MERLANCE's Campaign Discussion Thread

[Joseph]

So... how does it work if I just want to slap Gorth around a bit? In real life, obviously, it's easy as pie to slap someone upside the head, no roll involved. You want to slap someone, you just do it.

Clearly I don't want to kill Gorth so can I just slap him? Or knee him in the groin? We're face to face? Do I need to roll for that?

Or how about smacking him around with the flat side of my blades, just enough to teach the obnoxious mouthpiece a little lesson?

[MERLANCE]

If you were going to do that, you would roll initiative as normal, just you and Gorth and anyone else that chose to get involved, then you would make a melee attack at -4 to do nonlethal damage to Gorth, he would be flat footed (-2 ac as he would lose his dex bonus) if you won initiative, and then do normal damage.

For future reference, of course.

[MERLANCE]

So I liked at Ara's character sheet, and he has "Craft" as a skill. Is that meant to be spellcraft, or is it meant to be a craft like woodworking, bowmaking, blacksmithing, weaponsmithing, cooking, or something?

[Joseph]

Well, the party is about to get smaller by two as soon as the fear spell wears off because the necromancer is dead and that will no doubt take her minion with her.

[MERLANCE]

Thats the kind of thing that ends a game then. Had to think of a nonlethal way of keeping you from killing Gorth (at least, the NPCs assumed you were about to kill him).

CF, AF, Trudy, and Gorth vs Josef and Zati, with Kurt trying to disarm both sides.

[Joseph]

Yes, and you accomplished that with Kurt.

Having the necromancer get involved was over doing it. Think about it from the perspective of the characters.

There's no way that Josef and Zati are going to continue travelling with/working with the necromancer now. They either kill her or abandon the party.

As for Gorth's Gorth, he's playing his character just fine for what he is, an obnoxious jerk that no one likes.

So don't put the onus of "ending a game" on me. Kurt's intervention was fine. My charcter would listen to a paladin/monk. He will not accept having a necromancer with an undead servant casting a spell on him.

[MERLANCE]

Well, it was a non damaging effect. Ill just delete that half of the post then.

[Joseph]

Good call. Because non-damaging or not, it's still perceived as an aggressive act by a PC which completely negates any chance of ever trusting that NPC. And with the minuses it inflicts on a character, if that character runs around a corner into a horde of zombies he's screwed.

As for Gorth's character, like I said, he's playing it well for what the character is. But the character isn't likeable and the party isn't really a well-bonded unit. And never will be.

[Marcus]

Whats the status of poor Ara right now?

[MERLANCE]

0 hit points, unconcious.

[Marcus]

Okay.

And the Craft is supposed to be a craft as in handiwork or how ever you say it in English. As far as I know atleast. I did just not pick one, I forgot that. Since Clerics do not get spellcraft do they? I do not remember in al honesty!

[MERLANCE]

Clerics do get Spellcraft. But pick whatever craft skill you want.

[Joseph]

I realise that you're trying to move this along since Gorth has been absent since Sunday but...

If Ara is at 0hp and unconscious where is he? Lying in the alley? Kurt carrying him? Did Kurt heal him and we missed it?

[MERLANCE]

He is still at 0hp in the alley, but Kurt is with him. Zati, you, CF, and AF moved up. Gorth is standing somewhere between you and Ara.

[Joseph]

I'll edit your play post to reflect that so all the relevant information is in one place.