Thursday Ravenloft group post and plan here

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 3:53 pm

Also I have a Friday group member who needs to switch to this group. So if Friday can work for any of you please let me know so Spak Man can switch with you.
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kaomera · Post by **kaomera** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 2:55 am

Well, I've got SKYPE, and a new headset, and it all seems to be working so far... You still waiting for me to confirm, Treebore, or have I been bumped to standby? There's no real reason for me not to commit at this point, other than Murphy's Law...
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Cities on flame with rock and roll

Three thousand guitars they seem to cry

My ears will melt, and then my eyes

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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:06 am

kaomera wrote:
Well, I've got SKYPE, and a new headset, and it all seems to be working so far... You still waiting for me to confirm, Treebore, or have I been bumped to standby? There's no real reason for me not to commit at this point, other than Murphy's Law...

I believe I have you on the "in" list. So if thats where your listed in the main thread, then you are confirmed.
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spak_man · Post by **spak_man** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:07 pm

Almighty boys, let get this planning thread started properly.

My character is a LG dwarf cleric who is very decent fighter in his own right.

He wars dwarven plate mail(+4 armor, or only +3 treebore says no no on the +4) with a dwarven thrower war hammer, (+2/3 for a dwarf +1d8 dam +d8 dam vs dwarf enemies) with gauntlet's of ogre power (18 str) a staff healing along with a bunch of healing scrolls, I can seem him being a thorn in the side of any dark lord

Anyways thats the way it looked to me ill post the proper character later, or maybe PM to treebore

=Spak_man

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:50 pm

Gnat has dropped out, but Jaybird is moving over to thsi group from the Friday group. If you know anyone who would be interested in the Friday slot tell them to sign up and get hot. The Friday group starts first Friday of October. Not very far off. Just a couple of weeks.

Time to get those characters created and sent to me.

Plus we need to agree on a start date.
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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:33 pm

I guess this is where I belong as well. Haven't given a whole lot of thought to character creation yet, so I'll keep my options open to fill in as needed.

Any group strategies that I need to be aware of?

kaomera · Post by **kaomera** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 3:49 am

I'm currently considering a Fighter-type (also looking at Barbarian and Knight atm...). Sorry I haven't posted a character yet, I'm re-reading the PHB to fix what's C&C vs. what's badly-remembered AD&D / 3.5 / old house-rules... I'll probably roll with a Human for three Primes goodness.
_________________
My heart is black, and my lips are cold

Cities on flame with rock and roll

Three thousand guitars they seem to cry

My ears will melt, and then my eyes

~ Blue yster Cult

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Thu Sep 13, 2007 4:17 am

All I'll say at this point is as you create your characters your goal is to go in and kill a vampire, by all accounts an ecceptionally powerful vampire.

Kill it on its home ground. You only get to go in once.

So a "plan" is a darn good idea.
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spak_man · Post by **spak_man** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 6:55 pm

anyone else with character Ideas dont be shy, put em up and we will start making a plan

-Andre

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sat Sep 15, 2007 7:03 pm

Something I posted for the Monday group, so to make sure all groups are aware of the same info:

You didn't read the "Energy Drain" description right after the blood drain. Plus my M&T does not have that sentence you quoted. You must have the second printing. According to what I have the slam attack does 2 levels of loss, immeidately, with no save. W hen they do the bite they lose 1d4 HP's per round, Then, according to the Energy Drain paragraph, they alos lose one level per round on top of the blood damage. I'll find my M&T second printing and compare their wording.

Ravenloft is beatable. Its just very, very hard.

Write up scrolls, I like how the M&T allows you to make scrolls from 7th level on, so I'll allow you to make scrolls. M&T page 87.

Everyone is able to make Potions by 9th level. Still, in the M&T the prices are very high. Cut them in half and we'll also assume you have a "lab" available to you, so don't worry about that cost. M&T pages 87 to 88.

Wands, staves, rods, and miscellaneous magic items cannot be made until 12th level for clerics and Druids. Including arms and armor. M&T page 88.

However wizards can make them at 9th level. M&T page 88. Which, BTW, means Winchesters are now 5d4+5, not 6d4+6.

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kaomera · Post by **kaomera** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 5:03 am

Treebore wrote:
You didn't read the "Energy Drain" description right after the blood drain. Plus my M&T does not have that sentence you quoted. You must have the second printing. According to what I have the slam attack does 2 levels of loss, immeidately, with no save. W hen they do the bite they lose 1d4 HP's per round, Then, according to the Energy Drain paragraph, they alos lose one level per round on top of the blood damage. I'll find my M&T second printing and compare their wording.

Can you please clarify which version you're using?

Does the Mace of Disruption and/or Bane weapons (Undead Bane, of course) count as "better than +3"? (I'm guessing "yes", based on costs, but thought I'd check).

Can we buy wands, scrolls, etc. for the party spellcasters, or is the 90Kgp per character strictly for personal use only?

Some thoughts for the group:

* Scarab of Protection, at 34Kgp it's damn pricey, but it just might be worth it.

* We need +2 or better weapons to hit Vampires.

* Potions and Wands of Restoration. Potions of Cure Wounds, too. Staff of healing is 31Kgp, Staff of Resurection (also casts Heal!) is 41Kgp; I think we should get both, if possible... (Unfortunately the M&T does not list any healing-type Wands other than Restoration.) If not, scrolls! IMHO potions should very much be kept as a last recourse, as once they are gone, they are gone. Nothing sucks worse than not being able to bring the Cleric back to positive hps so he can heal the rest of the party!

* Rings of Regeneration!!!

Personally I'm looking at bringing a silvered weapon (just in case), as well as possibly a Ring (or other item) of Fire Resistance.

If I'm reading Treebore correctly, we could potentially be facing dozens of Vampires (spawns from previous attempts on the castle). I'm not sure if any / all of them might retain some / all of their class levels... Also I'd think that it would be prudent (well, paranoid... same thing, right?) assume that Strahd is a unique creature, more powerful than your normal Vampire...[/b]
_________________
My heart is black, and my lips are cold

Cities on flame with rock and roll

Three thousand guitars they seem to cry

My ears will melt, and then my eyes

~ Blue yster Cult

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Sun Sep 16, 2007 8:33 am

Strahd is an exceptional Vampire to be sure. For 1E he was very exceptional. Maybe even extremely.

I have found my M&T second printing, even though it greatly weakens the Vampire, it does make it "fairer" to players, so I'll go by the second printing.

+1 Mace and Bane weapons count as +3, +2 would be too high.

Dozens of vampires? Maybe. Exceptional like Strahd, and still have class levels? Well, you know they do say, "Like father, like son."
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jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:07 pm

I'm wafflinging between a LG elf (Sleep? Charm? What?) paladin and a half-orc assassin. Though I don't imagine an assassin would be all that useful, given that undead are immune to poison.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For the record, I've never played a paladin nor an assassin before, in any system.
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jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:07 pm

I'm waffling between a LG elf (Sleep? Charm? What?) paladin and a half-orc assassin. Though I don't imagine an assassin would be all that useful, given that undead are immune to poison.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For the record, I've never played a paladin nor an assassin before, in any system.
_________________
Jason Braun
Art Monkey for Hire
Three-Headed Troll Art Wurks

jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:09 pm

I'm waffling between a LG elf (Sleep? Charm? What?) paladin and a half-orc assassin. Though I don't imagine an assassin would be all that useful, given that undead are immune to poison.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For the record, I've never played a paladin nor an assassin before, in any system.
_________________
Jason Braun
Art Monkey for Hire
Three-Headed Troll Art Wurks

jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:10 pm

I'm waffling between a LG elf (Sleep? Charm? What?) paladin and a half-orc assassin. Though I don't imagine an assassin would be all that useful, given that undead are immune to poison.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For the record, I've never played a paladin nor an assassin before, in any system.
_________________
Jason Braun
Art Monkey for Hire
Three-Headed Troll Art Wurks

jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 3:15 pm

ACK! Sorry for the Max Headroom impersonation there. Browser malfunction. I'd delete them if I could
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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 4:50 pm

Question: Will that permanent Haste spell jaybird's experiencing carry over to his character in the game?

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:01 pm

jaybird216 wrote:
I'm waffling between a LG elf (Sleep? Charm? What?) paladin and a half-orc assassin. Though I don't imagine an assassin would be all that useful, given that undead are immune to poison.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

For the record, I've never played a paladin nor an assassin before, in any system.

The classes I recommend are fighter types, Paladin probably best of all for vampires (Protection from evil makes Paladins immune to vampiric charm control), cleric, and Wizard. Thieves, Illusionist, and Assassins will contribute very little (I think) to this adventure. Bards, monks, and Barbarians major weakness is going to be low armor class, so they will get hit easier and more often. That usually leads to quick undeath.
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:04 pm

yzarCritS wrote:
Question: Will that permanent Haste spell jaybird's experiencing carry over to his character in the game?

I hope not.
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jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:11 pm

Alrighty! One nancing Paladin, coming right up!

Tra la la la lally!
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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 5:26 pm

Alright, I'm just starting to think about this, so the questions might come rolling out one by one.

First quick question pertaining to vampire hunting. Assuming the stake in the heart thing is still deadly, what kind of modifiers would a character have to attempt such a called shot in combat? I assume our characters will have vampire hunting knowledge given the task at hand.

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 6:54 pm

yzarCritS wrote:
Alright, I'm just starting to think about this, so the questions might come rolling out one by one.

First quick question pertaining to vampire hunting. Assuming the stake in the heart thing is still deadly, what kind of modifiers would a character have to attempt such a called shot in combat? I assume our characters will have vampire hunting knowledge given the task at hand.

I am thinking of having the opposite modifier of prone and helpless for called shots. IE (-10, instead of +10). That way you'll pretty much have to grapple and pin the vampire in order to stake them, or have a really good shot, like a nat 20, or close to it.
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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 5:20 am

Treebore wrote:
I am thinking of having the opposite modifier of prone and helpless for called shots. IE (-10, instead of +10). That way you'll pretty much have to grapple and pin the vampire in order to stake them, or have a really good shot, like a nat 20, or close to it.

Seeing as the vampires can turn to gaseous form at will, somehow I don't envision the grapple, pin, then stake approach working out for us.

Two more questions:

1) Are you allowing multiclassing or dual classing? I have some interesting ideas for both, but don't want to invest too much time in thought if it turns out you're against the process.

2) Since there is a survivor we'll talk to, is there any way we can get access to the survivor's info prior to equipping our characters since I'm sure it could prove very useful? Or will this not be possible since the session will start with us entering the mists?

Thanks!

Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:38 am

yzarCritS wrote:
Seeing as the vampires can turn to gaseous form at will, somehow I don't envision the grapple, pin, then stake approach working out for us.

Two more questions:

1) Are you allowing multiclassing or dual classing? I have some interesting ideas for both, but don't want to invest too much time in thought if it turns out you're against the process.

2) Since there is a survivor we'll talk to, is there any way we can get access to the survivor's info prior to equipping our characters since I'm sure it could prove very useful? Or will this not be possible since the session will start with us entering the mists?

Thanks!

Oh, grappling and staking is possible, just not easy.

Nope, single class only.

You'll meet him before you go to the castle, but supplying yourselves after you enter the mists will be impossible except for the most basic of items.

The survivor can provide you with Holy Water and a limited supply of potions, maybe other things.
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society

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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 1:52 pm

Treebore wrote:
Nope, single class only.

You'll meet him before you go to the castle, but supplying yourselves after you enter the mists will be impossible except for the most basic of items.

The survivor can provide you with Holy Water and a limited supply of potions, maybe other things.

Dab nabit! I had some good ideas of a cleric/wizard combo to maximize the ability to cover scroll casting should the party cleric or mage go down. Oh well, leaning toward Wizard at the moment.

As for the survivor, I was more interested in his knowledge of the castle and the monsters he faced. I don't want to focus too heavily on vampires and undead only to find out their party was wiped out by living monsters.

jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:12 pm

In refreshing my memory on races & classes last night, I noticed that paladin isn't in the list of typical classes for an elf. Is it allowed, or should I make a human or half breed?
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Treebore · Post by **Treebore** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:03 pm

I never followeed "racial restriction" in any edition of D&D. SO if you want an elven Paladin to play, you got it. Even though I suspect you'll regret not having 3 Primes for your saves.

The Sleep and charm stuff isn't an advantage for a Paladin. Your 9th level, so your immune to the sleep spell anyways, and your protection from evil may not make you immune to charm, but it makes you immune to being influenced by the charm, so same thing as being immune.

Plus your protection gives you a +2 to all saves. So on Primes your TN will essentially be a 10, rather than 12, for saves, + any attribute bonus you have. Plus your level. So your Prime saves start at a 1 at CL 0. You'll need that against Strahd and his minions. He was usually very successful in draining the blood of Mages. Drained a fair number of clerics too. He only turned two Paladins, though. Killed most of those.

As an FYI kind of thing, when I rewrote this for 3E without superficially weakening Strahd like they did for the 3E Ravenloft WOTC did, Strahd, and his castle, was very suitable for 18th+ Lvl parties.

Paladins may not rock and roll in combat like a fighter, but they have much better survival chances. Especially against undead and evil.
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The Ruby Lord, Earl of the Society

Next Con I am attending: http://www.neoncon.com/

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jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:30 pm

Say no more. Hoomin Paladin it is! Sleep and Charm were my prime reason for choosing an elf. I just have to figure out what sort of magical stuff I want to give him. I'll give the M&T a look-through tonight.
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yzarCritS · Post by **yzarCritS** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:07 pm

Ok Robert, next round of questions. Having not played in a game you've run, I don't have the advantage of knowing your house rules and such, so some of these may be very basic questions.

1) How do you handle scroll usage? If/when is Read Magic needed? What is the check (if there is one) for trying to use a scroll that is a higher spell level then the character can actually cast?

2) Casting times? What is the casting time of a scroll/wand/potion as compared to the spell it duplicates? i.e. the spell Restoration has a casting time of 1 hour, do any of these alternatives provide quicker results?

3) How do you handle creatures that need magical weapons to be hit? If a caster summons a animal ally to fight a vampire, will it be able to bypass the +2 weapon requirement? And vice versa, meaning can a vampire hit something that has the same +2 magical weapon requirement? Just trying to figure out the helpfulness of summoned allies.

4) Invisibility. Given the challenging task at hand (Strahd), I'm assuming our characters have extensive vampire hunting knowledge. Would we know if vampires are impacted by invisibility? How about invisibilty to undead? Since they seem to have normal vision, I imagine this is a house ruling for you.

For the party: I have a decent amount of free time, so since I believe our casters will need to spend the most time in character creation, I'm going to take on the challenge of either a Cleric or a Wizard.