# Against the Giants: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief - OOC



## tiornys (Feb 12, 2012)

This is the OOC thread for my Against the Giants game.

IC thread

Rogues Gallery

Initial setup thread

I've seen a set of suggested rules for PBP combat in this post.  I'd like to get feedback on what everyone thinks about those ideas.  If you like them, say so.  If you'd rather things were handled differently, feel free to offer suggestions.

Alternates List:
Voda Vosa -- In
Leif
Knowledge Checks


----------



## Scotley (Feb 12, 2012)

I am definitely good with Mal's rules as posted. When I DM I've been a stickler for initiative order whenever possible, but it is probably an unnecessary burden I impose because I'm old and stuck in my ways. Most folks have wisely adopted something along the lines of these rules. I'm very excited to get this one started.


----------



## pathfinderq1 (Feb 12, 2012)

Malenkirk rules are fine with me.  Glad to get the giant barbeque rolling.


----------



## drothgery (Feb 12, 2012)

Really, I wish I'd come up with something along the lines of Mal's rules when I was running PBPs.


----------



## DistractingFlare (Feb 12, 2012)

Mal rules work for me!


----------



## Inspiratorium (Feb 12, 2012)

I agree with everybody above me.


----------



## Walking Dad (Feb 14, 2012)

Same here.


----------



## Scotley (Feb 14, 2012)

If only our characters found it so easy to agree on something eh?


----------



## Inspiratorium (Feb 14, 2012)

Now where'd the fun it that be?


----------



## tiornys (Feb 15, 2012)

Sounds like a consensus.  We'll be trying those out, then.  If we run into snags, we can always reconsider later (but only between combats).

t~


----------



## Phaezen (Feb 16, 2012)

I made a mistake and identified Brook as a worshiper of Ioun when he in fact worships Bane, I'll fix it in the in character thread.


----------



## tiornys (Feb 16, 2012)

Thaddeus is oblivious, but fortunately the sarcasm was not lost on me 

t~


----------



## drothgery (Feb 17, 2012)

FYI - I tweaked Gwenn's character sheet PDF to reflavor some of her equipment.

Her _Melegaunt's Darkblade Rapier +3_ became _Gwenn Alleric's Darkblade Rapier +3_ (i.e. just noting that it was made for her, rather than being a relic). And her _Horned Helm (heroic tier)_ became a _Charging Fencer's Tiara_ (i.e. still a head slot item, but something Gwenn would wear, and a Viking warrior would not).


----------



## tiornys (Feb 18, 2012)

You have until my next post for any other conversation you'd like to make before dinner.  I'm pretty wiped out (in a good way) from a day of skiing, so I won't be posting IC tonight.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get the dinner meeting with the Baron underway.

Also, thanks for the heads up on the eq. name tweaks.  I wholeheartedly approve 

t~


----------



## drothgery (Feb 18, 2012)

tiornys said:


> Also, thanks for the heads up on the eq. name tweaks.  I wholeheartedly approve



Great. Wasn't 100% sure you'd sign off on that, even if it's just a name (and in the helm's case, appearance) tweak. But I just couldn't picture Gwenn in the Viking helmet a 'horned helm' sounds like, and her rapier is _hers_.


----------



## tiornys (Feb 21, 2012)

In case anyone saw the 80% complete post, it is now 100% complete.

t~


----------



## tiornys (Mar 3, 2012)

Sorry for the delay.  I have had less time than anticipated for learning new skills.  I'll try to move the game along by tomorrow, even if I don't have maps made.

t~


----------



## drothgery (Mar 3, 2012)

tiornys said:


> Sorry for the delay. I have had less time than anticipated for learning new skills. I'll try to move the game along by tomorrow, even if I don't have maps made.
> 
> t~



I don't think we (as players) need maps. The _characters_ would like them, but unless we get lost, they're just an item on our character sheets, so it's fine if you haven't drawn them.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 8, 2012)

Just a heads up, I'll be away next week, but I'll see if I can keep updated on the game. Hoping this moves forward soon.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 8, 2012)

Inspiratorium said:


> Just a heads up, I'll be away next week, but I'll see if I can keep updated on the game. Hoping this moves forward soon.




Wish granted.  Post when you can.  A few weeks ago I debated whether to make the first stage of the journey into a skill challenge.  Between the low difficulty and my tardiness, I decided to just push on past.

t~


----------



## drothgery (Mar 8, 2012)

FYI, If you didn't see this thread, it looks like DistractingFlare is gone indefinitely, so Lucan's missing as well.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 14, 2012)

With DistractingFlare out for now, should I see if Voda Vosa wants to step in?

t~


----------



## drothgery (Mar 14, 2012)

tiornys said:


> With DistractingFlare out for now, should I see if Voda Vosa wants to step in?
> 
> t~



With the Foldger's crystals replacement character strategy? We've secretly replaced DF's character with VV's. Let's see if anyone notices. 







*OOC:*


I'd love a MBA-granting tactical warlord in the party for obvious game mechanics reasons


----------



## Phaezen (Mar 14, 2012)

Sure.

We going to meet a trustworthy looking stranger on the road?  Otherwise should he have a connection with another character?


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 14, 2012)

Aye, a warlord would also be nice to replace the bard for heals But, VV ought have a bit of free reign on 'im.


----------



## Walking Dad (Mar 14, 2012)

I gamed with VV before and are currently playing with him in another adventure (he is also a player in my superhero/villain game). No objection.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 14, 2012)

[MENTION=51271]Voda Vosa[/MENTION], looks like you're in, if you're still interested in joining us.  The party is decently balanced so anything goes (currently: 1 leader, 1 defender, 1 controller, 3 strikers).

t~


----------



## Voda Vosa (Mar 14, 2012)

Hey there everyone! Hmm I think I can commit 

So, looks like a defender or a leader is needed, mostly, although people are talking about leadership mostly. 

What sources can I use?


----------



## Scotley (Mar 14, 2012)

Welcome VV, always glad to see you in a game.


----------



## drothgery (Mar 14, 2012)

Voda Vosa said:


> Hey there everyone! Hmm I think I can commit
> 
> So, looks like a defender or a leader is needed, mostly, although people are talking about leadership mostly.
> 
> What sources can I use?



Character creation rules post 
Also note the errata for versatile expertise
Answer to one question about character creation rules
But basically a 12th level character, anything official is fine, with free math fix feats.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 14, 2012)

I'd vote for a leader, personally. Knights don't need to mark. Deacon can handle multiple people if there's somebody to help him get into position.

Still, your decision. (an MBA granting Warlord would be nice for Deacon as well, though.)


----------



## Voda Vosa (Mar 14, 2012)

Alright, I'm starting to build an artificer, been long since I wanted to play one, and never actually got to play one at level 12. I'll update when I have more.


----------



## Voda Vosa (Mar 14, 2012)

Alright, I have it done I think:

*Clock-Head*







Clock-head was a codename given to assembler warforged CT12-34/Y , back in the days. He assembled constructs of diverse nature, and his abilities infusing alchemical compounds into these little clockwork golems was rather impressive. When the Great war exploded, and the Kingdom where Clock-head was heavily punished by the rigours of war, instead of fighting back, Clock-head fled. It is a good thing warforgeds don’t need food to keep running, because Clock-head wandered months in the wastelands.
Eventually, he was found, almost not functioning, by desert traders. These hard living folk took Clock-head in for his irreplaceable abilities, and made a good trader out of him. Life went easy enough until the giants attacked. They wrecked the caravan and killed almost all the traders, but Clock-head. He prevailed, at last, and laid a silent curse on the giantkin, and he would chase them to the end of the world to see it fulfilled.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 15, 2012)

Looks solid.  I'll vet the character tonight, and then figure out a way to join you up with the others.

t~


----------



## pathfinderq1 (Mar 15, 2012)

It looks like the new Heroes of the Elemental Chaos book has a theme that would be ideal for Miranda (Firecrafter).  Since we haven't actually gotten into a fight yet, would it be too late to switch that to that theme (replacing Order Adept)?


----------



## tiornys (Mar 15, 2012)

pathfinderq1 said:


> It looks like the new Heroes of the Elemental Chaos book has a theme that would be ideal for Miranda (Firecrafter).  Since we haven't actually gotten into a fight yet, would it be too late to switch that to that theme (replacing Order Adept)?




I'm good with that.  Go ahead and use a +3/6/9 progression for the attacks instead of +2/4/6.

t~


----------



## tiornys (Mar 15, 2012)

[MENTION=51271]Voda Vosa[/MENTION], I looked over Clock-head.  A couple of things you might want to tweak:
I saw your background was Deserter, but I didn't see any benefit from the background.
You might prefer Eldritch Fusillade Expertise over Crossbow Expertise (since the latter does not apply to implement attacks).  You'd lose the benefit against cover/concealment, but you'd gain a feat.  At the least, take EFE over Rapid Reload so you can "upgrade" the free Versatile Expertise to Skill Training (or Linguist, or similar).
[sblock=Eldritch Fusillade Expertise]Eldritch Fusillade Expertise
Your hands move with surety of purpose and economy
of motion as you prepare to unleash a torrent
of bolts, both magical and physical, against your
enemies.
Prerequisite: Artificer, Crossbow Caster feat
Benefit: You gain a +1 feat bonus to attack rolls
that you make with a crossbow or a wand. This bonus
increases to +2 at 11th level and +3 at 21st level.
You can also draw or stow a wand once per round
as a free action on your turn, and you can load a
crossbow as a free action.[/sblock]
Speaking of which, all of your implement attacks should gain +2 attack bonus from your free Versatile Expertise (or the above option).  Sadly, I don't know of any way to make this work properly on the old CB (or the new one, for that matter, until they update VE to match the errata).
You might as well use Drowmesh over plain Leather for the free +1 Reflex.
You should add in your free Improved Defenses.  I have your defenses at 27 AC, 23 Fort, 27 Reflex, 27 Will.
What energy type do you want your Armor of Resistance to apply to?
Last, I came out with 2pp left over after buying your eq, while your character sheet lists 10pp.  Did I miss an ability or do something wrong when purchasing?

t~


----------



## Voda Vosa (Mar 16, 2012)

Can't find the Eldritch Fusillade Expertise feat in my old CB. I added the versatile and imp. def. free feats, and also upgraded to Skill focus (heal).
Changed to drowmesh and added Fire to the type of energy resistance. 

I don't get what you mean with the pp in equipment, sorry.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 16, 2012)

Eldritch Fusillade Expertise is from Dragon magazine, and it hasn't even hit the new CB yet (should be added this month).  That's why I included the full text.

pp=platinum pieces.

t~


----------



## Voda Vosa (Mar 19, 2012)

About the platinum pieces I thought I got 9 to spend. I bought two power jewels with the spare 2pp, getting a total of 10p in equipment, no money left.
So say I take the eldrich fussilare feat, I should add +2 to all my attack rolls then (not listed on my sheet)? I'll change rapid reload for that feat, since it lets me reload the crossbow as a free action (basically the same that rapid reload does).

So here it goes again!


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 22, 2012)

[MENTION=42839]Phaezen[/MENTION] So are you insistent on putting Brook near the front? If so, let's do Aelar up front scouting, then Gwenn, Brook, Miranda, Deacon, and Wik, in that order. If not, we'll just do what we originally intended (Aelar and Wik up front, then Gwenn, Deacon, Miranda, and Brook in that order)


----------



## Phaezen (Mar 22, 2012)

Brook can take the back


----------



## tiornys (Mar 22, 2012)

[MENTION=51271]Voda Vosa[/MENTION], the attack bonus from Eldritch Fusillade Expertise overlaps Crossbow Expertise for your weapon attacks, so you shouldn't modify those at all.  It also gives a +2 feat bonus to your implement attacks; right now, the CB is giving you a +1 feat bonus from Versatile Expertise (which you technically don't have anymore, but don't worry about it).  So, you need to manually add 1 to your implement based attacks.  I have you at +20 with Magic Weapon, +19 with Delaying Strike, and +17 for your implement-based attacks.

1 pp = 100 gp, not 1000 gp.  You had 9000 gp (or 90 pp) to spend, and the equipment you started with left you with 200 gp, not 2000.  So I don't think you can afford two Power Jewels, but feel free to doublecheck my math!

t~


----------



## tiornys (Mar 22, 2012)

Speaking of treasure, I will be wanting wishlists from everyone.  Feel free to post them here or PM them to me.

t~


----------



## drothgery (Mar 22, 2012)

tiornys said:


> Speaking of treasure, I will be wanting wishlists from everyone. Feel free to post them here or PM them to me.



If you want specific items, I suppose I can come up with that but in general...

*weapons*
Gwenn prefers upgrading her existing rapier (which has a great deal of sentimental value to her) over acquiring a new one. Even if she finds another rapier sufficiently powerful that she feels she has to use it instead, she will only use it until she can upgrade hers (quite possibly selling the other sword, disenchanting it for residium, or transfering its enchantment to her blade). 

She keeps a low-level enchanted dagger on hand for a throwing and off-hand weapon. She wouldn't be actively looking to upgrade this (not worth a parcel, but if you want to drop some random low-level treasure, a +2 dagger with throwing-oriented enchantments is something she'd keep, or buy if she had enough cash that it was a minor expense).

*armor*
Gwenn wears leather armor. She prefers armor abilities that help her avoid conditions and/or ongoing damage. She wouldn't be interested in another suit of +3 armor, but if +4 armor (presumably feyleather) becomes available, that would be different.

*neck slot item*
Gwenn doesn't have any strong preferences here. As with armor, she prefers items that help her avoid conditions and/or ongoing damage, but currently wears a basic amulet of protection +3.

*other items*
Bracers of Mighty Striking (paragon tier) are probably her highest priority after upgrading the 'big 3'. Beyond that, she's interested in items that help charging, stealth, avoiding conditions, and 'general adventuring' (see her instant campsite, bag of holding, etc., though she tends to just buy relatively low-level items for that).


----------



## Walking Dad (Mar 23, 2012)

Items:

Weapons:
Only upgrades for his existing staff. He pretty much needs the frost enchantment. But he wouldn't resist a paragon level syberis shard to improve the augmentation.

others:
I generally prefer items with properties over ones with powers and I prefer encounter powers over dailies. I also paid a feat to wear studded leather, so I would like to stay with this armor type.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 23, 2012)

I don't need specific items; looking good so far!

t~


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 23, 2012)

Weaponry:

Deacon likes his push/ prone/ multi target/ ranged effects on his weapons, i.e. resounding and battering weapons. Naturally, I'll want to stick to craghammers, though I probably wouldn't pass up a +4 weapon of almost any kind.
*
Armor:

*This is probably what I'll want the most. A set of +4 Specter Plate with almost any enchantment on it. That said, an armor with an enchantment which can negate armor check penalties would be greatly appreciated.

Other: 

A paragon tier bracers of mighty striking would be nice for Deacon as well. Otherwise, there's nothing much that would come to mind. Perhaps something enhance healing or enable him to self heal (or for that matter, grant healing to others)?


----------



## drothgery (Mar 23, 2012)

Walking Dad said:


> others:
> I generally prefer items with properties over ones with powers and I prefer encounter powers over dailies.



Yeah, this for me as well.


----------



## Phaezen (Mar 23, 2012)

Weapons & Armour - Brook is happy with his halberd and armour, with the usual upgrade would be nice rider.

Others - Brook prefers items that allow him some mobility around the battlefield, as well as items that give a bonus to his allies, I'll poke around the compendium and see if I can give some suggestions.


Notes:
Brook defaults to using the Runes of the Blade Smith on his own weapon for the moment, giving him a +1 to damage, this may change as he gets to know the rest of the group.

Brook has chosen polearms for his lv10 Samurai feature, giving him a +1d6 damage on critical hits with a polearm.  I don't think this is refelcted on the sheet.

I will make a note at the end of each turn which bonuses Brook is currently giving out.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 26, 2012)

Incidentally, if you have a particular image you'd like to use for your character, post or link to the image in your Rogue's Gallery entry.  I'll look there first when I go to make tokens for the PCs.

t~


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 27, 2012)

I think the dice roller here doesn't like me. Minimum damage and a natural 2.


----------



## drothgery (Mar 27, 2012)

Inspiratorium said:


> I think the dice roller here doesn't like me. Minimum damage and a natural 2.



 Given combat advantage and charging, Gwenn can hit every paragon-tier Hill Giant in the compendium on a natural 2 
Weapon attacks vs. Reflex are handy vs giants...


----------



## drothgery (Mar 29, 2012)

drothgery said:


> Given combat advantage and charging, Gwenn can hit every paragon-tier Hill Giant in the compendium on a natural 2
> Weapon attacks vs. Reflex are handy vs giants...



... and given the way ENWorld's dice roller is working for me, this is a very good thing.


----------



## tiornys (Mar 30, 2012)

The die-roller didn't go much better for me 
Actually, it seems kind of... sticky?  Two sets of doubles and a triplet on d20 rolls....

t~


----------



## Phaezen (Mar 30, 2012)

Just edited my last round to update my statblock, incluing the temp hp from the Serene Blade class feature.

unfortunately I won't be online again till Sunday, so I hope it doesn't slow the game down too much.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 30, 2012)

The dice aren't quite rolling perfectly here, but, it works. 

Also, I'll also be away this next week or so. I'll have wi-fi, but I don't know whether I'll be able to post often.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Mar 30, 2012)

The dice aren't quite rolling perfectly here, but, it works. 

Also, I'll also be away this next week or so. I'll have wi-fi, but I don't know whether I'll be able to post often (considering that I'll be working from a smartphone, and won't have the char sheet with me)


----------



## tiornys (Apr 4, 2012)

Sorry about the semi-extended absence.  I should have a chance to see where we are within the next 12 hours.

t~


----------



## drothgery (Apr 4, 2012)

tiornys said:


> Sorry about the semi-extended absence. I should have a chance to see where we are within the next 12 hours.
> 
> t~



 So that gives you... about two more hours .


----------



## tiornys (Apr 5, 2012)

drothgery said:


> So that gives you... about two more hours .




Just multiply any time estimate I give you by 3, and I might actually make that deadline 

t~


----------



## Inspiratorium (Apr 7, 2012)

So what's the deadline on _this_ update then?


----------



## drothgery (Apr 10, 2012)

*poke*


----------



## Phaezen (Apr 16, 2012)

Poke....   Anyone out there?


----------



## Walking Dad (Apr 16, 2012)

I am here


----------



## Voda Vosa (Apr 16, 2012)

I'm here still.


----------



## Scotley (Apr 16, 2012)

Present!


----------



## Phaezen (Apr 16, 2012)

[MENTION=17633]tiornys[/MENTION]?


----------



## drothgery (Apr 16, 2012)

I'm still here. FWIW, ENWorld says our DM was last on ENWorld on Friday, and last posted on April 4th.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Apr 16, 2012)

I'm present as well. Just didn't wanna bump this twice.


----------



## pathfinderq1 (Apr 17, 2012)

I'm still here also, if a bit busy.


----------



## Inspiratorium (Apr 18, 2012)

Not intending to be presumptuous, and I hope tiornys returns soon, but assuming that our DM is busy with other things, how do you guys normally handle that?


----------



## drothgery (Apr 18, 2012)

There's not much you can do except wait.

As a side note, the latest character builder update finally has the math for Versatile Expertise working in line with the errata (the last update changed the text, but it still calculated wrong).


----------

