When I read Lasrange, I was thinking it like... Las-range.  Could make sense....

Like a Laser Range!

Nice initiative roll btw; total opposite of what your companions rolled... which is probably good for them.

Some unfortunate rolls for you guys though on the part of the NPC's...

And then some extremely fortunate rolls by the NPCs for you guys; wow, talk about poetic justice.

Brett, you got pretty lucky with that one guy attacking you.  He failed his save vs. your spell, but then he rolled a one which makes him attack the caster, but then he rolled a 1 again for the attack!  I should probably have just had him crack his skull open after falling and put him out of his misery.

Then three of the guys were just going to act normally for this round, but that got severely skewed by the one guard who decided to randomly kill his partner.

In the end things sort of worked out like you wanted, but in a really roundabout way.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:56, Fri 22 Nov 2013.

By the way Brett you need a Nether Manipulation roll to save versus fatigue for casting that spell.

I'm not seeing a skill for it... does it have another name, or am I not looking in the right spot?

Awww... I didn't want anyone to die, just wanted to confuse them so they didn't get themselves dead =(

Poor guy trying to kill me... that'll teach him for picking on a kid!

In the campaign notes, it says its the Knowledge: Nether Manipulation skill.  Does that help?

Also, I'm assuming that I go after Zelpuz's action, correct?
This message was last edited by the player at 03:51, Sat 23 Nov 2013.

Brett: You should read the effects of your spells before you cast them then; one result of the confusion ability is that the target attacks the nearest target, and when you're dealing with non-name NPCs that can often lead to death.

Secondly, the guy that just missed you is still operational, but he has to recover from his failed attempt to kill you.

Lastly, Erik is correct the Nether Manipulation skill is under the Knowledge skill header; that's the one you have the massive skill bonus in.

Erik: Vanyra does go after Zelpuz, though they act very closely together.

Ok cool, it was named differently so I wanted to be sure.

I did know what the book says, but I think it works on the premise that the caster would optimally want the attackers to attack each other... with each level of dice roll building up to that.  I more or less wanted them to stand there drooling with confusion.  It's also why I asked if I could determine their confusion in the pm.  A compromise could be that I determine a cap, if they roll over that cap, it just goes to the max level I defined it as.  Kind of like pulling your punch as it were.

It's cool for now, something we can sort out for later.

So if that's a reasonable action, I'd like to create either a field of darkness between the guards and Vanyra (if they didn't see her yet) or a field of fire to give her some more time.

actually, if they are already running towards Vanyra, then I can as well aim at them or only very slightly in front of them so it'll block and hit them.

So of the five guards that were chasing Lasrane, the first was attacking Yuu and fell down (but will probably still be a threat), the second took out the third (run through with sword), and the fourth and fifth have focused their attention on the second.

The 2 freelancers up the road are currently holding their position, so none are heading for Vanyra right now.

?? Define goes after.
And ... i see i need to check in more. Remove the last two posts.
So, 2 freelancers standing around, 1 guard dead, 2 attacking the other, 1 on the ground.
Vanya standing up again and Lasrane (no g) is still not moving.
So far correct?
In that case, Zelpuz just stays in his  (hopefully strategically ideal) position ready to shoot at  whatever needs shooting at.

Also, could i put Lasrane in my pocket for faster transport?

Brett:  I gotcha.  I think you were looking for a different power/spell in that case.  Confusion is a simple random roll to determine the actions of the target, so even the caster cannot predict how they will react.  Part of the reason why it is a relatively cheap power to get, due to the unpredictability of it.

You perhaps wanted an AOE version of the Stun power of sorts.  That would have dazed the guards into inaction, or even render them unconscious if they fail their save badly enough.  Certainly something to keep in mind moving forward.  Another alternative is the Paralyze ability; pretty self-explanatory really, if you want a spell that will incapacitate foes without damaging them.

Jan: Vanyra is the the last person to act in this round as she rolled that lowest initiative; hence she goes after you.

We'll say Zelpuz is readying his action to shoot; so you can fire at any time until your turn in the next round.  This will also reset the order in which you act; you will act on all subsequent turns at the same point at which you use the readied action; if that makes sense.  Example, if you decide to shoot someone at the very beginning of the next round, then you will be first to go in all subsequent rounds (this prevents you from readying an action until next round and the getting 2 actions).

As for your dimensional pocket you certainly could put Lasrane in there and then do whatever.  You will need to touch him, and he'll stay in there as long as he is unconscious, but once he wakes up he gains a WIL save each round to try to escape.

Sounds good. If I do that, would i notice if he wakes up? And if he saves, would he just appear next to me?

No prob, Mike.  I do think that it was cheaper because the effect is random.... whereas Stun is an either/or, Paralysis is either/or. Where Confuse is random within the set of dice rolls, which makes it worth less because you can't control the effect.  Even if they fail against the spell, they may still have no effect, so double their save chance. My thought was merely that I could call a maximum effect on the power, in the same way that someone can pull their punch.  Calling a max level really only hurts my character, since I don't take full advantage of the power.

I'll go with whatever you feel though, just offering a counterpoint.

Is it my turn, or did someone have a better initiative?  Or is the cloud of confusion my action for the round?  I'm confused....

Yeah, the cloud was Yuu's action.  We'll keep the confuse spell as it is; we can make a new spell for Yuu to give you the desired effect.  With your dynamic sorcery power it only costs one point to create a new spell, and I think you have a couple spare at this time.

Then it was the guards' turn and they went.  The two guards facing the one that just chopped down the other are holding their action, but their attention is on the supposedly crazy guy.

Then it was Zel's turn and he is readying an action to shoot.

Now it is Vanyra's turn.

Once Vanyra acts it will be back to Yuu.

So the order is:
??? Zelpuz's readied action
1 - Yuu Jin
2 - Guards
3 - Freelancers (held action last time)
4 - Zelpuz
5 - Vanyra

OK, so depending on what's gonna happen, when there's a moment time, I'd like to phase to Lasrane and put him in my pocket. That is a little dependent on what will happen when he wakes up though, could he appear next to me ready to fight? Would he be slightly confused etc.

When he wakes up he will realize that he is some place weird and try to escape. When he does he will appear next to you and probably will not be very happy.  You are not sure how long he will be unconscious, but he certainly isn't moving now.

So were you readying to shoot someone or are you doing this phasing action?  You cannot do both.  When you ready an action, it has to be a specific action (ie. preparing to shoot someone who looks to threaten my comrades).  Since Vanyra has not acted yet I'll let you decide which you want to do; phasing to Lasrane, and casting him into your dimensional pocket will require your full round of action, alternatively you can ready yourself to shoot someone.

Vanyra turns Blur back on (free action) and runs over to Yuu to hit the guy on the ground (the one that attacked Yuu) with the blunt end of her weapon. Her standard move should be more than enough to get over there.  I debated whacking him with the shield, but nah...

(Blur went off because of the Stun - I just learned that she could have made a concentration check to keep it on as a reaction, but its too late for that)

Attack roll made.
+1 Base damage
+2 damage if the guy is not aware (because he fell and can't see her, because of her concealment, because her steps made no noise, because of the magic's effects, etc.
+? damage from weapon's blunt end

I assume he's flat-footed? (no dodge), possibly surprised? (no dodge, -2 def) prone (-4 def), and possibly stunned? (-2 on def).  Starting to feel sorry for him...

Edit: hoping those penalties do apply based on that attack roll ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:05, Mon 25 Nov 2013.

You do actually do hit with that roll, but only on account of the massive penalties the guy has for being prone and flat-footed.

We'll say the blunt side of your weapon is a +1dmg bonus, for a total of +4.

Before this all transpires though, let's see if Jan wants Zelpuz to phase down and grab Lasrane.

Let's say I do go to Lasrane, seems to be the best time to do that and Zelpuz is quite interested in taking him along.
Would I notice when he wakes up inside? And once i am down there, can I tell a bit more what Lasrange's status is (i.e. dead, about to die, likely to be out for a long time and seriously injured, or just pretending to sleep)?

Well since you already posted that you were ready to shoot someone and then wanted to communicate with Vanyra we'll say you'll have to wait until the next turn to go to Lasrane.

Once you are down there you can perform a Medicine skill check to ascertain his actual condition.  Otherwise the best you can do is determine whether he is dead or not, which would be pretty easy, but would still be your action.  So you could move to Lasrane and ascertain his condition and then next turn you could put him in your dimensional pocket.

Before that though you'll have to wait for Vanyra, Yuu, the Guards and the Freelancers to go.

Is it alright for Vanyra to quickly reply?  (is there time?)

OK, keep that as tentative plan for Zelpuz, let's see what else happens till then.