As the other OOC thread is getting close to the 1000 post limit, I'm opening a new OOC thread and closing the other.

Hmm, I can create illusions. Can we see enough of the tunnel for me to create an illusion of a group scurrying in another direction to mislead the locals?

The tunnel you are in, as far as you have seen, only goes in one direction. So if you want to create that kind of illusion, you would have to be close enough to the central room, and create an illusion there to have them go somewhere else.

We could still use an illusion for cover. Say, an illusion of a collapsed tunnel between us and the cultists, possibly with some rocks and sand still falling to explain away the noise and keep anyone from looking more closely. Assuming something like this is possible, of course.

Worse comes to worse, Gurth can play the tunnel monster.

In reply to Keira (msg # 4):

Hmm, I can try, but it won't hold up if the touch it.

I guess we could also try an illusion of some kind of an animal that would then run away down our tunnel? To explain away the noise? Hopefully they would not follow after it and find us instead.

It's that, or we leg it down the tunnel ourselves, or we fight. Or we pull the "How do you do, fellow cultists?"

In reply to Keira (msg # 7):

How about we leg it, and the animal moves towards them, sees them, then legs it? Aladin would know what sort of animals would believably be in this area and make that sort of noise...and he would advise. GM, open to player learning what character knows...

Unfortunately, Aladin does not have the skill to know what animals live in this area. And the noise was the noise of humans and camels coughing. And he does not have the skill to say what animal, if any, sounds like that naturally. Other than hoping that camels will be close enough to satisfy the worshippers.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 9):

Then perhaps a wild camel...though does it take skill to know about what animals are in your local area? You only mentioned camels coughing before...
This message was last edited by the player at 11:06, Tue 26 Sept 2023.

The skill to know about your local area is Area Knowledge. You do not have Area Knowledge for this area.

I said that both you and the animals were coughing.

"the group and the camels suddenly were caught in a coughing fit"
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:20, Tue 26 Sept 2023.

In retrospect, you do have Area Knowledge for another place. And based on the distance between that place and this place, you would have a -6 or -7 penalty to your skill to determine what you know about this area.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 12):

Ah, my bad. I understood that to be the group of camels...

-6 or -7 penalty? The desert there is so different? Ok. That would need pretty much a crit...what animals in my local area would fit that requirement?

Your AK is for a city, not for the desert. And this place is that far away from your stomping grounds.

You would have to ask that IC.

And Area Knowledge is knowing about your area, normally "This skill represents familiarity with the people, places, and politics of a given region." For rural neighborhoods, that includes animals, but only covers the specifics of the animals of that area, not general knowledge of animals. And the area is a few hundred acres.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Tue 26 Sept 2023.

The skill you need to figure out what animals sound like is Biology.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:08, Tue 26 Sept 2023.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 16):

Not Naturalist? I have that, but not Biology. I thought biology was what the insides looked like, as opposed to details about the critter in nature.

Yes, Naturalist works too. It seems I was too stuck on the AK thing to notice that you had that.

Sorry about that.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 18):

Ah, rolled 2 under Naturalist then!

Put that in the IC thread please.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 20):

Edited last post to reflect...

No. The camel was running away from you towards the worshipers and then turned away from them so that it wouldn't run into them. It didn't turn around and run back towards the group.

And please, if you are asking questions so that you as a player can understand what I have posted, please post them here, not in the IC thread.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 22):

Ah, Ok. Sorry. If it is not running towards us or them, where is it going then?

You don't know. You can't see where it's going.

Huh. I too thought the camel could only have gone towards the cultist or back to us. If that's not the case, then either the illusion camel went through a wall or there are other side-tunnels we passed by?

It did go towards the worshippers. They had not yet entered the tunnel, so when it entered the chamber, it veered to avoid them. And thus went out of sight, even if you had had the light to see it.

Ah, the illusion went out in the chamber before the cultists entered our tunnel. Alright, so I guess we keep retreating a bit more, than make our stand if they keep following?

In reply to Keira (msg # 27):

Sounds about right. Draw them as far away from the others as we can.

How many cultists are we dealing with here? And are they equipped as those before, swords and no armor?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:49, Mon 02 Oct 2023.

There's four of them.

I was asked about players rolling for their attacks and defense and I figured I would post my response here.

The way I do it, when I post IC in combat, my post ends the turn. So everything that happened that turn has been adjudicated. That generally means that I will roll for your defense.

And if you haven't indicated how you want to defend, I will assume you will dodge and roll for that. If you want to defend some other way, please include that in your IC post.

If you don't post, I will skip your turn.

If you post and I'm not certain what your action is, I will ask in a PM. I might be certain of what you want to do and still be wrong.

If you roll for attack in your IC post, then I use that roll. If you don't, I will roll for you.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 31):

Cool, thank you. I have updated my post with rolls then.

What is Keira's position right now? Still in shadow form on the ceiling above? Could she reach or attack the spellcaster this round?

She is on the ceiling in shadow form. She could reach the spellcaster this turn.

Reach, but not attack? Would she need to drop down from the ceiling with an Acrobatics roll to do so?

You could reach and attack him. You don't have to drop down from the ceiling.

Great, last question, I promise. Would I need to use move and attack maneuver, or can I get him in range of my staff with just a step (or two steps, with extra effort)?

You would have to use move and attack.

Ouch, Gurps combat hurts bad.

Yes, yes it does. However, reaching 0hp "only" risks unconsciousness, not death. You start risking death at fully negative hp, -10 hp if you start with 10hp. You have to roll to stay alive at -1x hp, -2x hp, -3x hp, and -4x hp. At -5x hp you die. And at -10x hp your body is completely destroyed.

Umm... am I dead?

Update: Oh, 5 times my HP. Got it.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:56, Thu 12 Oct 2023.

No. As I mentioned in the IC post, you are unconscious. Automatic death is at -5 times your hp. And the first time you roll to avoid death is at -hp. And you make additional HT rolls at -2, -3, and -4 times hp to avoid death.

Hmm, I guess we don't have to worry much about healing, at least as long as Aladin is not down himself. That's good, cause all that Keira has in that regard are some bandages and a very mediocre first aid skill.

I will be traveling for the next week or two, but I expect I will have full access to the internet, which is why I haven't mentioned it earlier. I'm mentioning it now just in case things don't work out according to plan.

So what is the plan?

Are you bringing the axeman with you?
Are you restraining him?
Who's carrying him?
Are you going to revive him here?

It is my understanding that you are exploring further down this corridor.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 45):

Axeman, stripped of arms and armour and restrained, will walk in front of the party after being healed (once stripped of all but clothes) as we head down and further explore the corridor. Unless others have some input...

You've already taken his weapons and his stuff. He doesn't have any armor.

Gurth tucked the axe into his belt to use as a ranged weapon.

Did anyone want that scimitar?  It sounded pretty cool.

Let me clarify something here. The scimitar looks like other elven weapons, so it's elven. That doesn't necessarily make it Elven, which in GURPS is a descriptor of weapons that are better and more expensive than other weapons in a specific way.

If that is what you want to do, please post IC about it.

Not at all confusing...

I know. Sorry about that.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 52):

You should understand that Aladin will not be in favour of just killing prisoners of war. If you point out they are alive to him, he will be compelled by his beliefs to keep them alive until they attack him.

If you kill them with reasonable justification, he will probably be a bit sad, but will understand.

How 'bout tying him up and leaving him here? He could probably survive a couple of days that way. I figure the cultists would search and find for him sooner or later, and if not, we can untie him on our way out. Would that work for Aladin?

Incidentally, this is why Keira never checks if the opponents are still breathing or not. Can't feel guilty about killing them if you don't know if they are dead or not. Always thinking, her.

In reply to Keira (msg # 54):

As long as we do check on him on the way out...and gag him.

I'd that means you have some top a consensus, please pay IC what you are doing.

Posting on mobile.

In reply to Aladin Sufran (msg # 55):

Sounds like a plan!

Just to clean up my previous post, now that I'm back on a keyboard. It is a wireless keyboard and it doesn't work flawlessly either, but it's better than autocorrect.

If now have a consensus, please post what you're doing IC.

I am confused. Here you say that tying him up and gagging him is fine, but IC you say it isn't.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 59):

Tying him up and gaging him is fine, leaving him here in that state I am not so sure...I am trying to work out what Paye would prefer.

I would think that as long as you intend to release him unharmed, you are good.

In reply to Gurth (msg # 61):

Releasing those with murderous intent is to be party to their next murder. Not something I imagine any good god would condone...

If you bind him and release him after you complete your task I don't see a problem.   If he still attacks you after showing him mercy, then that is on him and he will have to deal with the consequences.

So what options remain? Aladin doesn't seem to want to bind, leave, or release the worshipper. Are you going to take them with you forever?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 64):

What would Paye suggest? Aladin knows him better than I , but I don't want him punishing because of my ignorance...

Do you play D&D? You can consider Paye Lawful Good if that helps.

You have selected what disadvantages you need to follow to retain your powers. And as long as you follow those, you will have access to your powers.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:52, Thu 26 Oct 2023.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 66):

Ok. No, have not played DND since 3rd Ed. Last century, pretty much.

In reply to Aladin Sufran (msg # 67):

Ok, so Honesty and Responsiveness would be the two at play here. What are local laws?

Please be more precise in what local laws you are interested in.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 69):

In regards to leaving people who attacked you and were defeated but not killed. What are their rights?

As you can read in the Culture and Tradition thread, raiding is allowed and doesn't change a person's rights. But raiding can lead to feauds. Slavery is legal, but not encouraged. And raids are often used to aquire slaves as well as herds.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 71):

So keeping him as a slave would be acceptable. What would the law allow us to do to disobedient slaves?

Quoting from the Culture and Tradition thread again: "There are firm rules on how slaves can be treated, but they are often bent or broken.!" Or in other words, the law says you can't treat slaves badly. But many people push the boundaries the law have set regarding to slavery or cross them entirely.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 73):

Saw that. But is it like Roman law where runaway slaves can be executed?

The laws on slavery in Dune are different than the laws on slavery in Imperium, as can be seen in the Culture and Tradition thread.

Executing slaves is not legal in Dune.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:39, Thu 26 Oct 2023.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 75):

How does Dune treat escaping slaves?

By law, there is no additional punishment. They bring them back to slavery.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 77):

But are allowed to beat them? What rights do slaves have here?

In Dune, you can work slaves as hard as you like, but they are still people, and the same laws apply to them as apply to free people, with the exception that someone owns them and they can be ordered to do whatever the master desires. If a slave is ordered to commit a crime, the punishment falls on the one that gave the order as well as the slave.

Beating a slave is against the law in Dune.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 79):

So what recourse does a slave owner of a disobedient slave have?

Within the laws of Dune you can work them harder, you can change their living situation, give them less food and water, give them worse food and water, limit their free time and what they can do on their free time, imprison them, force them to do degrading things, and things like that. Many bend or break the rules when punishing their slaves. As mentioned in the Culture and Tradition thread, slavery is no longer encouraged in Dune.

As some things listed in the House Rules thread aren't house rules, I'm moving them to the Exploits thread, just to put things in their right place.

And if you have decided what you are doing with the prisoner, please post doing that in the IC thread.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 83):

I thought I did? No?

You have been talking about what to do. There are a number of things I don't know how you are planning on moving forward.

Who's going to restrain him? What are you restraining him with? Are you waking him up? Who's going to do that? How are they going to do that?

Just to make sure we're on the same page, the stuff you take off the camel, is your new slave carrying that?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 86):

Yes. Nothing fragile or needed though, just heavy stuff, like water that Aladin can create.

Excellent.

You're at the entrance to the cavern. You could always move back if you want to leave the camels in the tunnel.

In addition to the ruins, there are monuments and buildings too. Are you investigating those too? Or just the ruins?
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:22, Wed 01 Nov 2023.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 89):

Working my way around the sides. Suggest starting on the left and going around, investigating everything as we go.

Aladin, you said you wanted to use the amulet after. Do you mean you want to use it after you have examined the entire cavern?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 91):

Probably before that. After we have checked for immediate danger...and asking about the statue might be part of the discussion.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:01, Thu 02 Nov 2023.

Checked for immediate danger where? This is a big cavern. Let me know IC what you want to do now and we'll go from there.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 93):

About to disappear from internet for maybe a few days, maybe a few weeks if we cannot get local sim cards. Happy to be NPCed if I do not respond. Plan is ti use the slave in a fair manner to give him a chance to redeem himself, but allow him to be dealt with by any in the party if they have to defend themselves from him.

Donning the amulet, plan is to ask about this area...

I hope things go well with your trip and the sim cards.

I would need specific questions for the amulet, but perhaps the rest of the group can provide those.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 95):

Happy for that. Group guided NPCing!

Do you want to do anything before Aladin puts on the medallion and asks about this place?

Do you have any suggestions on what he should ask?

1.  Do you know anything about the place we are at?

2.  Who is this god that the cultists worship?  What are they about?

3.  Do you know of a safer way to reach the item we seek than directly down the hallway?

4.  To whom is this snake headed idol dedicated.

Best I can think of right now.  Pitch in team.

I forgot, what did the dead queen wanted us to do here? Was it just to bring her necklace here?

Yes, it was just bringing her necklace here.

Now that you have gotten answers to those questions, are there additional questions you want answers too?

Ok, I am not sure if this has been said already and I just missed or forgot it, but when the dead queen said she wants her amulet delivered here, to where or to whom exactly did she want it?

Is it to another temple? Whose temple? To a palace? To a tomb? To a person? Did she tell us what exactly we are looking for and I just forgot, or did we just never ask?

She has not specified.

I edited my posts in the amulet threads as the Wolf Queen had more to say.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:39, Fri 17 Nov 2023.

Sorry that I wasn't clear on this, but the brazier is lit.

Was it already lit when we entered or was it dark and then lit itself when we entered?

The corridor was dark, but the cavern is illuminated as if it was full daylight. And the brazier was lit before you got there.

I see.   Nothing out of the ordinary.

About the brazier, as I mentioned above, it is already lit.

I was being a bit sarcastic.   A lit cavern/worship hall and brazier that has been burning since who knows when is totally out of the ordinary.

It wasn't a reference to your comment, I was letting Aladin know that it was already lit.

Ah. My post about lighting it then doesn't make much sense, but I'll leave it that way for now since Aladin already responded to it.

Is the light from it focused on some point then? Or does the lens disperse it instead? How is this place lit up anyway? Full daylight, and this is a pretty big cave - that sounds like a lot more light than any brazier can produce. At least, any non-magical brazier.

It was because of your post that I mentioned that in the first place, obviously I hadn't made that clear enough when you posted.

You don't know how the cave is illuminated, this brazier doesn't illuminate more than it should.

You don't see a light source.

Could Keira guess at the direction of the source from how it casts shadows? Actually, are there even shadows around?

There are shadows in places such as under the roof of the columned temple you are at right now. Though these shadows are mitigated by the lit brazier. As for people generally walking about, not so much.

Anything else you want to do at this location?
Something I have missed to adjudicate?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 117):

I think we were just going to leave the camels there, right?

Keira said: "But we should look around more to be sure first." So it sounds like she thinks it might be a good idea, but that you should do more reconnaissance to find out for sure. But that is up to you.

I assumed there's still a lot of this particular cavern we haven't checked out? If so, we can leave the camels here when do that.

There is. And you can. Are you moving on in the same direction as before?

Quick question.  Were we able to see anything behind the area of that portal with our spatial vision?

Portal?

The hole in the wall.

The window. It's a wall and there is just space behind it, in the same way it is on the other sides. You can walk around the building if you like. But you don't sense anything else there.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 125):

Aladin would like to look around this cavern for a good spot to leave the camels, and perhaps a place to hide the camel bags as well, before leaving anything.

He is curious as to how the brazier stays lit though.

Alas, as it's neither music nor makeup I don't have a skill to analyze that stuff.

You have seen no other exits from this cavern and you have gotten about halfway around. But you have stuck fairly close to the wall of this 1500 feet diameter cavern and you haven't really explored the center third or half very much. Not that there's that much there to investigate.

Are you doing anything at the last location I posted about?

Moving on, I guess? From the description I assumed we at least went inside the building and have not really noticed anything obviously interesting. Or were there rooms inside we did not see?

Thank you. The group had done something at each of the other locations, so I didn't expect that to happen.

Feel free to investigate to see if you find anything interesting. If you want to search through the debris, you can do that too, but that will take some time.

The group has seen these gold slotted caps in at least some of the pools you have encountered so far. Are you going back to pick those up too? Are you taking the time to dig out the pools that have been filled with debris to see if they have one too? Or are you moving forward, perhaps with the intention on getting back to the other pools later?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 133):

Move forwards, come back later.

Fine with moving on and leaving the caps for later, including the one Keira has taken off. It's too heavy for her to carry around all the time, unless someone stronger wishes to do so. We should be returning back here for the camels anyway.

In reply to Keira (msg # 135):

Maybe a faith my character knows...

In reply to Aladin Sufran (msg # 136):

We can pull them up and stack it them up somewhere for collection.

Aladin, when you say "near the cavern", do you mean near the cavern wall or near the cavern center?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 138):



I meant here...

Just to let you know, early next week I will be leaving for the holidays. I don't expect any internet problems, so I should still be available. I don't expect to be home until next year.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 140):

Have a great holiday time! See you when we see you...I expect a lot of us will be on holidays...

Can we all see the snakes?

Yes.

Hmm, when you say human-sized snakes, do you mean they are normal snakes, each about the length of a human? Or are we talking something larger?

I mean that they are about as long and wide as a human.

Ok, good news is they are way too short to be effective constrictors. So, they must be poisonous instead. Wait, that's not good news at all. Also, very thick for their length, might have some serious mass and strength.

The question is, fight or flight? I get a feeling we could outrun them, but they could just keep following our trail until they catch up. I don't suppose we have some fire to drive them away? Generally speaking, animals don't like things that are on fire.

In reply to Keira (msg # 146):

Maybe poisonous, maybe not. But we will need to deal with them regardless. Assuming they are actually snakes, not something in that shape. Lets hit them to find out...

I could try illusions to distract them... or just blast them magically.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas.


And yeah, let's just start blasting.

I think so.

Holidays may slow down my posting for a few days.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:07, Tue 26 Dec 2023.

Parrying unarmed attacks does have a chance to do damage as per Parrying Unarmed Attacks. Damage is not automatic.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 153):

It is not? Basic suggests otherwise, unless damage does not penetrate DR, the hit is automatic, no? It is required to parry...

Parrying Unarmed Attacks:

If you successfully parry an unarmed attack (bite, punch, etc.) with a weapon, you
may injure your attacker. Immediately roll against your skill with the weapon
you used to parry. This roll is at -4 if your attacker used Judo or Karate. If
you succeed, your parry struck the attacker’s limb squarely. He gets no
defense roll against this! Roll damage normally.

That said.  Let's rumble.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:26, Thu 28 Dec 2023.

What exactly is the room layout?   Are the snakes coming to us from another room?  Is there a door way between us right now?  Can we retreat to another room?

With that many enemies, I would like to find a choke point and engage them one or two at a time if possible.

It's one "room". The snakes are approaching from the other side of the ruin. Most of it is in ruins. One pool remains, with four pillars and a roof. Movement can be precarious in here. There is no doorway. You can retreat out of the ruin.

So do we want to wait for them to come to us or retreat out of the ruin and fight them where there's more space?

In reply to Larathiel (msg # 158):

Retreat back to where they are more restricted, so only one or two can attack at once, if possible.

If we have the opportunity to pull back to a better position (maybe the entrance?) before we get engaged, sure, let's do that.

In reply to Keira (msg # 160):

Sounds good!

I'm sorry I haven't been posting as frequently as I normally do, but the holidays are over, and I'm back home so that should change now.

There are no real chokepoints. But unless you have the Sure-Footed (Uneven) perk, you will be at -2 to attack and -1 to defend in most of the ruin because of bad footing.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 163):

Then we are better off out of the ruins...

Yeah, especially if the snakes will not have this issue. Let's retreat outside then.

Sounds like a good idea.

Agreed!

If you have decided what to do, please post IC so that we can move forward.

You can do that, you have to let me know in advance if that is what you want to do. But, if you want to retreat again and form up, you can do that.

I agree with Aladin's plan to retreat such a way as to allow some to reach us well before the others, let's do that

How do you want to retreat?

Hard to say without a map, but all else being equal, retreating to one side may do the trick.

I somehow misunderstood you. I thought you wanted to retreat so that some of you were closer to them than the rest of you were. But you want to retreat so that some of them are closer to you than the rest of them are.

Yes, you can retreat to the side.

I would say based on the description of the ruins, we would want to put piles of rubble or partial walls between us and the snakes so that they have to come at us in ones and twos.   Also if we could keep some high ground so that their reach is limited.

You can move so that you have some ruins to one side. But though the grouns isn't completely flat, the differences aren't that large.

 Yes, that was my idea. Using ruins would also be a way if it was possible...but I understand from above that is not so feasible.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say right now. Could you clarify what you understand isn't feasible?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 177):

Getting some obstacles that could limit the amount of attackers we have to deal with at a time...

There is no choke point, so you can't do that. But you can go to the side so that they are at different distances from you. And with the ruins next to you, you can make sure that they're not coming from that direction.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 179):

Yeah, that sounds like the best we can do. So lets do that...

Fine with that. Wherever we make our stand, Keira will take position at the front and try her usual shtick first (wait to rapid strike the first one that comes into range, then parry to defend, plus retreat if attacked the second time).

Please post what you want to do IC and we'll cover it there.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 182):

Last post modified to cover, as question no longer seemed appropriate and was answered OOC.

Larathiel is primarily a spellcaster, are we okay with her staying in the back of the group?

Sure. As per Keira's previous post, she will make her stand a couple of steps in front of Larathiel.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:08, Sat 20 Jan.

In reply to Keira (msg # 185):

Thanks!

Gurth will stand in line with Keira as usual.  His new axe-hammer is again ready to cut down more foes.

Can I use my magic before they close the distance, or are they already too close to do so before we go to intiative?

We are already in initiative. But you can do whatever you want to do on your turn.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:27, Tue 23 Jan.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 189):

Understood!

Just to make sure we're on the same page, Keira, Gurth, Aladin, and Larathiel is the order of who is closest to the serpents. Is that correct?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 191):

Seems right...

Fine by me. Though Keira will take a step back if she needs to parry twice.

Please feel free to make any rolls you feel are/could be needed. If I roll for defense for you, I will always use Dodge, so if you don't want to use Dodge, then please include in the IC post how you would defend and defend against multiple attacks.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 194):

Can I use Retreating Dodge as my default defence? Is there somewhere to put that? Though in this case retreating parry would be better...
This message was last edited by the player at 05:59, Fri 26 Jan.

Please put that in your IC post. You would have to remember to post that in each combat post you make.

Okay! I'll have my post up around 1 or 2 in the afternoon, got to catch some rest before work.

You don't have to roll for defense, I will do that for you. I will assume that you want to dodge, unless you tell me otherwise.

I should not have retreated last round, Keira would have better chance of avoiding damage than our back line. Sorry about that people. You may wish to try to disengage to avoid getting hit again. Keira can probably keep two of them busy and Gurth will likely drop one more this round.

Also, from what I understand, unless we explicitly put how we wish to defend in our post, we only get a basic dodge roll, which is likely to fail. So, it could be a good idea to do that and put a retreat, full defense or extra effort in there as well to push the odds in your favor. Also Luck, we all have that.

That is correct. If I don't know how you want to defend, I will assume that you want to dodge.

Oww.

As they have become unconscious due to hp loss, they can try to wake up by succeeding at an HT roll. They can try this once per hour. Is there anything Gurth or Keira wants to do during that hour?

We can try to perform first aid.  Gurth doesn't have a kit.   We will have to dig through Aladdin's gear.

Aladin uses his prayers to heal. He doesn't have a first aid kit. But Keira has enough bandages for a half-dozen wounds. So you can absolutely give it a try. Once they're out of her backpack.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:12, Thu 08 Feb.

I'll get Keira right on it.

It looks like I actually have bandages on Keira, I had her take them in the previous thread.

Keira has the First Aid skill, though at a mediocre level. The way I'm reading it, we could try bandaging to restore 1 HP (1 minute and a First Aid roll), and then take 30 minutes and another First Aid roll for treating shock to restore 1d-3 HP. If we can get them over 0 HP, they should awaken without needing an HT roll in 15 minutes. Otherwise, we wait an hour to see if they make it. That about it?

Also, I just noticed that Keira has a minor healing potion that restores 1d points. Not exactly sure where, when or how she got it, but it's there on her char sheet. GM, can a healing potion be administered to an unconscious person?

A healing potion can be administered to an unconscious person.

The way I'm reading the text, you don't make a First Aid roll to bandage. You just take 1 minute to bandage and restore 1hp. If we had been using the bleeding optional rules, you would have had to make a First Aid roll to stop the bleeding.

You then take 30 minutes and make a First Aid roll to see if your patient restores another 1d-3hp.

Larathiel would only need to be bandaged and she'd wake up on her own 15 minutes later.

Aladin, on the other hand, would require a critical success on the First Aid roll or a 6 on the restore dice so he gets the additional 3hp he needs to get above 0hp to awake on his own in 15 minutes. A critical failure would mean that he loses another 2hp.

But otherwise, you would have to wait an hour for him to try to wake up.

And then we come to the question of the healing potion. As Aladin's and Larathiel's divine and arcane magic didn't work. Will the potion work?

And why didn't their magic work?

Hmm, I think Keira would try the potion regardless. She has heard Larathiel say that her magic is not working during the fight, but she would have no clue that Aladin's healing magic likewise did not work, and does not have magery or skills to figure out that the potion might be affected by whatever we are dealing with here (low/no mana area perhaps?).

Also, didn't we have a prisoner? Or is he already half way back to his cultist buddies?

You did have a prisoner, I had completely forgotten about him. I would say that he's no longer with you. If that means he's dead somewhere or if he got away, you don't know. You'll find out if you run into him again.

Now that you're all awake again. What do you do?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 210):

Wait a minute, he was supposed to be with us. How did he disappear? We were using him to check for traps...

Maybe you can find out IC.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:13, Tue 13 Feb.

Are you continuing your investigation of this cave? Or are you going back to heal?

Going back to heal up and rest.  Maybe find the prisoner.

It's about a thousand feet or so.

Can we see them from the cave entrance?

In reply to Gurth (msg # 216):

Pretty sure there was a room with a light where magic worked closer than that...

Was there? I found the post where Aladin cast a light spell, but that was back at the entrance, I think. If there is place that is closer, I am fine with going there as well, of course.

Anyway, whereever we are going, we should take the camels with us. And put our wounded on them, otherwise they would slow us down considerably. They would both be limited to 1/2 speed, right?

Yes, they are both limited to half-movement.

There has been light in at least one of the "buildings" you have investigated, but I don't recall anyone using spells or prayers in this cavern.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 219):

Pretty sure Aladin is still unconscious, so 0 movement...

No, he has returned to consciousness. "At 0 HP or worse, but above -1¥HP, make a HT roll to awaken every hour. Once you succeed, you can act normally. You do not have to roll against HT every second to remain conscious unless you receive new injury. But since you are below 1/3 your HP, you are at half Move and Dodge."

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 221):

Right. Does it cost anything to keep trying to heal myself, and everyone else injured?

If someone else is leading the camel you're riding, you can take the Concentrate maneuver and activate your healing prayer without any additional costs.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 223):

Will do that regularly...

Please mention that IC. I'm assuming you're healing yourself, but include that information too.

You are right. Let's say that the group is in the tunnel instead. With all of your stuff and the camels.

Now that we have corrected your location, where do you want to go?

You mean Keira is right and we are at the entrance to the ruins we just explored? Keira would be in favor in continuing our exploration of the city, maybe search for another exit there. But Aladin's idea is also not bad, assuming they did not already post guards to block us in. And if we have to fight, it would be better to do so somewhere where we can use our magic. I am fine with others deciding on it.

Larathiel would be frightened to go back into a place where her magic doesn't work, but she would also say we should keep exploring the city

Yes, you are in the tunnel between the two caverns of the city and the entrance.

Back to where you were last?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 231):

Are there other options, without returning to the entrance?

You are in a tunnel that can take you to two different caverns. The entrance or the place where magic doesn't work. You have not yet explored all of the latter cavern.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 233):

Opt for the place where magic does not work, to finish exploring there rather than to risk going back to the entrance? There may be another exit we have not found, such as the sewers...

And does the group want to go back to where you left off exploring or do you want to start exploring somewhere else?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 235):

Somewhere else for now I would suggest...

Works for me.   We can only go forward or back towards the hunters.

If we say that the entrance into the ruined cavern is at the north end of the cavern, you have so far investigated the eastern half. There's about 30-40 percent left. Do you want to go counterclockwise this time? Start in the center? Or how do you want to go about this?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 238):

Clockwise. We are looking for
a) another exit
b) an area magic works

You have already gone clockwise. Do you want to do that again?

In reply to Aladin Sufran (msg # 239):

Sorry, meant the other way. Anti-clockwise...

Larathiel will periodically try to create minor illusions as they travel to test whether or not her magic is working.

I just realized that if our magic doesn't work, then the cultist magic shouldn't work either.   Hopefully we don't have to worry about that but just a thought.

With all the circles going on, I added a small map to give a sense of where everything is.

Where do you want to go? You're about between 1 and 2 on the map.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 245):

Investigate 3 on the way to 4, checking for where my prayers might be answered.

Do you set a guard as you sleep?

Of course.   It would be suicide not to at this point.

I'm good for resting here unless the others want to push on to find a place where their magic works.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:31, Fri 08 Mar.

Does anyone want to do anything in particular during your watch? Please PM me about it. And feel free to make an AW roll or whatever you find useful to notice what is happening while you are on watch.

Keira will spend her guard shift up on the top of the building in shadow form, hoping to spot any threat way before it reaches them.

20:04, Today: Keira rolled 7 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,1,5.  AW (16). – 7

Aladin will meditate during his watch...

Larathiel just stays alert, although periodically she tries to access her magic.

00:34, Today: Larathiel rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,5,2.  Awarness. – 9

Gurth will keep watch at the outer ring.   He alternates between the 3 openings to break up the monotony and help stay alert.  He will keep the longbow with him.


07:46, Today: Gurth rolled 7 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,1,5.  AW  - 13.


07:46, Today: Gurth rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,3,3.  Observation - 12.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Sun 10 Mar.

Aladin, there may have been some misunderstanding. You said that you were meditating during your watch. I interpreted that as you meditating for the duration of your watch. Not keeping an eye out for what was happening

Can Gurth get up to his knees and throw a knife if it's ready in his hand?    If so, looks like a good throw.  If not, it's ready anyway.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:39, Mon 11 Mar.

Getting to his knees takes the Change Posture maneuver, which doesn't allow for an attack. But you can attack from your knees on your next turn if you successfully Fast-Draw the knife. But you can throw the knife while lying down, if you're facing the right direction. And we can assume that you are.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:53, Tue 12 Mar.

I'll throw from prone.   He successfully fast drew the knife and threw it.  The rolls are there.  Attack success by 8.

Are there any penalties for throwing from prone?  How far away is the bad guy?  Which way is the attacker facing?
This message was last edited by the player at 06:55, Tue 12 Mar.

In GURPS terms, prone is lying face down. You can also lie face up. I don't know how Gurth sleeps, so I'm just mentioning that in passing.

The monster is not close enough to Attack Gurth, but it's close enough to Move and Attack.

It is facing Aladin, which likely means that it has its side towards you.

The knife Gurth has is a large knife, not a long knife. So that affects its stats. This is fortunate, as long knives aren't effective when thrown, but large knives are.

And from what I can see, there are no penalties from throwing while prone, as long as you are facing the target.

I forgot to state that Gurth was going to ready his axe if possible. I can roll for fast draw if necessary.

If you want to draw the axe last turn, you need to fast draw the weapon.

Doh! Rolled 17. Fail.   Going to have to try again next round.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Sat 16 Mar.

Unfortunately, when you fail a Fast-Draw, you spend your turn drawing the weapon normally.

Yeah.  I'll just ready when I finish standing up.

Did we determine we're in a no magic zone here?

Unfortunately, your spells don't work here.

In reply to Gurth (msg # 263):

Sorry, was out of Internet for a week or two. Intention was to meditate, but watching around as well. But take it as it happened...

I'm not going to be home for Easter. And I will likely not have much opportunity to post until the holidays are over.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 267):

No problem. I am, but will be busy with family, so all good here. Enjoy whatever you are doing!

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 267):

See you soon!

Enjoy your time off.

See you all later then.

I am back!

A quick summary of what is happening IC. The group is in an underground location, they were paid to find the wife of a villager exploring that place. They have encountered some "cultists" and a variety of creatures. Their current location seemed imperviable to their spells and prayers. They are trying to make sure that their place of rest is secure after a recent undead incursion.

Seems correct.

You need to rest for a full day to heal 1 hp naturally. If someone takes a minute to bandage you, that will restore 1 hp. And after an additional 30 minutes and a successful First Aid roll, you regain an additional 1d-3 hp.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 274):

Can I bandage myself, and do the first aid?

Unfortunately not, someone else has to do that for you.

Keira can do some bandaging, assuming it's not too late by now. Sorry, I kinda forgot that Aladin got hurt in the fight.

That's not a problem, we can easily do some retroactive bandaging. Does she want to take the extra time to see if she can return more than 1hp?

She does. 30 minutes for 1d-3 hp on a successful First Aid roll, right? On top of the 1 hp for bandaging. I'll make a post in the game to cover this, retroactively.

Awesome! And yes, that is correct.

Mundane medical care could be considered TL4.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:13, Fri 05 Apr.

Back to exploring, same direction as before we rested? Unless we want to go back to the entrance to heal up again. How is Aladin doing?

In reply to Keira (msg # 281):

Could be better, but only 3 hp down.

I think we keep exploring, same direction

I think so too.  Hopefully we can push through this no magic zone.  After we dig around this building first.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:29, Tue 09 Apr.

As we have gone back and forth on this. Do you have the camels with you? Or have you left them somewhere?

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 285):

With us. We have not found a suitable place to leave them...

Yeah, I assumed we picked them up when we transported our wounded back to the entrance and then kept them with us.

Aladin, do you want to go left or right?

I thought there was just one big entrance, no?

There is one structure to the left and another to the right.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 290):

Ah, arch in the wall.

What is your question?

"Do you think different cultures or religions may interpret different meanings to the poet's words?"

Then please ask that question IC.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 294):

Updated last post to reflect...

Am I unconscious or injured?

I sent you a PM.

I specified what kind of skeleton Bahal looked like in the Religion thread.

I noticed that I had described this "pantheon" differently in two different documents, so I have updated my post again....

Does the Queen's description of the area give us enough info to orient ourselves and navigate better?

As far as I recall, the only section of the city that you have actually seen is the one you are in now. So her description doesn't tell you anything. At the moment. It might tell you more when you get there.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 301):

Yeah, tracking that. General layout might help guess which direction to head though.

There are seven tunnels, the one to the left of where you are has caved in. All the others are to the right. You don't know where the tunnels lead. So you don't know the layout beyond that.

And the city that has been described, doesn't fit that layout.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 303):

Ok. It was worth asking.

Hmm. If we don't find any other passage to a different part of the city, we'll have no choice but to return to the entrance, which is most likely going to be guarded now. Oh, well. At least magic should work again once we get out of here.

Regarding the drain caps.   I think we had a couple and loaded them up on the camels.

I know you have seen a number of them. How many do you think you picked up?

I assumed Keira dragged the one she picked up back to the camels. Not sure others picked up more?

Gurth had a point in Merchant at 9.

Rolled for the gold and failed.

Per the Exploits thread, Connoisseur (Luxuries) are used to identify luxury items, which I would say these fall under if they indeed are made of gold, even though their function is much more mundane. That skill or Merchant can then be used to determine the value of luxury items.

Nevertheless, I would agree that Merchant should be able to identify gold.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:32, Fri 17 May.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 310):

I can do merchant...Rolled 3 under!

That is a very good question Aladin! And I want to reward you for asking it. My normal reward for something like that is an Action Point, but I haven't decided exactly how to use those in this campaign, so I will have to think on that.

And in regards to the compulsion itself, it is still active! And so are your new abilities. And some of your starting supernatural abilities too.

There is a method to this madness and there is still time to figure out what it is.

In reply to Dragondog (msg # 312):

Ah. so we are still compelled to collect gold then? I guess we would have collected them, despite our not posting such?

I'm suppose that we would.   However, nothing they said would preclude us from equipping ourselves to better carry out the task.

I guess we can go back to pick up the gold once we finish exploring this part of the city. We could put it all on the camels and figure out what to do with it later.

Also, if this compulsion is magical in nature, could this place negate or suppress it?

In reply to Keira (msg # 315):

That was my point Keira. But no, it does not apparently. So we would have been compelled to take it when we saw it.