Back in Argonnessen (for the moment)

The next morning after your return to Argonnessen and Io'lokar, there are a few decisions to make:

* Message delivery: The group presumably will go back to Khorvaire after prepping spells to deliver messages to the various nations about the attacks. Since only a Master Earth or a Greater Teleport will get you to Khorvaire from Agonnessen and back, I'll assume Korm and Luna use a Master Earth each (since the Greater Teleport is more versatile and usable in a fight). You have information about attacks in Breland, the Shadow Marches, Droaam, Aundair and Thrane (and limited info on Zilargo and Darguun). Where do you go first and how many places do you visit? Each visit after the first requires a Teleport from Nameless or a Transport via Plants from Luna or Korm, so each will need a 5th (Teleport) or 6th lvl (Transport via Plants) spell.

* Dragon-hunting: Honar, who has clearly been feeling a little bad about not being able to help with Khesavuthir, agrees to accompany you on the dragon-hunting trip into the Vast. He won't be able to bring his wyvern, since the Spear frowns on risking their specially-bred mounts on flights into the Vast, but if you can put him on a Phantom Steed or Stag, he'll be almost as functional on it. His friend Mallum (the sword-&-board guy) begs off, but Prine (the scout) says he'll be happy to come along and asks if you will visit the ruins of Iovakas in turn with him afterwards. Will you?

Prine also says that he can check with his friends among the few scouts who leave Io'lokar once in a while and try to find out about the nearest rogue dragons and their territories, so that you have a likely candidate to hunt. That will, however, take him a day to pull off, so you'd have to go hunting the next day. Is that okay?

And a little unfortunate, but not unexpected, news:

* Elabenna: The sage sends you a message at Nalyna's home (I'll assume you're putting up with the swordmaster, who had given you an open invitation to stay, unless you prefer to do something else) saying that she has contacted the Chamber (or, more precisely, Essirise again) regarding Gareth's equipment. Essirise explained that a detachment of the Light of Siberys (the dragon military) located Khesavuthir and took care of it (Elabenna's note says that Essirise provided no other details), and it's likely that whatever treasure was there has either been taken to one of the many armories, arcane workshops or fortresses in the area where the army is located (also called The Light of Siberys). She politely suggest that Gareth should start looking for alternate equipment.

So, what are you doing?

I'll ask if he knows where the best place to dragon hunt for high end furnishings might be

Luna wrote:

I'll ask if he knows where the best place to dragon hunt for high end furnishings might be

As is usual with people dealing with the Angels, Honar promptly takes Int damage.

Oh Gareth should be very happy! After all a very evil dragon has been killed and that's what he really cares about after all.

BTW what do the natives think about Gareth dressing up in dragon scales/skin? Have we seen anyone else thus attired?

Nameless wrote:

Oh Gareth should be very happy! After all a very evil dragon has been killed and that's what he really cares about after all.

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BTW what do the natives think about Gareth dressing up in dragon scales/skin? Have we seen anyone else thus attired?

You haven't seen anyone wearing dragon scales/skin, though sometimes people have armor, shields and weapons which mimic dragon skin/claws/teeth/etc. Considering the situation with dragons in Argonnessen and in Io'lokar, chances are that wearing dragon hide there is not going to be good for your health.

First do a detect thoughts on our group to make sure it's just us. EB and Edgar shouldn't show up but just to check. BTW if this results in big ability drain, Six goes for a walkabout.

Whatever our next move remember the wonder twins with backup are poised to attack. If they can't find us by scrying, I expect a supervillian move.

We can report to Jael and let her disseminate to the other powers, by House Sivis or the dream spell (shudder).

I forgot all about Edgar!
I'm not sure i'm totally clear on him...
I think I knew at one time...
Maybe someone can explain it to me again.

Six of Six wrote:

First do a detect thoughts on our group to make sure it's just us. EB and Edgar shouldn't show up but just to check.

I presume you guys do this before you throw up the Mind Blanks for the day. And yes, just the five of you show up.

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BTW if this results in big ability drain, Six goes for a walkabout.

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Whatever our next move remember the wonder twins with backup are poised to attack. If they can't find us by scrying, I expect a supervillian move.

What's a super-villain move? Attack friends and family?

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We can report to Jael and let her disseminate to the other powers, by House Sivis or the dream spell (shudder).

Good idea. Someone confirm if that's what you're doing.

Luna wrote:

I forgot all about Edgar!
I'm not sure i'm totally clear on him...
I think I knew at one time...
Maybe someone can explain it to me again.

Nameless always used to walk around with this rock which he called Edgar and used to speak to. After your first encounter with Mordain, he gave Nameless Edgar back with some modifications. Edgar had grown spider-like legs and would walk around on Nameless, though mostly he just acted like a rock. Since Nameless had been kinda drained by his first death at that point, Mordain said having Edgar around would help with his spellcasting, and Nameless found that it did so.

Nameless handed Edgar off to Six just before he got grabbed by Xagygyrag and got Edgar back after the others met his clone (and Gareth's). Edgar has been fairly, well, lazy ever since, but other than that there's been no change.

Considering they have dragon heads posted on poles and that they have dragon hunter specialists I don't think the townspeople will care. They probably don't wear armor as walking out of town in the skin of someones cousin may draw more attention then normal (though to be honest - i think these dragons attack anything that moves). Considering we always draw attention it probably wont make that much of a difference when walking around argoneesson.

I also don't think that the dragon council will care - especially when we told them we killed one of their cousins. As shil said last game (paraphrase) "if a dragon got killed then it was too weak to care about". Even if we killed the most powerful dragon around - the other dragons would say "ok, now that he is gone, we all get a promotion".

What will make the dragons care? If we start hunting dragons on a regular basis - as in dragon hunters.

Gareth wrote:

Considering they have dragon heads posted on poles and that they have dragon hunter specialists I don't think the townspeople will care.

To be precise, the people specialized in fighting dragons are all focused on defending Io'lokar from the rogue dragons of the Vast, and the heads on the walls are those of rogues which attacked the city. So as long as you're only fighting/hunting them in the Vast and not attacking dragons anywhere else in Argonnessen, you're fine.

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They probably don't wear armor as walking out of town in the skin of someones cousin may draw more attention then normal (though to be honest - i think these dragons attack anything that moves). Considering we always draw attention it probably wont make that much of a difference when walking around argoneesson.

The problem with wearing dragonhide is that it'll draw unwelcome attention anywhere in Argonnessen. In Io'lokar, you're surrounded by mostly non-dragons and they'll look at you funny and maybe ask a couple of questions. Anywhere else in Argonnessen, you have a lot more dragons and if they see you walking around in dragonhide, they're liable to attack first and ask questions later. Remember, the dragons already consider the other races lesser than them. A member of that race walking around in dragonhide will not go down well. Wearing it in Khorvaire, of course, is just fine.

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I also don't think that the dragon council will care - especially when we told them we killed one of their cousins. As shil said last game (paraphrase) "if a dragon got killed then it was too weak to care about". Even if we killed the most powerful dragon around - the other dragons would say "ok, now that he is gone, we all get a promotion".

Actually, I think the "if a dragon got killed then it was too weak to care about" comment was from Dave. Killing dragons in Argonnessen depends on where you do it. If you kill a dragon in the Vast (which is essentially the giant free-for-all for dragons), nobody cares. If you kill a dragon anywhere else in Argonnessen, you'll be in big trouble.

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What will make the dragons care? If we start hunting dragons on a regular basis - as in dragon hunters.

If you hunt them on a regular basis in the Vast, they still won't care. It's just that dragon hunters in the Vast have very limited life expectancy.

And thats why killing gary gygax would have been great. To say we killed a dragon so immensely powerful, evil, etc would have given creatures some pause before they attacked.

Anyhow - we are due for an equipment upgrade - and Gareth is still missing some important pieces.

Is there really even any reason to make dragon hide/scale armor? Aside from "style" considerations. From my brief perusal of the Draconomicon several years ago, I don't recall it offering much of any advantages.

Gareth wrote:

And thats why killing gary gygax would have been great. To say we killed a dragon so immensely powerful, evil, etc would have given creatures some pause before they attacked.

That's assuming they (a) Stop to talk before a fight and (b) Believe you.

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Anyhow - we are due for an equipment upgrade - and Gareth is still missing some important pieces.

Some people have been commenting that you haven't got anything cool in a while, so I'm going to go old(er)-school for a while and have you guys encountering more stuff as treasure and such. And where better than a dragon hoard?

Nameless wrote:

Is there really even any reason to make dragon hide/scale armor? Aside from "style" considerations. From my brief perusal of the Draconomicon several years ago, I don't recall it offering much of any advantages.

DMG dragonhide is pretty crappy, I know, and the Draconomicon is only slightly better (resistance 5 to the energy in the particular dragon's breath weapon, I think). But I may mess around with that. If nothing else, it looks cool and is distinctive as hell, since dragons are very uncommon outside Argonnessen.

Admin wrote:

Gareth wrote:

Anyhow - we are due for an equipment upgrade - and Gareth is still missing some important pieces.

Some people have been commenting that you haven't got anything cool in a while, so I'm going to go old(er)-school for a while and have you guys encountering more stuff as treasure and such. And where better than a dragon hoard?

Yeah, I do have to kinda agree here. Powerful unique magic items are part of what it means to be a high level D&D char and we don't have much in the way of that. I know we have a lot of innate abilities, but there is something to be said for having a "signature" item or two.

A legend or rumor about some dragon having a couple of powerful anti-abberation/xoriat items would give us a good excuse for taking the time to go after a dragon/horde.

Hmmm. What about a beholder "crown" that can negate a beholder's Anti-Magic field? There is an item that gives some beholder style abilities in the MIC, but it pretty much sucks.

Anyone else got some ideas for "cool" items?

Nameless wrote:

Is there really even any reason to make dragon hide/scale armor? Aside from "style" considerations. From my brief perusal of the Draconomicon several years ago, I don't recall it offering much of any advantages.

A lot of my decisions have been about the style over the function. It looks cooler - makes me more proud. Dragon hide armor to a paladin is like having a holy avenger or a dragon mount. It just looks awesome. On the technical side - nothing really special. 5 resistance, one category lighter. Druids can use it (though not in wildshape). So I am glad Shil will do something to it.

As for signature items, and so forth - I think we all agree that is cooler. We all have similar innate bonuses - those are sweet for sure - but it's cooler when we have rare items (even core stuff). Helm of True Vision - for armor wearers just looks awesome (the visor is just a metal sheet over your face - no holes for the eyes, nose, mouth), or helm of brilliance is cool (I would love one with only one gem).

Gareth wrote:

We all have similar innate bonuses

Not really. While the stat/save/ac stuff is pretty much all the same, we do have a fair number of unique abilitiies. Nameless has a lot of tweaks/special summoning abilities (increased # of creatures, ability to subvert other summons, the Horror, some Xoriat info related "freebies"). Six has a bunch of stuff from the harness. Luna has a lot of shifter related stuff. Korm gets the abberation stuff. Gareth may have the least of that sort of thing though.

Nameless wrote:

Anyone else got some ideas for "cool" items?

Good question. Suggestions are always welcome.

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Nameless has a lot of tweaks/special summoning abilities (increased # of creatures, ability to subvert other summons, the Horror, some Xoriat info related "freebies"). Six has a bunch of stuff from the harness. Luna has a lot of shifter related stuff. Korm gets the abberation stuff. Gareth may have the least of that sort of thing though.

Hey, Mordain made him a paladin, remember?

Back to in-game stuff, is the consensus then to deliver the news to Jaela and have her spread the word? And to wait a day for Honar to dig up info on local dragons?

Admin wrote:

Good question. Suggestions are always welcome.

WoW has some stuff where you/pet can get back HP/Mana by eating things. Something along those lines might fit Korm well.

Perhaps an item for Luna to increase the damage cap on her beloved "Flame Strikes" or something "Flame" related. Maybe something akin to a Ring of Elemental Command.

Six has always wanted to be a ghost (and thus untouchable).

For Gareth, how about a big flaming silver medal saying "I AM THE GREATEST CHAMPION OF THE SILVER FLAME! OF ALL TIME!!!"

Cool items?

A method to capture dalkyre lords in a dragonshard. The prison gains strength with all actions from the prisoner except one, boredom weakens the jail and eventually breaks it. Boredom is the only state these miscreants fear.
To enter into it willingly until free, say a year, will put the fear of us in them.

A cool ship.
A tumbler that travels via Master of the Earth with a 3D real time rendering of Eberon.
A four elemental heavy cruiser. The elementals are in balance so the ship can fly, swim, move through the earth. It has shields armor, fire and lighting attacks with dragon speed.

Eberon recording devices. Something to film and mike an area for a day, or bugging devices that are real bugs.

There are a bunch of Sentai powers I could steal borrow but I'll put down the sake now. Actually the whole dynamic of group powers we never got into.

Six of Six wrote:

Cool items?

A method to capture dalkyre lords in a dragonshard. The prison gains strength with all actions from the prisoner except one, boredom weakens the jail and eventually breaks it. Boredom is the only state these miscreants fear.
To enter into it willingly until free, say a year, will put the fear of us in them.

A cool ship.
A tumbler that travels via Master of the Earth with a 3D real time rendering of Eberon.
A four elemental heavy cruiser. The elementals are in balance so the ship can fly, swim, move through the earth. It has shields armor, fire and lighting attacks with dragon speed.

Eberon recording devices. Something to film and mike an area for a day, or bugging devices that are real bugs.

There are a bunch of Sentai powers I could steal borrow but I'll put down the sake now. Actually the whole dynamic of group powers we never got into.

o.0 I think some of that stuff is beyond epic lol. As for group powers - we can't agree on anything. Shil could give us a group power of destroying anything in our path - with the caveat that we have to agree. He would give that to us knowing we NEVER agree and it would never get used.

Any kind of items that are cool - but low on the drawbacks. While shil believes items need to have drawbacks, I don't. Sometimes things can just be good for ya - they don't have to give you abilities and then eat you like cancer.

Admin wrote:

Back to in-game stuff, is the consensus then to deliver the news to Jaela and have her spread the word? And to wait a day for Honar to dig up info on local dragons?

Can a dream message be intercepted by the quroi? If so can a warforged talk to the quroi with the dream spell.

Six of Six wrote:

Admin wrote:

Back to in-game stuff, is the consensus then to deliver the news to Jaela and have her spread the word? And to wait a day for Honar to dig up info on local dragons?

Can a dream message be intercepted by the quroi? If so can a warforged talk to the quroi with the dream spell.

That's basically a Shilsen decision and probably a plot driven one. In theory no. The plane of dreams AFAIK is so chaotic and changable that it should be next to impossible for the quori to even locate, much less enter a specific dream. Of course this didn't stop them from doing that to us, even though it was nominally a special circumstance due to us having those Quori posessed items, but IIRC Nameless was still affected despite not having an item.

Of course from what they've told us they at least "claim" they are opposed to Xoriat ravaging Khorvare and have been working against it. I don't see any reason to doubt that either though. They can't take over the world if it's been wiped out, after all. But ...

Gareth wrote:

Any kind of items that are cool - but low on the drawbacks. While shil believes items need to have drawbacks...

Not all items. Just some of them

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Sometimes things can just be good for ya - they don't have to give you abilities and then eat you like cancer.

Oooh, now that's an idea!

Six of Six wrote:

Can a dream message be intercepted by the quroi? If so can a warforged talk to the quroi with the dream spell.

Nameless wrote:

That's basically a Shilsen decision and probably a plot driven one. In theory no. The plane of dreams AFAIK is so chaotic and changable that it should be next to impossible for the quori to even locate, much less enter a specific dream. Of course this didn't stop them from doing that to us, even though it was nominally a special circumstance due to us having those Quori posessed items, but IIRC Nameless was still affected despite not having an item.

You're basically right. Unless the quori are searching specifically for an individual and putting in lots of effort, they don't have much chance of encountering a specific dream. If they were watching someone and had ways to find them easily (things like the quori-possessed items, for example), they could intercept or mess with a dream message, but otherwise, not likely. And Nameless wasn't affected that time. He showed up to mess up the others' "plan".

Admin wrote:

And Nameless wasn't affected that time. He showed up to mess up the others' "plan".

Nameless was in that group dream of the Quori attacking us. The one that happened before the group went to talk to Havaakard. But I was uncertain if that meant he was in the group dream or he just appeared to be in the dream.

Nameless wrote:

Nameless was in that group dream of the Quori attacking us. The one that happened before the group went to talk to Havaakard. But I was uncertain if that meant he was in the group dream or he just appeared to be in the dream.

He just appeared in the dream, as did Six (who didn't have one since he doesn't sleep). Gareth, Luna and Corven had the dream, and Six, Luna and Corven were possessed during the battle.