Reckonings: The Overlook

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Ladies and Gentlemen, gather round to bear witness to an historic occasion!

Wecome to the new and improved reintegration center, where patients newly released from their stay atour old facilitycan begin the process of reentry into society. Construction will continue for a little while, but our new overlook lounge has complimentary tea and scones while you observe the participants in their self-contained environment.

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This is the new general OOC thread for the Reckonings epic-level game.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Er...I'm not sure I'm ready to be socialized yet...

I keep having these hallucinations about fighting Gwydion, and Vecna, and sometimes both at once...except sometimes I think I am Vecna...and, well, I haven't killed anyone while hallucinating yet--I think-- but Ezra may only be able to do so much to restrain me...

Ohhhh...scones.

[DeepShadow of FoS]

LOL! Yeah, I especially like the touch about the first day seeming like nine months.

I need to change my sig, or at least the link. What'ya think, "The epic PC's have seen the sun set in Saragoss," or maybe, "XX hours in Saragoss, and the body count is up to Y"? Perhaps just announce the move to the cafe?

I think I'm going to like it here in the Cafe. Any locals come round to check us out yet? I'm dying to hear from folks who never managed to register over at MSD's board.

[Nathan of the FoS]

I reckon I'd just announce the move to the Cafe. I suppose if anyone comes 'round to check us out, they'll just say so.

BTW: Hi, everyone! Questions and comments on the campaign can be left here.

[MatthiasStormcrow]

Scones! Mmm, scones.

Anyways, Touch of Idiocy is one of my favorite spells, and DS has just nicely demonstrated why (although, one of its best uses is putting very large but very unintelligent monsters into a coma). It also makes me feel like firing up a character sheet thread for Draga. We know he's got a 26 Wisdom, now (ok, well, had a 26 Wisdom).

[Fuzzball]

Ooh! Pass the scones over here!

I don't know the rules <<munch munch>> concerning madness (mostly because I don't have any RL books to find them in) and had a question.

So, every time anyone reads the mind of anybody else, do they have to make a madness check (or save, or whatever the proper wording is)?

Even a pathetic little commoner? Are their minds really that different and scary? Or is it just a strange side effect of RL natives (like a defense mechanism)?

<<munch munch>>

Shouldn't it be more damaging to someone's psyche to poke around in the mind of an undead, than to read the thoughts of Farmer Joe? (Okay, some farmer joes are pretty creepy, but I was speaking generally.)

If you make the save against madness on someone, do you have to make the save again after 24 hrs have passed?


Um, I guess I had a few questions. mmmm...scones <<munch munch>>
Not that madness isn't fun.
I don't suffer from insanity. I enjoy every moment of it!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Actually, there are only a few minds that will provoke madness checks from mental contact. So far, Tessius has encountered three flavors:

--A Darklord (in this case, the baronet aka Bluebeard)
--An abberation (like a shadow cloaker)
--A mind suffering from a failed madness check (Balfour, who, strangely enough, got his failed madness check from mental contact with Tessius!)

I could have sworn undead were on the list, but it just isn't so. Still, there are other categories out there, and you don't always know who's lacking faculties upstairs until it's too late.

Oh, and I might as well tell you that after her transformation, Ursula is a member of a fourth madness-inflicting category that (for the time being) will remain unlabeled. If anyone's reading her thoughts when she changes they'll get a penalty to the save, but the information they get if they make the check might actually be worth it.

While we're getting max mileage out of the madness rules, I might as well add that there seems to be a modest failsafe against too much craziness: lower wisdom--even that inflicted by a failed check--adds to your save, just as higher wisdom takes away from it.

Finally, I'll mention in case I haven't elsewhere that repeated failures of Madness checks before the first one is resolved will not produce additional madness effects, but only incure more mental damage and increase the duration of the original effect. Thus, if Tessius fails another Madness effect, his altered alignment would last longer, and he'd get duller, but he wouldn't also develop, say, amnesia or delusions.

[Nathan of the FoS]

Actually, there are only a few minds that will provoke madness checks from mental contact. So far, Tessius has encountered three flavors:

--A Darklord (in this case, the baronet aka Bluebeard)
--An abberation (like a shadow cloaker)
--A mind suffering from a failed madness check (Balfour, who, strangely enough, got his failed madness check from mental contact with Tessius!)

Bizarre--it's a madness feedback loop! That could get very messy indeed under the right circumstances--infectious insanity...

I could have sworn undead were on the list, but it just isn't so.

And thank goodness for that!

Oh, and I might as well tell you that after her transformation, Ursula is a member of a fourth madness-inflicting category that (for the time being) will remain unlabeled. If anyone's reading her thoughts when she changes they'll get a penalty to the save, but the information they get if they make the check might actually be worth it.

H'mmmm...I'd have to say that both of the most obvious categories for her to fall into have already been mentioned. Unless she's an outsider?!?

Finally, I'll mention in case I haven't elsewhere that repeated failures of Madness checks before the first one is resolved will not produce additional madness effects, but only incure more mental damage and increase the duration of the original effect. Thus, if Tessius fails another Madness effect, his altered alignment would last longer, and he'd get duller, but he wouldn't also develop, say, amnesia or delusions.

True enough. But for some of us, this isn't really very comforting.

[Fuzzball]

Thank you for the great info!

While we're getting max mileage out of the madness rules, I might as well add that there seems to be a modest failsafe against too much craziness: lower wisdom--even that inflicted by a failed check--adds to your save, just as higher wisdom takes away from it.

That is great for someone who already failed a check, but Tessius has bigger problems.

His modifier for madness, or horror would be 3…seems kind of harsh for being down 6 levels (not to mention wrong for a 21st level character to have a will save of 3), but I guess that’s what happens when you get cocky. (Not-mad Tessius would say, “that’s what you get for caring!” and just might say it once he is not-mad…but I digress…)

[The Giamarga]

H'mmmm...I'd have to say that both of the most obvious categories for her to fall into have already been mentioned. Unless she's an outsider?!?

I can think of one more -and rather new, so it wouldn't be mentioned in RLCS - category...

[DeepShadow of FoS]

Bizarre--it's a madness feedback loop! That could get very messy indeed under the right circumstances--infectious insanity...

Scary indeed! Makes me shudder as to what might happen if this group linked up via telepathic bond, with someone still wearing the helmet.

True enough. But for some of us, this isn't really very comforting.

Hee hee!

[DeepShadow of FoS]

His modifier for madness, or horror would be 3…seems kind of harsh for being down 6 levels (not to mention wrong for a 21st level character to have a will save of 3), but I guess that’s what happens when you get cocky. (Not-mad Tessius would say, “that’s what you get for caring!” and just might say it once he is not-mad…but I digress…)

Wow, that is low! We need to get rid of those negative levels ASAP! BTW, are you applying his Wisdom penalty as a bonus to the madness checks?

[Fuzzball]

Wow, that is low! We need to get rid of those negative levels ASAP!

Yes, but I think that if Balin removes the negative levels he also gets rid of the madness. Does restoration do that? That would be sad...then again...a killing spree would solve the problem of not having enough space on the boats...just kidding <<sweet and innocent humming noises!>>

BTW, are you applying his Wisdom penalty as a bonus to the madness checks?

Neither. Tessius current wisdom is 10. Unless healed he won't have a positive modifier for two more hours...well one and a half more hours.

[Fuzzball]

I don’t know if there are official rules for this, and not to be any crueler to Tessius than necessary, but I think it might be time to impose fatigue on him. He ran around for over an hour hiding from people, confusing pigs and dogs, battled in a collapsing castle, climbed a wall while carrying a heavy load, not to mention being level drained. Who wouldn't need to take a nap after that?

Just a thought.

[Fuzzball]

Can she kill him with either of them? I was under the impression that only Con damage could kill (setting aside special exceptions like the Str damage of shadows).

She can't kill him with either Touch of Idiocy, or Ray of Enfeeblement. The spells state that they can only drop the target to 1. I think if a ghost with the drain ability were around it could kill him though.

It's a pitty Ciera doesn't have Feeblemind. That spell is permanent. Still, she has a lot of other spells she could annihilate him with.