The Eye of Anubis: OOC Thread

[Nathan of the FoS]

1) The plot. This book was a little more open - how did you like progressing through it?

I am not sure we "progressed" through it so much as "flung it down and trampled on it". And vice versa (that is, we got flung down and trampled a bit ourselves). We made a couple of pretty bad gaffes (well, one of them was all mine...why not just rush through that obviously trapped door?...) and a couple of strategic choices that, although defensible, were probably not ideal. For what it's worth, if I had had any idea it would take us until nightfall to get out to Kheldun's place I would have recommended against it; but that's the kind of thing were it would be easy to underestimate the time it would take if it were happening "IRL", so...stuff happens! In retrospect, of course, it would have been better to wait until after nightfall. (Of course, then we would have been mucking around in the Tombs at midnight. Not an attractive proposition.)

All's well that ends well (barely) so I guess it turned out okay. And we ended up with Vedarrak at the tomb with us after all. So much for clever plans to ditch him in Muhar!

The whole Mandisa subplot--wow. That was brutal. Bru-tal. And I hardly even interacted with her! I hope we get to revisit that in a more positive way, because it was quite the gut-punch and it seemed to me like it didn't resolve particularly well.

I really liked the way the Falkovnians were played (sorta) against type. It was interesting to see how our attitudes toward them changed (and didn't change) as events revealed more about them as people. So, well done there.

2) The battles, which included the underground temple battle Snefru and the giant, chaotic slugfest at the end, as well as the traps you encountered along the way.

I would like to say, it is just not much fun being the buffbot. Although hearing that one's buffbottery has turned the tide for a fellow PC does have a nice warm fuzzy feeliing attached to it (thanks lostboy!). Oh, by the way, Whistler, want a pair of deathstrike bracers? They're not much good to me anymore.

I think I need to figure out more non-standard options for combat scenes...explosives? (Otto's powder monkey?) Alchemical widgets (a la the tanglefoot bag trick)?

I rather liked the second fight...lots going on, some clever tactics to keep Falkovnians and Muhari separated, desperate last-ditch fighting, cast of thousands...always something to do! And buffing 50 people at once is pretty amusing. The first fight was a little more frustrating, what with the massive debuff, getting sneak attacked for massive damage, and spending the rest of the fight trying to get out of the way. The scene just after the temple collapse was kind of amusing, though. In a stress-filled way.

3) The cutscenes. We used a lot more cutscenes than we normally do this book. What did you think of both the cutscene events and the style of having so many of them?.

It was a lot of fun. I don't know if it represents some kind of compromise position from the book-opening poll about what to do with the NPCs, but it was interesting (and dramatic) to see events unfold for them in parallel to what was happening to us.

[Kaitou Kage]

I know that this has been ignored or unwanted in the past but I figure I'll throw it out there one more time just in case.

Does anyone want a Stalwart Pact cast on them? I can prepare up to three the day before we go to the tomb. Kuzan is taking one of them. The pact lasts until triggered, and is triggered when you are reduced to half your normal hp (that is, before buffs are accounted for) or lower.

After that, for 11 rounds, you gain the following benefits:

- 25 temporary hp
- damage reduction 5/magic
- +2 luck bonus to saves

The only caveat is that it requires a 250gp material component and the onus is on you to pay. On the other hand, Kuzan'll cast the spell at cost.

[DocBeard]

I don't have the bling, Kuz.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

I'll pass, but thanks for the offer. ^^

[lostboy]

I would but Sascha has this annoying habit of not having any money, so unless there's a cut-price (free) version available, I'll have to pass too...

[Isabella]

There seems to be some confusion here, so allow me to reiterate: The "doors" you are currently trying to check for traps are a reflection in the standing pool. As Harris is currently sticking his hand through them and touching the stone pool floor, checking them for traps may be a trick proposition.

[Kaitou Kage]

Okay, my bad. Retcon that Kuzan suggests someone look for another way through, and then check for traps?

[The Whistler]

I'm happy to look around and/or work my Trapfinding mojo...after I get off work.

[lostboy]

There seems to be some confusion here, so allow me to reiterate: The "doors" you are currently trying to check for traps are a reflection in the standing pool. As Harris is currently sticking his hand through them and touching the stone pool floor, checking them for traps may be a trick proposition.

Ah ok I editted my post and threw in a 12 on a spot check on the pool (not that it will help much Im sure...)

[NeoTiamat]

Hello everyone, yes, the other DM is still alive, and now only hip-deep in papers as opposed to neck deep. Anyways, popping by to do XP, which I probably should've done before I left...

First off, some backlogged XP from a while ago, specifically Lostboy's Maps and RPs from Kage, DocBeard, Rock, and YalenusVeler

Lostboy, last map I have logged XP for is the Muhar main map, which means I owe you for.... five different maps, I think. The Temple map, the Square map, and three maps for Book Eleven. (Ye gods, have I been tardy). So we'll call that at 1600 XP each, 1600x5=8000 XP, which with levels reductions is bumped down to 2000 XP. Sound fair?

Kage, DocBeard, and Rock each participated in two RPs each, so that's 800 XP reduced to 200 for Rock and Kage, and 400 for DocBeard. Andre participated in one RP, so that's 400/4=100 XP for him.

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Now, for the end of Book stuff. 4500 unadulterated experience to all PCs for surviving Cavendish. (If you didn't survive you wouldn't get the XP, obviously). And there was much rejoicing.

Also, the Book Base Level is now bumped up to 10, so further XP calculations reflect that.

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Lastly, XP for Feedback, or at least Feedback to date. Lostboy, DocBeard, and Nathan each get 1500 XP, after level-reductions, Nathan gets 750, DocBeard gets the full 1500, Sascha gets 150/2=75, levels, then gets the remaining 1350/4, which I'll round up to 350 for ease of math, for a total of 425 XP.

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This means that Sascha and Kuzan have gone from level 11 to level 12, and Otto has gone from level 10 to level 11. Andre and Tomas are both within spitting distance of leveling as well.

I think that's it, but if I were you I'd go through the XP logs and make sure you're not missing anything. Side-RP XP in particular has a habit of slipping between the cracks, so I need you guys to keep me honest.

[lostboy]

Actually you only owe me for 4 maps, Isabella drew the temple one.

So I think that makes Sascha 50xp shy of level 12.

Too honest for Saschas own good....

[DocBeard]

Do I get XP fo0r the first chapter of my story? I only ask because art dudes get XP for individual pictures.

[Isabella]

You are now in combat rounds. You know the drill, folks.

Any square that has two or more green dancers next to it is a threatened square as well. If you move into it, you take the damage, if the dancers move to you, you take the damage. Just so everyone’s clear on how the green dancers work, I’ve made up a little graphic of them. The red squares represent areas you would take damage for entering.



This will be the last time I mention this: if you walk into a threatened area because you forgot it was there, you take the damage. If you do not want to take the most direct route to the point you move to, you need to say as much in your post. Something as simple as “up, up, left, down” or “north, north, west, south-east” will suffice.

[Isabella]

Just as a friendly reminder, folks, you can trade in a standard action for a move action, meaning those of you hanging can take two move actions.

[Kaitou Kage]

Doing this now since I haven't really had time before this.

1) The plot. This book was a little more open - how did you like progressing through it?

This plot as a whole was pretty brutal, and largely because this time Cavendish really struck close to home. It was interesting how the wickedness of the Falkovnians was eclipsed by Cavendish's utter evil.

I had actually suspected Mandisa was Cavendish and I think I mentioned it to Neo once. It fit too well for me. But I didn't really say anything publicly because at the time it felt like I was being paranoid. I suppose that it's a good thing when a villain makes you second guess like that?

I do agree with Doc, though. I think this would've been an appropriate place to eject Cavendish from the story permanently. Whether we kill him or just chase him off for good, we've got a LOT coming up in the last two books, and I think the climax would work better if we'd been able to actually start picking off our main adversaries. We've got the Conspiracy to deal with still. We've got Beherith and potentially the Anubite. We've got Vedarrak. And we've got whatever powers-that-be that are awaiting us back in Port-a-Lucine. Suffice to say, it's getting really crowded and I think this would've been an apt opportunity to clear house.

2) The battles, which included the underground temple battle Snefru and the giant, chaotic slugfest at the end, as well as the traps you encountered along the way.

The first battle was fairly run-of-the-mill. Not that I am complaining! "Normal" battles are certainly fine! When we have to fight, it's nice to be in a situation that doesn't feel like one single misstep could be devastating. It could've been handled a lot better at the beginning, but we recovered nicely.

The second battle was really rough, but I feel it was just the right length. I think if it'd gone another round further, it would've been too long. It was interesting tackling such a big fight at about half my normal healing effectiveness. On the other hand, it is not an experience I care to repeat! Being the only dedicated healer for a group of eight PCs is rough enough! This fight added several NPCs to the mix and really felt pretty stressful sometimes. Perhaps I am trying too hard to get to everyone, but big thanks to Andre for the bear's endurance at the beginning and to Chaz for all those greatnesses toward the end. That was all a huge load off. The intensity of the fight really made it feel like we were fighting for our lives, so to speak. On the other hand, I think our strategy was actually spot on for most of that battle. Looking back on it, I don't really see much we could've done better, given our situation. So congratulations to everyone because it was very nicely handled.

3) The cutscenes. We used a lot more cutscenes than we normally do this book. What did you think of both the cutscene events and the style of having so many of them?

Haha, I wonder, given our IM conversations, if I really have to answer this question It was cool seeing what was going on back home, if nerve-wracking sometimes. I have to hand it to you, you really know how to play up the suspense. I had a very hard time convincing myself that you weren't going to kill them off without giving us a real chance at rescuing them.

The one gripe I had with it was since the events in the cutscene were so close to us, I had a hard time remembering that no, I don't know what happened in that cutscene. That, though, is a personal failing, not something wrong with the cutscenes themselves.