Crusade - OOC Thread

[TristenC]

Ok cool. so Everyone good with Parra trying to put the remaining two inside asleep while we take this one down? or do we want to try to lure them out and take them down 1 at a time?

[HorizonsDream]

I'm cool with the sleep thing, if it works.

[Matt4]

Aug 4, 2022 17:13:52 GMT -8 TristenC said:

Ok cool. so Everyone good with Parra trying to put the remaining two inside asleep while we take this one down? or do we want to try to lure them out and take them down 1 at a time?

I think the sleep thing could work better now that there are only 2 left (although I'm still a bit anxious about magic resistence)

[Daos]

It's now been a month since Igordragonian last posted in this game, so I'll be taking full control of Parra as an NPC.  It's possible he may return, but in my experience if a person is gone for a month, that usually means they aren't returning.

If he's not back by the time the module ends, I'll go ahead and retire Parra.

[Dallion80]

I am still here just been crazy with the move trying to get caught up

[Daos]

Aug 8, 2022 18:12:53 GMT -8 Matt4 said:

Is there a coup de grâce mechanic or do we have to actually roll to hit/damage?

The way it works in 2E, is that if there is no other fighting going on (i.e., you are not in 'combat time'), you can autokill any helpless opponent (sleeping, tied up, paralyzed, anyone who can't move or fight back).  If there is fighting going on, you automatically hit (no roll needed) but have to roll damage normally.

[Matt4]

Thanks!

[Matt4]

Before going to sleep, I'll use both my Cure Light Wounds on Granker: WwtevrUk2d8

For now I'll keep the same spells, but when we finish this module and if Kaelestia survives, I'd like to talk to you about a certain spell I'd like to start using, Daos2d8

[Daos]

Okay, that puts Granker back up to 10 HP.

What spell is that?

[Matt4]

Animal Friendship (I realize I could have written it in my previous post, but I like a bit of suspense).

I'm enjoying this 'campaign', but I'll admit I've found combat frustrating and a bit tedious, so I've been searching a bit on the internet (a task in itself really frustrating, since finding people that discuss 2e is hard) to see ways I could improve it on my side. I've seen many people advice on Druids (which Kaelestia basically is) being mostly on using AF to gain animal companions that could help during fights (and other stuff). Could I do that?

[Daos]

Yeah, there are precious few 2E communities left.  I only know of a few, and I tend not to visit them because they usually have a lot of jerks in them.

But anyway, yeah, that's doable.  Let me know if you have any questions about how it all works.

[Matt4]

Ok! Is there some sort of bestiary/monster book to see which animals are available and consult their stats?

[Daos]

That's a very new-school attitude.  If you want the real old school experience, that sort of information is for DMs only.  Players have to learn it through trial and error. 

Otherwise, I guess you'd have to go through the Monster Manual over on Purple Worm.  That's the only thing I can think of other than tracking down a copy of the MM.

[Matt4]

0:3 I just don't want a dud as a companion ;_; 

By the way, I did find a copy of the monster manual..but it's hard to skim through it because the creatures are not categorized, so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to know which ones count as animals and which don't (and I don't want to read the ones that don't). So for now I'll just read the ones that are included in the "Conjured Animals" table, and the ones connected to it (like all the birds, cats, mammals, etc) .

What's the difference between creatures having 4 HD and creatures having 3+1 HD (or similar combinations)? 🤔

Edit:

Daos, can you explain this part of the spell to me? It says: "The caster can use this spell to attract up to 2 Hit Dice of animal(s) per experience level he possesses." - thins means that as of now I could attract 1 animal that has 4 hd, or 1 that has 3 hd and 1 that has 1 hd. or 2 animals with 2 hd each, right? Then it continues: - "This is also the maximum total Hit Dice of the animals that can be attracted and trained at one time: no more than twice the caster's experience level." - Does it just repeat the previous sentence? It seems redundant so I think it means something else but I'm not sure what is it D:

[Daos]

Just keep in mind the MM isn't a shopping catalogue.  Regardless of what animals you choose, the spell only allows you the opportunity befriend them, not summon them.  Meaning you still need to find them first. 

Yeah, 2E didn't categorize creatures like later editions did.  But generally speaking, 'animal' refers to any creature that exists in the real world.  So owls count, and bears count, but owlbears do not count.  The spell description provides further restrictions.  The creature must be smart enough to be trained but not so smart as to be sapient (INT 1-4).  The creature must be unaligned (i.e., TN, since any creature smart enough to have a morality system is too smart to be trained as a pet).

HD for monsters is d8 unless specifically stated otherwise.  Any modifiers are just added or subtracted to the total HP.  Thus 4 HD means they have 4d8 HP, and 3+1 HD means they have 3d8+1 HP.  Anything with +3 or higher is considered to be one HD higher (e.g., 3+3 HD is considered worth 4 HD) when it comes to determining how many HD you can befriend.

The spell description you quoted:  The first part is as you read it.  As a level 2 priest, Kaelestia can charm up to a maximum of 4 HD (2/level) at once.  This means she could befriend a 4 HD creature, max.  The second part specifies that it is also the max you can have at one time.  So you could not befriend two 4 HD creatures with two separate castings, for instance.

So let's say she comes across a wild stag (3 HD) and uses the spell to befriend it.  She now has a 3 HD friend.  A few days later, she comes across a warthog (3 HD) and a goat (1+2 HD).  She can cast the spell again on the goat (3+1 = 4, her max) but not on the warthog, because that would total 6 HD, and she can only have up to 4 at a time.