Dungeoneering: Back to Basics

[Ancient History]

Well, y'all can roll up new characters and start back at the dungeon entrance...or yeah, you can end it here. If it makes you feel any better, by breaking the seal on the door you flash-fried the Big Bad on the other side of the door too.

[Hicks]

I would like to point out that, as a certified electronics assembler, that is not how electricity works and we would have been immune to the electrical effect of the trap.

Electricity always flows through the path of least resistance to ground out, and it is the act of being a conducting part of a circuit where the amperage crosses your heart and makes every muscle constrict which is deadly.

Electricity does not flow from the door, down the trickle to the pool of water on the floor, back up our legs, across our hearts and brains, back down our legs, back into the pool, and then to ground. It would go: door, pool, ground, and miss us entirely (with the exception of the skeleton who was touching the door and the pool at the same time). If anything, we would be immune.

The danger of being electrocuted in a pool of water is contingent on where the ampamperage is going. And I have leather, waterproof boots, as do many of the party members. Leather is also insulated against electric current. By every metric, the party is protected.

[Ancient History]

If you want to argue physics, it's a matter of voltage as well as current path. If you want to argue D&D rules, the relevant bit is:

Lightning bolts cast underwater electrocute everything within a 20-foot radius of the bolt’s origin.

[OgreBattle]

Hicks's post best read to Phoenix Wright court music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLZ-Qu5dfgI

I would like to point out that, as a certified electronics assembler, that is not how electricity works and we would have been immune to the electrical effect of the trap.

Electricity always flows through the path of least resistance to ground out, and it is the act of being a conducting part of a circuit where the amperage crosses your heart and makes every muscle constrict which is deadly.

Electricity does not flow from the door, down the trickle to the pool of water on the floor, back up our legs, across our hearts and brains, back down our legs, back into the pool, and then to ground. It would go: door, pool, ground, and miss us entirely (with the exception of the skeleton who was touching the door and the pool at the same time). If anything, we would be immune.

The danger of being electrocuted in a pool of water is contingent on where the ampamperage is going. And I have leather, waterproof boots, as do many of the party members. Leather is also insulated against electric current. By every metric, the party is protected.

[Darth Rabbitt]

While we're on the topic of our chances of surviving the TPK here, even though Gilles' Dex bonus to saves against "things that can be dodged" wouldn't apply (given the description of lightning bolt, it couldn't be dodged underwater), but doesn't Gilles' MR have a chance of negating the spell's effects on him? Or did the trap make the roll to bypass it? (I don't know if traps have a chance of being negated by, or on the other hand bypassing, MR.)

If not, I suppose Gilles lies back and thinks of the Sea Mother as the trap fries him into Elven fish sticks. I'd be willing to roll up a new character if others are still interested in playing.

[Ancient History]

Trust me, I rolled saving throws and damage for everybody. You're crispy critters.

[Hicks]

There is no way anyone in the party could tank an actual 5d6 lightning bolt, even on a successful save, if it even was a lightning bolt. My main point of contention now is that the lightning bolt trap was not cast underwater, but over a puddle , and the spell's orgin would not pass through water. Oddly enough, if the effect of the trap was a more classic bolt we'd totes f'real be dead: electricity would arc from the door, across the air, into our chests, across our hearts, down our feet, to be grounded in the puddle surrounding us. The only way I can figure out the effect described was that a lightning bolt was set to go off from the door into the next room , frying the big bad (who was alerted and drew closer to the door by our racket), and also game mechanically followed the ooze of water to the floor (somehow not vaporizing it in the process of grounding itself) up the legs, across the hearts, down the legs, and back into the puddle because reasons... game reasons .

HOWEVER, That bit of rules text is for full bodily immersion in water when the spell is cast, and we are not fully bodily immersed in water. We are standing in a very shallow puddle . I argue that we are game mechanically out of the area of effect because we are not submerged in water, and physically immune to the effect because of physics.

[Ancient History]

Your argument is well-reasoned, but the trap was set up so that the water at your feet is not the ground - it's the conducting body to a metal plate at the other end of the corridor. That's why the corridor was intentionally flooded. (Ironically, the trap wasn't actually set until y'all put the statue back into the niche.)

[Hicks]

The 5d6 Lightning bolt:
17.5 average on a failed save (kills everybody)
8.75 average damage on a successful save (kills everybody except Atani, who saves on 4 numbers)

There is just so many unknowns in this situation. The length of the hall is undefined, The party's location was never stated to be in the corridor (the skeleton was adjacent to the door, but everybody else was "back a safe distance", and the dwarf trekked all the way back to the top of the stairs), the origin point of the lightning bolt is unknown (did it even originate in the water since the door was so high out of the water and the room was supposed to be completely flooded?), physically we are immune as the electricity bypasses us to flow through the water to the just mentioned metal plate but game mechanics trump physics so the electricity only propagates in the water and could literally be dodged by jumping out of the water and onto the statue (did those high dex characters get their save bonuses?). The only thing I know for absolute certain is that there was no answer to this "trap", it would have killed everybody in the party 80% of the time and on one occurrence in five Atani would be reduced from full to 1.25 hp.

Is the reason you went with Lightning bolt instead of shocking grasp because you thought it would be unfair to just out and out kill Tim and Lucas and instead thought that just killing everybody regardless of HP or Saves was a better option?

[Ancient History]

Believe it or not, it was a randomly generated trap.

[/edit]And the get-out-of-jail-free card for the trap was, basically, "don't reset it by messing with the statue." The door wasn't even locked, nobody tried it.

[Hicks]

I choose to believe it; there was also an owlbear on one of those random tables you were using. I recommend you get new tables.

I tried my best guys. I appealed by physics, game rules, nebulous party positioning, and game balance, but part of the 2.0 experience is that what the DM says goes, and the DM says we're dead. Thanks for the game guys; I hope y'all had fun. I did.

[Sirocco]

I agree; it was fun. Kinda sad it ended so ingloriously, but, eh, you can't win them all.

We'll always have Paristhe mushroom party.

Good game, guys.

[Dean]

I had a fun time too overall, good stuff. One thing-

And the get-out-of-jail-free card for the trap was, basically, "don't reset it by messing with the statue." The door wasn't even locked, nobody tried it.

That's not really a thing though. We have no information about the trap and there is no reason to believe that cutting the door would spring a trap that opening it wouldn't. Likewise we have no information about the statues relation to the trap so there's no reason to believe that standing the statue would cause the trap rather than prevent it. With no information all things and their opposites are equally likely.

[Ancient History]

It was a good run for some 1st-level characters. And there wasn't a lot of dungeon left.

[Darth Rabbitt]

I kinda figured the door was also trapped.

So what was the BBEG we fried, anyways?

[Ancient History]

Zombie Lord and a bunch of Sea Zombies. He's been trapped in the crypt for a couple hundred years, but couldn't get past the traps on the doors.

[OgreBattle]

I'm game with rolling up a new character to finish the looting process.

My original intention after the minotaur super-died was to make a mechanically functional dorf that could provide utility, but then over the weeks I grew somewhat attached so the death was a bummer. Now I can try out something else, like a bug person or a lizardman perhaps. Will post a new character soon.

[OgreBattle]

By the way how much exp did killing the boss and minions give? Since it carries over to the next character and all. I had this character saved up already:

Kojima, N Thri-Kreen Fighter (Swashbuckler) 1



Kojima hails from a far away land of not-Japanese bug people. He met Guillermo in the matador mazes of not-Spain.

STR 16 +1dmg, weight all 70, Max press 195, open doors 9, bend/lift 10%
DEX 18 +2reaction, +2 missile attack, -4 AC
CON 16 +2hp, s.shock 95%, Res 96%
INT 13 3 languages (common, ___, ____)
WIS 16 +2 magic def
CHA 10 max 4 hench (+2 reaction to opp sex 'cause swashbucklin)

HP: 11
THAC0: Melee 19, Ranged 16
AC: -1 (-5 natural armor, -4 dex, -2 swashbuckling)
Movement: 18

Melee Attacks:
-Saber: 3/2+1 THAC0 18 1d8+3dmg
-Dagger: 3/2+1 THAC0 18 1d4+3dmg

Missile Attack:
-Dagger: 3/1 THAC0 16 +3dmg

Weapon Proficiency
-Saber Specialization
-Dagger Specialization
-Two Weapon style+Ambidextrous


Non-wep Proficiency
-Tumbling DEX
-Rope Use DEX
-Swimming STR
-Animal Handling WIS
-Set Snares (can catch humanoids) DEX
-Tracking WIS


Thri Kreen & Kit abilities:

Leap: The character’s powerful leg muscles enable him to make astounding leaps,
bounding up to 30 feet forward or 10 feet into the air. Leaping to close with an enemy is
considered a charge attack, and the character suffers double damage if he lands on a spear
or similar weapon set against a charge. Bullywugs gain the special ability to inflict
double damage with a leap. Note that thri-kreen can actually leap 50 feet forward or 20
feet in the air, but they do not gain this ability until they reach 3rd level

Antennae: A thri-kreen’s antennae give it a sensitivity to motion and serve to
lessen darkness-based combat penalties by 1 point while fighting enemies within 15 feet.

Paralyzing bite: At 5th level, a thri-kreen gains the ability to paralyze its prey
with a bite. The victim must save versus poison or be paralyzed 2–16 rounds (1–8 rounds
if larger than man-sized, or only 1 round if size H or larger.)

Dodge missiles: At 7th level, a thri-kreen gains the ability to dodge thrown or fired
missiles with a roll of 9 or better on a d20.

Racial weapons: At 5th level, a thri-kreen automatically gains proficiency in the
chatkcha, a crystalline throwing wedge commonly used by the mantis warriors. At 7th
level, the character gains proficiency in the gythka, a thri-kreen polearm. Consider these
weapons to be equal to a javelin and a bill-guisarme respectively for damage, range
modifiers, etc.—but note that the chatkcha returns to its thrower if it misses its target.

Can't wear armor

Equipment
- Saber
- 12 daggers
- Gloves
- Comfy pants
boots that fit thri kreen feet.
-Backpack
-Belt with sacks
-50ft of rope
-Grappling hook

[Ancient History]

Thanksgiving is currently devouring my weekend. If anyone wants to finish out the dungeon, roll new characters and post.

[Ancient History]

Okay, it was close, but I survived Thanksgiving. Anyone interested in finishing off the dungeon, or are we satisfied with the TPK?

[Ancient History]

I think that's a decisive "game over," but going once, going twice...

[OgreBattle]

Could we do a 'save reboot' where we get past the trap and die fighting the sea zombies instead?

[Ancient History]

I guess? If a majority of the players are interested.

[Sirocco]

I'd be interested, for me the main deterrent is having to re-roll a character...

[Dean]

I'm down