[OOC] Oleg's Trading Post

[VaerSheth]

LupusRegalis pointed out to me that from Brune's current position, he can't reach any of the bandits' horses; the gate is in the way. I read the description of "some cover" and guessed that he could reach between the gate and the building wall closest to him. I figured there would be some penalty (not that Brune was going to hit, anyway), but this is not the same thing as a total cover situation where the action as I described it would have been impossible.

Can we get a ruling on this situation? I would suggest a remedy of describing precisely how Brune hilariously failed to be effective. (Did he miss? Did his arm get stuck? Did his Dwarfiness prevent him from reaching the nearest horse, let alone its saddle straps?) If what Brune attempted was truly impossible, all I ask is that you don't wait for me to "fix" the action. PBP combat is slow enough without having to wait for, well, incompetence.

Incidentally, it was very hard to resist adding smileys (particularly the "rolleyes" one) to this post.

[Finder of Paths]

You missed an option: "Kostas bumps Brune as he tries to slam shut the gate, and knocks the dwarf off balance. As a result Brune's aim goes wide, and he shatters the hinges of the gate. With a hideous thud, two screams and horrible squishy sound, both cleric and knight are crushed to death under the heavy wooden door."

[VaerSheth]

Oy. I only rolled a 2. Now, if I'd rolled a 1...

[Finder of Paths]

A man can dream =p

[Rohor]

Hi, sorry about delays in posting. I tried getting onto the website yesterday evening to read up on what's happening and post (my time), about 26 hours ago or so but there was some database error / backup going on - anyway I'm looking into what's happening now.

The situation that I described mentioned some cover, although my intention was that you couldn't reach the bandits at all. Because you have posted an action assuming you could, we might as well keep it consistent and keep this moving. Any slightly difficult move similar to what Brune just did I simply slap on a -2 circumstance penalty and be done with it if that's ok with everyone. If anyone has better suggestions for dealing with unusual circumstances though I am open to hearing it.

I'm hoping to get some posting done within the next hour or so to keep it moving.

Edit: Additional notes - Arguilios I'm not certain if you made the additional attack assuming it all hits in the surprise round or whether you've done it in preparation for round 1 of the battle. Regardless, what we'll do is we'll take the first roll for attack and damage as your surprise attack. Can you confirm whether your next attack is meant for round 1 of battle?

Edit 2: I just noted Ryoga hasn't posted for Harken - I'll wait a few hours longer then assume Harken will also push in an attempt to slam shut the other door if he doesn't post.

Note: Feedback will be appreciated on whether or not everyone thinks the handling of the horses being treated as 'fallen' from the sleep spell is ok... not sure it is 100% correct but is the best I can come up with at about 1:10am in the morning after having read through multiple pages over and over again.

[arguilios]

It's not beyond the pale of reason to think the horses might fall over under the influence of the bard's Sleep spell. For what it's worth, sleepy horses I've observed have fallen asleep either lying down or standing up; leaning against walls and convenient trees isn't wholly uncommon. I can't speak authoritatively to the animals' reaction to magical slumber inducement. More than one beastie wild shot with a tranq gun's dropped like a rock at the effect. So, concerns for the horses' digestive systems notwithstanding, either knocking 'em out on their feet or laying them out under their riders seem possible. If you say they fell over, they fell over.

I did include my intended shot for Round 1 in the last post, but it looks like the man in green's fled behind the cover of a building. Rogan would concentrate his attacks on the leader if possible, but he'd fire on the nearest assailant not engaged in melee if the leader's not a good option.

[Finder of Paths]

Actually the man in the green cloak is still on his horse, he's the one up the front with no one next to him. That was the surprise round, so the man is still on his horse, waiting patiently for you to shoot him again.

That was a very successful surprise round guys, great job. We're in a good position to overwhelm them before they can recover, so get chopping!

[Rohor]

Yeah, I was thinking a magic slumber was equivalent to being shot with a tranquiliser dart or something to that extent. I thought about horses sleeping standing and lying down as well, but yeah no real 'authority' on horses induced by magic slumber so who knows? Just have to roll with it and that's what I thought at the time based on what I found.

Originally Posted by Finder of Paths

Actually the man in the green cloak is still on his horse, he's the one up the front with no one next to him. That was the surprise round, so the man is still on his horse, waiting patiently for you to shoot him again.

That was a very successful surprise round guys, great job. We're in a good position to overwhelm them before they can recover, so get chopping!

Way too successful. If you guys keep on being so successful in future encounters I might have to up it even further. I'm already using conversions to account for six adventurers and this one was a cakewalk for all of you. Then again, the initiative penalty doesn't help them at all...

[LupusRegalis]

Posted!

I'm usually out/busy on the weekends, but do sometimes get posts in. Except that my internet went down sat night, and Comcast doesn't know why. Might be till wednesday. I can post during the week while I'm at work though, so things won't slow down.

[VaerSheth]

Originally Posted by Rohor

Then again, the initiative penalty doesn't help them at all...

Out of curiosity, why did you give them an initiative penalty? I'm not saying I mind, but I don't really follow the logic behind it.

[Rohor]

Originally Posted by VaerSheth

Out of curiosity, why did you give them an initiative penalty? I'm not saying I mind, but I don't really follow the logic behind it.

At work at the moment, I'll continue the battle later on tonight but thought I'd answer this question quickly. The -8 init penalty applied to them is *ehm*, part of the rules in this encounter to put it simply. There are several possible ways a party can approach this encounter and depending on how the party approaches the bandits, certain penalties and bonuses would apply. Having them 'shocked and surprised' like what you all did gives them a -8 penalty to initiative in addition to your surprise round. They were seriously not expecting anyone and hence took an extremely long time to act. If you approached the encounter another way, the outcome could be a lot different.

[Finder of Paths]

When is Mogg coming back?

[Rohor]

In all honesty, I don't believe he is. I did try to message him earlier this month and there was no response. I have been thinking of replacements but I think I'll do the replacement after I come back from my Christmas break. Unfortunate as I really liked Alistair.

[VaerSheth]

Happy holidays, everyone! Safe travels, if you're doing that.

Too bad about Mogg.

[VaerSheth]

One New Year, coming right up!

Happy New Year, everyone.