Personally? After that debacle with the wolves, I'm really regretting not preparing speak with animals or animal friendship myself. (And not taking Nature proficiency, but that's another story.)
I could always prepare it tomorrow, but knowing my luck, we'd run into absolutely zero animals.
If I'm not wrong, if a material component has no cost stated in its spell description, you can assume that it's in your component pouch or substitute your focus for it (like I've done for Sanna). Components with a cost in their description cannot be substituted, though.
I like it, if only because the idea of a fireball-chucking wizard handling guano every round is rather unappealing... and unsanitary.
(Also, I didn't have Dropbox before this either, but signing up for it is free.)
edited 15th Jan '15 3:57:54 AM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Oh! Handy! I missed that.
Honestly, it's kind of a shame, because I had a lot of plans for old fashioned styles of spell casting (Attaching a mirror to the inside of the shield in order to used Sanctuary) buuuut this is a hell of a lot easier.
I mean, honestly? I sort of like the flavour of Wizards and the like scrambling to do a proper spell in the middle of a battle, trying not to have someone knock the Guano onto them in the battle but that's a bit of personal taste since I like the idea of ritual casting.
edited 14th Jan '15 4:53:33 PM by Fauxlosophe
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You still need a free hand to manipulate your holy symbol, though. The good news is that "manipulation" means you can put your symbol on your shield or wear it visibly. As for somatic components, though, it's a little vague about whether your shield hand counts as your somatic hand, but you could just transfer your weapon to your shield hand temporarily as a free action.
edited 14th Jan '15 5:40:08 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Yep. The Holy Symbol is mounted on my shield.
As to how Somatic works; with the Javelins, I have it fairly easy; you can only carry one at a time anyway and then toss it. I've got spares so even if I absolutely have to drop it, then we're alright.
With a Sword? I'd probably just be careful to cast Bane before battle, then rely on Compelled Duel. Sanctuary is sort of a last resort if I prepare it, in which case, I'd try arguing; free action to drop sword and minor action to pick it up again.
Edit: Also, Melon, a Bless on Lissa, Sanna and Oisín would definitely be a handy opening.
edited 14th Jan '15 6:12:34 PM by Fauxlosophe
Well, based on the DM Guide (look, I had to research Wild Shape, okay?
) mostly Huge monsters, things with long necks, and Earth Elementals, IIRC. And centaurs, apparently, because they're the only creatures which use manufactured reach weapons (pikes). There are probably more in the Monster Manual.
edited 16th Jan '15 5:08:40 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Haha, fair enough. Honestly, it's not the worst Centaur exclusive weapon I've seen. That honour would go to Disgaea.
Also, I have to say I find it kind of funny that Sanna describes Oisín as "fancy" and Dalt (in private correspondance) described him as "silver tongued"; I was having fun giving him a brogue and showing off his dialect as outdated but that's more due to being from a remote area and living in an /even more/ remote area for about a century, and was supposed to come off backwater rather than pretensious. Lissa's earlier "gallon o' porter an' his jolly adventurin' preparations" was closer to my intent.
On the other hand, I've definitely had him drop some wordplay here and there (the 16 CHA probably helps) and I mean, he probably does look fancy in Sanna's eyes but he's really supposed to be a wandering mercenary more than a nobleman. Or a wierd mix of both, I guess? But that's because Irish myth/history is wierd.
Either way, it's something I didn't intend but I definitely find amusing.
edited 16th Jan '15 6:25:57 PM by Fauxlosophe
Sanna's a druid who's still a little out of touch with city life - it's "fancy" if it's not covered in shit.
Seriously, though? It's more of a reference to Oisin's tendency for dramatic flourishes compared to the rest of the party. Sanna believes in getting the job done quickly and without fuss, so to her, grand declarations and possibly even the taunting of the ogre seem a little superfluous.
edited 16th Jan '15 6:11:28 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.Ah, yeah. Oisín is dramatic.
I'm not going to lie; this is my first Paladin and I am absolutely going to play him as a Large Ham. I cannot even grasp the concept of a Paladin who is not in some way dramatic or ridiculous.
Though the taunting was definitely a strategic decision on Oisín's part to draw it out as well; he's dramatic but only if he knows he can get away with it (especially if he thinks he can get an advantage out of it, but boasting before a battle is a common trope in Celtic Mythology which I'm drawing on)
Edit: Soooo, Oisín is still shouting out plans. I'm actually a bit iffy here; The other Ogre is clearly distracted at something off to the side and last we saw Dalt's GMPC, she was scaling a wall off to the side... considering she's a transmuter? Well, I don't really want to bet the house on her soloing an Ogre, though a couple sleep spells could do the trick. Meanwhile, Sanna looks like she was very well built for DPS so it might be best to send her to ambush and draw off the second Ogre; I imagine she could do a lot of damage with the right support from a mage. Lissa was another consideration on myside but... it seems risky since we don't know Leina's spell list and the two might not end up having great synergy... Honestly, I'm normally pretty okay with watching GMPC's die, but if we don't act soon, she might end up taking all the credit. That we can't have.
I will admit though, I've never played a Druid; so I don't know 100% how animal form works and if you'd be wasting precious time scouting... I'd have to defer to you here Pyrite. If we were really desperate, Oisín might be able to finish the Ogre with good kiting and a better attempt on his second Bane, allowing the rest of you to support Dalt's character... assuming she's in danger...
On the other hand if we all focus DPS on it, then it should fall over a lot quicker quickly (two rounds tops with the damage/accuracy bonus from Bless while Oisín would probably take 4-5 rounds and it'd be a bit of a gamble...).
Also, if I can get a torch bearer or a fire attack of some kind, then I could use another trick I've had up my sleeve for a while and I've been itching to us; depending on whether Dalt allows it.
edited 16th Jan '15 8:34:59 PM by Fauxlosophe
If Sanna was able to talk in Bear form, she would've voted for focus fire on the following grounds:
- Oisin took a javelin throw and lost almost half his health - not that Sanna knows the exact numbers, but it certainly looked serious enough to warrant a use of healing word. And he's still playing the sole tank, which is risky.
- In addition, if Oisin is asking Aldrik to hand him his torch in the middle of a battle, that would require Aldrik to be in an adjacent square, and that makes your squire a potential target (even if Oisin is really that good at taunting). I imagine the rest of the party would have some strong feelings about that.
- Thirdly, Sanna isn't crazy enough to take on an ogre by herself or even with mage support, although she might be able to scrape out a win with judicious use of kiting and Wild Shape. Given her last few rolls, I wouldn't bet on it. If Leina dies, well... that's what happens when you split the party.
So Sanna's intent is to finish the fight as quickly as possible, then have the rest of the party join her in chasing after Leina. It should take another 2 rounds or so if you pile on the damage, which is why I picked Brown Bear form. I imagine a Blessed Multiattack would hurt.
Notes on Wild Shape: At this level (3rd), Sanna can transform into a CR 1 beast-type creature. She uses its statblock except for mental scores, alignment, and saving throws. (Proficiencies are combined between the character's and the beast's.) The creature's HP acts as a pool of temporary hit points. Apparently, Circle of the Moon druids make pretty good tanks, or so I hear.
Melon: if you prepared any spells that don't require concentration, you can still cast them while maintaining bless.
edited 16th Jan '15 10:53:14 PM by Pyrite
Not a substitute for a formal medical consultation.![]()
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- Oisín is used to getting hit pretty hard and isn't going to panic until he's bloodied and/or used up his Lay on Hands ability (+15 health, flat).
- I was thinking more scouting to make sure things were safe (and pulling in Lissa and Drusus if they were) but I agree with your accessment on that. I'd be a shame to loose the GMPC, but I'd rather not have any of us rerolling. Plus, I don't think Dalt would be that quick to hack off her own character.
- I assumed there was a rule about throwing the torch, though what I want to do is light the javelin on fire (using the shit tonne of oil I bought, since if I understand the rules, it's a flat 5 damage) and really Drusus would be better for that bit, if Melon wants to conserve spell spots. Though I get the feeling we're going to try charging into Melee now.
Also, Oisín /does/ automatically give disadvantage to attacks on anyone adjacent to him which is really handy and something we should keep in mind as a group; next round, it'd probably, but probably be wise to set up a wall with Sanna and Oisín. This probably wouldn't be enough to keep Aldric overly safe, unless we lure the Ogre into the next trap (in which case, I believe his max speed would drop again, unless I'm mistaken) then it'd be an easy kiting game with this particular Ogre.
Over all; I agree with you, Pyrite. One lesson for me here though, is that I should probably wait longer to post... by fleeing I'm triggering an OA, while a shift and stab would give Ogre disadvantage on you and justify me using the sword.
There's been a couple tactical blunders, some of which came from me focusing on Oisín's abilities since I didn't know what you guys had for spell lists (except Sanna) but for the most part, if anything, we're overkilling this guy. I think after combat at some point we might have our characters chat about it under the guise of figuring out how to work in the new mage and squire, but hopefully all of characters will show their strengths in this battle.
edited 17th Jan '15 2:25:14 PM by Fauxlosophe

Unfortunately, I really don't know how I could post it online. I have made use of one of those online character sheets, but I don't have dropbox.
Drusus already has bless though, so replacing that spell would probably be fine.
On this topic though, I'm wondering about something. The rules of magic say you can substitute your spellcasting focus for spell components. Yet it also says that if a cost is indicated for a component, I will need that component to cast the spell. My belief is that if a needed component is on the equipment list, I will need it, but otherwise I can use my focus. Is this a correct interpretation?
"And then the dead man of the dead did dead things to all the dead people."-Two Best Friends Play Dark Souls