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With Darga dead, I suppose I should start thinking about a new character. I rolled a set of stats, and got STR 14, DEX 12, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 13, CHA 15. I'd say they suggest a fighter/cleric...

Pending your approval, JadedDM, I think I'll go with that. I'll start working this weekend. Should I start at level 1 again?

No, we'll start him at around the same XP as Darga, so 4,500 XP. Although if you multi-class, that would split it, 2,250 XP each. That would make him Fighter 2/Cleric 2, if you go that route.

Okay, so Kendra made it, so to speak. At -9 HP, it will take several days for her to recover naturally, I'm afraid.

Since Blue Team is now disbanded, Red Team is now the only team by default. So I'll stop using colored text.

Ok, sorry about Darga. Now we just need to get some responses for the combat we're in right now.

Well, mgbevan is on vacation, I think. So we're really just waiting on BishGada.

I found some wifi in a transit airport. That battle with the horaxes went horribly wrong. It's nice that Pen took the body to bury Darga. Will post in combat now, but am unsure of future Internet capability. Can you please assume I am NPC until the 15th April to keep things moving smoothly. Thanks

For your consideration, JadedDM, here's what I've come up with for a new character:

Arulia
Female Half-Elf Fighter 2/Cleric 2 (NG)
STR 14, DEX 12, CON 15, INT 8, WIS 13, CHA 15, Age 21, HT 5'4", WT 107 lbs, Birthday 04/04/330
HP: 16/16 ((10+8)/2, (6+4)/2, +2 for constitution bonus)
THAC0: 19
AC: 4 (-5 chain mail, -1 shield)
Dmg: Footman's Mace (1d6+1/1d6)
ROF: Footman's Mace Melee (1/1)
XP: Fighter 2250/4000, Cleric 2250/3000
Saves: PPDM 10, RSW 14, PP 13, BW 16, S 15
Skills: Sleep/Charm Resistant (30%), Infravision (60'), Pass Concealed Door (1 on 1d6), Search Secret Door (1,2 on 1d6), Search Concealed Door (1,2,3 on 1d6)
WP: Club, Footman's Mace, Quarterstaff, Warhammer
NWP: Healing (11), Language: Qualinesti, Reading/Writing (10)
Languages: Common, Qualinesti
Gear:
Head – (coif from chain mail)
Neck – none
Torso – Backpack (2 lbs), Chain Mail (40 lbs), Tunic
Hands – Footman's Mace (10 lbs), Medium Shield (10 lbs)
Waist – Hanger and Baldric, Breeches
Feet – Riding Boots
Backpack – Flint and Steel (0.1 lbs), Hooded Lantern (2 lbs), Lamp Oil: 2 flasks (2 lbs), Silk Rope: 50 feet (8 lbs), Small Tent (10 lbs), 3 Torches (3 lbs), 3 Steel Pieces
Encumbrance: 87.1 lbs (Lightly Encumbered, MV 10)
Stowed Gear: none
Tithed at Start of Game: 22.55 STP (Starting Money: 150 stp)
Spells: ???

I didn't fill in any spellcasting ability yet because I'd like her to (eventually?) follow Paladine, and he hasn't yet come back into the world. Until he does, I don't mind her not having spellcasting or other clerical abilities.

I've started on her backstory, and assuming that her above statistics are acceptable, I'll post it when it's complete. I did write up her appearance and personality, and I'll post that in the character descriptions thread upon character approval. For now, I'll include it below:

Arulia

Arulia is a slender young half-elven woman with long honey-colored hair and green eyes. Though she usually wears her hair in such a manner to hide them, her pointed ears betray her elven heritage. A lifelong resident of Haven, her day-to-day clothing is in the local fashion with some variation of a blouse under a corset and a floor-length skirt. In her capacity as a guardswoman, though, she dons finely-wrought chainmail, breeches, and boots. She seems just as comfortable in her armor as she does her civilian clothing.

Arulia is friendly and outgoing. She makes friends easily and enjoys the company of others. As an idealist, she tends to trust others implicitly, at least until they prove unworthy of her trust. Having grown up as a bastard and a half-elf, she's long since developed a thick skin and is slow to anger. Likewise, she's unafraid to stand up for herself or those she cares about, and has little tolerance for prejudice. She believes in living a straight-forward life and prides herself on her honesty, though some might say that she's a bit too proud and self-absorbed. Others scoff at her honesty, noting rightly that she's a horrible liar anyway--on the rare occasions that she attepmts to hide the truth, her nervous twitching always gives her away.

That looks good to me. It'll be good to have another woman in the party, and a cleric, at that (at least, once her powers manifest, anyway).

Halfway reading through Arulia's chapter's first post I was joking to myself. "So Arulia dies in about 2 rounds of combat, fast story arc, wonder who djhyland will replace her with. I guess this is what happens when you roll up a character the DM doesn't like."

Clearly, I have something against Good aligned characters.

Two rounds?!? Takhisis wouldn't even need one to off Arulia!

If Arulia dies, maybe I'll replace her with an evil character to see if he or she lives longer than my good characters.

I'm assuming the first round is spent toying with her.

According to the spell "Change Self" which Haahqae has prepared, he can change himself into "human, humanoid or any other generally man-shaped bipedal creature." Would Haahqae therefore be able to turn himself into an earth elemental or other rock-skinned bipedal creature which would give him camouflage against the cave wall or could be mistaken by suitably dumb creatures for a large rock lying around? (and thus get a bonus on stealth).

He could also change his already small stature of 3'3" down to 2'3". Would this make it easier for him to hide?

Interesting questions. Well, I looked up Earth Elementals in the MM, and it doesn't say anywhere they get a stealth or surprise bonus for looking like earth, so I would imagine looking like one yourself wouldn't confer any similar bonuses.

Making yourself appear shorter would be helpful in hiding behind something smaller than you are, but it won't confer any bonuses to Hide in Shadows.

Finally, I should point out that casting any spell or cantrip will require Haahqae to speak, which could give away his position.

As for your other questions

Haahque wrote:Weapons: Any giant clubs lying around? Where's the bag of boulders? What are the ogres using?
Entry into the cage: Where are the keys? How high off the ground is the cage? Is there a lowering mechanism, does he have to cut the rope? Can he slip through the bars?)

There is a massive club leaning against the east wall near the giant.
The ogres have their own clubs--smaller, but still quite large--at their sides.
No sign of any boulders anywhere in that room.

The cage hangs pretty close to the ceiling, so about 20 feet up. He doesn't see any keys anywhere, but then again, the cage has no door, either. Any of the humans could easily walk out, if they so choose...and crash 20 feet to the ground below, of course. Cutting the rope would cause the cage to crash to the ground, severely wounding if not outright killing the occupants inside and causing a great deal of noise, I'd imagine. The cage can be lowered slowly by the rope, but it would take great strength to do so.

Ok forget the cantrip, but It may well take Haahqae a few more seconds of investigating closer to convince himself that he can't actually take on the giant and 3 ogres by himself. At least not without a ladder, 30 ft of rope and a rubber chicken.

I'll edit and extend the post until Haahqae's back with the rest of the party.