D & D on the Straight Dope setup thread. (In Middle Earth FA63)

Thread Games
521

[QUOTE=What Exit?]
More paperwork:
I have calculated the XP (experience points)
I have a baseline of 1500 for all characters and all characters except for Brin earn a 10% bonus base on 1st Ed rules for their class.

Should I just post the XP here or send out individual PMs/Emails?

I will say Malacandra earned the most for Gil-Gandel and this was based on his song contributions and role-playing.

Only one character will have gained a level and that is of course our treasure finder. He has by far the easiest chart.

I won’t always have such a proportionally high base XP total, but more happened as new experiences than actual experience from kills and captures.

You collectively met several living legends, got a crash course in adventuring together and worked great as a team. You rescued many and took enough prisoners to gain more info and lead to a potential next adventure. You also collectively added the twist of bringing the orcs back for justice and showing mercy. Gandalf would be proud.

Jim
[/QUOTE]

  1. Jolly well done, that DM … I felt I was in Middle Earth :smiley:

  2. Post XP here. (Any spectators will be interested. 1500ish xp sounds right too - we don’t want ot go up levels too fast, but it’s nice to see an occasional level rise.)

  3. I was expecting our Treasure Finder to go up first (Thieves are always a level higher in 1st Edition).

  4. Absolutely right that Gil-Gandel gets a special award for his poetry. :cool:
    (At my school club, I spend ages trying to help pupils appreciate that it’s not just who inflicts the most damage, but who adds to the atmosphere and storyline with elegant or witty touches.)

522

[QUOTE=appleciders]
He’s going to copy them, I think, if they’re interesting.
[/QUOTE]

So you keep the original Books? Sweet!

523

It was only two votes, but I think I will just post here. If people don’t like in a majority, I won’t do it again.

**Mulligan ** picks up 1900xp. A good use of your abilities, well played and done. This gives you 5152 and 4th level. You will pick up another D6+con HP You get 6 HP to go to 27 total.

**Gwaelur ** got 2100xp. He always took the dangerous position in battle and fought very well. He excelled at what he was best at, chopping down orcs. This should put you to 6,500xp

**Thoroncir ** got 1800xp. Well played but the adventure did not favor your skills this time. 5801xp is your new total.

**Brin ** got 1800 without an XP bonus, you tracked, interacted, suggested, showed caution and roleplayed well. 6301xp total. A long way to go as a Ranger.

**Theogrim ** got 1750xp. Even less your skill set than Thoroncir and I know you were short on time. 5751 xp total.

Gil-Gandel got 2500xp. Great role-playing. I am glad you chose to be a bard. This is a great fit of player and character. Your total is 9001xp already and yet you still need 4000 more.

**Ghân ** got 2200xp. I think you were the most active player and practically co-ref. :wink: You made max use of your spells and helps out Deor quite a bit and gained two animal companions. 6,201xp total.

Deor got 1850xp, very eager, made good use of your spells and stayed active doing whatever you could to help. 6,851xp Total.

I am open to reasonable pleas if you think I forgot something. I hope this method doesn’t cause any hard feelings. It is my only worry.

524

I have no complaints; thank you.

525

Good party in my opinion. Well-organised, balaced, ready to discuss tactics and including humour* and real style**.
I face the future with confidence. :cool:
*Fang not Fluffy!

**you know who I mean, Gil-Gandel :wink:

526

DM, please could you confirm how much money we get each? (Because the Dwarves rightly got a share, plus there’s Moose.)

Are there any Potions or Scrolls for sale? How much do they cost?

Can I start (tomorrow) stocking up on Goodberries for our next trip?

527

[QUOTE=glee]
DM, please could you confirm how much money we get each? (Because the Dwarves rightly got a share, plus there’s Moose.)

Are there any Potions or Scrolls for sale? How much do they cost?

Can I start (tomorrow) stocking up on Goodberries for our next trip?
[/QUOTE]

Sorry, I need to get back to the Magic Items. We might sell several.

Potions are readily available, but scrolls for Druids would be hard to come by in the city of stone.

I do the items next.

528

[QUOTE=What Exit?]
Sorry, I need to get back to the Magic Items. We might sell several.

Potions are readily available, but scrolls for Druids would be hard to come by in the city of stone.

I do the items next.
[/QUOTE]

Magic items?

Carry on!

529

The Two handed Sword is a +2 weapon of wounding and slightly taint with evil but could probably be reforged and cleaned.

The Staff just has accumulated a magical aura. It does nothing special and will slowly fade.

The Belt is a magic belt of defense. It provides +3 to Armor and +1 to save. It cannot be worn with armor.

The Necklace is evil. It stops Magic missiles and acts as a spell booster, but it is evil. *It did have a collection of ears on it. *

The Magic Pouch was fire trapped and Wiz Locked. It also had a mechanical needle trap with a nasty poison. After all that is removed it was still magical. It reduces the weight of things stored in it by 50% and protects the items from harm as long as the pouch survives.

Inside is Magical Inks, a magical Ruby of aiding Identify. (It removes the Con loss), Fine silver pens, about 800gp in gems and Jewels. A minor magical magnifier that adds a level to Detection spells, this would include ID. There is also a small pouch of dusty powder that Deor can determine that a handful creates that huge cloud of smoke that Gash uses to escape the first confrontation with him. There is enough for 3 uses. There are also four non-magic scrolls. They are blank.

The Spell Books:
1st: Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Mending, Enlarge, Detect Magic, Protection from Good, Sleep & Spider Climb
2nd: Darkness 15’ radius, Detect Invisibility, Knock, Wizard Lock, Web, Strength
3rd: Dispel Magic, Lightning Bolt, Invisibility 10’ Radius, Suggestion, Infravision

Now we have to decide who gets what and what we sell. Then we need to divide up the gold. I count 8 PCs, Moose, Gimli, Caramir, 3 living Dwarves and one dead and Ranthor the scout and Merry.

How will we divide, will all get an equal share?

530

hey, posting from my phone(still no net at the new apt.) I am going to post this here since it is hardish to navigate, but Gwaelur will want to donate his share to the family of his fallen comrade.

If things progress that far tonight I want to make sure that makes it in there. If not I will right up an in character post in the am

531

[QUOTE=What Exit?]
The Two handed Sword is a +2 weapon of wounding and slightly taint with evil but could probably be reforged and cleaned.

The Staff just has accumulated a magical aura. It does nothing special and will slowly fade.

The Belt is a magic belt of defense. It provides +3 to Armor and +1 to save. It cannot be worn with armor.

The Necklace is evil. It stops Magic missiles and acts as a spell booster, but it is evil. *It did have a collection of ears on it. *

The Magic Pouch was fire trapped and Wiz Locked. It also had a mechanical needle trap with a nasty poison. After all that is removed it was still magical. It reduces the weight of things stored in it by 50% and protects the items from harm as long as the pouch survives.

Inside is Magical Inks, a magical Ruby of aiding Identify. (It removes the Con loss), Fine silver pens, about 800gp in gems and Jewels. A minor magical magnifier that adds a level to Detection spells, this would include ID. There is also a small pouch of dusty powder that Deor can determine that a handful creates that huge cloud of smoke that Gash uses to escape the first confrontation with him. There is enough for 3 uses. There are also four non-magic scrolls. They are blank.

The Spell Books:
1st: Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Mending, Enlarge, Detect Magic, Protection from Good, Sleep & Spider Climb
2nd: Darkness 15’ radius, Detect Invisibility, Knock, Wizard Lock, Web, Strength
3rd: Dispel Magic, Lightning Bolt, Invisibility 10’ Radius, Suggestion, Infravision

Now we have to decide who gets what and what we sell. Then we need to divide up the gold. I count 8 PCs, Moose, Gimli, Caramir, 3 living Dwarves and one dead and Ranthor the scout and Merry.

How will we divide, will all get an equal share?
[/QUOTE]

Ghân thinks the Sword is marvellous - but do we have a Warrior who can use it?

Similarly, who doesn’t use Armour in the party? Deor (but he’s got plenty of interesting choices!) Mulligan? Would the Belt magically change to fit an animal?

Can the taint of evil be removed from the Necklace? (Because that immunity is great for casters to have.)

The Pouch is fine too, again favouring Casters.
The stuff in the Pouch and the Spellbooks are great for Deor.
Would Deor’s MU contact be interested in buying some of this stuff and maybe giving us a good rate on future Identifies?

What is the market value of each item?
(Is the Staff worth anything?)

532

Thoroncir would be quite interested in the sword if it could be reforged, cleansed of all evil magic or insignia, and hallowed, unless someone else in the party is eager for it. Perhaps What Exit? could flip a coin, if so.

533

[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir]
Thoroncir would be quite interested in the sword if it could be reforged, cleansed of all evil magic or insignia, and hallowed, unless someone else in the party is eager for it. Perhaps What Exit? could flip a coin, if so.
[/QUOTE]

Ghân would suggest the party pay money for these procedures.
Having a Warrior with a Sword of Wounding is really going to help us in future combats.

534

I think after our Identify debacle, no one will object to me snatching up the ring.

I think that most of the stuff in the pouch suits me to carry around, but the pouch itself might be good for Mulligan.

I agree that that necklace is excellent. What happens if someone who is Good puts on the Evil necklace?

The belt would definitely suit me or Ghan best, I think.

535

And on comparing some of those spells with my spell list- nice! Enlarge and Strength should make our melee fighters pretty darn exciting to watch, if we need it. Couple other good ones, even level 1 and 2 ones that I can actually use.

536

[QUOTE=What Exit?]

**Mulligan ** picks up 1900xp. A good use of your abilities, well played and done. This gives you 5152 and 4th level. You will pick up another D6+con HP You get 6 HP to go to 27 total.

[/QUOTE]

Are you going to re-do the character sheets with the new details and send fresh copies or shall I update the existing one with the new stats?

[QUOTE=What Exit?]
I am open to reasonable pleas if you think I forgot something. I hope this method doesn’t cause any hard feelings. It is my only worry.
[/QUOTE]

As long as I get a mention in dispatches for a crazy scheme to assist in dealing with Gash, I don’t mind. :stuck_out_tongue:

Hey, it’s the playing that counts.

537

Magic items:

I would be more interested in the belt as I don’t wear armour. Can the belt be used at the same time as Barkskin of the other magical armour spells, in which case, I would suggest giving it to Ghan.

I would suggest the pouch gets used for holding spell components rather than any knick-knacks I decide are interesting. Better to protect those then much else.

The others are not much use to me

538

Note that Strength has a long casting time, but also a long duration - three hours at present, it will improve when Deor goes up levels, but it’s no use waiting until a fight starts to cast it. It would be guaranteed to boost my damage rating, certainly, but would be good for any fighter, especially one whose Strength score is already at least 15. (That, as a WAG, will be all of the fighters.) Potentially the Men and the Dwarf stand to get more out of the spell as it can’t take me over my racial limit - theirs is higher than mine.

That’s the trouble with multiclass characters, but I started out well by being 3rd level in both and there seem to be improvements I can make without needing to go up levels to do it. :cool:

By Gwaelur’s leave, I’ll want to start carrying ammunition loads on the commissary ponies, I think. It’ll mean being able to plaster the battlefield a little more. I’ll spend some time and money shopping for arrow-points, especially if there’s someone in the city who can turn out something a little better than average.

Note that I don’t wear armour either, and the armouring belt would certainly improve my chances at staying in hand-to-hand. I can do a lot of damage and get quickly to where I’m needed, but I have to be cautious even though my hit points are better than I was expecting. On the other hand I’m quite effective just with my bow and don’t need more protection there.

I certainly have no interest in a two-handed sword. It’s not my style, and I’m more effective with my Elven blades. I hope someone uses it though, swords of wounding are vicious. (The victim keeps losing hit points round by round after being hit, for those who don’t know.) And I’ll join Deor in a celebratory drink or two, for that is a most excellent spellbook with some super long-term investments when he hits 5th level.

539

[QUOTE=appleciders]
I think after our Identify debacle, no one will object to me snatching up the ring.

I think that most of the stuff in the pouch suits me to carry around, but the pouch itself might be good for Mulligan.

I agree that that necklace is excellent. What happens if someone who is Good puts on the Evil necklace?

The belt would definitely suit me or Ghan best, I think.
[/QUOTE]

Your enthusiasm is commendable :slight_smile: , but you must bear in mind that unless someone can make good use of an item, it’s fairer to the 17 ( :eek: ) characters with a claim on it to sell it.

So are you really going to do well with the Ring? (I assume you mean the Ruby and the minor magical identifier). Your chance of finding anything out in one casting of Identify is still pretty low (and won’t even reach 50% until you’re 7th level!).
DM, how much do we get if we sell them? (I assume Deor’s [COLOR=Blue]Identify contact would love to buy and use them!)[/COLOR]

The Magic Ink, Silver Pens and Magic Scrolls are perfect for you (DM, I presume this is for the [COLOR=Blue]Write spell?), [/COLOR] as are the Spell Books.
(DM, can Deor use some of the spells in the Books as [COLOR=Blue]Scrolls and cast them? How much do we get if we sell a Scroll?)[/COLOR]

The Pouch would be OK for you (Deor), Mulligan or Gil-Gandel.
The Smoke Powder would be great for Mulligan or Gil-Gandel, scouting ahead - suddenly needing to retreat.

The Belt wouldn’t work for Ghân (I wear Bark Armour) and would be a luxury for Deor. If Mulligan or Gil-Gandel can use it, that’s efficient. (Scouts face much more melee combat than MUs.)

540

Here’s a first draft of destinations for the magic:

+2 Sword of Wounding (Party pay for cleansing) … Thoroncir

Staff with aura … SELL

Belt +3AC, +1 saves … Mulligan or Gil-Gandel

Necklace of Magic Missile Immunity and Spell Boosting (Assuming Party can pay for cleansing - otherwise SELL) … Deor or Ghan (depending who can use the Spell Boosting)

Smoke Powder … Mulligan or Gil-Gandel

Pouch of Holding … Deor, Mulligan or Gil-Gandel (Ghân already has one)

‘Write Spell components’ … Deor

‘Identify Spell components’ … SELL (to Deor’s contact)

Spell Books … Deor (but if we can SELL spells he doesn’t need*)

*perhaps Mending, Enlarge, Protection from Good, Spider Climb; Darkness 15’, Suggestion, Infravision