OOC Chat

[JadedDM]

So that ends chapter nine. Next is chapter ten, and the finale of Dragons of Flame!

Here is the part where I ask for feedback, as usual. Any questions, comments, etc.?

My thoughts on this chapter:

Eben is kind of fun to roleplay. I honestly can't remember anymore how he was portrayed in the books, so I'm just going by the module so far.

The party was supposed to fight the three trolls before entering the Sla-Mori, but I skipped it because there was no real reason to have the encounter other than to slow the pacing down further. They did have some nice treasure, including a shield +1 and a strongbox full of coins--but the party would only acquire it if they defeated the trolls, then followed their tracks back to their lair. I somehow doubted you guys would do that, so I skipped it.

Despite Tas' claims to the contrary, there were no spiders at all in this chapter. There were some random encounters with giant wasps and carrion crawlers, though. But I never got to use them. Most of the enemies in this chapter were undead, but the party skipped most of them. The wraith was one of them. He was hiding in one of the natural tunnels that the party chose not to explore.

Another big fight was in the large tomb, with all the doors? Each door held 2 zombies. Had the party opened any door, all 40 of the zombies would have risen and attacked. This also would have happened if the wraith chased the party into the tomb or if anyone had cast any spells in the tomb.

I'm not sure why so many of you seemed to think there would be draconians or anything like that lying in wait. The whole point of using the Sla-Mori is that the dragonmen know nothing about it. Stealth is your ally here. Once you're in the fortress, if the bad guys discover you and become alerted, your job is going to get much more difficult.

Anyway, I'll get chapter ten up soon. Hope you are all having fun so far.

[Nuke]

so far so good, the limited healing continues to put a strain on us, but we seem to have avoided some lost HPs, so, so far, we live.

Still having fun, so bring on Pax Tharkas!

[JadedDM]

Glad to know someone is enjoying themselves!

By the way, when this module ends and DL3 begins, I have plans to do some recruiting for more players at the official Dragonlance forums. As it stands now, I'll be NPCing Tanis, Flint, Raistlin, Caramon, Eben, and Gilthanas. Plus, DL3 introduces another two permanent NPCs and quite a few temporary ones. So, hopefully I'll get a few bites and can relieve the burden a bit.

[Breila]

Whew, I'm very relieved we didn't open any of the tomb doors! As for me, I didn't think there would be Draconians, but I expected undead, and more traps.
If it isn't a spoiler, is that circular floor on a chain an elevator, or a counterweight for a heavy door or portcullis?


Oh, and could you please add, in the character stats, the form of Goldmoon's medallion of faith? I keep forgetting what Mishakal's holy symbol is...

[JadedDM]

There were additional traps, including a big loop that you could get locked in. But you guys managed to pick the right path. However, you also almost missed the room with Wyrmslayer! I was actually a bit relieved when the party headed in that way. It's a very useful weapon, especially against dragons and draconians. (However, it would have have helped much against undead. Despite Laurana's theory, the undead would not have left the party alone if they saw the sword. In fact, the wraith wasn't even elven. It was a human graverobber who got trapped and died while trying to find treasure!)

As for the chain: it's a counterweight. If Gilthanas had been present, he would have said so, so I don't consider that a big spoiler. It could have been climbed, and taken you to a higher level of the fortress--but only small sized people could squeeze through, like Tas and Magpie. Humans would have been too big.

In the books, there was a banshee in this dungeon. I think they included it in the 3E version of the modules, too. But there was no reference to it in the original module. Go figure.

Mishakal's symbol is a blue infinity symbol (like a sideways '8'). I'll include that in her stat block.

[Jenara]

Its really tough knowing the books inside and out, like knowing that there was something behind the doors, yet not reacting in the way that I knew, and I tried to say about the chain without giving a spoiler!

I worked on the thought that it was used as a burial chamber, when I knew it wasn't really.

But I am having more fun now, was in a slump.

Bring on Verminaard!

[JadedDM]

Speaking of convergence from the books, it's worth noting that the first novel, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, ends at Pax Tharkas. The next two modules, DL3 and DL4, are not covered at all. The books skip right to DL6 in Dragons of Winter's Night.

That means, unless you've read the more recently published Lost Chronicles (specifically, Dragons of Dwarven Depths), the contents of DL3 and DL4 should mostly come to a surprise to you.

Although, even if you have read that book, there's at least one big difference between the books and the modules that may surprise you when it happens. I won't say what, though!

[Jenara]

Bit miffed, why did we go left? When Laurana already asked people to go straight on?

And yeah.. I know nothing of those modules, all I know is what is mentioned in the books.

[JadedDM]

It didn't really matter. All three tunnels had the same destination. I just went with the most recent post in order to move things forward.

[Jenara]

Ok, makes sense, was just curious.

[Kafen]

Right, common sense time - you are using a summary post as GM. Shift targets, next time. :/ Please? If the target I am firing at goes down in the round before me, Tas would shift his fire. Geesh...

I am not trying to start a fight, honestly. It is just hard for me to understand why you would not shift Tas' target to another bad guy if you are using a summary post which does not give players time to change targets.

[JadedDM]

Despite the fact that combat appears slow and orderly in the game, it is only an abstraction. The combatants don't actually stand there for several moments, waiting for their turn, and then choose to act, followed by holding still again. Combat is simply organized that way to make things easier for the players and DM. In real life, combat is very chaotic, fast, and messy.

Long story short, by the time Tas loads his weapon, gets into position and readies to fire, it is too late to suddenly choose a new opponent in the last second. There isn't enough time left in the round to do so. It just feels like he does, due to the abstract manner in which combat is organized.

In any case, I can find nothing in the PHB or the DMG that suggests the DM is supposed to allow players to change targets in the last second.

[Jerrard]

I was thinking the same thing, if we announce that the attacks are on two targets, OR if the first target falls he will switch to the next closest will that be acceptable?

[JadedDM]

I was thinking the same thing, if we announce that the attacks are on two targets, OR if the first target falls he will switch to the next closest will that be acceptable?

If you have multiple attacks per round, you can target more than one enemy (for instance, your first attack can target Enemy 01 and your second attack can target Enemy 02), but only if they are in range. (Remember, you can only move once per round. So you cannot move toward Enemy 01, attack, then move toward Enemy 02 and attack again, even if you still have some movement left over.)

However, as I just explained, you cannot change targets in the heat of battle. If the enemy you were targeting dies, falls, surrenders, runs away, teleports, etc., you cannot suddenly change to another target that round. It's against the rules, unless someone can show me somewhere in the books where it says otherwise.

[Kafen]

Init order, actually. The player acting first goes. The player acting after the first player acts second. Eventually, you get to the last player in the combat order. Why would Tas shoot at a target that he just watched go down? :/ On table top, I would get to change my target. In your game, you use a summary post which breaks the rules.

It is common sense. If you force me to pick a target prior to the actions of the first player taking place, you are breaking the rules which you are using. At best, you make it pointless for anyone to declare an action if they do not go first. It is a problem you create by using a summary post in the forum games. As a gm, you have to set the rule book down and use common sense instead of forcing the players to pick targets when it is your GM style that changes the rules.

Read the rules and apply them - you are required to give us that chance under them. Or, you can set aside the rulebook in light of the fact that you are changing the rules by your posting method as a forum GM.