After killing the evil dead we headed back to town so that our Mage could learn some new spells and we could buy and sell some loot. In this down-time the Mage also decides to summon a familiar, a weasel in this case.
The first thing the DM says after the familiar is summoned is, 'So when it dies what happens to you?'
Why did I ignore the message contained in my own advice when having the following e-mail conversation with the DM?
The DM's lines are emphasised.
Right, a quick question with regards to old-to-new rules.
If something has a +3/15 or +5/20 weapon resistance, what does that translate in to 3.5 rules?
(holy crap)
Um, I have the conversion guide right here, no really I do, and it informs me that +3/15 becomes, uh, magic 5, or something. The +5/20 is also magic 5. Phew! That sounds like quite a challenge for us, make no mistake.
So if it's not magic then subtract 5 points of damage from any damage. Sounds pretty crap when the idea of +5/20 is basically telling you it's unhittable.
Wow! A natural 20 on a Bluff check and the DM rolls a 1. I rock.
It's early and I'm tired but you've just moved up the list on targets for tonight. In fact you are now above both the Paladin and the Mage. Well done, it took a lot to do that!
Aww, crap.
Exploring the level of the dungeon we were on we encountered a rather ominous-looking door, completely black and with runes carved in to the surface. Our Paladin detected some strong evil presence on the other side of it. After the fight with the ogres and a couple of other minor skirmishes we decided that perhaps we ought not to discover what was on the other side of the door until we had rested a little and were more able to put up a good fight. Well, we rested, and thus had no further excuse not to destroy whatever evil lurked beyond.
After checking what the runes read, bypassing traps and locks, and finding out some historical information from the small but lavish foyer, we were ready to enter the lair of who knows what creature. Our Paladin was Enlarged, and being a natural defender of Good he was first to enter the room. What he found there was a single undead monster, wielding a black, runed blade. The Paladin could do little else than get in and shout back what he saw before the skeleton was upon him, smiting him for a fair bit of damage. The single hit also made the Paladin weaker, losing 1 point of Constitution from the skeleton's evil blade. The rest of us had to react fast to attain victory. The Cleric decided that now would be the best time to cast Prayer. The Rogue bravely entered the room and tumbled safely to an area where he could attack the monster. The Mage reacted last, planning on what spell to cast as it was my turn to face the evil creature.
I entered the room and found that I had little option but to dodge past the Enlarged Paladin, making me vulnerable to an Attack of Opportunity from the skeleton. His black blade bit deeply in to my flesh, finding a weak spot in my armour. Not only was I, too, weakened by a point of Constitution damage from the hit but it also took me down to below a third of my health with one hit. One hit! The fight wasn't going to last long this way. On my way in to the room, however, I readied not my spiked chain but a mace that we had found, with a Detect Magic making us suspect it could be a mace of Disruption. Knowing that we were facing undead it seemed prudent to use the mace, in case it did have this special power.
Even weakened from the mighty blow I found the strength to fight back and put all my force behind the mace as I swung it upon the skeleton before me. As the mace struck, something incredible happened: the skeleton was destroyed! It crumpled in to dust before our eyes, feeling the true force that Disruption can inflict, for it did indeed turn out to be a mace of Disruption. It was like the God of Luck was looking down on me, a single blow destroying this once deadly foe before us!
Of course, it wasn't just me who killed the skeleton, as it was teamwork that ultimately decided its fate; if the Cleric hadn't cast Prayer when she did the skeleton would have been strong enough to withstand the power of the Disruption. It may not have been so lucky with subsequent blows, had it survived the first, but it looked likely to kill at least one of us first.
After making sure the pile of dust wasn't going to reanimate we congratulated ourselves on defeating such a powerful foe, even if there was a fair bit of good fortune involved. The party healed up, and it seemed the God of Luck was still smiling on me, as the Cleric managed to cast a Cure Serious Wounds with maximum effect. We then searched for any treasure that what we knew to be a fallen, heroic warrior may have stashed away over the years. In a chest we found, amongst other things, the final poetic moment to the battle. There was amidst the treasure a Tome of Understanding, a powerful magic book that, when read, endows the reader with a permanent gain in Wisdom. If only the skeleton had taken the time to read this book rather than considering it of little value it may have made its Will save against the Disruption.
Finding a room in the dungeon with nothing in it apart from a spittoon in the corner, the natural curiosity of some party members gets the better of them. It is quickly decided that the spittoon, full of a disgusting fluid that I don't really want to go in to detail about, should be checked to see if there is treasure hidden in it. It seems like a strange place to store anything to me, but there you go.
Our Rogue decides to empty it, by tipping it upside down to pour out the contents on the floor rather than the unpleasant alternative of sticking a hand in to it. As the foul, gooey liquid is poured out we're told that there is a glint of gold in amongst the liquid. After hearing this, the Rogue announces that he is emptying the spittoon in such a way that no other member of the party can see the contents. Somehow, the DM thought that it was a bit late to say this.
Ah well. He's clearly got the right instincts to be a Rogue, he just needs to work on his Reflexes.
Sitting on the dock of Booty Bay, watching the ships come in and then go back out again, I was taking in the glorious sight of the sun setting over the sea. Just as the sun was reflecting off the water, I, too, was reflecting on things. It was then that I had a moment of inspiration, and had to put [Long Tail Feather] to [Silk Cloth]. With little thought of embarrassing myself in front of everyone, I shall reproduce my writing here:
I'll take you from the Ironforge's heat,
A flight, a ship, we'll land in Theramore,
And stride out to the heart of Kalimdor,
To battle back-to-back the Horde's elite.
Our path ahead, with no thought of retreat,
We'll fight to Thunder Bluff, waging a war,
To find the Tauren you want to adore,
But there, with you, I won't admit defeat.
For of that Tauren you'll find not a trace,
You'll see they're little more than savage beasts,
No grace, no wit, no comforting embrace,
All things an Elf like you deserves at least,
But from this quest you may find one reward,
The one who fought beside you, mind and sword.
Before a gaming session, do not gleefully remind the DM of how you killed his character in the previous adventure.
I was pootling around Stormwind City when someone asked on the trade channel where he could find Spider's Silk. After a couple of replies I decided that I probably could afford to offer some of the Spider's Silk I hold in the bank, for my tailoring patterns. I ask him how much he would like, and he tells me he just wants a couple, so we agree a price. He asks me where I am, so that we can conclude the deal, and I tell him that I am outside of the bank. Well, I was inside, but went outside to meet him. I waited for a short while, but he didn't turn up, and Stormwind isn't that big, so I tried to locate him.
He appeared to me to be in Burning Steppes, and he was only level 25! My keen intellect realised that he was probably flying over it on a gryphon. But even that didn't make sense, so I used a bit of deduction and asked if he was on his way to Ironforge. Yes, he replies, he is on his way to me. But, uh, I am in Stormwind, I tell him. He is confused, wondering how I was outside the bank when I wasn't in Ironforge. I then pointed out that I was standing outside the Stormwind bank; after all, he was chatting on the Stormwind trade channel.
He then realised the error of his ways and was apologetic, but it wasn't really a problem. I jumped on my horse, Bess, and went to the tram station in Stormwind to catch the Deeprun Tram to Ironforge. I got there just before him and we made the deal in the end. Besides, I'll take any excuse to visit the Auction House.
Okay, it's time for a quick game: guess the relative ages of the players! But first, some background for the game. My main character, a Human Warlock called Faust, is an enchanter, which means I turn all the neat magical items I find in to dust so that I can make other magical items more powerful. There are some enchanters who sell their trade on the trade channels in cities, probably making a fair bit of money, but that seems like too much hanging around for me and a little cut-throat, as it is difficult to put a firm price on enchantments so that I never feel like I am giving a good deal. Hence, I tend to enchant my own equipment and those of my fellow adventurers, whether they are friends or in my guild. I also keep some spare items hanging around so that I can boost my enchanting skill, which then lets me learn more powerful enchantments from tutors.
I found myself today with lots of dust and a bit of time, so I decided to boost my enchanting skill up to a level where I could learn some neat new enchantments. I started enchanting the scrappy bracers I keep in the bank, until the enchantment I was giving them no longer helped boost my skill. I realised I could enchant cloaks to keep gaining ranks in the skill, and that the one I was wearing would be good to do that. But then I thought that perhaps it was a bit wasteful to keep overwriting the enchantment, and I may as well give it away to others, as it would have the same effect but help more people. So I found a couple of people who readily agreed to a free enchantment on their cloak, funnily enough, but then I got fed up with running around trying to find people who wanted this. I posted a quick message to the Trade channel advertising two freen +50 armour enchantments to a cloak.
And now it's time to play our game! The first chap who replied actually asked, 'I'm the first, right?' He then found me after I gave directions and by the time I had bade him welcome he had the trade window up with his cloak in it ready to be enchanted. I play on a role-playing server, by the way. (Earthen Ring, European server, if you're interested.) I enchanted his cloak, because I am not one to judge when giving away free stuff, and told him I hoped he would enjoy the enchantment. He bowed to me and ran off back to whatever he was doing before, after a quick 'thank you'.
The second chap contacted me and asked if the enchantment was available. When I told him it was and gave him directions he came to see me. We welcomed each other, and he bowed. I asked if he was after the enchantment, and he said he was. As he was a Hunter and had a pet wolf with him I said what a nice doggy he had, and patted it on the head. He thanked me for that and said he was proud of his pet. We then made the trade and he bowed again, thanking me for the enchantment. He also asked his wolf, Silver, to thank me as well, which I thought was nice. We bid each other farewell and went our separate ways.
Now it's over to you! Guess the ages, relative or otherwise, of the two players and win nothing!
Having brought the party to the attention of some ogres, we were battling away in the corridor. The conditions weren't really cramped for us, although the ogres could have done with some more room, so things were in our favour a little. But with a 10' reach the ogres still had an advantage, as they could hit us before we could reach them. Well, except for me and my spiked chain, but that's one of the reasons I learnt to use the weapon in the first place.
Having taken down the first ogre to close with us, as we didn't have to move far to fight him, we were left with another in the corridor, some 15' away. This presented us with a problem of how to get close without provoking an Attack of Opportunity and giving the ogre a free hit on us. I merely closed within 10' and was able to use my reach weapon. The Rogue tumbled towards the ogre, nimbly avoiding any threat. The Cleric and Mage stayed at the back, where they were most useful.
And the Paladin—brave, brave sir Paladin—decided that he would charge in to battle! But only 5' at a time. He had almost got close enough to hit the ogre by the time the Rogue and I had killed it. We must have been helped by his Paladin Aura, or something.
Still, the Paladin was first to enter the room where we found the ogres' friends, and when put in a position where he threatened the remaining two ogres he finished the fight off in one round, with some solid strikes of his blade. Huzzah!
Progressing through the dungeon, our party is in a long corridor with several doors on either side of it. Looking in the first door we see a couple of dire rats and their young, none of which is looking for a fight and there seems to be little of value in the room so we move on. At the next door our Paladin off-handedly says that he is going to kick the door open, after the Rogue had checked for traps on it. The rest of us wonder if this is a good idea and ask him as such, but his mind was made up and we didn't have time to stop him. Perhaps he forgot what happens when people kick things in this dungeon.
Nevertheless, he steps forward and gives the door a hefty kick. The door bursts open, which was somehow more reassuring than it remaining solidly in place and the Paladin falling backwards with a broken foot, perhaps because the latter would have lost any element of surprise we had with the foes in the room. Mind you, because the 'foes' turn out to be a few tools and rusty nails in a storage room the element of surprise wasn't particularly needed. I'm sure kicking the door down looked impressive, though.
It also sounded impressive, because as we checked to see if the rusty nails may be animated monsters the ogres in the next room across the corridor came out to congratulate the Paladin on his mighty kick. They stopped to get their weapons first, of course. The rest of us agreed to congratulate the Paladin with hearty pats on the back after the fight. If we still lived, that is.