"My friends, listen to your old sage. We all know, I am the face of this group. I will transform and talk to Ixion. If we should have any chance to use diplomacy on him, I believe I should be one. Fi is a strong fighter, but if things go sour, I would gladly take the brunt of Ixion's attacks."
Vaga is dead serious.
"Also, if you will let me, I would like to purchase the sash of haste for 1500 coins. If Ixion for some odd reason manages to not see reason (huh huh, Vaga chuckles at his own wittyness) I can always run away and regroup with you guys using the speed of the sash. So what do you say?"
Sorry for AFK. Weekend was crap. Kudos @nimran for finding the inventory! I will paste it into the googledoc for future reference.
Updated the googledoc, recalculated the current stashed gold. Added @shandyr as a headline and moved the boots of stealth and the +1 dagger to his inventory. Also wrote in the bows, arrows and potions. Also added at the bottom a headline for Vendor Inventory and pasted Nimran's info there.
Shandyr, you can copy/paste your characters stats there if you want.
"eeh... well.. I don't know. I'm am known to be able to sway the most agitated enemy. You have seen this when I talked to the log workers and the ogres. But this Ixion might be strong in soul and purpose and perhaps hard to dissuade from his vendetta. Perhaps I should just reason with him without transformation."
"But enough of this idle chatter. Let us get going. I'm gonna do one quick stop, then I will start to walk towards the sapper group and I hope you all join me. I will wait at the gate for you to join me. "
Vaga leaves the room and quickly visits the S&A once more. Feeling almost like a regular there by now, he walks up to the smith and gives him his customary friendly fist-bump in the arm. The man's arm is is like hitting concrete, his bulging muscles surpassing even Vaga's. Vaga was a smith himself before he started his wandering, so he recognize the effort needed to maintain such a physique. Vaga purchases the sash of haste and hands over 1500 gold coins from the party's gold purse. He feels bad, those coins could have been put to good use feeding younglings and the poor, but he argues with himself that if they fail with their mission - every single man, woman and child will be slaughtered by the orcs. The coins are needed to stop this madness before it has a change to begin. As soon as this is all over, he tells himself he will sell of all items and share the wealth among the poor again, as it should be. Maybe not the bracers though.. and the sash fits him well. He put it on, around his waist. It wraps around his baby blue thong like two lovers in a gentle embrace. He took of his rope which he usually keep rolled around his waist and instead toss it and wrap it over one shoulder. His bags of shuriken are attached to the sash, at his lower back. Safely out of the way for melee combat, but easily accessable should they be needed.
With everything in place he exits S&A and walks to the gate, where he will remain in a kneeling position until the team is ready for departure. He will not return to the inn, nor seek out the others. Vaga is a patient man, but time is of the essence and they really should get going.
Since noone seem to object (or rather noone says anything) I am going to go ahead and buy that sash. 1500 gold is a steal for an extra attack per round! Just because I buy it doesn't mean Vaga has to wear it, we can pass it around to whomever need it the most. Perhaps Marco can use it to lay down a barrage of arrows or Fi using her sunblade etc.
You’re not alone in thinking that, @Shandyr. I must admit, I am also quite surprised at how much slower this thread has been progressing lately. It looks like we’re down two people who would normally do a lot of posting themselves.
And so, the party heads out, taking the fastest route to the location of the sappers. As night falls, they spot the group coming over the horizon.
Ignatius, seeing the party's indecision (once again), casts Alter Self on himself and turns into an orc warrior. He then casts Invisibility on himself and hovers to where the group of sappers is. He goes amidst them, and tries to listen to anything they might be talking about. While there, he also looks around for Ixion. What does he see and hear?
Ignatius doesn’t see the scorpionman anywhere, but as he mingles with the orc sappers, he hears some of them speaking about their plan to reach the walls by midday tomorrow. They plan to sneak inside the walls earlier then planned because they cannot wait for the main force to arrive before they start. These orcs all seem to be young and impetuous, all too eager to start fighting.
Ignatius (not having broken his Invisibility which he had cast earlier), seeing that the scorpionman is not anywhere with the group of sappers, hovers off to some nearby cover (bush or boulder) and transforms into Ixion. He then strides authoritatively some distance in front of the marching group of orcs, and orders them: "Halt! Plans have changed and we move to the other side of the town. Human town is too weak and has no need of sapping. We join main force now. March onwards!"
@Shandyr This is the slowest the thread has been since starting, but some of us have said they will be absent for stretches of time going in. Hopefully everyone comes back soon. @Nimran Gotta get that rest before setting out, no matter the time!
*Fiora talks with the party while travelling*
"Okay, we need a plan. I don't really have any experience with large scale battles, sigh, if only Cyrus was here. Do any of you know anything of military tactics? No doubt Ignatius is already among the sappers."
So Ignatius casts the spell... and sees that he now has a scorpion tail, but no other change. It seems that Alter Self is limited to adding limbs at the most, rather than changing an entire half of his body.
So Ignatius casts the spell... and sees that he now has a scorpion tail, but no other change. It seems that Alter Self is limited to adding limbs at the most, rather than changing an entire half of his body.
@Nimran From what I've read in the reference site page, this isn't how the spell is supposed to work. The description doesn't state anything like that at all.
Quoting from the site which we are using as a reference:
You acquire the physical qualities of the new form while retaining your own mind. Physical qualities include natural size, mundane movement capabilities (such as burrowing, climbing, walking, swimming, and flight with wings, to a maximum speed of 120 feet for flying or 60 feet for nonflying movement), natural armor bonus, natural weapons (such as claws, bite, and so on), racial skill bonuses, racial bonus feats, and any gross physical qualities (presence or absence of wings, number of extremities, and so forth). A body with extra limbs does not allow you to make more attacks (or more advantageous two-weapon attacks) than normal.
And here we have an important distinction between 3e and 3.5e rules, which I said that I was using 3e rules for spells, rather than 3.5e.
The 3e spell description is as follows: 3e SRD:Alter Self This material is published under the OGL Alter Self Transmutation Level: Sor/Wiz 2 Components: V, S Casting time: 1 action Range: Personal Target: The character Duration: 10 minutes/level (D) The character can alter the character's appearance and form-including clothing and equipment-to appear taller or shorter, thin, fat, or in between. The assumed form must be corporeal. The character's body can undergo a limited physical transmutation, including adding or subtracting one or two limbs, and the character's weight can be changed up to one-half. If the form selected has wings, the character can fly at a speed of 30 feet with poor maneuverability. If the form has gills, the character can breathe underwater. The character's attack rolls, natural armor bonus, and saves do not change. The spell does not confer special abilities, attack forms, defenses, ability scores, or mannerisms of the chosen form. Once the new form is chosen, it remains for the duration of the spell. If the character is slain, the character automatically returns to the character's normal form. If the character uses this spell to create a disguise, the character gets a +10 bonus on the character's Disguise check.
You’re not alone in thinking that, @Shandyr. I must admit, I am also quite surprised at how much slower this thread has been progressing lately. It looks like we’re down two people who would normally do a lot of posting themselves.
[Spoiler]We always have a lull between quests. It gets exciting when the enemies arrive.[/spoiler]
From my opinion, the few of us that do still post should make more effort in actually and clearly writing out actions. I tried to gently push the team towards the next chapter until, I gotta admit, grew weary and just let Vaga walk there alone.
Since we are not as active as a group, please try and make sure that the posts you do post contain actions for Nimran to respond and DM to, either purchasing, use spells, or push the story by engaging NPCs in direct questions or proposals. If we just playfully banter we're not going anywhere. We've already established our characters traits. And this (hopefully constructive) critique include myself as well.
Example, Ignatius took a lot of action in his last two posts. The last one perhaps a bit too much though But my point is that those two posts alone pushed our joint story further then the last 10 combined. Kudos!
Vaga is anxious to see what Ignatius can do with his quarter-scorpiman body. Vaga's sharp wits and perceptive eyes tell him Ignatius will most likely accomplish one thing; his own quick and brutal death.
"Ignatius, that didn't seem to work very well.. We need to come up with a new plan."
"Mama Nanna, you are the strongest caster we have. Do you have any massive spells that could make this small crew able to take on such a large force by force?" Again Vaga's wittiness surprise even himself.
"if not, we have to come up with a new plan. The only thing I can think of is we go up to them and talk.. but my feeling tell me these orc are not up for diplomacy. Does anyone have an idea? We can all fly.. should we harass them from the air using the broom, levitation etc and get them to chase in a direction away from the town?"
"As much as I hate to say it, Orcs usually aren't very receptive to diplomacy. I think our options are either to scare them away, or herd them away and pick at them in small skirmishes."
Anduin throws forth a small, red pill of flame that explodes in the center of the orc force. 18 orcs get caught in the blast radius and die, their bodies charred and smoking. The other 32 orcs tell in surprise and start charging towards the party. They’re still a fair distance away, so they don’t reach the party yet.
And here we have an important distinction between 3e and 3.5e rules, which I said that I was using 3e rules for spells, rather than 3.5e.
The 3e spell description is as follows: 3e SRD:Alter Self This material is published under the OGL Alter Self Transmutation Level: Sor/Wiz 2 Components: V, S Casting time: 1 action Range: Personal Target: The character Duration: 10 minutes/level (D) The character can alter the character's appearance and form-including clothing and equipment-to appear taller or shorter, thin, fat, or in between. The assumed form must be corporeal. The character's body can undergo a limited physical transmutation, including adding or subtracting one or two limbs, and the character's weight can be changed up to one-half. If the form selected has wings, the character can fly at a speed of 30 feet with poor maneuverability. If the form has gills, the character can breathe underwater. The character's attack rolls, natural armor bonus, and saves do not change. The spell does not confer special abilities, attack forms, defenses, ability scores, or mannerisms of the chosen form. Once the new form is chosen, it remains for the duration of the spell. If the character is slain, the character automatically returns to the character's normal form. If the character uses this spell to create a disguise, the character gets a +10 bonus on the character's Disguise check.
@Nimran Ah, I understand now. Thanks for clarifying my doubts. What I'm still unsure is, does my character assume the facial characteristics of the subject when he casts Alter Self?
Ignatius seeing that his spell did not work as intended and also that Nanna is firing the Fireball, quickly levitates away and flies back towards the party. He also quickly changes back to his normal form to prevent the weight of the scorpion tail from dragging him down in flight.
He thinks to himself:
"Magic, though wondrous, has it's limits, I see, Like anything in this world that has been or can be."
If you had looked at him directly, and committed his facial features to memory, then you can change your face to match his. Essentially, you’d need to know what the specific person or creature looks like if you wanted to take the form of someone specific. Otherwise, people who have seen him before would instantly know it isn’t him. The spell certainly allows you to do that if you have that knowledge.
Comments
...
Who would want to be happy for even just a couple of hours, when your can remain sad and lonely for an extra 120 minutes...
*Nanna roles her eyes.*
Paladins, enforcers of tyrannical truth.
...
*Nanna resumes looking depressed and sinks back down into her chair.*
Apologies Fiora. People fight and search for truth, rarely do they fight or search for happiness, however fleeting.
...
I'd be a Hapadin if I could...
Vaga is dead serious.
"Also, if you will let me, I would like to purchase the sash of haste for 1500 coins. If Ixion for some odd reason manages to not see reason (huh huh, Vaga chuckles at his own wittyness) I can always run away and regroup with you guys using the speed of the sash. So what do you say?"
Also added at the bottom a headline for Vendor Inventory and pasted Nimran's info there.
Shandyr, you can copy/paste your characters stats there if you want.
"But enough of this idle chatter. Let us get going. I'm gonna do one quick stop, then I will start to walk towards the sapper group and I hope you all join me. I will wait at the gate for you to join me. "
Vaga leaves the room and quickly visits the S&A once more. Feeling almost like a regular there by now, he walks up to the smith and gives him his customary friendly fist-bump in the arm. The man's arm is is like hitting concrete, his bulging muscles surpassing even Vaga's. Vaga was a smith himself before he started his wandering, so he recognize the effort needed to maintain such a physique. Vaga purchases the sash of haste and hands over 1500 gold coins from the party's gold purse. He feels bad, those coins could have been put to good use feeding younglings and the poor, but he argues with himself that if they fail with their mission - every single man, woman and child will be slaughtered by the orcs. The coins are needed to stop this madness before it has a change to begin. As soon as this is all over, he tells himself he will sell of all items and share the wealth among the poor again, as it should be. Maybe not the bracers though.. and the sash fits him well. He put it on, around his waist. It wraps around his baby blue thong like two lovers in a gentle embrace. He took of his rope which he usually keep rolled around his waist and instead toss it and wrap it over one shoulder. His bags of shuriken are attached to the sash, at his lower back. Safely out of the way for melee combat, but easily accessable should they be needed.
With everything in place he exits S&A and walks to the gate, where he will remain in a kneeling position until the team is ready for departure. He will not return to the inn, nor seek out the others. Vaga is a patient man, but time is of the essence and they really should get going.
Since noone seem to object (or rather noone says anything) I am going to go ahead and buy that sash. 1500 gold is a steal for an extra attack per round! Just because I buy it doesn't mean Vaga has to wear it, we can pass it around to whomever need it the most. Perhaps Marco can use it to lay down a barrage of arrows or Fi using her sunblade etc.
Even for a Paladin she really is a stickler picking who to save and what truth to follow... Lets sleep while the town burns...
*Nanna goes and finds Vaga to set off.*
Ignatius doesn’t see the scorpionman anywhere, but as he mingles with the orc sappers, he hears some of them speaking about their plan to reach the walls by midday tomorrow. They plan to sneak inside the walls earlier then planned because they cannot wait for the main force to arrive before they start. These orcs all seem to be young and impetuous, all too eager to start fighting.
*Fiora talks with the party while travelling*
"Okay, we need a plan. I don't really have any experience with large scale battles, sigh, if only Cyrus was here. Do any of you know anything of military tactics? No doubt Ignatius is already among the sappers."
Quoting from the site which we are using as a reference:
The full description is here.
The 3e spell description is as follows:
3e SRD:Alter Self
This material is published under the OGL
Alter Self
Transmutation
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S
Casting time: 1 action
Range: Personal
Target: The character
Duration: 10 minutes/level (D)
The character can alter the character's appearance and form-including clothing and equipment-to appear taller or shorter, thin, fat, or in between. The assumed form must be corporeal. The character's body can undergo a limited physical transmutation, including adding or subtracting one or two limbs, and the character's weight can be changed up to one-half. If the form selected has wings, the character can fly at a speed of 30 feet with poor maneuverability. If the form has gills, the character can breathe underwater.
The character's attack rolls, natural armor bonus, and saves do not change. The spell does not confer special abilities, attack forms, defenses, ability scores, or mannerisms of the chosen form. Once the new form is chosen, it remains for the duration of the spell. If the character is slain, the character automatically returns to the character's normal form.
If the character uses this spell to create a disguise, the character gets a +10 bonus on the character's Disguise check.
Since we are not as active as a group, please try and make sure that the posts you do post contain actions for Nimran to respond and DM to, either purchasing, use spells, or push the story by engaging NPCs in direct questions or proposals. If we just playfully banter we're not going anywhere. We've already established our characters traits. And this (hopefully constructive) critique include myself as well.
Example, Ignatius took a lot of action in his last two posts. The last one perhaps a bit too much though
Vaga is anxious to see what Ignatius can do with his quarter-scorpiman body. Vaga's sharp wits and perceptive eyes tell him Ignatius will most likely accomplish one thing; his own quick and brutal death.
"Ignatius, that didn't seem to work very well.. We need to come up with a new plan."
"Mama Nanna, you are the strongest caster we have. Do you have any massive spells that could make this small crew able to take on such a large force by force?" Again Vaga's wittiness
surprise even himself.
"if not, we have to come up with a new plan. The only thing I can think of is we go up to them and talk.. but my feeling tell me these orc are not up for diplomacy. Does anyone have an idea? We can all fly.. should we harass them from the air using the broom, levitation etc and get them to chase in a direction away from the town?"
I... Can't...
*A fireball builds in Andaweena's hands.*
I... Can't...
*Nanna casts fireball at the largest concentration of Orcs.*
Ignatius seeing that his spell did not work as intended and also that Nanna is firing the Fireball, quickly levitates away and flies back towards the party. He also quickly changes back to his normal form to prevent the weight of the scorpion tail from dragging him down in flight.
He thinks to himself:
"Magic, though wondrous, has it's limits, I see,
Like anything in this world that has been or can be."