[DnD] D&D Boot Camp - Discussion Thread

Welcome to Basic Training for GFF DnD!

This thread will be for all rules questions, answers, and just conversation about what happens in the game thread. Try to keep out of character conversations in here - it'll make the game thread look and work better at the end of the day.


For this game we have:
Rychord - Daituk Orjerbs (Githzerai Avenger) ----Powers
Shorty - Luciel (Elf Cleric) ---- Powers
Philia - Thia (Shadar-kai Assassin) ---- Powers
Dark Nation - Zeno Paradosso (Human Monk/Sorcerer) ---- Powers
Stop Sign - Truckbus Grimtooth (Dwarf Warden) ---- Powers


Rychord's character is all ready to go, Philia has informed me that she'll be using the Character Builder, and i'm not entirely sure about the rest of you. Let me know if i should put a character together for you, and give me an idea of what you want (race, class, healer, i just want to stab things, etc.).


I'd like to have everyone's characters together by next Wednesday or so, such that i can start putting them on Obsidian Portal. I've got a busy weekend of homework i've been putting off ahead of me, but i'll be sure to pop in to the forums every once in a while and answer any questions.


Anyone who wanted to play but didn't make this list, don't worry - i'd be glad to run another game if there are still enough people, and Zerg and Deni have said they'll be willing to fill spots if there isn't a party of 5 newbies. You two won't be needed just yet, sorry



And we're off! What adventures await our heroes?!?!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Stop Sign

You and most people here, thanks to my tendency to just lurk. For years.

I'll be rolling a dwarven warden, since we have 2 strikers. Should I just send my character builder save file to you?

Yep, that will work wonderfully.

Rychord's character is half up on OP, i haven't copied out the powers yet. DN's character is received, but has holes, i'm guessing my CB's not up to date. I'll look into getting this fixed.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

DN, don't worry about it - all was fine once i updated. I could fill in the one or two holes fairly easily, so.

I thought that name felt a little off, but i couldn't put my finger on it. Consider it fixed.

Also, Thia the Assassin's sheet is now up. Let me know about any changes and/or backstory you guys want to add anytime as we go along.

Zeno's up as well. You guys sure like the complicated classes... also noticed that so far we have a striker, another striker, and a hybrid striker/striker. This is going to be... interesting.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Nah, we'll just leave the characters as they are. I just haven't familiarized myself with all of these new classes and all this hybrid nonsense, since Glenn was largely put together long before anything past the first PHB was available from Pang. After that i mostly ignored the new stuff. As long as you guys have some idea of what you're doing, we'll muddle through it.

It's still going to be a while before everything is ready - i need to type out all of everyone's powers so as to add them to the wiki, and this will take some time - so Shorty, don't feel like you need to rush.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Slowly but surely things are coming together. I haven't had a lot of time to work on this, between homework and Kirby's Epic Yarn, but we're about halfway there. I have everyone's character just about ready (Shorty just needs to name hers) and all of the transferring to the internet is coming along fairly smoothly. I want to get this game started ASAP, but it's looking like it's probably going to take until at least Saturday or Sunday. Sorry about the delay.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Everyone's characters are ready! A game thread should be going up soon.


Rychord - Daituk Orjerbs (Githzerai Avenger)
---- Powers

Shorty - Luciel (Elf Cleric)
---- Powers

Philia - Thia (Shadar-kai Assassin)
---- Powers

Dark Nation - Zeno Paradosso (Human Monk/Sorcerer)
---- Powers

Stop Sign - Truckbus Grimtooth (Dwarf Warden)
---- Powers

Let me know if anything doesn't look quite right. Also, i couldn't find any pictures i liked for Stop Sign and Shorty's characters, so the ones i'm using now are the ones which came with the CB. If you guys want different pics, send me one you like.

EDIT: It begins! Please remember to check the thread regularly, and tell us if you can't be around for a while so that we can arrange for a substitute so that the game doesn't shudder to a halt. I'm not going to kick you out via the three strike rule like Pang does, but interesting things may start happening to your character if you aren't paying attention.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It turns out nothing makes one want to read a thread more than not being allowed to. I feel like a little kid.

Also, i can still see the first bit of the post. May want to fix that.

And can still see the thread entirely if i'm not logged in. You guys suck at secrecy.

FELIPE NO

I wouldn't look in the thread once things got rolling, but it's really more the principle of the thing. Every time someone propped a post in there i would feel like i had to look at it. Just removing temptations.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

It's more than i initially expected, but finding good materials made things a lot easier. I found a maptools campaign that was completely set up already - all i really need to do in that regard is throw you guys on the board and go. It's mostly setup and writing - i foresee the battles being the easy part (what with you guys doing all the rolling and all i do is control the enemies and count HP). The necessary creativity is probably going to be what gets me.

Don't worry about doing anything else Skills, that's enough. Thanks a lot.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

yes and yes. I noticed that you found a different picture, but couldn't get it from OP. send it to me or point me to where you found it and i'll fix the token to be correct.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Right, i guess i forgot to really explain anything.

The numbers next to your names are your initiative numbers - these decide the order in which people take their turns. Because all of you initiative numbers happened to land together, you can all go generally whenever you want - however keep in mind that everything resolves in the initiative order, so if you try to do things out of turn you may end up attacking enemies that are already dead (i which case i would let you change your turn, but still).

Each turn you can do three things - A Standard action, a Move Action, and a Minor action. A Standard action usually involves you using a power to attack, using an item, or using your Second Wind. A move action is just what it sounds like. Examples would be moving your speed or shifting one square (shifting means enemies won't be able to attack you if you move away). Minor actions are basic things like pulling something out of your bag, drawing or stowing a weapon, etc.

These actions can be rearranged. The hierarchy is as follows:

Standard => Move => Minor

Meaning you can trade your standard action for either a Move or a Minor, and you can trade your Move action for a minor if you wish. You can't go the other way, however.

For your first turns, try attacking using your At-will or Encounter powers to hit the baddies. I haven't gotten around to putting your to-hit numbers with each ability on OP, so for now you'll have to calculate them yourself if you feel so inclined. (this is ok because it means that you will know where the numbers come from)

Example:

Let's say Thia wants to use her Shadow Storm power. The attack is Dexterity vs. AC. Thus, she would take her Dexterity modifier, +5, and add it to her roll. She also gets +3 for her proficiency with rapiers. Half her level is currently 0, and she doesn't have any magic weapons or anything of the like. So Thia would make an attack at +8 vs. AC. This means rolling a d20 and adding 8 to the result. Say she rolls a 7, making the total 15. This would be a hit if she was attacking either the slinger (AC13) or one of the minions (AC15 - a tie is a hit), but would be a miss against one of the dragonshields (AC18). She would then figure out the damage as explained.


Also, you should be warned that if you try to leave a square next to one of the enemies by moving, they'll get a free shot at you. This is called an opportunity attack. If you shift, then there is no OA, but you only get to move one square, and you can't move into difficult terrain (the bushes)


That should hopefully be enough to get you through your first turn. Most of your characters also have certain abilities that make them special - feel free to ask if you have any other questions. After all, that's why we're here, right?



Note: If you'd rather i do your rolls for you for the first while, that's cool too. Just try to follow along and keep up as best you can.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

alright, i put up the numbers regarding attack bonuses and damage under everyone's powers on your expanded power sheets. It's not terribly pretty, but it'll do for now.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Pang's got them right. Dragonshields to the south, the rest are minions except for the one that looks different.

Most amazing jew boots

uhhh.. yes? He was perfectly capable of hitting the M5 dragonshield, so i didn't think much of it. The attack was close blast 3, which is why he was able to try to hit the other two kobolds as well. I'm not psychic, sorry - if you say you do one thing i can't always guess if you actually meant to do something else. Either way, the last minion at close range is toast as soon as its turn comes around, so it all worked out in the end.

EDIT: Advice for Shorty (assuming you want it)
Healing word is a minor action, and never misses. instead of rolling a d20, roll a d6 to see how much extra healing the target receives. You've still got a standard action with which to hurt something. I'll let you use the roll you already did, because it would be a shame to let a 19 go to waste.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'm planning to move the game forward tonight, so if you plan on doing anything else with your turn, Shorty, you'd best do it this evening sometime.

That said, sorry the game is moving so slowly, everyone. I should really look into getting aim so i can harass you all more effectively.

FELIPE NO

Dragonshield's not even close to being dead. It's not even bloodied yet. Philia, you might want to invoke your shroud on that attack / put another one on beforehand. If you switch targets all shrouds on the enemy you were targeting disappear.

DN, the icon on your character signifies that you're bloodied. The border signifies that i wasn't paying attention and forgot to deselect your token before taking the screenshot (aka it means nothing).

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Both the Dragonshield and the southern minion are dead after Daituk's attack, so don't bother attacking them anymore.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Stop Sign's right, that one's already dead.

You got the rolls perfectly, DN. The only thing would be to avoid calling the damage roll attack - since an "attack roll" is the actual term for the to-hit roll and as such could get very confusing very fast.

Unfortunately, you already used Thundering Roar once this battle, so you can't do that. If you use your daily, Cacophonous Shout, you could hit both the minion and the slinger (if you moved to where Thia just was). Or you could just use one of your at-will attacks to hit the minion. Lemme know which and i'll fix it for you.

i really need to try to figure out how to get those ever-so-handy checkboxes on the side like Pang has on the old wiki.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

What time is it? Learning time! Yaaaaay!

I'm going to explain a little more about your powers. Each power, underneath the name and the flavor text, has this important little section:


Daily ♦ Implement, Psionic, Thunder
Standard Action ♦ Close Blast 3


Let's do this bit by bit. The first part tells you how often you can use a power:

At-Will: can be used any number of times during a fight.
Encounter: can only be used once per battle. (unless the power specifies otherwise - ex. Healing Word can be used twice)
Daily: can only be used once per in-game day.


The second part contains a group of keywords regarding the power. These are usually referenced by other powers or magic items. For example, if Zeno had an item which improved his attack rolls using any power with the "thunder" keyword, this power would get that bonus. Implement means that magical implements like a +1 holy symbol would give this attack +1 to attack and damage rolls.


The third part explains what kind of action you use to use the power. most attacks are standard actions, for example. some of you have things you can do as minor actions. Thia's shroud is a free action, which means she doesn't have to use any of her actions to do it.


The last part is important. This defines the range of your attack.

Melee Weapon - the attack has the same range as your melee weapon. This usually means a range of one (though some long spears can reach 2 squares i think)

Melee Touch - you have to be able to touch the target, so range of one. Simple.

Ranged Weapon - The attack uses the range of your ranged weapon. Luciel's longbow has a range of 20/40 (20 range normally, 40 range with a -2 penalty), so Silvery Arrow has the same attack range.

Ranged 10 - The attack has a range of 10. pretty simple.

These last two require pictures to help explain.

Close Blast 3 - You hit a 3x3 square next to you. This is the range for Zeno's Cacophonous Shout and Thundering Roar. In the picture, any of the 3x3 squares shown are valid options. Ignore the funny maptools symbol in the picture. I really need to start paying more attention before i take screenshots.

Close Burst 5 - Luciel's Healing Word has this range. The target is defined as "you or any ally in burst", so at this point Luciel could heal anyone within the shaded square (if she hadn't used both of her Healing Words already).


That should be about that. Also, i've got AIM up and running, look up hawkeyegff if you've got questions. Or if you're lonely. Whatever.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

7 damage is just enough to kill the slinger. i'll post what happens next tomorrow - i have a boatload of writing to do tonight.

Most amazing jew boots

Sorry about the delays, everyone, school's getting into that time of year where procrastinating is really no longer an option. Plus lack of sleep. Plus i've been getting into Mount and Blade again (bad idea, but.)

I was speaking idiomatically.

While that is the implication of the name, there's not actually any snow around. We'll just say it's summer there and call it good.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

BUMP! No one's done anything for a few days. I don't want to have to break out the yeti clause so soon, but...

FELIPE NO

Alright, I have answers!

Perception was your response to being ambushed. Thia was the only one who rolled high enough to notice the baddies just before they attacked, but your initiative was low enough that you're the last one to act in the surprise round. It's conditional - this roll won't happen if you aren't being ambushed or something similar.

I just sort of threw everyone on the board in a logical-looking setup. Having you guys put yourselves on the board would not only take too long, but also more or less defeat the purpose of a surprise attack.

Boulders and bushes have the same effects as last time (which is to say yes)

The green cross on Truckbus is a mark - if Truck attacks anyone other than the kobold who marked him (the northernmost dragonshield), he takes a -2 penalty to his attack roll. I realize now i didn't put that in the post - it will be fixed.

That frame is me once again forgetting to deselect the token before taking the screenshot. Ignore it, both now and when it inevitably happens again.

The dragonshields have swords, and the skirmisher and wyrmpriest have spears.

I'm not telling you what the skirmisher does - you'll have to figure that one out on your own. Suffice to say, he's a bad guy, and you should kill him.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I don't think you can move to where you want to, Rychord - you shift first and slide the enemy after, so you can't switch places with it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.