashing at once.
>3 bone lurkers do not equal one of these things. I don’t think that even 6 bone lurkers equal one of these things.
Tbh, I only made the effort to create this advanced statblock because I thought it would be less annoying to deal with than three smaller ones.
I didn't think you had an issue with it, because another one of these huge-sized bone lurkers, the one that the demon made, is already flying around in the swamp.
>I’m concerned about what it means more broadly.
This is a reasonable sentiment. No GM likes being surprised by PC capabilities. Let's talk about it and work it out.
>Those fucking dreads…
GM, if you don't like the Dreads, just be aware that Posey doesn't actually control them, they are controlled by a demon who gifted them to Posey (like how Posey ordered the Zombie to obey Day Low Rain). If you feel like confiscating then at any moment, note that if the Demon casts animate dead again in Tartartus (which it might just do every day), the dreads, and the bone lurker in the swamp, would become uncontrolled.
>Basically Posey just gave herself the attack power of a ranger in the same attack round, entirely for free.
A low-op ranger, maybe, but I see your point.
>Sometime after that I found out that apparently the dreads have fucking DR/5 and are invincible.
GM, think of enemy tactics: why would intelligent enemies attack the flying animated skeleton arms, instead of the grounded sorceress who controls them? The logical action is to attack Posey instead of her mindless minions.
>they fly now
GM, more than half of the humanoid enemies in this game fly. Is a minion flying that hard to deal with?
Posey herself still can't fly. Anyone who can't reach a flying minion can just attack her instead.
>And then the Bone lurker that’s buried in the forest is evidently somehow stronger than the CR 9 posted here?
It was animated with Desecrate, so it has slightly more HP.
>it would have the stats of a CR 12
A full sized Beholder is CR 12.
Look at the stats for a beholder: does it look more dangerous to you?
> I don’t like being ambushed like that.
Oh, okay. Sorry about that.
>Posey controls a ghast and those two dreads and apparently a fucking CR12 with an undisclosed number of hit die in the forest and this flying tank.
Posey only control a single zebra zombie (not present), and a ghast (not present). The Dreads and the Bone Lurker are controlled by the demononic cleric who created them, who told them to obey Posey. The demon may animate new monsters Posey may lose control at any moment.
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186486
>>186478
>So I know you’re thinking “why don’t you already know everything I am doing and trying to do and going to do?
I wouldn't really say that.
>Why are you the only player out of 7 I can’t trust to just do their own thing?
Well, for starters, I'm the only character who is a full spellcaster, so what Posey can do isn't always obvious.
Idk what to say though.
>Why can’t you just be normal?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_bhH1eSV9hE
>Letting you do things is like stories of making contracts with demons
Well, she did get those dreads from a demon. The demon might feel like fucking her over soon.
>You didn’t do that for the I-don’t-know-how-how-many-HD bone lurked in the forest,
Yeah, I probably should have done that... I just got distracted halfway through making the statblock, and then I forgot that I made it.
I only remembered a few days ago that I had the advanced statblock in my journal.
>In fact, if you hadn’t used the key word “DR/5”
The DR/5 was a recommendation in parentheses for updated damage resistance. It does not have DR/5 RAW.
>Being a necromancer doesn’t mean zombies or ghasts or level appropriate monsters, it means spending all of your charges to make the biggest super monster you can 2.
Look at it this way, GM.
Either a lvl 7 Necromancer can animate 28 skeletons with 1HD, and by extension take 29 turns, or it can animate two 14 HD zombies, taking only three turns. Which sounds like less of a chore to deal with?
>It’s sometimes reasonable to ask for a tank, and this might be it. But I want to control when it is so that I can make sure it is right for the mission and the mission is right for it. When things sneak up on me it shows me that I’m not in control of my own game. And it’s not a good feeling.
Well, this is probably a bad time to ask, but for the sake of full disclosure, the reason I wanted a flying mount was to fly me to the top of mended horn so I could ritually freeze the prisoner to death as a sacrifice to the winddigos and create a CR 6 Icegaunt, a creature depicted in one of the above screencaps.
Worth noting that Posey cannot easily control an icegaunt unless it rolls a bad saving throw vs Command Undead, and intended create it tied up so that it could be unleashed on the enemies, and then leave it on the island once it has served its purpose.
That was my actual plan for how to fight the traveller: to animate the equivalent of a lvl 5 Druid to help fight them.
>Is everything supposed to be a fight? Does every spat need to be up? Do we need every emotionally charged post in this thread?
I would really prefer to avoid that.

I don't actually care if the post stayed up. I was just concerned that the site was glitching. Player posts have been disappearing lately, but now I think that's most just from Brie's player weirdly deleting his posts immediately after he makes them.
>I appreciate that you posted the stats to the whale. But the post made me realize that while I had been thinking “yeah, posey probably needs to get the power to create undead at some point in the future” I don’t actually know what that means.
Well, I would like to have a more in-depth conversation about this with you and what your expectations are, because I have a vested interest in dispelling any concerns that discourage you from letting me level up, so let's try to work out a solution so that nobody is surprised or frustrated.
>>186479
The Japanese name was just based on the yokai monster I was inspired by. It translates to "Bone whale" or "Ghost Whale".
>>186483
GM, as stated above, the monster does not actually have DR/5. I said it "probably should be corrected to DR/5".
Go ahead and remove the DR/5. It takes full damage from ballistic attacks.
>This is the first time that you’ve actually told me “hey this thing has DR/5 Not Relevant” in a post on a thread before introducing the monster.
Okay, I should have mentioned that and made it clear.
I'll let you know something though: nearly every undead monster that isn't a ghoul or a wight (those being "humanoid" body types) has some form of damage reduction. Skeletons have DR/5 bludgeoning. Zombies have DR/5 Slashing.
A universal trope about undead is that they are notoriously hard to kill. Corporal undead without damage reduction are the exception, not the norm, so please know this going forward.
If it's made of bones (skeleton, bone lurker, lich, etc), chances are that it has DR/Bludgeoning.
>I appreciate very much that this stat block is actually posted. Seriously, I do. I suspect, however, that the reason that this was posted is because it’s technically a home brew since you wanted the Japanese mythic flavoring on it rather than a true Bone Lurker, and not because you were trying to be transparent. Either way, it does signal that you really want that fucking DR/5, and that’s what I have to look forward to if I give Posey another scroll or “create undead,” like I had originally planned…
It is not homebrew. It is an advancement of a published monster, albeit a 3.0 monster with an archaic form of damage reduction which I believed was supposed to be updated to DR/5, but not necessarily.
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186487
>>186478
>So I know you’re thinking “why don’t you already know everything I am doing and trying to do and going to do?
I wouldn't really say that.
>Why are you the only player out of 7 I can’t trust to just do their own thing?
Well, for starters, I'm the only character who is a full spellcaster, so what Posey can do isn't always obvious.
Idk what to say though.
>Why can’t you just be normal?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_bhH1eSV9hE
>Letting you do things is like stories of making contracts with demons
Well, she did get those dreads from a demon. The demon might feel like fucking her over soon.
>You didn’t do that for the I-don’t-know-how-how-many-HD bone lurked in the forest,
Yeah, I probably should have done that... I just got distracted halfway through making the statblock, and then I forgot that I made it.
I only remembered a few days ago that I had the advanced statblock in my journal.
>In fact, if you hadn’t used the key word “DR/5”
The DR/5 was a recommendation in parentheses for updated damage resistance. It does not have DR/5 RAW.
>Being a necromancer doesn’t mean zombies or ghasts or level appropriate monsters, it means spending all of your charges to make the biggest super monster you can 2.
Look at it this way, GM.
Either a lvl 7 Necromancer can animate 28 skeletons with 1HD, and by extension take 29 turns, or it can animate two 14 HD zombies, taking only three turns. Which sounds like less of a chore to deal with?
>It’s sometimes reasonable to ask for a tank, and this might be it. But I want to control when it is so that I can make sure it is right for the mission and the mission is right for it. When things sneak up on me it shows me that I’m not in control of my own game. And it’s not a good feeling.
Well, this is probably a bad time to ask, but for the sake of full disclosure, the reason I wanted a flying mount was to fly me to the top of mended horn so I could ritually freeze the prisoner to death as a sacrifice to the winddigos and create a CR 6 Icegaunt, a creature depicted in one of the above screencaps.
Worth noting that Posey cannot easily control an icegaunt unless it rolls a bad saving throw vs Command Undead, and intended create it tied up so that it could be unleashed on the enemies, and then leave it on the island once it has served its purpose.
That was my actual plan for how to fight the traveller: to animate the equivalent of a lvl 5 Druid to help fight them.
>Is everything supposed to be a fight? Does every spat need to be up? Do we need every emotionally charged post in this thread?
I would really prefer to avoid that.

I don't actually care if the post stayed up. I was just concerned that the site was glitching. Player posts have been disappearing lately, but now I think that's most just from Brie's player weirdly deleting his posts immediately after he makes them.
>I appreciate that you posted the stats to the whale. But the post made me realize that while I had been thinking “yeah, posey probably needs to get the power to create undead at some point in the future” I don’t actually know what that means.
Well, I would like to have a more in-depth conversation about this with you and what your expectations are, because I have a vested interest in dispelling any concerns that discourage you from letting me level up, so let's try to work out a solution so that nobody is surprised or frustrated.
>>186479
The Japanese name was just based on the yokai monster I was inspired by. It translates to "Bone whale" or "Ghost Whale".
>>186483
GM, as stated above, the monster does not actually have DR/5. I said it "probably should be corrected to DR/5".
Go ahead and remove the DR/5. It takes full damage from ballistic attacks.
>This is the first time that you’ve actually told me “hey this thing has DR/5 Not Relevant” in a post on a thread before introducing the monster.
Okay, I should have mentioned that and made it clear.
I'll let you know something though: nearly every undead monster that isn't a ghoul or a wight (those being "humanoid" body types) has some form of damage reduction. Skeletons have DR/5 bludgeoning. Zombies have DR/5 Slashing.
A universal trope about undead is that they are notoriously hard to kill. Corporal undead without damage reduction are the exception, not the norm, so please know this going forward.
If it's made of bones (skeleton, bone lurker, lich, etc), chances are that it has DR/Bludgeoning.
>I appreciate very much that this stat block is actually posted. Seriously, I do. I suspect, however, that the reason that this was posted is because it’s technically a home brew since you wanted the Japanese mythic flavoring on it rather than a true Bone Lurker, and not because you were trying to be transparent. Either way, it does signal that you really want that fucking DR/5, and that’s what I have to look forward to if I give Posey another scroll or “create undead,” like I had originally planned…
It is not homebrew. It is an advancement of a published monster, albeit a 3.0 monster with an archaic form of damage reduction which I believed was supposed to be updated to DR/5, but not necessarily.
GM Pony
bf6e3cc
?
No.186488
186490
>>186485
>No it isn't. It is CR 3
I do not believe you, but that’s a larger argument and I don’t care to go back through the math.

> Well, being a mindless undead, Command Undead would neutralize it instantly.
Does Dust have that prepared?

> Cavalier and Brie can fly.
They use weapons that are rendered largely ineffective by DR/5 and undead traits like pistols, knives, and sneak attack. See my math above

> It has no mind, and therefore should not use complicated evasive tactics.
I’m saying Dust is too short to hit it with his flail.

> Clubs cost 0 gp. Slings cost 0 gp. Quarterstaffs cost 0 gp. The most common natural weapon is a bite attack, which deals bludgeoning, piercing and slashing at once
You say that, and in the same response seem to understand that I’m talking about adversaries countering it rather than if the party actually countered it

> Posey doesn't actually control (the dreads), they are controlled by a demon who gifted them to Posey
Where the hell was this established? This is new to me.

> GM, think of enemy tactics: why would intelligent enemies attack the flying animated skeleton arms, instead of the grounded sorceress who controls them? The logical action is to attack Posey instead of her mindless minions.
Nigger, just two responses above you just claimed that Posey doesn’t control them at all. Why would an intelligent enemy assume that they will stop if this one PC that isn’t even necessarily near them is dead? Why wouldn’t they want to stop the thing that is hitting them? Why would they not assume that it’s an easier target than the beefier PC that is hitting them with an equal attack? You often shoot turrets off of helicopters and drop ships in video games, don’t you, or saw the tentacles or arms off of a monster? Same idea.

> GM, more than half of the humanoid enemies in this game fly. Is a minion flying that hard to deal with?
It makes melee much less effective

> Posey only control a single zebra zombie (not present), and a ghast (not present). The Dreads and the Bone Lurker are controlled by the demonic cleric who created them, who told them to obey Posey.
sigh

I really was tricked, wasn’t I? I need to be more careful when dealing with you

Silver has taken entire cars and houses that were never intended as loot. But I knew what he was doing in the moment that he was doing it. It wasn’t a surprise “hey, this is what happened you made all of that fluff” six months later.

> Well, she did get those dreads from a demon.
You know so much more about what I do than I do

> Well, this is probably a bad time to ask, but for the sake of full disclosure, the reason I wanted a flying mount was to fly me to the top of mended horn so I could ritually freeze the prisoner to death as a sacrifice to the winddigos and create a CR 6 Icegaunt, a creature depicted in one of the above screencaps.
>Worth noting that Posey cannot easily control an icegaunt unless it rolls a bad saving throw vs Command Undead, and intended create it tied up so that it could be unleashed on the enemies, and then leave it on the island once it has served its purpose.
>That was my actual plan for how to fight the traveller: to animate the equivalent of a lvl 5 Druid to help fight them.
This is exactly what I mean by “please tell me your intentions ahead of time” so I don’t have to pause the game and figure out “does this change things? Should I say yes or no?”
GM Pony
bf6e3cc
?
No.186489
186490
Okay, so yes, I knew that the demon created the dreads and that other thing. What is new to me is “oh, Posey can command them but they don’t count towards her command limit because she didn’t create them.”
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186490
186491
>>186488
>Does Dust have that prepared?
No, but Posey does.
>Where the hell was this established? This is new to me.
At the time they were created.
She requested the demon to cast animate dead to make them, and then command them to obey her. Demon did the same thing for Posey that Posey did for Day Low Rain.
Posey, at the time, was only level 3 and could not natively control such creatures, but now she can by casting Command Undead.
>Posey doesn’t control them at all.
They only her commands. They would do nothing if she were not in the picture.
>all. Why would an intelligent enemy assume that they will stop if this one PC that isn’t even necessarily near them is dead?
Well, the Dreads are responding to Posey's verbal commands, so to any enemy she is obviously pulling the strings.
>Why would they not assume that it’s an easier target than the beefier PC that is hitting them with an equal attack? You often shoot turrets off of helicopters and drop ships in video games, don’t you, or saw the tentacles or arms off of a monster? Same idea.
I guess it varies by enemy, but enemies with any familiarity with sorcerers (they should hope they have protocols for dealing with unicorns) might have relevant tactics.
>It makes melee much less effective
I agree. Flight is powerful.
>I really was tricked, wasn’t I?
That really wasn't my intention. I should have been clearer. Sorry.
>>186489
If you don't like the Dreads, you can just say that the demon animated something else in the abyss and tenders the dreads uncontrolled: that way, Posey would either have to use two of her precious lvl 2 slots to get them back, or lose them.
GM Pony
bf6e3cc
?
No.186491
186494
>>186490
You’re missing the point on all accounts

With regards to the whale, I’m saying that it’s overpowered as an allied creature at least under normal circumstances because the types of enemies likely to show up are ineffective against it. Mentioning how the party would or could fight it was just an example to prove that point. No shit it won’t cause a TPK, I was saying it was more powerful than the previous encounters and thus overpowered as a kind of mount.

With regards to the “tactics on attacking the dreads,” this is irritating. All of this shit about “wEll ACksHaULy it’s coMManDed bY posey bUt it’S controlled by a deMOn” - all of that shit is new to me, was not explained to me until just now. I didn’t know this shit when the battle using them happened. I had no idea how the fuck a dread worked because none of this shit was explained to me. I had NPC enemies target the dreads because:
1. There were so many enemies I thought it was more fair, or would look more fair, to have one target a floating arm than to have several gang up on a PC.
2. The general method of targeting I’ve used has been based on how much if a threat the PCs present to the enemies. The dreads presented a threat and thus it made sense to target them
3. The dreads were pissing me off so if they died I wouldn’t be sad

That’s it. That’s the whole fucking set of reasoning I used in that battle for having one enemy attack the dreads. All of this “of course they would have stopped working when posey died” - all of this shif is new to me, because you never stopped to explain what the fuck a dread is or his it works. I had no fucking clue it was a “”””gift”””” to posey. I had no fucking clue she was claiming it as an NPC command without adding it to her limit. I had no fucking clue it gave her two extra attacks per round until that battle when she started to do it. I didn’t know what the fuck a dread was. Why the fuck are you all up in my ass and sniffing your own farts on “Ackshually this isn’t a good tactic” when you never explained what the fuck a dread is or how it works before the battle? Jesus Christ. It’s not the fact that the dreads are ridiculously hard to kill it pissed me off, it’s the “oh by the way it takes no damage” after the battle is already over that pisses me off. I don’t care about the tactics. I care about the lack of transparency.

Except for the putting the dreads 100 feet in the air. That shit is gay as fuck, and I’d really rather do something, anything, less gay, like erotic roleplay with another dude where I play a male cartoon horse based on a little girl’s TV show, being fucked in the ass by another stallion. Because that’s much less gay.

Thirdly, and very much related to the second point:
I don’t hate the dreads because I hate what they are. I hate how opaque every single portion of their creation has been. I hate the lack of basic communication. I hate the rug pull. Brie once complained about the Dreads (he’s complained more than once) and you responded “what does it matter to you? All that needs to be done to fix the balancing is to add one more enemy.” And that’s basically been my approach the dreads. If you want to have them, then okay. The problem is the communication around them.
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186494
186496
>>186491
Okay, GM, I see now that you are not fond of what I have been doing or what I planned to do.
Might I ask instead, what would you rather I do now? What is a good thing for my character to do? Is there a preferred tactic you would like going forward?
GM Pony
bf6e3cc
?
No.186496
186498
>>186494
Yes.

1. Don’t assume I or anyone else here has read whatever 3rd party supplement you got any given feat, spell, or summons/creation from. Because you know by now that you are the only one.
2. When you intend to do something, for example, sacrifice a prisoner to windigos to summon an ice giant or whatever it is, please announce this ahead of time so that way I can have time to decide if this should be accepted, if it should be modified, or if it is accepted, how to react to it and to work with it in the encounter design and the narrative. If you don’t do this, you are more likely to get a rejection, or me stopping game play because I don’t want to make a decision yet.

Furthermore, you’re a lot more likely to get to your end goal if I know where that is. Don’t ask “is there a chandelier in the house?” And “where is that chandelier located?” Ask “I want to drop a chandelier on an enemy in a surprise round. Can I do that?”
3. When using a new feat, race, class, spell, potion, or monster, please post the description and stat block if you can, and a link to the relevant page. This is because no, I don’t know what this new feat, spell, race, potion, or monster is.
4. Please don’t use acronyms to refer to the name of 3.5 supplement books. I don’t know what that acronym means.
5. I get spooked or irritated when I see sone new power that wasn’t disclosed or is completely new. Think if it like petting a horse or barely domesticated animal, that will be afraid of your touch if it feels your hand on it without knowing it is coming. Instead, let the horse see your hand approaching, then touch.

I can reduce this to a single word: communicate
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186497
I just noticed a continuity error on my part.
Brie is supposed to have taken Combat Expertise prior to Improved Feint. I can rectify this easily by applying the flaw Meager Fortitude, which on it's face makes sense for Bats, and applying CE as the bonus feat.
This would also give me a possible 24 ac for brie while making a (sneak?) Attack :3
Anonymous
052952f
?
No.186498
186567
>>186496
Okay, I can do this
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186499
186500
Also reminder, Brie does (-1) as much damage with his hooves as with his blades, so bludgeoining isnt a problem
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186500
>>186499
Ngl, he could prolly solo the whale
Anonymous
81f2947
?
No.186501
186503
I felt these videos, that I liked, were relevant to your discussion, however, I might just be pouring fuel on the fire. But maybe it could provide some perspective or something or just be entertaining if nothing else.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOxvoVM444c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAAFidggBXM
Anonymous
81f2947
?
No.186502
186503
>>186475
>I need Elway here to write a paragraph on just how faggy this
^^
GM Pony
bf6e3cc
?
No.186503
186505
>>186501
Counterpoint, see this video https://youtu.be/TUazW0xIObw?si=bFBm3TDBhAYq00vI

I wasn’t sure if I had seen the power balance video, but then when I saw the tall people, I remembered.

>>186502
I think I may actually ask him to do that
Anonymous
fca867d
?
No.186505
>>186503
Just make a leviathan gobble up the kraken.
Anonymous
3705283
?
No.186506
186507
>>186483
>If 40% of shots land, which may be low given its low AC, that’s 43 bullets to kill. A magazine and a half of a light machine gun. Or, take a submachine gun, which does 2d6 damage, or 7 damage on average, which is 2 damage after reduction. That’s 32 bullets to kill, or 80 bullets if 40% hit. More than two and a half magazines.
Visualizing it like a FPS, that's actually pretty weak. With an automatic weapon one could easily kite it and gun it down. On this relatively low-powered mission, where the PCs are armed with bolt-action rifles and revolvers, it could be overpowered. I don't know if Cavaliere can attack it in the air, as he doesn't have fly-by attack. If it doesn't have DR5 then it's much less of a threat. Thematically I do think undead should have damage resistance since they shouldn't be squishy mooks but real (and scary) threats.

I simply don't have enough knowledge of the game to know a solution to this. Having a mystery draw of some 3.5e monster to deal with an enemy tailored to give the PCs a challenge doesn't look like one to me however.

>That shit is gay as fuck, and I’d really rather do something, anything, less gay, like erotic roleplay with another dude where I play a male cartoon horse based on a little girl’s TV show, being fucked in the ass by another stallion. Because that’s much less gay.
Damn, Silver missed an opportunity by not bringing Paper Clipping along.
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186507
186508
>>186506
Don't worry, Clip will get his chance soon enough.

>With an automatic weapon one could easily kite it and gun it down.
I don't know about GM pone, but I've been giving automatic firearms in this game a lot of thought. It's GM's game and he decides the rules, but it feels kinda wrong to just allow a character to magdump an entire SMG in a single round. I've been playing a lot of Wasteland 2 lately, wanting to complete it so I could start Wasteland 3, and I kinda like how they handle automatic weapons in those games. It's given me ideas on how they would work in D&D where you have actions rather than action points.
Anonymous
8d4e7cb
?
No.186508
>>186473
What a novel idea
>>186507
Heres hpw that works. You can take 1, MAYBE two shots on target, or you can magdump and deal with the erratic ballistics of recoil in a desperate attempt to (as they say) spray and pray.
Just curious, who has an automatic weapon for this magdumping?
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186509
Just to provide perspective, how silly would I be to have Brie suddenly say "I have an idea, trust me," and then have him run off with no explanation
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186510
186511 186513
P0.jpg
61HaMbGCLKL._AC_UY1000_.jpg
Having deliberately waived the 6th level that would have given her Improved Initiative, Lacey's strategy will be to take whatever initiative roll she gets, and... wait. Yes, regardless of her actual initiative roll, she will willfuly go last in the combat round. Upon observing what her teammates are doing or seeming to be attempting to do, contrasted with what the adversaries are likewise 'doing', then she will act.
Her preferred tactic is to use her chain whip to do a 10' improved disarm and then talk the opponent out of resisting, but also isn't afraid to put her (proposed) jewelled adamantine barbed stilletto (nonmagical) to good use, with or without poison applied. There tends to be better but more nuanced means to profit from not killing, especially in the dry-cleaning bills.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186511
>>186510
>cuz I waived lvl 6
Unless GM is feeling permissive, on principle that henceforth it isnt about trying to "win" the game, its about scripting memorable stories and narratives. Get back to me ^_^
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186512
>the Kurenai (Crimson) technique of the Row family (and Brie cuz reasons) really isnt THAT technical. The trick to it is, when stabbing, youre not trying to draw the blade out, you're just punching it in and leaving it for a sec. This causes bloodflow to build, so when at end of turn one DOES 'retrieve' their blades, theres a (sadly non-mechanical) brilliant display worthy of Dexter ^_^
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186513
>>186510
For clarity, I said
>improved disarm
But that isn't accurate. Its a regular disarm, with a +2 circumstance bonus on a regular disarm, because chain whip (spiked chain, but lets be real).
Since it's at 10', unless the opponent has a likewise reach weapon, they dont get the attack of opportunity standard for a disarm or trip attack, so while her disarms/trips arent improved, they're still less consequential than when done from threat range.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186514
Screenshot_20250106_121200_DuckDuckGo.jpg
Just gonna throw a little meta out there for consideration:
https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Polar_Bear
Our good friend the polar bear is listed as a cr 4 creature. For one, it's underpowered, and doesn't list the x3 or x4 multiplier, nor the increased crit threshold that an actual Polar Bear would have. Not to downplay the possible raping of being grappled and getting 2 claws and a bite, but imagine being grappled by a PB irl and getting monched. Yeah. Just something to consider when contemplating stat blocks.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186564
The FIRST time Lacey of the family of Row met Brie she simply walked up, smelled him, and walked off without a word.
This was about 6-7 years prior. Weeks later was the 'incident', forever emblazoned on her flanks
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186567
186569
>>186498
So, I think I've figured out why you're so insistent on Posey going off on her own with one of the captured, possessed ponies. You can correct me if I'm wrong but I'm feeling pretty confident about this. You're planning on sacrificing the captive in order to summon the assistance we'll need to kill the Traveler, right?
Anonymous
c114de9
?
No.186569
186573
>>186567
That is what I said ooc, yes
Posey has her secrets to keep though, so she wouldn't be so open to say it in-character.
Anonymous
f19f70d
?
No.186573
186576
>>186569
I've got an idea for how she can summon the help we'll need without sacrificing one of the poor possessed ponies, if you're interested.
Anonymous
bd0fe75
?
No.186575
Still not too late to have Rosie try scaring the thralls into getting another saving throw against the mind control