Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Defences Compared

I looked through the defensive statistics of all the races that start with "A" in the Monster Manual. Here are my findings:
  • Will is always easier to hit than AC. On average, Will is 4.222... lower.
  • Reflex is almost always a better target, with only one instance of a higher Ref than AC. On average, Reflex is 3.62 lower than AC
  • Fort is the least advantageous of the secondary defenses. It's equal to or worse than AC almost half the time. Despite this, it's still 1.5 lower than AC on average.
This isn't a sampling of all the monsters, but 27 of around 300. I think that's a pretty good sample size. I doubt that monsters that start will A are aberrant statistically.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Employment Practices

After Owlbear, (a Halfling,) was told about the guard's height requirement for employment:

"Oh, they have standards? It's funny that they hire dead men, because that's what you are, a dead man!" Then he barks at the guards as we drag him away, "Ruff! Ruff!"

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Another Warlock Thing

The Warlock gets a variety of types of damage: cold, fear, fire, psychic, untyped, and radiant. That choice could be nice in situations. There's even an at-will that does radiant. That has its benefits.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Raven Pack Glossary: Diceturbating

Diceturbating: Gerund. While everyone is waiting, holding a die near the hips and shaking it perpendicular to the torso for an excessive period of time.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Immortal Words

"I pretend to put out the fire -- but I actually start a little fire."

El Dawg, 2008

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Warlocks Vs. Rangers

There's this idea that Warlocks are underpowered compared to the other classes. While I can't say for certain, I can compare them to the most similar class, the Ranger while using a bow. Both have an ability that locks on a person and does extra damage to that person. Both have the Prime Shot ability. While the Ranger has a +2 proficiency bonus from the bow, the Warlock can attack against Will, Fortitude, and Reflex.

The difference is mainly the sort of effect you do with attacks. Rangers largely move themselves around, then do plain ol' damage to the target, where Warlocks do all sorts of effects to the target, but don't get any bonus to maneuvering or escaping.

As far as I can tell, Warlocks actually get a bonus that the Ranger lacks: where the ranger can get a bonus from a magic weapon, the Warlock can get a bonus from an Orb and a Wand, cumulative, so far as I can tell. In the late game, that really adds up.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Damage Aura

I've thought of a title for the D&D adventure: The Attack Of The Killer Zombies That Have A Damage Aura Which Stacks With Other Similar Zombies.

The subtitle would be: "And the guys who killed them all".

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Yes, We're Cool

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My Nemesis

I really think the d20 is my enemy. I am continuously being critted on all over, with only numbers below 8 on my own rolls. That isn't to say that I never get crits, I just don't get crits that help.

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Bloodied Dragonborn

It's nice to finally discover that the +1 to-hit a dragonborn gets when bloodied actually has a game effect. I was beginning to think it was mythological, like a natural 20 on a daily power.

Friday, November 28, 2008

A New Low

It was a new low in lame jokes when I said, "We're the Raven Pack; we're Raven Packed with action."

Then someone said, "that's pretty good."

Although I do like the idea that our characters are like macabre puppets, somehow animated by the ravens stuffed inside our bodies. When we fought, ravens would fly out instead of blood and viscera.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Hole In Our Pocket

Star Wars last night was Rodrigo's nightmare. Using money as a distraction. Giving money to people in exchange for services rendered. Waiting to rob people until the appropriate moment, instead of the first available moment.

One can only wonder how much different the game would have been with our own incarnation of Mammon on the scene.

Friday, November 14, 2008

STAR WARS

When we left the crew of the blue steel
they were on a hutt planet
participating in a grand arena tournament.

Rodrigo Ferrara and the Trandoshin hope
to be the proud owners of a shiny new ewok...

7:16 Duh da da da duh da duh da da duh da da daaaa

7:23 Da duh da da da da duh da daaa

7:34 Let get ready to ruuummbbbllleeee!!!!

7:59 Only 10 people remain in the arena including Risin and Rodrigo and 3 1337 npcs.

8:13 The pansy blaster man is gutted.

8:29 Knife man dies while trying to live. Isn't that how it always is?

8:32 The kung fu guy pounds Risin. Rodrigo suggests DPing him.

8:37 Apparently it is Rodrigo's destiny to win this so he crits all over the kung fu guy. It is the GM's destiny to screw over the players and the guy doesn't die. After a final spite attack the last uber guy dies.

8:40 Rodrigo and Risen agree to a duel to the pain to find the winner. Risen sucker punches Rodrigo with a sith blade, but Rodrigo pwns him.

8:42 Risen spends a force point to stabilize the GM.

8:45 Rodrigo is awarded with a brand new ewok. A worthy prize that 50 people died to get. This is now the third character that Rodrigo owns. First he built the evil Vincente von Go-Bot, then he bid on the the slave Trandoshin and now he won the Ewok.

8:51 After returning to the blue steel the crew is offered an invitation to the hutt's ball. Quincy plans on courting the hutt's daughter.

8:56 The real prize of this tournament is from betting. Betting 250000 nets the crew 2 million credits. A plan is quickly hatched to outfit the crew's star destroyer into a casino and then subjugate and loot planets. Kind of like reverse Indians.

9:15 The crew is introduced to the ewok, they are unaware of the terrible evil that lurks inside and agree to let him follow as they travel the galaxy. The ewok is armed to the teeth and proceeds to pwn some cups.

9:33 Party Time. Failed plans of attack:

Bribe the hutt
Bribe the hutt, then find where he keeps his money and take it
Dress the ewok with a collar and a gold bra
Hire the hot cops
Hire hot sailors
Hire hot seam....

9:55 At the party, the crew of the blue steel and the hutt trade thinly veiled death threats.

10:14 Desert time. Rodrigo and Quincy pitch the floating casino idea to the hutt in hopes of attracting investments.

10:25 A debate about the most poisonous creature erupts.

10:27 The most dangerous creature debate continues.

10:34 The party leaves. Entirely without incident. Apparently there was some awesome dungeon with a kick ass rancor in it all planned out. However, the crew of the blue steal would rather have the hutt invest in their future casino.

10:43 Quincy's mom contacts the crew and suggests that Bella the hutt might fund the casino if they kill Bonda the hutt. Also, Niev's mother is getting married to a moff. So many plot hooks, will the PC's be tricked into following the plot?

11:00 Meanwhile at Narshada.... The party arrives at Bella the hutt's office.
"You could say our idea isn't much of a gamble..."
"You already said it was a Casino"
"oh, damn, really?"

11:10 The plot quickly resembles "the Godfather" as the party decides to kill Bonda's rancor and leave it's head in his bed.

11:23 Debate about how Jedi can do anything another class can do better.

11:24 Debate ends.

11:31 Will there ever be a black James Bond?

11:34 The party sneaks into Bonda's compound. Will they be able to carry the rancor's head? Wait, jedi can lift stuff way better than the strongest person.

11:45 A couple guards are conned into thinking the party is midnight electrical repairmen. Cue cheesy porno music. Rodrigo coup de graces the rancor. All hell breaks loose.

12:13 Rancor's are pretty bad. The crew dispatches the Rancor quickly and leaves it's head on Bonda's dining table.

12:16 Finally, the crew of the blue steel picks up their finely tailored suits. But declines to go show them off at the wedding. Now to set up that casino...

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Spiders From Hell

Giant spiders are the worst thing on this godforsaken cave. I'd venture to say that they are the worst thing in the world, but I think aimless dungeons themselves are far worse than any living thing.

Project for the fans: make a pic of a spider in top hat with mustache. Or Nazi regalia.

PS. I can't believe that we didn't remember about our banner. That healing really adds up, when we remember to use the thing.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Adventures of the RAVEN PACK 2.0

After fleeing the fallen city of Doppleoppolis, the Raven Pack heads north over the mountains in search of safety for the refugees of the city...

7:30 The Raven Pack reaches a small city with friendly but suspicious inhabitants

7:33 A debate starts over the origins of "reimburse", why does no one ever use the word imburse?

7:35 ITS A TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ./ It’s a trap! \
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _,,,--~~~~~~~~--,_ . . . .\ ._________/
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. . . . .) : : : : : : ,, : ‘’’’~~~~’ \ :: :: :: :’’’’’¯ :: ,-‘ :,/\ . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .\,/ /|\\| | :/ / : : : : : : : ,’-, :: :: :: :: ::,--‘’ :,-‘ \ \ . . . . . . . .
. . . . .\\’|\\ \|/ ‘/ / :: :_--,, : , | )’; :: :: :: :,-‘’ : ,-‘ : : :\ \, . . . . . . .
. . . ./¯ :| \ |\ : |/\ :: ::----, :\/ :|/ :: :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : : ‘’-,,_ . . . .
. . ..| : : :/ ‘’-(, :: :: :: ‘’’’’~,,,,,’’ :: ,-‘’ : :,-‘ : : : : : : : : :,-‘’’\\ . . . .
. ,-‘ : : : | : : ‘’) : : :¯’’’’~-,: : ,--‘’’ : :,-‘’ : : : : : : : : : ,-‘ :¯’’’’’-,_ .
./ : : : : :’-, :: | :: :: :: _,,-‘’’’¯ : ,--‘’ : : : : : : : : : : : / : : : : : : :’’-,
/ : : : : : -, :¯’’’’’’’’’’’¯ : : _,,-~’’ : : : : : : : : : : : : : :| : : : : : : : : : :

7:45 False alarm.

8:08 It is possible that they are cannibal cultists. We try to convince them that our npc companions are much tastier than we are.

8:20 Owlbear goes in the middle of the night to investigate the Church. The "Church" is filled with soldiers.

9:04 We prepare to head back to the doppleoppolis refugees but run into a village elder. Owlbear and Ba'har leave the town to meet with the refugees. Chisel Chest and Duri stay in town.

9:10 At a tavern, a guy offers to polish our swords. What kind of town is this?

9:21 Superman v. Mohamed Ali, who would win?

9:30 Duri attempts to get information out of a local by getting him drunk, but he doesn't learn anything.

9:37 Owlbear and Ba'har encounter spectral panthers on their journey back. 50% of the time, they are insubstantial all the time.

10:09 The spectral panthers are defeated.

10:10 Chisel Chest challenges a trapper to an archery contest and wins. Meanwhile Duri attempts unsuccessfully to get soldiers drunk for information.

10:29 The group meets up with the refugees while the GM dances the robot. Back in town, the doppleganger npc has become ill, possibly due to poison.

10:36 Upon reaching the town, the village elder reveals that there are hundreds of soldiers hidden by illusion. The real doppleoppolis II is hidden beneath the city in the cellar.

10:40 Apparently the rune we were after was a fake, and the real one is being held by zombies. Braiiinnnnsss....

11:00 Shopping!

12:14 The party is rewarded with a box of gold, Owlbear sells the box.

12:30 The Raven Pack sets out on its newest, most glorious adventure: to find a secret artifact held by some undead.

12:42 A clue to the entrance of the dungeon is brilliantly hidden under some gravel. When the sun sets it reveals the location of the entrance.

1:01 Zombie spiders, Awww snap. This spider came out of no where, BULL SHIT.

1:04 A giant (possibly zombie) spider attacks Chisel Chest, that will teach him to roll well on endurance.

1:16 Moar Spiders.

2:08 Spiders dispatched. The inanimate banner is MVP.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Life On Slave 9

It's good to have returned to our secret planet in Star Wars. You may not have seen my little side-adventure to make sure that everything is going alright:

Scene: Robots and Humans scurry around a factory floor. When they see Rorron enter, the pace quickens.

Rorron: You, Robot.

Robot: Yes, Master Jedi?

Rorron: What do you do here?

Robot: I beat slaves into submission, sir.

Rorron: I see. Withdraws a pocket watch and begins to time. Beat a slave for me.

The Robot hurriedly beats a slave.

Rorron: Good. But I see that you have only beaten six slaves, even though you have been working for the entire morning.

The Robot is taken out and shot.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Action Points

Is anyone else annoyed that you can only spend one action point an encounter? This means there's really no reason to accumulate them. Once you have two, you can use one during the current encounter, one during the next encounter, and you'll still have one for the following encounter. If you don't need to use one during any of those three encounters, you're set for the next two. At this rate, why didn't they just say that you get a free additional action for each encounter? The only difference that really matters is that you're penalized if you take two encounters in succession. It seems like the game would want to encourage you to take more encounters during the day. After all, that's why there's healing surges, etc.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Vacuum, And How It Works For You!

Star Wars has an unexpected feature: breaking the surface of a ship and allowing the air to pour out isn't as bad an idea as you might think. In fact, it's a cool way to get around! If one person isn't where you are, you can always punch a hole in the side of the ship. You want to get somewhere? Have a friend open an airlock near where you want to go!

Monday, October 6, 2008

"Not Without Incident!"

I have to say, I commend Teto for his adherence to the rules. When the villain "should" have escaped, it turned out that we had the abilities to prevent his escape, and beat the crap out of him.

This prevents the players from feeling cheated by a capricious god who will only cheat obviously in favour of his NPCs. I'm not saying that this sort of GM doesn't cheat for his PCs, it's just harder to tell when he does so.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Pseudonyms

Last night of star wars was fun. I think the crowning moment was when Rodrego realized/discovered that everyone else in the party was using an assumed name. I usually don't like to do the entire "secret character" thing, because if you do it all the time, it becomes ridiculous, but even I had taken a different name, although it was for a completely different reason than being a mystery character. I never really thought of my character's "given" name.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

New Campaign

So I'm thinking about how I would run a new game. Here's my rough idea:

It'd be set in Banestorm, the characters would start off as kids, and they'd episodically get older. You'd start as a 0 point loser, and develop into John McAwesomeface. It'd be a story of increasing horizons. Let me know what you think.

Monday, September 29, 2008

New Blog

And you thought my blog was needless and self-indulgent!