You have just chased a couple of troglodytes down a tunnel only to be attacked by ropers. The svirf cleric has had an action and sealed the tunnel against two of the ropers, but the other two have dragged some minotaurs close enough that he can't seal them off as well.

Most of the minotaurs who have been grabbed are just lying on the floor or kneeling in horror at the sudden weakness that has overtaken them. A few are still hacking away at the rope strands, but none seem able to break free.

Everyone beating initiative 9, take your action.

PM
[Private to DM Daniel: I also have a concern about The Schnicklegulp character getting preferental treatment which has made the game very boring for me.

DM: Schnicklegulp has recieved a strong spotlight recently and held it for some time, this is true.
Shortly before that, Illianka held it with her fight against her sister holding up the party for several weeks IRL time. When a chance comes up to use a characters backstory, I make an effort to include it.

Instead of doing what we should we waste time going to talk to the Minotaurs.
I had not picked out anything particular as something you 'should' do rather than talk to the minotaurs; do you mean rushing to the fight without roleplaying first? If so, then perhaps I should have been clearer about my preferred type of game - I personally find pbp combat lengthy and prone to stopping games.
When just resting would have gotten rid of the disease and a simple post would have taken care of it no we waste more time waiting for him to go do something on his own.
Resting would not have cured the CON drain; a powerful cleric was needed.
When my character finally gets to do something instead of wasting more time doing nothing we encounter not one but many challenge rating 12 monsters.  Don't you think that's a little overkill for level five and six characters?
As the other players finally get their plan to stealthily attack organised after a fair bit of effort, you stomp on it and charge in blindly against a city of foes you know to be more powerful than yourself. This is at best a poor idea and at worst intentionally rude to the other players.
Recall that the CR 12 monsters are up against thirty minotaur barbarians (CR 6-9) and a contingent of svirf rogues. I don't believe the party will find the ropers a difficult challenge, particularly since the ropers haven't picked on any PC.

Not posting until these concerns are addressed.

I understand your frustration, as the game hasn't held much in store for you recently, but if you can pull through that I have put together a chance for Deepwalker to finally find someone else of his tribe. That should give him a chance to step forward for awhile.
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:42, Thu 30 Nov 2006.

"See me not!" Schnickle squeaked with an eye on the nearest roper. Then he began to circle around it.

[Private to DM Daniel:
Manifest Cloud Mind on nearest roper, DC 15 Will save or completely not register existence of Schnickle.

Circle around the roper, trying to get close for a ranged sneak attack.
]

The roper doesn't react to Schnicks presence, although whether this is because it is busy elsewhere is uncertain.

PM
[Private to DM Daniel: Sorry for venting.  I've just been so bored with this game and want to get on with it.  My character isn't a stealth expert and doesn't want to go sneaking around.  He's an in your face type fighter who wants to get in their faces.

I understand, and I'll try to keep it more interesting for you, but the underdark is typically a place of subterfuge.
Don't worry too much - *lots* of in-your-face fighting coming right up, including a chance to crush some mind-flayer skull and a huge pile of XP for beating up monsters.
]
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:53, Thu 30 Nov 2006.

Illianka draws the sword she removed from her sister's possession and dashed at the ropers, bringing it down on one of the strands entrapping a minotaur... and failing to leave a mark.

PM
[Private to DM Daniel: First round Deepwalker activates Force Screen
Second round Deepwalker activates Animal Affinity to increase his strength
Third round Deepwalker uses Expansion and moves in to attack.]

OOC: Ok, lets bump this back up to active. Sorry about the outage, moving house took more out of me that I had expected.

Deepwalker responds quickly to the attack, throwing up a screen of force and pulling on his silent reserves to shift his form subtly; he begins to look more like a bear than a man.

The minotaurs try desperately to free themselves from the ropers clutches, but it seems they are rapidly losing the battle; some drop to the ground, unable to fight back anymore as their muscles are paralyzed by the tentacles horrid venom. The ropers drag them in, opening maws filled with shining teeth.
Other minotaurs, yet to feel the weakening lash, dash into the centre to attack the rocky creatures themselves, yet find their blades have little purchase on the rocky skins. One or two lucky blows land, but little more seems to be achieved.
The cleric leading the Svirf looks grave, and shakes his head before apparently making his mind up. He raises his holy symbol and speaks dark curses in his odd dialect. Everyone feels ill, as if something were sucking against your lifeforce, but the little cleric steps close to the roper and puts his hand with his holy symbol directly into its mouth. The creature bites down hard on it, his teeth ripping through the lightly armored forearm, but his spell has its intended effect - in an instant, the tentacles go slack as the creature dies, its life snuffed out by his mangled hand inside it.

Everyone, another action. Schnick, you still haven't been noticed.

Schnickle nearly cried out as he saw the holy svirf risk himself like that. Resolved not to let it be in vain, Schnickle loaded one of his best bolts, leveled his crossbow, and fired at the roper that was oblivious to his presence.

[Private to DM Daniel:
09:33, Today: Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper rolled 9 using 2d6. sneak atack.
09:33, Today: Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper rolled 7 using 1d6+1. damage.
09:32, Today: Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper rolled 17 using 1d20+10. attack roper.
Using MW Bolt, Point Blank Shot]

Illianka cursd to herself as her weapon rebounded from the Roper's tentacle, then drew on her power within. With the dull roar of superheated air a white-hot spear of flame leaped from her outstretched finger towards the rocklike creature.

[Private to DM Daniel:
Manifesting Energy Ray (Fire) for 4 PP
22:20, Today: Illianka rolled 19 using 4d6+4. Fire damage.
22:19, Today: Illianka rolled 20 using 1d20+6. Ranged Touch vs AC 10.
Deals 29 Fire damage total due to Roper's racial weakness.]

The roper screams in agony as the flames lick over it - it seems to wither under the heat and seems weaker.

The sole remaining roper finds itself rapidly being overcome as every minotaur dives at it hoping to find some vengeance. Its tentacles flail feebly, then freeze in place as the body stiffens, becoming as hard as the stone it resembles.

Illianka said nothing else, simply looking at the town.

"The stealth option has dissapeared. The attack should be done straightforwardly while myself and Schnicklegulp use the distraction to locate the elder brain and destroy it." She kept her swords in hand, cleaning them with a rag from habit despite not having any blood on them.

The flesh on the Svirf Cleric's injured arm seems to ripple and reshape itself, and his injuries are gone.
"Greatly weakened these minotaurs will be, from poison of the roper will have it. Have not the magic all of them to restore, although the worst affected a few of perhaps healed could be. Press the attack we mu-AH"

The cleric is interrupted by a blast of psychic energy that sends everyone reeling, yet you can sense that it was not directed at you - something is causing huge psychic disturbances of a power unusual even amongst illithids.
Anyone with a knowledge relevant to psionics or illithids (or anything else you feel may be relevant) give me a roll.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:40, Fri 15 Dec 2006.

Schnickle surveyed the scene of carnage. "Excellent work of yours this is, mister Deepwalker." he said dryly. In truth he didn't care for the minotaurs, but they were the lesser of two evils compared to the mind flayers. "Turn you over to the flayers we should, and their armies you lead. Victory of ours would then be certain."

He ran to check up on the earthblood and confer with him when the psychic blast caused him to reel. Schnickle threw put his hands to his head and squealed, and wondered what in the 'Dark was going on.


OOC:
09:03, Today: Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper rolled 13 using 1d20+8. know local.
09:03, Today: Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper rolled 23 using 1d20+8. know psionics.

Deepwalker replies, Watch your tongue gnome.  Or do you forget who saved you in the fight against the grimlocks and the illithid.
21:29, Today: Deepwalker rolled 23 using 1d20+3. Knowledge (psionics) Check.

"It does not matter, their purpose is to fight and die at our... augh..." Illianka put a hand to her head and staggered, probably the most weakness she's shown except for the curse over the entire time you've known her. "What in shadow..?"

Schnick and Deepwalker have a sudden realization; this blast is merely the edge of a battle between several hugely powerful minds; one of them was just overwhelmed, causing this blast as the others power swamped over him and out into the surrounding area.
Now that you know what to look for, you can sense that there are probably another four or five minds involved, and you hope that the battle doesn't end anytime soon - you doubt things will go well for you if you are noticed by any of them.

"Minds are warring?" Schnickle stammered. "What could this be? Great brains of the illithids, perhaps? To our advantage this could be, if we are quick and run into no more ambushes."

It certainly seems that quick action is needed to take advantage of this distraction - such a thing cannot last forever.

"Let us waste no more time." With that, Illianka started running - though not so fast as to leave the others behind this time - towards where the elder brain hopefully was tanked.

"Callarduran preserve us!" Schnickle said, then dashed off after Illianka.

Following the passageway further down, you begin to find the artificial caves typical of underground settlements leading off the main path. A little way further down the main passage you enter a large cavern. There are several buildings throughout the cavern, including what appears to be some sort of temple. There is also a large gong hanging in front of the temple, and a crowd of grimlocks, troglodytes and the occasional minotaur or lizardfolk has formed around it as the couple you initially chased repeatedly hit the gone. They haven't seen you... yet.
If you attack, you have a surprise round to act. A quick estimate puts the number present at about eighty grimlocks and troglodytes together and perhaps ten minotaurs and four large lizardfolk.

"Any plans have you?" Schnickle whispered to the others. "Thank you but no, Deepwalker." he quickly added.

The minotaurs with you look prepared to crash headlong through the mass, and looking at them you figure they could probably win, too. That assumes that no mind flayers answer the gongs summons, of course.

Looking at Schnickle, Are you nothing but a coward?  We let the minotaurs charge and use the distraction to elminate the mind flayers.  Simple and effective if you know how to fight which you obviously don't.  I'll even get things started.  Moving up towards the horde Deepwalker raises his foot and calls upon his giant hertiage and then slams his foot down sending a shockwave through the ground to tomple the leading edge of the group of monsters.  At this point he yells, Charge! to get the minotaurs going.

[Private to DM Daniel: Use Stomp.]
This message was last edited by the player at 14:01, Thu 21 Dec 2006.

The minotaurs charge into the opening created by Deepwalker's shockwave, and the hall is plunged into chaos as the assembled townsfolk desperately try to fight off the minotaur shock troops.

"Here again we go." Schnickle sighed, then signalled to the svirfneblins to, well, do something smart. He pulled a potion from his pouch and guzzled it. Then dashed off to the temple, being sure to keep to shadows and cover.

[Private to Schnicklegulp Stoneswiper:
Drink potion of Pass Without Trace

Conceal Thoughts: +10 circumstance Bluff, +4 saves vs mind reading; 5 hours
Pass Without Trace: leaves no tracks or scent; 1 hour
]

Illianka said nothing, simply taking a few moments to focus and then following Stoneswiper into the shadows and on to the temple.

[Private to DM Daniel: 21:33, Today: Illianka rolled 20 using 1d20+6. Concentrate (Gain Focus).
21:33, Today: Illianka rolled 10 using 1d20+6. Concentrate (Gain Focus).
21:33, Today: Illianka rolled 7 using 1d20+6. Concentrate (Gain Focus).
21:33, Today: Illianka rolled 13 using 1d20+6. Concentrate (Gain Focus).
I figure that with my enhanced speed (50' with Focus) I should be able to make up for the time I lost Focussing...


21:34, Today: Illianka rolled 31 using 1d20+11. Move Silently.
21:34, Today: Illianka rolled 13 using 1d20+12. Hide. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:35, Fri 22 Dec 2006.