The cold door
Subject Hallway 5
Salix will suggest he have a listen. If he doesn't hear anything recognizable, he will stand ready to follow-up Allistair's likely fireball with "Call Lightening".
From: Mark
Subject The cold room
Any one else want to make a comment? Randy? Derek? Jason? Karl?
If not I will write up the turn first thing tomorrow morning.
From: Derek
Subject the cold room
OOC: haven't been able to check my email yet today.
Allistair asks if he can listen at the door. "I know a couple of languages I doubt the others do, and it can't hurt to take another minute to listen. I also believe Ragnar knows some extraplanar languages, don't you?"
From: Jason
Subject The cold room
Sorry, I spent time updating the wiki thing on sakeriver and for some reason that translated into me thinking I'd already checked in. Ragnar can't really think of anything more he could do for someone who's speech makes your ears freeze, so he'll go when we're ready.
Turn, alternate history and why does this drag on?
Subject Turn
It is going to be this afternoon before I get the turn out.
My boss came down with 9 new printed items that I have to get into the system today and that is going to take almost all of the morning.
Sorry
From: Kevin
Subject Turn
I hate bosses that think business related work is more important than your personal stuff, especially on company time.
Damn them all to hell.
Merry Christmas!!
From: Josh
Subject Turn
Couldn't you just kindly explain to your boss that you've got other more pressing personal matters to attend to? I don't see why he'd mind.
I guess this is why I'm a failure at a real job. ;-)
From: Mark
Subject Turn
I actually have to work tomorrow morning, but I do not expect there to be a whole lot going on.
Next week could be interesting. There are three ladies who are going to be out and I am their back up. They usually do not all take off at the same time, but it is Christmas and due to my surgery I have no time off left, so I get to do the work of 4 next week. Luckily it is a short week, 3-1/2 days.
From: Randy
Subject Turn
Ranthir is ready to go along with whatever the plan is. He will be ready with his crossbow in case something gets through before the door can be closed again.
OOC: Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you all have a great holiday
From: Karl
Subject Turn
I have to work tomorrow, too. But I'm one of the guys taking off all next week (neener, neener)!
From: Mark
Subject Turn
OOC: Salix summons a giant pine cone but messes up where is is supposed to appear and so gets crushed underneath it.
From: Karl
Subject Turn
I was actually relieved to read the words that followed "appear".
From: Kevin
Subject Turn
I thought he would have summoned it to where the sun don't shine, and it would be facing the wrong way.
Ouchh.
From: Mark
Subject Lunch and turn
Ok I got all the items made and the approval process started. My part is basically done.
Now it is out to lunch and make a house payment and then, hopefully, a turn this afternoon.
From: Kevin
Subject Alternate history
In an alternate reality, very, very close to this one, the following happens
The group moves slowly toward the door, each one taking a listen at the door. No one is able to understand the sounds behind the door, but they all encounter the same coldness through the door.
Finally, Harp and Ragnar swing open the door and take a look inside.
To their surprise, they see a fat old man dressed in red yelling and screaming at a bunch of small creatures that look like a cross between Surin and Ran. While his words are not directly understandable, his tone is very obvious. The creatures are milling about a large carriage like structure, except instead of wheels it has ski's on the bottom. On top of that, there are a bunch of elk like creatures bridled up to the front of the contraption, with one really ugly one with a glowing nose at the very front. The room is full of snow, as if a polar ice cap had been transported whole into the room.
The man dressed in red hears the group enter, turns, and sees the group. He then throws up a shout to the little people who proceed to pull out strange looking items from the carriage. The largest of the creatures tosses something that looks like an all metal crossbow the the guy in red, who then takes an obviously aggressive stance.
Harp prays for Comprehend Languages, so he can at least know what the creaturs are saying. The tone is obvious, but while he understands the words, the meaning is unclear. Something about a trip, and delivering something, and being hijacked while working with a bunch of scruffy, lazy, layabout cousins of trolls, having to feed and house animals that smelled like moldy blankets and passed gas like a septic tank. There was some discussion about a wife as fat as a small nation, and the increasing demands of an increasingly ungrateful customer base. If he found out who had kidnapped him and put him behind schedule, he was going to do something that Harp was unsure was physically possible.
Just having a little Chirstmas fun.
From: Josh
Subject Alternate history
You forgot the part where they gave Kal a vorpal rapier.
I'll just mark it on my sheet anyway. +7 sound about right to everyone?
From: Kevin
Subject Alternate history
I was thinking of a fast loading crossbow of unerring hits. Sort of like the one they had in that stupid Van Helsing movie.
From: Josh
Subject Alternate history
Kal'd get a -8 if he tried to wield one, along with a buncha other bad stuff. :(
From: Karl
Subject Alternate history
Uh, Kal just gets coal this year. Sorry.
From: Mark
Subject Why does this drag on?
Upon hearing Surin's report Harp starts to organize for he and Mund to open the door. Allistair speaks up "Would you mind if I and maybe Salix take a listen? We know some languages that others may not. Maybe we can tell what the thing is." Harp stops his planning and realizes that the mage is correct. "Surin, do what you can to get these two close to the door with out getting them killed." This last is said with a slight grin.
The druid and the mage move the last 50 feet towards the door with the halfling showing them where to step. As they approach the door they also feel cold emanating from the door. Salix approaches and listens. He can hear noise coming from the room. Whatever it is sounds angry but he can not make out the language. Allistair then takes his place and listens. His eyes widen and color drains from his face.
OODM: I will let Derek know what he heard.
From: Derek
Subject Why does this drag on?
Allistair immediately goes stiff as he understands what he is hearing. He slowly but very authoritatively motions Salix and Surin away from the door. He listens for a few moments before he also slowly and carefully backs away from the door. Only after he's at least 30 feet or so from the door does he carefully turn and walk back towards the party. Allistair gulps once and wipes a cold sweat from his forehead before he motions everyone close so that he can speak quietly.
"The creature was unmistakenly speaking draconic. It was muttering to itself about being angry at who or whatever transported it there and that it would kill them and eat it's frozen corpse. The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that we are dealing with a White Dragon. I don't know how acute its hearing might be, so might I suggest that we move closer towards the main room while we formulate a plan of attack?"
OOC: Mark, I assume that the following info would be known by Allistair because of his studies of Draconic. Let me know if he's displaying too much OOC knowledge.
Assuming everyone is fine with that and quietly follows Allistair farther away from the door, Allistair continues. "From my studies of the draconic language I learned some knowledge of the draconic races. First, being a White Dragon, it is indisputably and irrevocably evil. Second, like all true dragons its very breath is its most formidable weapon. For White Dragons, this is a blast of pure cold. Depending on how powerful it is, one touch of its blast could easily turn us into solid ice, after which it would eat us at its leisure. Also being a creature akin to cold and ice, and just from feeling how cold the door was, I would not be surprised if the floor and walls in the room were coated with ice, making it all that more difficult to combat it directly."
"Also, from what I heard it speaking, it doesn't seem particularly intelligent. This confirms what I have heard before about White Dragons being the least intelligent of the evil dragons. This is unlikely to be a large advantage though, since it is no less formidable in direct combat, only that it is less capable of strategy, negotiations, etc."
"Considering the situation it is in, as soon as we appear it will most likely consider us to be its captors and will try and kill us, no matter what explanation we try and give it. If it is a relatively younger dragon, between our magical attacks and our warriors efforts, I think we could kill it, though not without some risk. If it happens to be an older dragon though, most if not all of us perishing would be the most likely outcome. I suppose it really depends on how difficult of a test this pocket dimension is supposed to be."
From: Randy
Subject Why does this drag on?
Ranthir voices a suggestion. "Is it possible for us to rig up a rope to open the door from a distance? This might allow us to launch some ranged attacks, I'm thinking the fireballs and lightning storms, before the dragon has a chance to react? Another thought is if we have a way of blocking the Dragons visibility that could give us some advantage. Also, is there any magical way to protect any of us from the cold?"
Ran feels that he is speaking too quickly. A dragon seemed like quite a difficult challenge. Would they really continue to get more difficult?
From: Kevin
Subject Why does this drag on?
IC: Dragon??? Dragon???? What's this?? Dragons were what the hero's of old fought with flaming swords and magic. How were they to beat a dragon, even if, as Allistair said, it was a small one. Small compared to who? An even bigger dragon??
Well, there was no getting around it. They would have to fight it eventually.
"Allistair, is there anything else you know about how to defeat this thing? Anything that can help? I mean, we can prepare for it, right?"
More of the cold room and discussions
Subject The cold room
Allistair thinks for a moment. "My knowledge of dragons is not comprehensive, but there are a couple of other points that might prove useful. Obviously, this particular creature is practically immune to any kind of cold-based attack, magical or otherwise. On the other hand, it is very weak against any kind of fire-based attack, so that my fireballs and Kal's scorching ray will most likely have the greatest effect on it."
"Also like most dragons it can tunnel through the earth at a fairly decent rate, but due to the magical nature of this place I doubt it is able to tunnel through these walls or it wouldn't still be in there. There is also a good chance that it will be large enough that it will not be able to pass through the doorway, so we can avoid direct physical attacks from the beast, which are second only to it's deadly breath. Even if it cannot pass through the doorway though, it can most certainly send its breath down the hallway, so we would be far from out of danger. Since we do have a straight shot into the room from the hallway though, I could use my fireballs from the opposite end of the hallway, which would probably be far enough away for me to be safe from its cold breath."
"If the dragon is small enough to come down the passageway we will certainly have to deal with it's claws and bite, but at least we could find small comfort in the fact that it is a relatively small and weak dragon. Any dragon though, has scales as hard as steel, and it will be very difficult to kill."
"In general, I have heard that more intelligent dragons, even if evil, can be coerced or reasoned with, but only if one is in an obvious position of power and superiority. We have neither I'm afraid, and even if we did this particulary dragon may be too stupid to care and just attack us out of anger."
From: Josh
Subject The cold room
Kal speaks up, addressing everyone's doubts:
"We must fight and destroy this creature of evil. We have been collectively chosen by our gods for this mission. If it is their will that we die in this challenge, then we must die. Did we expect this mission to be easy? Certainly not. We cannot balk now.
Having said that, I think we should take a day and rest up for this challenge. I would like to properly prepare for this battle."
From: Kevin
Subject The cold room
Harp thinks for a moment. Of course they would have to kill the dragon, they had had to kill everything they had met so far. It was as if this place had been built by some adolescent on a power trip - how hard can I make things before i crush you. But that was of no matter know. They were here, and they had to finish their job.
"Kal, I agree, but before we move on, I think it would be worth it to have Mund and I take a look and see if we can tell how large this creature is. If, as Allistair says, it is a young dragon, then we may be able to defeat it without waiting. If it turns out to be a large dragon, then I agree, we rest tonight, review our blessings and magic, and tackle it in the morning. But, if it is small, and we can tackle it today, I want to.
Mund, I want you to join Ragnar and me. Ragnar's blessing is still in effect, and if this creature is evil, as Allistair says, then his blessing will help us. All I want to do is get a glimpse of it so we can get an idea of how big it is. If it is large, then we are the ones best suited to take damage as we retreat out of the room. The rest of you wait out here and be ready to close that door if we come running through."
OOC: Mark, my idea is for Mund and Harp to be in front of Ragnar, moving into the room until we see it. Once we see it (Ragnar can carry Mund's torch) we will move out of the room as quickly as possible. I want to be able to decide to attack with the full group before Ragnars's Magic Circle expires.
From: Randy
Subject The cold room
"Harp!" Ranthir exclaims a little more sharply than he intended. Calming his voice a little, he adds "Can I have a word with you." Ranthir pulls Harp to the side and voices his concerns.
"Once the door is open we may be unable to stop the creature from pursuing us out of the room. We don't know that the magical seal will come back into effect once the door has been opened. I really think that we should try to find a method of opening the door from a distance, perhaps using ropes. If we are planning on waiting at all, we must not open the door. If we do decide to open the door, we must do it planning on fighting."
Ranthir speaks with authority that he has not shown since their previous adventure. He doesn't consider the fact that Harp has rank over him, he speaks out of passion and concern.
From: Kevin
Subject The cold room
Ran, the door opens in. I do not see how we can pull it open when it goes the other way. We need to find out how large of a dragon we are up against, and the best way to do that is to send in a small party of the heartiest of us with magical protection and the ability to fight back. If someone has a better idea, I am willing to listen, but we have limited time." Harp will look around for constructive comments. If heard, he will listen, if none, then he will motion to Mund and Ragnar to join him in moving toward the door.
From: Randy
Subject The cold room
If nobody else voices concern, Ran will state that he thinks that they are making a mistake. The best course of action is to get the door open so that the magic users can cast their spells.
"I think that a smarter course of action is to have Mund open the door and then turn and run. The rest of us should be positioned as far back down the hall as we can while still keeping within fireball range. Our magic users can then throw their spells as soon as Mund is back behind them. We can then work by retreating into the main room and readying more ranged attacks as the dragon undoubtedly pursues us. If we send a party into the room I fear that those members will not return. Do not underestimate this enemy Harp. Once the door has been opened, I do not believe we will have the chance to close it with any effectiveness against a dragon."
From: Porter
Subject Discussion
Where is this conversation taking place? In the hall or in the big room?
From: Josh
Subject Discussion
If Kal overhears the conversation between Harp and Ran, he will voice his opinion:
"I don't think it matters much what size the beast is. We have no choice but to fight it, and from what I understand even the youngest dragons are formidable enemies.
We should go at this thing at full strength. Why are we rushing through this place?"
From: Karl
Subject Discussion
"I agree that it would be good to be at full strength. However, it seems that we begin our challenges when we enter each door off the main room. That is, it appears we trigger whatever magic ports our foes into the battle rooms when we open the main door. In this case a dragon was ported. How sure are we that we can just take a rest now? Do we have a guarantee that the dragon is trapped on the other side of that door? How do we know he wouldn't be able to break out and eat us in our sleep?"
From: Porter
Subject Discussion
Where is this conversation taking place? In the hall or in the big room?
It makes a difference as to what Mund is going to do.
Resting and other doors
Subject Rest?
Allistair disagrees somewhat with Harp's reasoning. "Whether we attack now or after we have fully rested is your decision, however some of the conclusions you are using to come to your conclusion are less than certain at best. First, we do know that all these creatures were magically transported into this pocket dimension, but we simply do not know whether it was all at once, or if each is magically transported when the hallway door is open. Given the literal godly powers that were involved in the making of this place, simply stating that the simplest explanation is the most likely is not necessarily a prudent way to approach things."
"The creatures may be summoned there when we open the first door of the hallway, or they may have all been summoned when we first entered here. Perhaps they were all summoned an age ago and are suspended in time until the doors are opened. We don't know how long the dragon or the grimlocks or anything else has been in each room. However, with the grimlocks that could see perfectly in the dark being unable to locate the door from thier own side, I find it unlikely that a creature with less intelligence such as this dragon would find the doorway that is essentially hidden from thier side, as long as they are not aware of our presence from our sound. Also due to the magical nature of this place, I find it unlikely that the dragon can tunnel through this rock. And whether it can find the door or not, or whether it can fit through the doorway or not, I think it impossible that it could do either without alerting us to it's impending attack."
"Whichever you decide I will follow, but I think the decision should be based on proper reasoning."
From: Karl
Subject Rest?
OOC - It wasn't Harp that spoke, it was Salix. /OOC)
Salix turns to Harp. "The point is, we don't know. Whether the creature was just transported, or whether it has been magically frozen for an age, it is free now, it is angry now, and we no next to nothing about the strength of the door that stands between it and us. I am at your service whatever you decide."
From: Mark
Subject The main room
My impression was that the party headed back to the main room, mainly so that the creature would have no chance of overhearing them.
From: Kevin
Subject Rest?
"Very well. We will wait until tomorrow to tackle this room. I' not happy about this, but in this case maybe caution is the better course. If the creature has not made it out yet, we will have to risk that it will not make it out while we sleep. We will keep a watch on the hall way, and close the door into the main room.
Everyone, lets set up what camp we can. Allistair, review what spells you have that may be effective against this creature. Ragnar, would you join with me in prayer as we decide what blessings we may ask of the Battle Lord for this tomorrow. Salix, if there is any benefit Obad Hai can grant you that would help us, that will be appreciated."
As they settle in, Harp will also ask Ragnar to join him in healing what wounds the group may have. OOC: Harp has 4 0 level, a couple of 1st level, and 1 2nd level spells he can sacrafice to get the party healed up, and I am sure Ragnar has at least as many. Harp will specifically ask Ragnar to pray for the Enlarge Person spell.Also, Resistance probably will not hurt.
I will update Harp's spell list later today. Jason, if you would update Ragnar's so we can work together on these, that would be great.
Merry Christmas.
From: Porter
Subject Other doors
OK, Mund goes around and checks all of the other locks to test the theory that the doors have to be done in order.
From: Jason
Subject Rest
ooc: Ragnar cannot get the enlarge person spell. He really wanted to get the strength domain, but Heironeous doesn't do that type of thing. Allistair was the one that enlarged you last time.
Endure elements could reduce any damage done by cold by 5, resist elements by 10 (1st and 2nd level spells respectively). They only effect one person per spell unfortunately, but would Harp like me to get some of those?
Incidentally, I fought a white dragon last night in an adventure I do with my brothers, and my sorcerer noticed that scorching ray works particularly well, it being easier to succeed a touch attack than for it to fail a reflex save on fireball. All you smart arcane casters might think of that.
IC: Ragnar goes around the room healing those who are in need. He hides his disappointment and skepticism fairly well. A dragon indeed. Allistair is clearly very clever, but he must be mistaken in this instance. There is no way that their party could defeat a dragon. When a white dragon had moved a few dozen miles away from the northernmost outpost of the dwarven kingdom, the entire outpost had relocated itself farther south. Heironeous would not bring a dragon here simply because it would be in no way a fair test. He says nothing, however, deciding that whatever it is, more preparation can't hurt them.
From: Mark
Subject Other doors
I just want to be clear. So far all of the doors in the main room, except the one bound in copper with the copper lockset, have been unlocked. The doors at the end of the hallway that Surin checked was locked. If Mund goes down all of the other hallways he will find the same thing. The doors in the main room are locked but the doors at the end of the corresponding hallways are locked.
The only doors in the main room that the party can not open are the copper one and the one they came in from. So far they have not actually tried to open the copper locked one.
From: Josh
Subject Rest
OOC: I'm changing Kal's spelll list.
From: Josh
Subject Rest
Kal says to the party:
"I've got a spell that may be able to open that copper door. I will only be able to cast it tonight, so if you guys want me to give it a shot before we go to sleep I will."
OOC: If the concensus is yes and Harp approves Kal will cast open/close at the copper door before he sleeps and refreshes his spell list. I've already taken it off my list (because I don't know when I'll be around again), but he had all his 0 level spells available, and that was one of the ones.
From: Kevin
Subject Rest
OOC: Sorry, that brain cell must have been killed last night.
I agree the resist energy will probably be good ones to have, at least for the fighter types up front. If we tied that in with the circle from evil, that should give us some good saves.
From: Derek
Subject Rest
Allistair wants to know if Harp wants him to memorize enlarge person for the upcoming battle with the dragon.
OOC: Could those of you who know game mechanics let me know if a web spell might be useful against this dragon or if it would be totally useless?
From: Josh
Subject Rest
"If I remember correctly, the web created is flamable. Even if it didn't restrict the dragon, It would certainly stick to him at least a bit. Follow that up with a fireball, and I imagine it will be a very effective weapon."
OOC: Mark, I just assumed Kal had knowledge of how web worked. If I'm wrong, then ignore this message.
From: Kevin
Subject Rest
Harp would be very appreciative if Allistair were to memorize enlarge person. Harp will hold off on actually having it cast on him until they see how large the dragon is. From what Allistair has said, this thing could range from man sized is it very young to very large. IF it is on the large creature size (where it has a 10 ft reach and it will get AOO on all of us as we approach, then Harp will want to bulk up. But if it is a young dragon, Harp will want Allistair to save it for a later encounter.
Harp will also be able to use Resistance and a couple of Resist Energy (cold) which will help all in the right area.
From: Mark
Subject The copper door
I am curious as to why Kal would cast Open on a door when the party has a Copper Key as well as a brass key, a sliver key and an electrum key?
I mean why not try the key in the lock first?
The copper door
Subject The copper door
Because he's got the spell and it goes away tommorow. Might as well get some use out of it if it could do any good.
OOC: Merry Christmas everyone!
Spending the night
Subject Turn
So is the concensus to spend the night in the main room and prep for the "Dragon" or are they going to take a look first to verify it?
From: Kevin
Subject Turn
Rest, prep, take on tomorrow morning. We will keep a watch, and the cleric types will heal up what damage they can with what "spells" they have left for this day.
I will go in update Harp's spells.
Ragnar and Allistair and Salix should do the same (if they have not already).
Thanks guys.
From: Josh
Subject Turn
OOC: I've updated my spell list. Does anyone want Kal to cast open/close on that door before he forgets the spell?
From: Derek
Subject Turn
OOC: Does anyone want me to memorize Mage Armor for them for the battle? (+4 AC) Or would I be better to just memorize a bunch of MM's?
From: Kevin
Subject Turn
Derek, do the MM. I think the fighter tpyes will be OK.
Josh, don't worry about the key. I am pretty certain that the brass key will work when the time comes.
Let's just heal up, get ready for tomorrow.
From: Josh
Subject Turn
MM's seems best. If you're getting hit we're probably screwed anyway.
From: Karl
Subject Turn
I'm trying to update my spell list, but I can't seem to get onto sakeriver tonight.
From: Kevin
Subject Turn
Karl, I was on earlier and was able to update.
Are you able to sign in and the system is not taking your updates, or are you having trouble even getting into the Gaming tools section?
If you need, send Mark what spells you want and he can make the changes or he can keep them updated on what he uses during the encounter.
From: Ashley
Subject Turn
oooooh, Enlarge person!
Spells
Subject Turn
It is also known as the Viagra spell, but it only has a very short duration.
From: Karl
Subject Spells
Spell list updated.
Added Cat's Grace, Bull's Strenth, and Protection from Elements. And got rid of a few with questionable benefit in this environment (like entangle).
From: Mark
Subject Spells
Ok with all the spells the cleric types had left every one should be healed to full HP before they sleep.
I want to get clear the protection spells that will be used just before the battle.
Salix is going to use Protection from elements.
Ragnar will do Circle against evil.
Allistair will do Enlarge Person on Harp.
Allistair will then do Fireballs and MM as needed.
Kal will start with scorching ray when in range.
Did I miss any? Who is casting Bull's strength on who and who is getting the cat's grace?
From: Jason
Subject Spells
I put Ragnar down as praying for 2 endure elements for the day, they could be cast. They last all day so if we came against any other cold type enemies it would still help; it prevents 5 damage from one type (cold) per round. Who would be likely candidates for receiving them?
From: Kevin
Subject Spells
Mark, I was going to have Allistair hold off on the Enlarge until we see what size this thing is. If it is large (10x10 or so) then I will call on him to do it. If it is Medium (5x) then we will hold off and save that for later. The same goes with the Bulls Strength that Harp has. Harp will cast Protection from Elements on himself, and Bless as they get closer.
I want the Bulls Strength and Enlarge in case this is a large creature. If it is not, we save them for another encounter.
Ragnar is supposed to have some Protection from Energy (the one that reduces damage by 10). That should probably go on Ran and Mund, since they are the most likely to be up front.
From: Porter
Subject Spells
In my view, most buff spells are best used on the front-line fighters that will be taking the most hits and that will hopefully be doing the most damage.
In order, I'd say that those characters are:
Ranthir
Mund
Kal
Harp
Ragnar
Everybody else
They all have approximately similar ACs, with Harp's being a little lower. We might want to make sure that if anybody gets protection, he does.
It's also a good idea to spread offensive buffs around. If we put them all on one character and that character is incapacitated, we've just lost a whole lot.
Also, we might want to look closely at how Harp and Ragnar enter battle. Mostly, it seems that Harp acts like a front-line fighter during the battles and only acts like a cleric before and afterward. I'm not saying that this is a bad idea, but you might want to consider having Harp and Ragnar be more available for healing support *during* the battle. If we go in this direction, you might want to have most of the offensive buffs be on the other front-line fighters, and not Harp nor Ragnar.
Of course, it might be difficult for Harp to decide to not be on the front line himself. Even if Harp would take such a suggestion from Harp, Mund doesn't believe he would, so Mund wouldn't suggest it to him.
From: Karl
Subject Spells
Protection from elements is a single target only, right? Salix will cast that and bull's strength and cat's grace as Harp sees fit.
From: Jason
Subject Spells
OK then, I'll update my sheet to have protection instead of endure prepared tomorrow.
From: Mark
Subject Spells
I just checkec and Endure elements does not reduce any damage. Resist Energy, which is a 2nd level cleric spell does DR10 for the duration. Protection from Energy absorbs, at your guys level, up to 50 HP of damage.
What do you want to do?
Could you please send me a list of all your spells for the next day.
From: Josh
Subject Spells
Kal:
Lvl 2:
-Scorching Ray
-Bull's Strength
Lvl 1:
-Magic Missle
-Magic Missle
-Magic Missle
Lvl 0:
-Detect Magic
-Open/Close
-Resistance
From: Mark
Subject the assualt
With the realization that they might be facing a dragon the party agrees that they should probably be fully rested before taking on this level of challenge. The party moves back to the main room, closing the door to the hallway behind them. A quick camp is set up and a cold dinner is prepared. The mood is somber. Ragnar regales the party of stories told in the dwarven kingdoms about dragons and what they could do. Even Allistair can not refute what the cleric tells them. However he does caution them "It might be something else. Remember, so far this place has not sent us against anything we have not been able to handle."
A few minutes is spent discussing what divine grace and arcane power is best suited for this encounter. Between those involved they come to a conclusion as to what they are going to do the next day. A watch schedule is made up, with Kal, Mund and Ranthir getting a larger portion of the schedule. Mund grumbles a bit but realizes that his brothers arcane ability came in handy against the ghost thing and decides it might be useful against a dragon.
The night passes quickly for some, but seems to drag for others. Harp's inner doubt about his ability to lead keeps him awake far longer than he had wished. Salix's discomfort with being in this man-made construct closed in even further. Surin feels almost useless, hoping no one decides that he would be good cannon fodder.
The next "day" the party wakes and prepares for the battle they are sure is coming. Swords are sharpened, shield straps are tightened and armor is readjusted. Holy symbols are checked as is spell components. When it is obvious that there is nothing more to be done the party lines up and starts to move down the hall towards the cold door. When they are about 30 feet from the door Harp signals them to stop. "Ok, Surin and Mund, I would like you two to go ahead and see if you can get the door open with out making too much noise. If you can open it just a crack and come back to where we are. The Ragnar and I will come forward to see what we can see. If this room is dark like most of the others, then we have the best chance of seeing what is in it. Be ready to haul ass back to the main room if something attacks us."
"Assuming that we are able to see what the thing is with out it hearing or seeing us, we will close the door again and come back here. Then we will prepare as planned and then we will start our attack." Harp looks around to see if every one agrees.
OODM: OK I want to check. Resist energy on Ran, Protection from Energy on Kal. Magic Circle against Evil on Ragnar. Anything else and who on?
From: Kevin
Subject The assualt
Harp also has Protection from Energy. He will cast it on Mund.
Harp will hold off on Bless and Bulls Strength until we see the thing. If it is a little worm, he plans on beating on it. If a big worm, he is going to hook up with Allistair for some steriods.
I think entry order once we finally enter the room should be Ran, Harp and Mund up front (they have the most hit points to spare and Harp can get to either one if needed for healing), Kal, Ragnar and Salix behind them, and Surin and Allistair in the rear (and Surin is not going to be used for bait - yet.
More spells and dragon questions
Subject Spells
How odd, I wonder how I managed to misinterpret that spell. It specifically says it doesn't do what I thought it did... oh well. Here's my final updated spell list then:
0:
Create Water
Detect Magic
Detect Magic
Light
Mending
1:
Divine Favor
(D) Protection from Evil
Remove Fear
Sanctuary
Shield of faith
2:
Hold Person
Silence
(D) Spiritual Weapon
Resist Energy
3:
Dispel Magic
(D) Magic Circle against Evil
Prayer
From: Randy
Subject The assualt
Ranthir feels chilled to the bone before they even take a step into the hallway. The night had not passed quickly for him. A dragon! He couldn't decide if he was more excited or frightened. His grandfather had told him tales of dragons that had always made him want to see one, but preferably from a distance. Now he would face one in combat. He shakes his head to clear his thinking and steels himself, his blue eyes focussed, burning with intensity, on the door at the end of the hallway. He is ready.
From: Porter
Subject The assualt
OOC: Am I correct that nobody is buffing Mund at all?
I am awaiting an response to this before I write my turn.
From: Mark
Subject the assualt
I thought he was getting either the Protection from Elements or the Protection from Energy.
One gives him DR10, which means it absorbs the first 10 points of damage from that energy type, the other can absorb up to 50 points total of that energy type. I do not have my PHB here.
Ran was getting one and Mund the other I thought.
From: Kevin
Subject The assualt
Porter, if we see this thing is large, Harp can cast Bulls Strength on Mund and will do so. If it is medium, then he will not.
Guys, I think we can take a medium sized dragon. White dragons (if that is what it is) are the easiest of dragon when they are small.
Lets see what happens.
From: Porter
Subject Dragons?
By medium, do you mean a medium sized creature?
Is it even possible for a dragon to be that small? How big is a hatchling?
From: Kevin
Subject Dragons?
Allistair will know that. Harp is *assuming* from Allistairs comments that these creatures go through huge growth spurts as they reach adolesence. He has no other reason than that.
Derek, want to jump in?
From: Mark
Subject Turn
Sorry but I am not going to be able to get a turn out tonight.
I have been able to update the dungeon map to reflect what Mund found when he tried all the doors, except the copper one. I do not know if the party has actually tried to open it with the key.
I will try and get the death scene, I mean combat started tomorrow.
Opening the door
Subject The assualt
As everyone's making their last preperations, Kal seperates himself from the group and finds a quiet place to pray. He kneels solemnly, lays his sword in front of him, and begins his prayer.
"Thank you for this challenge, I will not fail. This evil beast will fall and the enemies forced shall be weakened. I am your servant, and I will not fail."
Kal leans over, kisses the hilt of his blade and puts it back in the sheath. He rises and rejoins the party.
From: Derek
Subject Dragons
Allistair speaks up. "Harp's assumption is correct, from what I have learned about dragons. As a hatchling they are quite small, (T) and increase in size as they grow with age. An particularly ancient and powerful dragon is almost unbelievably large and powerful. (G) I greatly doubt we are dealing with a dragon that powerful, somehwat because it wouldn't fit in the room, (although we don't know for sure how big the room is) but mostly because the dragon had only rudimentary abilities of speech, which would be more typical for a younger, and hence less intelligent, dragon.
From: Mark
Subject Turn
I am going to go home tonight, eat dinner and then work on the turn.
This week has been hell at work. I have done 24 quotes in the past three days. I usually do not do that many in a week. I have had to cover for three others here in the office as well as watch the front door and do kitchen duty.
I hate the week between Christmas and New Years. :)
From: Mark
Subject Opening the door
Surin and Mund creep forward to the door. They both notice the slight chill in the air but it is nothing like Surin felt the last time he was down here. Taking extreme care Surin manipulates the latch that is keeping the door shut. He then pushes the door open, just a few inches (Move Silent check 17+14=31, Listen check =?). The door swings back silently until there is about a 6 inch gap. Surin signals to Mund and the two make their way back towards the party.
Ragnar and Harp then move up to the door, trying to be as quiet as they can. Surin cringes at the clanking sound that Harp makes (Move Silent, Harp 6+2=8, Ragnar 18, Listen check =?) When the two get to the door they look in. The room is huge and dimly lit by small glowing bricks placed 40 feet up in the wall every 50 feet or so. From where they are they can only see the one wall, the east one. The far wall looks to be almost 100 feet away. The ceiling looks to be over 50 feet high. The can not see much to the left of the door since the door itself is blocking their view. A waft of cold air comes from the room and in the dim light the two clerics can see small piles of snow or ice close to the far wall. Nothing can be seen.
The two move back towards the party and report the lack of anything visible. "Well" Harp says,"we know it is there so I think we might as well go in. Every one ready?" Looking around he sees everyone nod. He counts off three and the the prayers are started. Harp asks for Mund to be able to resist cold, Salix asks Obad Hai to protect Ranthir from the effects of cold and Ragnar asks that Kal also be able to resist the effects of cold (Protection from Cold on Ranthir, Resist Cold on Mund and Kal). Ragnar then grasps his holy symbol and traces a circle around the party while chanting the prayer for Protection from Evil. A slight glow surrounds the party and Ragnar nods that they should be ready to go.
OODM: OK I need to know how the party is going to enter, in what order and what they are going to do once they are in the room. I have included an updated map that shows you how much Ragnar and Harp were able to see.
From: Kevin
Subject going in
Harp describes the room as the group prepares to enter. " I think we should enter with Ran, Mund and Kal in the front, myself and Salix on either side of Ragnar, and Surin and Allistair taking the rear. Surin, keep an eye behind us and above - I don't know if this thing can fly, but I don't want to get caught with it coming in behind us."
OOC:Ok everyone?
Fire and Karl stripping in the bedroom
Subject Fire?
Wait wait wait.
Aren't we dropping a fireball or two in there before we go running in? I don't want to get ambushed.
From: Karl
Subject Fire?
Salix responds, "I can summon an ally from among the creatures of the natural world. Perhaps it might be wise to send one of them in first and draw the creature into the center of the room. If the creature has plans of ambush, it would be a benefit to us if they were sprung on a decoy."
(OOC- if Harp agrees, Salix will sacrifice 1 Cure Light Wounds and summon a wolf to send in as decoy. OR he could sacrifice either Bull's strength or Cat's grace to send in a fire or air elemental (small), but those spells might be really useful if anyone is going to melee with this thing. Salix will do what Harp decides.)
From: Kevin
Subject Fire?
I am not sure we want to just 'toss' in a fireball. I would like to have something to aim it at first. If Allistair wants to shoot one over where there are some snow clumps (maybe where it is/has been sleeping) that might be OK, but I would rather wait just a few seconds to try and find out where it is.
Just my opinion - I will defer to Allistairs decision.
From: Kevin
Subject Fire?
IC: Salix, that is a great idea. If you would not mind asking Obad-Hai for that grace, that might make our task that much easier.
From: Kevin
Subject Fire?
OOC: Oh, and I think the wolf would be fine.
From: Karl
Subject Fire?
Wolf it is, then.
I'm going to be away from the computer today so Salix's next few moves are as follows: He will send in the wolf. He will offer Cat's grace and Bull's strength to whomever Harp feels should have it. If it indeed turns out to be a white dragon, he will cast flame sphere and try and attack it from a distance. He will follow that up (after it runs out) with Produce Flame until it runs out or they are all dead.
Happy New Year everyone. Sorry I haven't been very vocal. Chris and I promised to spend New Year's Eve in our new bedroom, which we finished stripping of wallpaper stained with 40 years of nicotine residue, repainted, and will be outfitting with a new closet and TV, then moving in our bedroom furniture. :-)
From: Derek
Subject Fire?
Allistair immediately becomes alarmed at the high ceiling. He tries to hold Harp back from entering the room if possible and whispers to him. "Dragons can fly, and younger ones are actually better fliers because they are smaller and more agile. If it has room to fly it will fly above us and use its breath weapon indiscriminately. If we can't see it, it's probably waiting in ambush. I might suggest baiting it and luring it into the hallway, as we did with the wraith previously. It would have the advantage if we fought it in a large, high, open place."
From: Porter
Subject Fire?
"It's a good thing that y'all have willing bait with you," Mund smilingly says as his way of volunteering.
From: Josh
Subject Fire?
Kal pulls Harp aside,
"I think it is imperitive that we throw a fireball in there. It knows we're coming and it's had time to prepare. We have to do something that will surprise it.
The nature of a fireball spell makes it so it will not be useful once we enter combat with this creature -- it is far too explosive. We should use it now while we have the thing alone in that room. If it does damage, we just got something for free. If it does no damage, it will still unerve the thing. It may become afraid that we could continue chucking fireballs into the room all day and decide to charge. It's a young dragon, I don't imagine it is going to be very tactically smart. Let's enrage it."
From: Derek
Subject Fire?
Allistair is fine with shooting a fireball in there, he has three memorized anyway. But he would like to have something that looks like a likely target. The room is much bigger than the explosive area of the fireball.