FYI I'm out for the next four hours... Warcraft movie.

Let us know what it's like.

The Enclave of the Twelve is apparently where everyone in Karrnath goes to get tested for necromantic ability.

Necromancy and whatever the school of magic is that lets you blow things up.  The Karrns are big fans of that one as well.

Evocation?

Explaining Pepper: Oleg's order was issued under the duress of enemy influence; therefore it is an illegal order.  Oleg's capture makes Pepper the highest ranking soldier in the group (she view Mari as an asset with no rank).  Her team is compromised.  She will act in whatever feasible manner to the best of her judgement to neutralize the threat to her team and rescue them.

Wouldn't that make orders to surrender when your side had lost a battle always illegal?

Wouldn't that make orders to surrender when your side had lost a battle always illegal?

Yes, to a guerrilla. 

If we survive this, I hope Oleg busts Pepper back to soldier for this stunt.  And if she gets Astra killed, I am coming back as a fighter/ranger BUG.

(aka thri-kreen)

eta: actually I think with the right feats, I could make what I'm doing with Astra work with a warlock instead of a seeker... hmm

For my own reference:

Clawfoot
Medium natural beast (mount, reptile)
Level 3 Skirmisher
XP 150
Initiative +6        Senses Perception +1
HP 46; Bloodied 23
AC 17; Fortitude 16, Reflex 16, Will 13
Speed 6
 Talons (standard, at-will)
+9 vs AC; 1d8+3 damage.
Clawfoot Charge (while mounted by a friendly rider of 3rd level or higher; at-will)  Mount
When a clawfoot's rider charges, both the clawfoot and the rider make melee basic attacks.
Medium Steed
A Medium creature can ride a clawfoot.
Alignment Unaligned        Languages -
Str 16 (+4)      Dex 16 (+4)      Wis 11 (+1)
Con 14 (+3)      Int 2 (-3)      Cha 6 (-1)

So theoretically I could just have the warhorses run Pepper down like regular monsters would, but it didn't seem in keeping with the spirit of the source text about mounts.  Warhorses are trained to attack independently if they get a chance, yeah, but they're just reacting to their environment, not strategizing or working toward their masters' goals, and horses aren't naturally predatory.

I believe Pepper is at 9 HP?  Neither she nor the other combatants got a chance to heal from the last encounter or to recharge their encounter powers.

Dio, is Olegov going to want to try and do anything about Pepper at present?  I don't want to take the conversation too far ahead if so.

The Pretty Useful But Slightly Cursed Silver Totem of Hot Butter Dispenser: never again be without hot, melted butter to slather on your corn and other vegetables. And endless supply of hot, melted and delicious butter flows from the eyes, nose and mouth of this silver dispenser, ready to enhance your dining pleasure. The flow never stops. Ever. There is no way to stop it and if an attempt is made to stop or destroy the artifact a demonic butter golem manifests and immediately attacks.

Anyone here read or played The Burning Wheel?

I've read it, but I've never played it. Why do you ask?

FYI I'm out for the next four hours... Warcraft movie.

Let us know what it's like.

Overall, as a World of Warcraft player (and a Warcraft player long ago), I was happy to see many of the game's characters, its magic, its plots, and its setting brought to "life", and I think anybody who likes fantasy movies would enjoy it. Was it better than Lord of the Rings? No. Was is better than all of the D&D movies so far? Yeah, probably.

I've read it, but I've never played it. Why do you ask?

One of my IRL players just gave me a copy of the books with a pleading request to run a game.

After reading The Burning Wheel, I felt that it was a player's dream and a GM's nightmare. In a heavily narrative-driven system, ironically two of the flaws The Burning Wheel suffers from are system complexity and a lack of setting material.

If you can get your hands on the Mouse Guard RPG--and your players are ok with roleplaying its tiny protagonists--I'd start there.  Mouse Guard is to TBW as D&D Red Box is to D&D PHB/DMG/MM/etc. And besides being TBW-lite, Mouse Guard has setting material and antagonists and a solid theme.

I have had Mouse Guard since it was first released.

And I concur with your analysis on Burning Wheel.  I keep running into people who have read the books and love them, but no one who has actually played a game with the system.

Tarravan has some plot for you guys, then we'll move along.  If you have any particular questions or checks for him or the other NPCs before he moves on, now's a good time   I'll be back on in a couple hours.

Wow, a journal. How very convenient

Wow, a journal. How very convenient

With all the Fallout 4 I've been playing lately, you're lucky it's not an audiotape for your pipboy.

If I were a bug, I could scuttle at full speed even while prone.

If you were a bug, this would be a Dark Sun campaign.

TELL THAT TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO'S BEEN DROPPING OUT OF PORTALS RECENTLY

Okay, obviously Mari and Val can escape okay, so long as we can get a window or the door open for Val to fly out through.  Getting out of manacles is ... Acrobatics, but that takes 5 minutes of uninterrupted effort apparently, or you can do it as a standard action at the cost of increasing the (hard) DC by 5.  Pepper could manage it if she got lucky, but that's it.  Astra's got decent STR, but breaking actual manacles is probably pretty difficult.  She can likely get the door open, at least?  And if she gets free, she should be able to drag someone out.

eta: I've also got Endurance trained; maybe I can use that to buy extra time, however that'd work in this situation?