Tabletop Games Thread

[mAc Chaos]

You never answered my comments, Mac, either here or over at Discord.

Oh, right. I totally forgot about it since it was going to be a meaty one and my 16 hour days weren't letting me have time to think. I will dig it out tonight.

In the meantime, Tang asked another question that I'll answer here:

Question (Tang): Would a sacrifice have appeased his god enough to let him escape?
Answer: Yes, if he managed to sacrifice everyone. Anu Akma is the God of the Dead, and hates tomb robbers who would desecrate the dead. Therefore, even though it is for a different purpose, stopping that would please him. If Menet-Ka defeats the party at the final stage, a special ending opens up where he is released and walks the earth anew, seizing control of Nuria-Natal once again. Of course, by that point, the consequences are for others to worry about...

[Trubo]

Wow, amazing! So many cool things and tidbits we missed in our exploration, I'm glad I stopped by to read that post, so thanks mAc.

I do have a question, what made Menet-Ka scary as a final boss? We didn't see much of what he could do because well, Rhogar happened.

Mechanically, Horrifying Visage is the biggest issue, especially with a party not proficient in Wisdom saving throws or having Calm Emotions, as you attack him at disadvantage and, more importantly, can't flee because you can't approach him while he's blocking the exit.

[SpoonyViking]

It's ok!

Also:

If Menet-Ka defeats the party at the final stage, a special ending opens up where he is released and walks the earth anew, seizing control of Nuria-Natal once again. Of course, by that point, the consequences are for others to worry about...

...Now I kind of wish he HAD killed us just so we could pester you into letting us play a different party on a quest to topple Nuria-Natal's mummy despot... :-P

[Zurvan]

Well, theoretically, there were groups that were sacrificied

[canaki]

Mechanically, Horrifying Visage is the biggest issue, especially with a party not proficient in Wisdom saving throws or having Calm Emotions, as you attack him at disadvantage and, more importantly, can't flee because you can't approach him while he's blocking the exit.

I was busy being shocked by my pretty character being not-so-pretty-anymore that I didn't realize I was the best person to be targetted by that, since Warlocks have Wis saves and I had a ranged weapon. Huh, small mercies.

[Trubo]

I was busy being shocked by my pretty character being not-so-pretty-anymore that I didn't realize I was the best person to be targetted by that, since Warlocks have Wis saves and I had a ranged weapon. Huh, small mercies.

Horrifying Visage/Frightful Presence hits everyone within range.

And it's not too bad provided you can make the saving throw, as it won't work on anyone that succeeds against it.

[mAc Chaos]

After our game, I took what you guys said into account and changed his ability to only target one character instead of everyone. (In Spoony and Trubo's game, everyone got frozen with fear.)

Canaki's character became an old man instantly.

Unbeknownst to them, I secretly calculated the maximum age of each character, so I would know when they would die of old age. If Menet-Ka pushed you over that, then you get to savor an early retirement.

Outside of that though there were other changes I made to make up for it, which Canaki's group experienced. The way it went, I think it was an improvement.

[Vritra]

Hurray for using bows so I could ignore the can't advance due to fear part, I think we might have died otherwise.

[Trubo]

Well mAc, if you ever want to inspire fear in your players, just throw in a couple of Red Abishai.

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Or a Beast of Talos

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Thrash. The Beast of Talos thrashes about causing icicles to fall from the ceiling. All enemies must attempt a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw. Those that fail take 9 (2d8) points of piercing damage and are Restrained (Escape DC 12) as they are impaled to the ground.

[Saiga]

Wow, amazing! So many cool things and tidbits we missed in our exploration, I'm glad I stopped by to read that post, so thanks mAc.

I do have a question, what made Menet-Ka scary as a final boss? We didn't see much of what he could do because well, Rhogar happened.

I'm pretty sure his bandage attacks would have been pretty powerful. The mummies took a pretty hefty chunk of my life with one of those, in addition to being able to force movement. And the grapple was a strength check, so no AC or saving throw bonuses. When Menet-Ka followed the grapple with another attack roll, I assumed the attack had to be really dangerous to be shared over two checks. That's why I immediately used Misty Step to break free.

Being able to grapple people who aren't in melee range with you is a really cool (and strong) boss ability.

[mAc Chaos]

The setting document actually touched on the leylines in its information:

Down a long line of succession, the wizard-kings and sorcerer-queens of Nuria experimented with the ley lines and the river’s magical water. They extended and prolonged their lives until they unlocked a kind of semi-divinity. Further, they developed the rituals needed to awaken from the slumber of death should their descendants need aid. Since then, the Nurians have regularly called upon their sleeping god-kings and god-queens for protection. Along with the major gods of the Nurian pantheon, these ancient rulers have watched over their kingdom before the time of the titans, from the days of the lost civilization of Ankeshel to the present day.

[SpoonyViking]

Hurray for using bows so I could ignore the can't advance due to fear part, I think we might have died otherwise.

Yeah, you dealt quite a bit of damage with the ranged attack version of Power Attack! Risky, but effective.

[DarkMAN]

Our party went with Smite + "So how dose the lightning work underwater?"

[Zurvan]

The lucky GM dice roll

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Victory was on our side the whole time

[mAc Chaos]

For my future games, I'm going to try the following change:

UNIVERSAL SYSTEM CHANGES:

• You get advantage with light weapon attacks against a creature you are grappling.
• You can use your action to try to pin a creature grappled by you. To do so, make another grapple check. If you succeed, you and the creature are both restrained until the grapple ends.

REPLACED GRAPPLER FEAT

Grappler (PHB)
Prerequisite: Strength 13 or higher

You've developed the skills necessary to hold your own in close-quarters grappling. You gain the following benefits:

• You have advantage on attack rolls against a creature you are grappling.
• While pinning a creature, you can use your action to try and immobilize a creature grappled by you for a turn. To do so, make another grapple check. If you succeed, the grappled creature gains the Paralyzed condition until the start of your next turn.
• While pinning a creature, your unarmed strikes hit automatically.
• You may waive somatic components for spells with Touch range against a creature you are grappling.

Grapple checks in 5e replaces an attack roll.

[Trubo]

For that last point on Grappler, why not just add that to War Caster's second bullet?

[Ratman]

There are many, many things wrong with the poll in this thread.

[Zurvan]

Yeah the poll is also pretty irrelevant for the thread these days

[mAc Chaos]

Soon we can add Pathfinder 2. :3c

For that last point on Grappler, why not just add that to War Caster's second bullet?

From my reading of the War Caster feat, that benefit is already part of the second bullet. But even if it wasn't, I wanted it to be part of the flavor of various things you'd do as a grappler. War Caster, on the other hand, is all about someone wielding weapons and casting magic; a swordmage.

[Ratman]

Meanwhile, in an undisclosed campaign...

Spoiler: