Karnakiid: Valley of Mist and Flame (Player Discussion Thread)

Siberys · Post by **Siberys** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 1:22 am

No, Diplomacy is always for persuasion purposes and bluff is to lie or deceive.

Example-

Convincing a Knight to save a Princess-

Diplomacy- "It would be a noble quest for a strong, valiant knight as yourself to save the princess!"

Bluff- "I heard she said she'd have sex with the first person who saved her."

Intimidate- "If you don't save her, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 2:12 am

Siberys wrote:No, Diplomacy is always for persuasion purposes and bluff is to lie or deceive.

Example-

Convincing a Knight to save a Princess-

Diplomacy- "It would be a noble quest for a strong, valiant knight as yourself to save the princess!"

Bluff- "I heard she said she'd have sex with the first person who saved her."

Intimidate- "If you don't save her, I'll hunt you down and kill you."

Thank you very much! This means I have used a diplomatic approach, though some of it is also bluffing (lies). Actually, this is what confused me. In other news you surely bluffed me

Annette · Post by **Annette** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 11:50 am

Finals are over, so things should be getting back to normal with my posting. Sorry about the week of silence, everyone!

I'd like to propose a few of the house rules that my group uses. First, (and I've really already been using this one,) I usually pretty much ignore the official rules for diplomacy and intimidate. Instead of having the various "moods" that can be influenced, I usually just set DCs the way I would for any other skill.
Second, I don't use massive damage (I can't remember if that's a variant or not in 3.5, so I feel I should clarify.)
Third, you cannot use conversational skills on party members.
Fourth, player killing is legal, but only if all players involved in the fight agree to it.
Fifth, if your character dies, then you have the option of either rolling a new character or waiting for the party to Raise you. If you do decide to make a new one who then dies, the old character could be Raised in his stead. You are still only allowed one character at a time, though.
Sixth, if a character is brought back, the XP he has upon his return is the average of that of the other party members, minus any penalties from Raise Dead/Ressurection.

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Mon Jun 20, 2011 2:02 pm

I will be away for a short vacation. I already informed the DMs, so I just wanted to wish everyone a nice game and I'll be back in a week. Until then have fun!

kozeph · Post by **kozeph** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 8:55 pm

So Mist any ideas on what to do if battle starts between the loyalist and the queenanist?

You want to take a side, pretend to be on another or just sit on the sidelines and stand with who ever wins the battle?

Or do you want to wait for Mali?

MistSonata · Post by **MistSonata** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 8:52 am

(( I kind of wanted to wait for Mali, but since it's been a while already we may as well just start the plotting without him and hope he comes back soon ))

Elliah sighed, looking out the murder hole into the cavern just outside the gate. "This is a bit of a right mess, isn't it?" She said, keeping her voice low, indicating for the others to do the same just in case. "I'm afraid I don't have much magic in my arsenal at the moment. I could send a message to whoever's leading them, but I can't think of any information that would be useful." She turns to Westan and Akumo "Did you two notice any structural weaknesses to the gate that could be exploited? Anything at all that we could use to help even the odds?"

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Wed Jun 29, 2011 6:23 am

OOC: I am back! My trip back was packed with events and my arrival was delayed a bit too much. Sorry for hampering things down. Either way, I read a bit what has happened and I think I am good to go. So, without further additions ...

Westan kicks an invisible stone on the chamber's floor obviously dissatisfied with how things turned out,

We're in quite a mess here. On a positive note we managed to grab the Tempered Star which is exactly what we were after.

I believe we might need to investigate further before deciding which side to support. Question is: do we want this? This kind of politics struggles turns my stomach upside down.

If we do want to support the queenanists after all we could try to sabotage their defenses, though Varryn might be seriously underestimating Morvahn's position here and he could lead his men into a trap.

I would vote to leave this place at once and re-unite with the rest. Unless someone has a better plan.

kozeph · Post by **kozeph** » Thu Jun 30, 2011 4:59 pm

"But if we sneak out and leave the loyalist to their fate, if by chance they survive and don't find us here, then we can be expecting much cutting from their part..."

"That said, me think it's better to sneak out, I don't want to be in the middle of a battlefield, loyalist or queenalist might mistake us for enemies and I'd hate to fight both sides" Akumo winks at Westan.

"Elliah could take a messenge out for the queenies and we could navigate this ruin and find a way out, tell the queenies so they get another slight advantage... although they do have numbers 200 hundred or something I heard from their boss man"

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 12:32 am

Let's see what Ellie's character wants to do before proceeding, though I believe she is for sneaking out too. In this case I believe Akumo should act as a scout and move in the front to warn of patrols or traps. Any better plans?

MistSonata · Post by **MistSonata** » Fri Jul 01, 2011 9:48 pm

"I'm not sure about the crown," Elliah says, still keeping her voice low, "but I don't intend on supporting these loyalists. When you hear them speak of their motivation, their concern isn't for an oppressed people or an unjust ruler. Their objection is simply that the usurper was not chosen by their god. Their cause is nothing but thinly veiled blood lust."

She turns back to the other two "but that doesn't help us here. Are you two sure you didn't notice any structural weaknesses?"

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Sat Jul 02, 2011 9:52 am

Westan shakes his head in disbelief,

You are very brave and I admire you for this, though I still have the feeling we're being taken as pawns in a greater game. I am just not used to work with half truths, but who can guarantee it anyway. You are right in one thing: the loyalists look more keen for bloodshed or a least the ones we met. I doubt it's all black and white, but captain Morvahn could use a lesson.

He took a pause of thinking for a while then he continued,

I didn't looked for structural weaknesses and finding them like that might take a while. Maybe we should approach this in a more direct way: captain Morvahn looked worried about the fact that a fire could start here. We could try to create a diversion and light some serious fire in the armory for example, but captain Varryn must be warned of our plan beforehand so he can attack when the loyalists spread their forces.

I don't have any other ideas at this moment. What does everyone think about this plan?

kozeph · Post by **kozeph** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 11:44 am

"Didn't you say that Derrys, dennis boys what ever his name was putting something that burn?" Akumo asks "If I can find a couple of those things, we could plant them in the armory and hot spots for the loyalist, then we can leg it heh?"

Akumo begins to stroke his red bear

"So we get a message outside, plant a couple o'l explosive here and thar then find a way out of these rat cage, agreed?"

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 12:37 pm

Westan nods,

Akumo my friend, you might be right. Even though by what Dennis said the traps he used won't light fire in the room, they might cause enough confusion. There is the risk they might suspect us for this, but we might even get away with it. Let's go to the armory and see what happens there first!

MistSonata · Post by **MistSonata** » Sun Jul 03, 2011 1:25 pm

Elliah shook her head solemnly. "Destroying their armory would do naught for our short term predicament. Their men have already had ample time to arm themselves. Besides, making large fires in a cavern might prove disastrous for all of us. Supposing the cave isn't properly ventilated and the fires are big enough, it would burn all the oxygen up and we would all suffocate."

She sighs, stroking her tressym's fur and thinking for a moment. She suddenly looks up, being struck with an idea. "Wait, perhaps that's the key. Except that there won't be any fires at all." She looks to Westan and Akumo. "Once Varryn's men come into the cavern, I'll use my skills to send him a message informing him of the plan. I'll tell him to pull his troops back to the surface and wait there, but also make sure that someone is watching the skies above the streets. After his men start pulling back we go and tell Morvahn that I used my magic to hear the orders Varryn was giving to his men, and found out that they're planning to light the entrance on fire to try and smoke us out."

"After that, one of two things will happen. Either Morvahn will have his troops charge forward giving Varryn the advantage, or he will lead us and his men out of the cavern through another exit. If that happens we'll convince Morvahn to let you" she says, motioning to Akumo "go outside first to scout for enemies. I'll have Aesenyth go with you and she'll fly up into the sky once outside as a signal to Varryn to show where we are."

"At worst, we'll have gained knowledge of at least two entrances to this place, and at best we'll have near single-handedly crippled this uprising."

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:36 am

Westan things for a few seconds then replies,

Your plan sounds good, but there is a scenario much more worse than what you just said: if Morvahn doesn't believe our lie, he will certainly hang us long before anyone get to us. From the few chances we had to talk to him we know he is quite the fox and experimented. In my opinion there is a high chance he won't buy it. After all, why risk leaving this place? Even if a fire is lit the cavern close to the entrance is big enough and will buy them sufficient time to get away safely. Besides, when he voluntarily decided to build his hideout here I am most certain he prepared quick and multiple escape routes.

This doesn't mean your plan is bad, since we can try that route either way. I would say we go and search this place thoroughly and then we decide what is the best course of action. The main idea is to identify weak spots, sabotage and misinform them.

kozeph · Post by **kozeph** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:24 am

"What ever we decide, we should be choosing fast, the cutting is about to start... so yeah, I'll go with what ever plan, but we need to move fast"

Akumo grumbles, while still stroking his red beard.

MistSonata · Post by **MistSonata** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 10:49 am

Elliah shakes her head. "I don't think so, Master Westan. From Varryn's perspective pulling back and trying to smoke them out is the best option. Remember, they have this fortress, a barricaded gate riddled with murder holes, and loyalists flanking them from behind to boot. As for Morvahn, any reason he has to say that we're lying will be dashed when his men report that Varryn is pulling back his men. If he catches us poking around, however, he'll know for sure we're up to no good."

"Besides," she said, allowing herself a smirk, "I have no intention of lying to the good Captain Morvahn. We just won't tell him all of the truth. And he does seem to like Master Akumo enough to overlook his seedy appearance, perhaps that can play to our advantage."

malinzaro · Post by **malinzaro** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:25 am

Westan nods,

You convinced me Elliah. We'll do as you suggested. Lead the way! As good Akumo here said, we wasted enough time. Let's proceed!

MistSonata · Post by **MistSonata** » Mon Jul 04, 2011 11:30 am

"No. We must wait for Varryn's army to arrive so that I can give them the message first. Then we act." She sighs, looking back out the murder hole. "I don't like the wait much either, but we must play this carefully. For our sakes."

((Going back to the campaign thread now that we've finished planning.))

Moogleman · Post by **Moogleman** » Fri Jul 08, 2011 8:48 am

What's happening Annette?