The Back Room: Live Tabletop Games

daze413

10:07

@Miniman @nitsua60 here! ping me when you guys are ready

Miniman

@daze413 Ready!

nitsua60

@one min. 2 pcs again?

lemme try that again...

daze413

yep. no problem, take your time

nitsua60

@daze413 one min... 2 pcs again?

=)

daze413

woops wrong link

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/…

nitsua60

10:12

same ones?

daze413

up to you

Miniman

Well, not having prepared new ones I'm gonna stick with the same ones.

nitsua60

me too, then. (Also didn't make up new, but could pull others.)

daze413

ok, so, ready?

Miniman

Yep!

nitsua60

10:20

60 more sec...

ready

daze413

ok. Link to the map is above

You smell him before you see him... blah blah. Roll initiative

nitsua60

yup--just saw it. Placed characters.

daze413

2d20

Dice Service

13

10

Miniman

2d20

Dice Service

10:22

6

20

nitsua60

alpha order

2d20

Dice Service

12

4

nitsua60

E 16, G 6

daze413

where is Golthakas?

Miniman

D 6, K 20

nitsua60

10:23

Hiding behind Kheldor =)

daze413

oh we have a tie for Dharval and Golthakas

which one do you want to go first?

Miniman

Let Golthakas go first

nitsua60

@Miniman do you want haste again?

and are we "pre-burning" some resources this time?

daze413

Initiative Count - Kheldor > Elthios > Wilbur > TSP > Golthakas > Dharval

Miniman

@nitsua60 Much less point now - you can probably achieve more with other spells

nitsua60

10:25

@Miniman kk

daze413

Kheldor goes first

Miniman

Ok, so Kheldor will charge forward with Dash, and cast Spiritual Weapon

d20

Dice Service

17

nitsua60

E: Whoa, buddy... I thought I was supposed to be the fast one =)

Miniman

24 to hit

1d8

Dice Service

10:27

8

Miniman

12 radiant damage

K done

nitsua60

@daze413 chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/message/36051776#36051776

@Miniman (force)

Miniman

@nitsua60 Yep, that's the plan

daze413

The spectral (weapon? what kinda weapon is it?) appears and flings itself at the huge creature...

(OH! pause!)

let's pre-burn spells

nitsua60

half of them?

Miniman

10:28

@nitsua60 Oops - I've been getting that wrong for a long time

daze413

for full casters

Miniman

@daze413 Yeah, I did that after we talked about it last time

daze413

you have 3rd - 1
2nd - 1
1st - 2?

nitsua60

sounds good.

daze413

for third casters? 2nd - 1
1st - 2?

no, let's say 3

nitsua60

10:29

sorcery points, also, 'cause they're LR-recharge?

but keep all the ki because that's SR?

daze413

let's say half are gone

yep

nitsua60

good--all set.

daze413

(OK, resume) Elthios goes next

nitsua60

Elthios sashays over... This is what radiant damage looks like =)

3 radiant sun bolts, at a cost of 1 ki; all +7 to hit

3d20

Dice Service

3

20

2

nitsua60

10:32

ugh...

daze413

only the crit hits

nitsua60

2d6

Dice Service

•

nitsua60

+4= 11 radiant damage

on TSP =)

E done.

daze413

Wilbur squeals something at Elthios, at first you hear is unintelligible, but as it repeats and repeats it, the words become a chant. "Grovel. Grovel. Grovel..." (roll a Wis ST E pls)

nitsua60

10:35

at a +3...

d20

Dice Service

12

nitsua60

15 total

daze413

ok, that saves. Wilbur will then grunt in frustration and scrambles up the debris with surprising ease

The Swine Prince takes his enormous arm and pulls himself toward Kheldor... Then, it raises the same arm and slams it down with hideous force!

d20

Dice Service

13

daze413

21 to hit?

make a Str ST also

3d6

Dice Service

10:37

•

Miniman

21 hits

d20

Dice Service

4

Miniman

fail

daze413

you take 18 damage, and are prone.

Miniman

ouch

daze413

10:37

The Swine Prince crushes you with its monstrous hand. (end turn)

Golthakas next

nitsua60

G: Thanks for ducking, Kheldor!

twinned chromatic orbs coming at TSP

daze413

you cant twin the same target right?

nitsua60

Right--TSP and W

daze413

alright, W has +5 AC. roll to hit

nitsua60

(lightning, at a +7 to hit

alpha order for targets

2d20

Dice Service

10:40

15

4

nitsua60

TSP 22, W 12

daze413

TSP hits. Wilbur dodges

nitsua60

3d8

Dice Service

5

3

nitsua60

11 lightning

And Golthakas ~~cowers~~ strategically places himself to the side.

G done.

daze413

10:41

After your turn, The Swine King will raise his cleaver and bring it down to bear at Kheldor

2d20

Dice Service

8

18

Miniman

hits

daze413

The creature's gigantic weapon hits the prone cleric

3d8

Dice Service

4

5

3

daze413

17 damage

Miniman

10:42

Yep

daze413

oh, umm.. rewind a bit... Lightning hits near Wilbur and sends bones and flesh flying... The Swine Prince looks to its friend with wide eyes, but is relieved when it's not hit

Dharval goes next

genuine concern crosses the swine prince's face. A flicker of emotion, from the hideous abomination

Miniman

Heh, nice

Darval will Dash up into melee, then use his bonus action to cast Shield of Faith on Kheldor

daze413

ok, +2 to AC for Kheldor as he becomes awash with divine light. The Swine Prince hesitates as the light descends

Is SoF conc?

Kheldor's got next

Miniman

Yep

Kheldor will stand up, then use Preserve Life to give himself 25 hp back

then attack with spiritual weapon

d20

Dice Service

8

Miniman

10:48

15?

daze413

TSP?

hits

Miniman

1d8

Dice Service

5

Miniman

9 force damage

that's K done

nitsua60

@Miniman E: *looking good, buddy... I was a little worried there. *

daze413

10:49

The spectral weapon slashes at the Swine Prince, though effective seems not the least bit worried about it.

(if someone's character had a name starting with "B", he can hide as a bonus action by not bolding his name)

nitsua60

lol

daze413

Elthios is up

nitsua60

(Elthios, as a bonus action, changes her name. Masks of the Wild, and all...)

Elthios steps up and goes apeshit with her spear, attempting to stun this monstrosity... (at a +7 to hit)

d20

Dice Service

18

nitsua60

DC 15 CON save, please

daze413

10:53

the spear connects with the thing's entrails...

2d20

Dice Service

9

15

daze413

roll damage...

nitsua60

d8

Dice Service

4

nitsua60

8 mundane piercing

second attack, with spear, attempting to stun again...

d20

Dice Service

10:54

6

daze413

The Swine Prince howls and some of the voices it possesses are silenced for a moment- just a moment before it resurges with a fierce rage.

still hits

nitsua60

DC 15 CON save...

daze413

2d20

Dice Service

18

15

nitsua60

(oof!)

d8

Dice Service

10:55

6

nitsua60

10 mundane piercing

and a flurry of blows, at a cost of 1 ki...

d20

Dice Service

17

nitsua60

24 hits, DC 15 CON save please?

daze413

hits! still stunning?

2d20

Dice Service

18

6

nitsua60

10:56

grah!

d6

Dice Service

•

nitsua60

6 mundane bludgeoning, and a non-stunning open-hand chop

d20

Dice Service

14

daze413

hits

nitsua60

d6

Dice Service

10:57

•

nitsua60

another 6 mundane bludgeoning

daze413

You send your fists through its scrambled intestines, not even knowing which parts are important, or.. if he's using them at all

nitsua60

E: this thing is remarkably resilient!

daze413

Bloodied

nitsua60

E done

Actually, one sec?

Can I move a bit more?

daze413

10:59

where?

Wilbur: "Of course he is... he... is... The Swine..." (Wilbur will cast Dissonant Whispers at Kheldor. DC 13 Wis Save please)

Miniman

d20

Dice Service

16

daze413

The Swine Prince issues a bellow as he finishes Wilbur's sentence... "PRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINCEE!!"

a thousand voices shout the name, each squeal a different tone

nitsua60

@daze413 (nvm, sorry--connection dropped for a sec, strangely)

daze413

Wilbur's done. TSP slams at Kheldor again.

d20

Dice Service

11:02

1

daze413

(he breaks a nail)

and is done

(do you feel Wilbur is too hard to hit, at this point? like, there's too many things to hide behind?)

Miniman

@daze413 (Not sure, no one's really tried to hit him yet

nitsua60

@daze413 (again, I'm just feeling like he's not really much of a priority)

daze413

@nitsua60 (fair enough... Though the sorcerer did try to Chromatic Orb it)

nitsua60

(yeah, but only because It's been years since I've played a sorcerer and forgot about twinning->two targets)

=D

G: Cool off, so-called Prince!

fires a *ray of frost, at +7 to hit, after sidling left...

d20

Dice Service

11:05

20

daze413

(I'll change the map to make the back space a little smaller, so at least Wilbur can get hit with AOEs)

nitsua60

4d8

Dice Service

7

5

1

4

daze413

noice

nitsua60

17 cold, and TSP is 10' slower =)

daze413

11:06

A Powerful Blow!

nitsua60

G strafes right

G done

daze413

Dharval is up

Miniman

Yep, he'll attack 3 times, with a level 2 smite and a level 1 smite

3d20

Dice Service

8

3

4

Miniman

yikes

daze413

11:07

+? :o

Miniman

15, 10, and 11

daze413

only the 15 hits, i'm afraid

Miniman

1d10

Dice Service

9

daze413

you do extra damage because it's a fiend

Miniman

11:07

yay!

13 nonmagical slashing damage

daze413

didnt you smite?

Miniman

4d8

Dice Service

8

5

7

2

Miniman

@daze413 Yep, just checking how it works

22 radiant damage

daze413

35 total?

Miniman

11:08

yep!

daze413

TSP squeals, shaking the room and the bones around him, it sends his gigantic claw at Dharval

d20

Dice Service

20

daze413

...

6d6

Dice Service

•

daze413

27 damage and a strength ST in your future

Miniman

11:10

d20

Dice Service

6

Miniman

and another for conc

d20

Dice Service

17

daze413

you are prone, but you manage to keep concentrating

Miniman

ok, shield of faith still up, but K is prone

daze413

11:10

Dharval, not K

it was a retaliatory strike

Miniman

Oops, that's who I meant :)

daze413

ok, Kheldor is up

(If I raise Wilbur's CR, the encounter becomes deadly... :/)

Miniman

Inflict Wounds followed by an attack from the Spiritual Weapon

d20

Dice Service

8

Miniman

does a 15 hit?

daze413

11:12

that hits

Miniman

3d10

Dice Service

3

7

5

Miniman

15 necrotic damage

d20

Dice Service

6

daze413

13 hits

Miniman

11:13

13?

1d8

Dice Service

3

Miniman

7 force damage

that's kheldor done

daze413

1 HP lol

Elthios, deliver this fiend from this plane!

Miniman

ehehehe

nitsua60

E: I dunno, guys... I'm pretty tired... (spent all my Ki on stunning)

Stabs twice with spear, at +7 to hit...

2d20

Dice Service

11:14

5

19

nitsua60

12 hit?

daze413

all of it hits

nitsua60

d28

2d8

Dice Service

3

6

daze413

its dead!

nitsua60

11:15

7 mundane piercing...

What's Wilbur's reaction?

daze413

(so... too easy right?)

Wilbur will squeak and scamper, and try to get away

apparently, the affection was not returned

nitsua60

I don't think it's too easy now.

Miniman

@daze413 (Definitely tougher than last time, but you could probably still make it a bit tougher)

nitsua60

TSP hits hard.

Wilbur's still not really a plausible distractor.

daze413

@nitsua60 yeah and when he misses, it's devastating

@Miniman any suggestions? I'm thinking of buffing Wilbur

nitsua60

11:17

Am I remembering there was something where the bones would get animated into skeletons?

Miniman

@daze413 Yeah, I think Wilbur definitely needs to be a more credible threat

daze413

no no, the bones just shook from the loud squeal

it's CR 1/2 and am struggling to keep him down that CR

I can... decrease the HP more, and nerf the map so it gets hit with AOEs

nitsua60

What if Wilbur could animate a skeleton or two each round? Or if there were a trap such that the first character to step inside the columns triggers some skellie-spawn points?

(brb)

daze413

decreasing HP allows me to increase the save DC for its spells

Miniman

@daze413 Actually, making him a glass cannon makes a lot of sense - it means it's easy to kill him, but then you have to deal with TSP's wrath

daze413

11:20

@nitsua60 I don't wanna spawn a skellie for this particular boss, already doing that with 2 bosses I've homebrewed

@Miniman with 33 HP and Avoidance, I want him to survive even just 1 hit so the players can see that if you hit Wilbur, TSP will get mad so I gave him a bit more HP

nitsua60

@daze413 gotcha

Miniman

@daze413 There aren't many ways, at level 5, to do 33 HP in one hit

daze413

@Miniman well, according to the tables, he's already 1/8 with HP alone. And if I decrease it more, he should be around CR 0 >_< which is 1-7 HP

nitsua60

Yeah, but the tables are second to playtesting.

daze413

alright, I'll raise the DC by 2

so its DC 15 now

lemme see if that would have made a difference

nitsua60

11:24

The playtest/narrative says he needs to take at least two hits for reasons, so his HP has to be in the teens.

@daze413 the top-level thing I'd say is that we're still lacking in obvious choices to struggle with.

daze413

@nitsua60 mm-hmm. it's whack the swine prince until it's dead

Miniman

@nitsua60 Oooh! @daze413 What if Wilbur puts a concentration buff on TSP?

nitsua60

What is TSP up to down here? Is there a ritual we could be worrying about interrupting, could there be some tiny (CR0) minions reattaching parts of him (regenerating) that might draw our attention?

daze413

@Miniman oooh. good stuff!

nitsua60

@Miniman That's nice.. "good for the goose" and all.

Miniman

11:27

It doesn't have to be anything serious, but if he's obviously buffing the boss, I know I'd think about going after him.

nitsua60

@Miniman It also gives them a nice thing to do during that first at-range round.

daze413

maybe a bless? or whats a solid single target buff?

nitsua60

@daze413 something for his AC? He's pretty squishy.

Blur?

daze413

@nitsua60 I'm working that out, wanted to get the mechanics out first

@nitsua60 doesnt really match the flavor... shield of faith looked nice but taking it up to +2 AC isnt very threatening?

Miniman

@daze413 Heroism? It's a 1st-level Bard spell, which I get the impression is what you want Wilbur to resemble.

Plus, the moment you say "the boss is regenerating", it's gonna scare the crap out of players.

nitsua60

11:31

this ^^

daze413

@Miniman hahaha! yeah, and it gives wilbur something to do if it wins initiative

what about Bane vs the party?

Miniman

Oooh, nasty.

nitsua60

Note that'll tend to slow the encounter a bit. (PCs make lots of attacks compared to saves.) Which may be fine.

daze413

ok, Bane and Heroism added to spell list. Spell DC increased to 15

nitsua60

The other top-level thing that I think is missing is beats.

daze413

11:34

@nitsua60 how so?

Miniman

@daze413 Wilbur should use a drum to cast spells.

nitsua60

Could we be fighting TSP in an antechamber, then once he's taken a double-digit hit he beats a hasty retreat to this chamber (and kills the lights?)

daze413

@Miniman thatd be... to cute haha coincedentally though, there are swine drummers

@nitsua60 escapes have never worked for me. I end up botching HP all the time when I do it

nitsua60

Some developments/changes such that when the players recount it's not a one-act, linear thing, but rather "we did this and this happened and he did this, but then this happened! and we had to X and he Yed..."

@daze413 Lair action: 1round wall of bones forms between party and TSP. We then hear intense slithering, and darkness falls with a THUD.

daze413

@nitsua60 I guess that depends on what TSP is actually doing here

oh! protecting a magic item.

The torch that can help the players when they enter the Darkest Dungeon

anyway, getting hungry. As always, your input is invaluable

nitsua60

11:44

Last note(s): this guy's fun, a lot of flavor. Plus, I love fighting something whose stat-block I haven't seen! I do think it still needs work for Wilbur to present a difficult choice, but the buff to TSP might be the trick. I think even if you left everything as-is it'd be memorable. Just trying to help you make it awesome =)

I'm gonna go make breakfast for the kiddies. See you-all around!

Miniman

Cya guys!

daze413

see you, and thanks again!

Miniman

@daze413 Thanks you, it was fun!

nitsua60

20:56

@daze413 Thank you--it was fun, and gave me some of my own ideas. (Probably wouldn't have thought of Lair/Legendary actions for such a low-CR foe without this experience. Now I'm going to be playtesting some like that!)

Shalvenay

22:22

hey there @nitsua60 and @GreySage

Transcript for

The Back Room: Live Tabletop Games