Neil bustles into the room and shrugs off his Blackrock jacket. It's beaded with water, as is his bald pate.

Towels are on hand.

Slate grey light lingers around the windows, from a damp, overcast day outside, but inside the room is bright and cheery.

A little late, he sets about unpacking his GMing paraphernalia and greeting his friends. It's always good to see them, and after they're settled he recaps from last session.

...So very exciting stuff, if you ask me, and the first round shows off 13th Age combat quite well.

<Hands out copies of 13th Age SRD to anyone who hasn't got one>

The designers aren't fans of ambush rules, they give a few suggestions but I skipped them and rolled for initiative as normal.

It's not Vietnam. The VC don't suddenly open fire on your patrol from the undergrowth with machineguns.

So the designers have a point, the ambushers have to break from cover and rush you. Maybe if you were caught completely unawares I'd use ambush rules, but not here.

Again you can see how Mooks change strategy somewhat. The GM wants to soften up the PCs with Mooks. The PCs, however, have some awesome powers they can't use on Mooks, so they really have to eliminate the Mooks first.

Mooks may die easily, but they hit as hard and as often as full rank monsters. It's a very bad idea to ignore them. Since they're more numerous than full rank monsters, they have more hit rolls.

Combat was enjoined with with 6 Goblin Scum (Mooks), 4 Goblin Grunts, 2 Goblin Shamans... <Everyone sings "And a partridge in a pear tree!">

Note on initiative order. Humans roll initiative twice and pick the best result. Their Quick to Fight Trait.

JEX
So Jex opens with a high damage attack against the Mooks, using his Jack of Spells Talent to cast Chaos Bolt. Jex could have started a Bard Song too.

He probably wouldn't have used his Daily Song of Spilt Blood initially, and having rolled attacks, Song of Heroes wouldn't have benefitted anyone in the first round anyway.

So Neptune, you can decide whether Jex was singing Song of Heroes under his breath in the first round, and gain second round/final verse benefits. Or maybe he was singing nothing in the first round, and decides to sing Song of Spilt Blood now.

Singing doesn't stop you from fighting or spellcasting, btw.

WESTON
He uses his bow, but it's an unlucky roll, a 2+5=7, a miss. His Deadeye Archer means that a miss still does damage equal to level, so 1 point, but Deadly Assault only applies to rolls, not fixed damage -- you can't reroll if there is no roll -- and Second Shot requires a hit with a natural 16+.

Interestingly, Weston has Deadeye Archer feated, so it's an improved version. His Dex mod gets added to the miss damage, and is enough to kill another Mook.

Why does missing do damage in 13th Age? Because missing and doing no damage feels bad and prolongs combat. Miss damage represents a PC's attack not going according to plan, but not being ineffectual either.

Weston's using his sword in the second round, unless the bow is needed. 13th Age isn't anal about switching weapons, provided they're ready for action not packed or stowed.

SEYJA
Starts Barbarian Rage. This makes barbarians devastating against Mooks, since surplus damage carries over to the next Mook and so on. For example, Seyja does enough damage in this round to slay three Mooks. With the Mooks all dead by the end of the first round, she'll now being attacking full rank monsters and some of her other powers should come into play.

PALE DUSK
This turned out to be an easy decision. Rogues aren't at their best against Mooks, but pushing through the melee to get to the Grunts or Shamans would trigger opportunity attacks, so sod that. D uses Shadow Walk instead. He's ignored by enemies and can now dance around them to reach a his target. Shadow Walk allows you forfeit your attack that turn, for freedom of movement and double damage on your next turn.

Pandemonium, you need to decide who your preferred target will be. If you hit, you will do double damage. If the target is already engaged in melee with someone, you trigger Sneak Attack too for triple damage.

NESTARON
In short, his spell's primary effect failed to damage the Shamans, but it's secondary effect boosted Tindarien's AC. More importantly, he used his Invocation of Community to negate all critical hits against you guys. That later proves crucial, as Tindarien takes a crit that could have done 14 damage! (He has 18 hit points.)

ZOLTAN
The Grunt that attacked rolled low and triggered the tiefling Curse of Chaos, daily racial ability. Instead of damaging Zoltan, the Grunt does half damage to itself. Oops. Zoltan then uses Bastion to absorb half of the 7 damage done to Tindarien by a Grunt and follows up with Smite Evil, for 17 damage. Against the Goblin Scum, that would have been 3 dead Mooks, but it drops the Grunt to 2 hit points.

TINDARIEN
The sorcerer is engaged in melee, so most spells trigger an opportunity attack. Disengaging can trigger an opportunity attack too. But not if you teleport. He's a high elf and uses his daily racial power to do so. This puts him away from the melee and gives him an angle on the Shamans to use Lightning Fork. What follows is a Natural 20 (Critical) followed by a Natural 1 (Fumble). You don't see that every day! Fumbles aren't terribad, it just means you miss and don't do your miss damage either. So one Shaman got the s*** blasted out of him, whilst the other got away without a singe.

Shamans in 13th Age are the highest priority targets, which is why the GM will shield them behind a wall of Mooks. These Goblin Shamans use Shaking Curse that inflicts 8 damage, can spread to another target, and next round does 2 damage every time the target is engaged in melee. Seyja, Zoltan and Tindarien have been struck by the curse.

Gypsy, you owe Nestaron and Zoltan. Together they saved Tindarien from being dropped to 4 hit points in the first round.

<Takes a gulp of tea>

OK. So some of the goblins are Staggered. This means nada, unless you have powers that trigger against Staggered enemies, so it's worth noting.

Weston, Seyja, Almador and Nestaron are free and can choose targets. (There's a free Grunt and the Shamans further away, but ganging up on the Grunts is also a good idea.)

Jex, Heilbutt and Zoltan are engaged in melee with Grunts.

D is free and walking in shadow. Tindarien is free and at range. They can pick targets, though they're optimally placed to attack the Shamans.

One Grunt and both Shamans are free, and reinforcements arrive in the second round. They're likely to be orcs.

Note of interest. The Grunts are doing +1 damage because of the Orc Lord's axes. However, now they're outnumbered, they will only do 5 damage instead of 7 in the second round.

I won't review every combat like this, but since we're playtesting 13th Age here, I wanted to give you an introduction.

Thanks, that helps clear some things up. Weston's next attack will be on the grunt.

Excellent! So, Weston could attack Grunt4 with either bow or sword. He's good with both, which does make it difficult to decide which to use.

The Escalation Dice will be set to 1 in the second round! All PCs get a +1 to attack. NPC allies and enemies don't get this bonus. The heroes are the heroes. In the third round, it will be +2 and so on.

So it can be beneficial to hold a once per battle power, Power Attack, for example, until you have a bit of sweetening from the Escalation Dice.

The Escalation Dice maxes out at +6 to attack. It represents the party's esprit d'corp, grim determination, and when the going gets tough, the tough get going-ness. (More importantly, it prevents combat from getting drawn out into yawn fests.)

Weston has his sword out ... for now <g>

D will Shadow walk to the last remaining Shaman. The intent is to backstab on his turn, hopefully while it is engaged.

Great explanation of things. I really appreciate it. Having played 13th age without the explanation somethings were not as clear as they are now. Thanks!

Assuming the first shaman is toast, Tindarien will chaos bolt the other one. If my assumption is wrong he will try to finish off the one he lightning bolted!

And thanks guys!

BTW don't have the teleport listed on my sheet & didn't know about it either.. like it though!

I think it's a High Elf Racial ability, Gypsy.

A wounded animal is often the most dangerous, so yes, the Shaman1 needs finishing off, as does Grunt3 (nom de guerre "Groil").

Of course, this highlights the difference between Mooks and full rank foes. If Shaman1 and Grunt3 were both Mooks in groups of Mooks, in the second round you could cut through their 6 and 2 hp, and carry that damage into one of their Mook brethren.

Alas, all the Scum are dead, no more Mooks remain.

Gypsy. Zeim is absolutely correct. In 13th Age, high elves have the racial ability Highblood Teleport. Once a day, they can teleport anywhere nearby that they can see.

Likewise, Zeim's tiefling used Curse of Chaos to make a goblin face-plant and take half damage from its own attack.

The humans all used Quick to Fight to get a second initiative roll and pick the highest.

Pandemonium hasn't used his dark elf's racial ability yet, Cruel, which does 5 damage per round on an enemy that he hits with a natural even roll. That's best used against a boss.

And Nestaron's a half elf with the Surprising ability. He can subtract 1 from any of his d20 rolls, once per battle. Can be extremely useful if you have powers that rely on rolling odds or evens.

And Pande, I'm glad you liked the round review. Although I won't review as in depth as this in future, I'll always answer any questions you guys ask.

One thing I wanted to point out, is my interpretation of powers. What is Shadow Walk? What is a Chaos Bolt? Etc.

13th Age acknowledges that every gaming group, every adventure/campaign has its own flavour, so it doesn't describe powers in detail. It leaves that to us.

Shadow Walk, for example. The effects of the power are that you are ignored by enemies until you reappear in your next turn.

So it's not teleportation, because you have to move around as normal. If whilst shadow walking you jump off a cliff, you still go splat.

It's probably not literally merging with shadows, because it's not dependent on there being shadows.

So we might assume it allows you to walk like a shadow. Unnoticed, a part of the background, if you will.

Yet it doesn't effect allies, as such. They can still see you.

So what does Shadow Walk do exactly? Who knows. I've left it relatively open for you to describe. Maybe it becomes impossible for enemies to focus on you, so you're always at the periphery of their vision? Or maybe they don't see a rogue but only a shadow.

Finally, following on from everything I've just said, there's one important thing you need to know...

In 13th Age the PCs have One Unique Things, that make them unique within the story. They are already somewhat unique mechanically.

All other NPCs and monsters in 13th Age are created differently to the PCs. So, every human you encounter won't roll twice for initiative, it's only human PCs that do that. Not every high elf teleports down the street.

Likewise, you won't ever come up against an NPC 3rd level wood elf ranger who has all the powers of the PC version. The NPC version might have one or two powers of a ranger, or some other powers entirely, unique to him/her, if that works better.

This means that not every backalley rogue can magically disappear in broad daylight. Only the PC rogue has Shadow Walk.

This is one of the most D&D-like aspects of 13th Age's design.

So this means, firstly, in-character, the PCs would be surprised by the powers of their companions. Secondly, the NPCs and monsters might not have your awesome powers, but they might have their own, so be aware!

Neat! Thanks!

Here we go. Round 2 and 3. I've resolved two rounds this time, because it was that many before more real decisions became available for you guys.

Round 2 could be summed up as "unlucky dice rolling" for the PCs, Round 3 having a more even distribution.

I guess the main feature of these two rounds is healing.

Tindarien's a damage magnet!! So far this combat he's taken 38 damage!

He only has 18 hit points, so it's only the combined effort of Nestaron, Jex and Zoltan that has kept him alive.

You might notice that healing powers uses Recoveries. Most of you have 8 of these. Once they're spent, that character can receive no more healing. Even healing potions use a Recovery.

A PC can use their own Recoveries in a battle by Rallying instead of a normal combat manoeuvre. But offence is often the best defence.

OK ... a bit confused about who of the bad guys is left and where they are.

Weston's 1st choice would be to get back to my bow and take out the remaining shaman (or the leader if the shaman is dead by then <g>), but depending on how many foes are still in his immediate vicinity, he may have to continue to 'slice and dice'.

No probs, Mike. We could break it down thusly.

Starting at the river, closest to Weston.

1. Jex is in a bloody, dirty, fight with a goblin grunt. Both perilously close to plummeting into the river. Looks like it could go either way.

2. Almador is duelling a goblin grunt and appears to have the upper hand. Polearm vs axe.

3. Halfway up the slope, Seyja is holding her own against 2 orc berserkers, but is tiring fast against their heavy mauls.

The goblin shaman isn't engaged. If he targets Seyja again with his curse, it would quickly down her.

4. Farthest up the slope, near the trees, D, Heilbutt and Tindarien are in a savage melee with 3 orc warriors.

Offensive spells had been traded by Tindarien and the goblin shaman, but Tindarien's been drawn back into the melee.

Individually, the goblin shaman represents the most dangerous foe on the battlefield at present. Engaging him in melee will curtail his cursing ability, but if your ranged attacks are stronger, you might kill him sooner.

All foes are Nearby. In 13th Age, there are essentially two ranges: Nearby and Far Away.

Nearby is somewhere you can reach in one move action (i.e., the same round). Far Away is somewhere you can reach in two move actions (i.e., next round).

There's another quasi-range, Behind X ally. This explicit means you're keeping X ally between you and the enemy. If that ally is unengaged and an enemy moves to attack you, that ally has to option to intercept.

That's about as tactical as 13th Age gets. It prefers you to describe what you're doing and make sure you can do it without too much fuss, especially if it's a great idea that contributes to the excitement.

So when writing your combat post, you can (and should) focus on telling an exciting story about your character, rather than picking apart your d20 combat options.

Having said that....

Gypsy, if you're attacking the goblin shaman again, I'd recommend Scorching Ray. You've rolled odds with every Chaos Bolt so far, so you must be due an evens roll. If you get a high evens with Scorching Ray, you'll set the shaman on fire (1d8 damage per round). Worth a punt?

Well in most respect, Weston is about equal with bow or sword. There is a perk for each though. With a sword I can use 'Carve an Opening', but it doesn't sound like that will be of much use here. =But= with the bow I have a chance at 'Second Shot' ... so that seems like my best bet <weg> Of course, if you think I have a better option, I would like to know. That's how we learn <vbg>

Works for me. As you say, Weston is solid with sword and bow. Carve An Opening would also apply, you just need to roll odds for that one to kick in.

So far Weston's rolled evens on his melee attacks, but at least that triggered Deadly Assault. That's made a big difference!

Without Deadly Assault he'd have done 12 damage to his goblin grunt in total. With Deadly Assault, he did 22 damage!!

But let's give his bow an outing and see what he can do. Thus far his bow's been lacklustre, but it's only a matter of time before his rolling changes.

Seyja, once she's into her rage, is not much for strategizing. She bitterly hates orcs and would continue to engage them.

Stabby, staby, stab. I mean...

Works for me. Will use one of his powers next to try and end the same foe he had been attacking in concert with Helibutt.

Clearly you are an optimist <chuckle> But I have always been a sucker <wink> so bow it is.

Wow. Resolved another two rounds and they were brutal!! Writing them up Thursday.

I hope for them not for us.

Don't hold your breath on that one Pande <sigh>

For both! Carnage!

Let me just put this here "ow".

Yeah. Ouch.

Goes triple for me! Yee-ouch!

Some interesting things to note.

So far it looks as if Jex has been rolling poorly, and he has for his attack rolls, but his sustain song rolls have been superb. To sustain a song you have to roll natural 11+ and Jex sustained for 4 rounds, buffing everyone's attack rolls.

His battle cries have also saved Tindarien and Seyja's lives, and either way he's now free to spell cast without provoking opportunity attacks, so we should see more offensive magic from him. Neptune, you might want to consider Jex's Befuddle spell against a high value target. It could make them squander their turn. The orc chieftain or the beserker stand out.

Seyja might seem overpowered in this combat, but Barbarian Rage is a once an adventure ability, so it has a serious kick to it. Unlike more traditional D&D rage, it doesn't confer hit points though, so she's been burning through those at an alarming rate.

And Zoltan has been laying down some big hits with Smite Evil too. It too has a limited number of uses per adventure, but is more flexible than Barbarian Rage. Frex, if you activate barbarian rage to fight a couple of kobolds, that's it, wasted.

D has shown rogues to be high damage output characters too. They're effective with their daggers without Sneak Attack. With Sneak Attack and their other powers, they're in the top tier damage dealers. However, because their powers require Momentum (acquired by hitting but not getting hit), it's important they avoid taking damage.

D hasn't proven so effective at that, but that's the price for saving Heilbutt and Tindarien's lives. Crucially, like Jex, Tindarien is now free to cast spells without provoking opportunity attacks, so saving Tindarien could be instrumental to the wider battle.

With the orc chieftain on the field, Tindarien spent one round rallying to recover some hit points and avoid getting floored by the chieftain's Battle Curse. Tindarien has a feat that makes his recoveries more reliable, and he needs to stay upright, his spells are essential for wearing down high priority foes, since they don't target AC. Gypsy, Scorching Ray worked, though the others killed the shaman before it could take effect. Definitely one for foes with abundant hit points then, so perhaps the same thing on the berserker?

I groaned as Weston fumbled his first attack with the bow, natural 1, but fortunately in the next round his luck changed and he got off two solid shots, reaching across the battlefield to free up Jex and finally kill that SOB shaman. (A good job that Tindarien cooked the first one, otherwise the battle would be going far worse for the party.)

D is unconscious and dying. He has four attempts to succeed a death save to stabilise, though a PC with healing skills can stabilise him. That shouldn't be necessary though, Owain built Nestaron as a Heal-o-matic 3000, and he has an invocation/spell combo that can get D back on his feet from range. So the party should hold it's nerve, focus on dishing out punishment.

I think there will be lessons learned about 13th Age from this combat, and we'll go over them once we're done.

Hope you're all enjoying, or at least finding it interesting, thus far.

It has been an entertaining and unique experience for me so far.

Well ... not enjoying the low rolling so much <chuckle> But I am liking how this is all playing out. Very interesting!!

And thanks for taking the time to help us get to know the game!

Overall it's been very interesting. Seems like an intensive amount of work for the DM to do all the rolling and results generating for both the party and the monsters. Much appreciated, but lots of work.

That's another interesting point, Zeim. I think comparing 13th Age to D&D 3rd Ed, that I used in TVS (and did the rolling again), I can say it requires significantly less dice rolls overall, and less head-scratching with 5 foot steps, AoO, reach, etc.

In tabletop play, the players would need to pay close attention to what's happening, since success depends far more on the party working as a team.

But if the GM was just handling his side of things, it'd be easier for him than it ever has been in D&D. NPCs and enemies not rolling damage speeds up resolution, for example.

MikeD, as a word of warning, I am using the official D&D Dice Roller again.

I doubt that there would be quite as much DM work in a f2f game, but if we tried to 'recreate' that f2f feel here, we would still be in character creation mode <chuckle>

Aye, that is true!

OK, edited the notes to show Zoltan's PD 13.

Neptune, Jex doesn't have Soundburst as one of his spells. He has Befuddle, Charm, and from his jack of all spells, Chaos Bolt.

However, since you've taken over the character and Jex has only cast Chaos Bolt previously, I can allow a quick rework of Befuddle and Charm, if you so desire.

Thematically, I don't think the spell choice is essential to Jex. You might even say a variety of types is most thematically correct for the character.

I would probably not take charm myself but let's go with Befuddle. I'll change the post.

As for the rolling, it does seem like a lot of work. BTW, that's why I do not like D&D 3.5 and Pathfinder. At higher levels the game becomes way too unmanageable. In 5th ed, there's an option to use base damage now and I do use that for monsters.

Neal - If you were not rolling for the pcs I'd agree it's overall less work.

I do kind of miss tactical maps, though. Even if it doesn't matter for purposes of ranges it give a much better feel for the combat and combatants tactics and positioning. At least for me.

Yeah, I sometimes miss maps for combat too, Zeim. But I ran a lot of 5th at Gencon this year, and not one group in the dozen or so tables I ran asked to use maps, so it seems like we are in the minority <shrug>

Funny, MikeD. Every table I played at used tactical maps and figurines at Gencon.

Well I suspect that is partly because you had a lot of the same players ... right? And most of them would have been 3rd and 4th ed players, right? If I had been playing in those circumstances I would likely have voted for maps too. I =do= like them, especially for higher level play when the combats tend to be a lot more complicated.

At the tables I ran, it was up to the players. I had all the maps ready to go <g> Most (probably 2/3 of them) said they were new to D&D in general, the other third had played earlier versions and a =lot= of them were 'refugees' from 2nd ed <g>

Yeah, I can see brand new players who had never played any prior versions thinking that tactical maps would add complexity and vote not to use them.

And while I actually had about half my tables were the same players and the other half were different, they were all, generally, experienced.

Leaving for business trip. Don't expect to be on-line again until Sunday 10/4.

Roger that, Zeim.

So we have another round, and despite the write-up, looking behind the scenes reveals abysmal rolling across the board. Frankly, it's a miracle anyone achieved anything in that round.

It was a good demonstration of the Escalation Dice mechanic though. Now it's set to 5, with the bonus from Bless too, most of the PCs have a +6 to hit on top of their normal modifiers.

Regarding tactical maps/battle mats, I think they only add to a game if the system's designed to use them. With D&D's wargaming roots, I'd say most versions are aided by a tactical map, but 13th Age has been designed explicitly not to use tactical maps.

Hence, you don't have to employ detailed positional tactics to get the most of our the system. A general intention will usually suffice, and the decisions are more about which powers you'll use and who you'll use them against. Fundamentally, it's very similar to a JRPG in that respect.

About tactical maps. When Zeim and I started playing D&D together in the days of yore we didn't use tactical maps. That whole thing cropped up at about the time we transitioned to 2nd edition. So it's not part of the AD&D heritage for us. I view tactical combat as a complicated chess game and that adds a dimension to the game. But it's not for everybody and for some the complication is a negative.

I started with the original 'chainmail' ... using the xerox copy of a few pages of 8 1/2 x 11 a friend had way back in the early 70's I have played every version since. I saw the use of mats become more common as the game got more complicated. As players and monsters started acquiring more and more 'feats', 'powers', 'effects' and the like, the need to know where everyone was located became more important.

One of the ideas for 5th Ed was that by backing off on some of that, the use of maps would be less important. Hence the emphasis on 'theater of the mind'.

I have played both sides of the coin for a long time. I can honestly say it really depends upon the feel one wants for the game. Probably 80% of what I run doesn't have a map, or at worst a quick sketch. But I do enjoy the war gaming aspect of moving around on a map. So...

Yeah, most of the players I've met enjoy tactical maps/battle maps, the war gaming aspect of RPGs, and they all seem to enjoy theatre of the mind aspect too.

I've met one or two who really loath the war gaming aspect, but they're not keen on gamistry at all and are hardcore role-players (rather than role-playing gamers).

Me, I will literally play anything you stick in front of me, and probably enjoy it too.

Although we've been playtesting and talking about D&D and 13th Age here, neither of them are well suited to message gaming imo. I think any system with player dice rolling will be flawed, because the mechanics will require the player to make probability based decisions according to the situation at the start of their turn.

In a message game, you can't resolve one turn at a time, it'd take too long, so the players' decide according to the situation at the start of the round, and the GM mashes it together with best interests of the players in mind, like a combat computer.

So, our second encounter draws to a close, but what have we learned about 13th Age from this?

We'll first take a more in-depth look at the numbers and consider any conclusions that can be made. Then I'll give you the notes I took whilst running the combat.


Hero____Kills___Dmg_____Best____Heal=>__Heal<=
J.......2.......43......16......2.......1
W.......4.......60......15...............
S.......5.......110.....22..............1
He......1.......36......12...............
Al......1.......8.......4................
D.......2.......58......24..............1
N.......1.......8.......5.......3........
Z.......1.......86......17...............
T.......1.......55......28......1.......3
Key
Kills: Total number of enemies killed
Dmg: Total damage dealt
Best: Single highest damage attack
Heal=> Recoveries granted
Heal<= Recoveries received

No surprise that Seyja with Barbarian Rage had the highest total damage. She rolled consistently around average on damage, but it was rolling twice to hit and increased crit chance from Barbarian Rage that turned her into a death machine.

Unfortunately we can't learn much from this, as Barbarian Rage is a once per adventure power. However, we can say with some certainty, don't rely on Seyja being as dominant in the next combat.

Interestingly, Weston got four times more kills than Zoltan, but Zoltan did nearly 30 hp more damage in total. This shows how kills aren't the most useful metric in D&D and 13th Age. It's a vagary of initiative and the combat lotto. The only reason Seyja got 5 kills is because she killed 3 mooks in her first attack. (Zoltan would have done too, if they weren't dead already.)

But Zoltan was burning through his Smite Evil, using 4 in total. Next combat he'll have only 1 available, so we can expect Seyja, Weston and Zoltan to be doing around the same damage.

Surprisingly, the top two single attacks didn't come from Seyja or Zoltan, but from Tindarien (28) and D (24). That requires decent rolling, yes, but it also shows the importance of fully utilising sorcerer and rogue powers.

Tindarien's 28 damage came from his Lightning Fork, btw. However, nothing could prepare us for a natural 20 (double damage) followed by a natural 1 (no damage).

Tindarien also required the most healing. This was largley due to him teleporting out of the fray to avoid opportunity attacks while he was casting. This put him in the path of the orc reinforcements.

Given the broken terrain, there wasn't much he could do. Yes, he could have teleported to an unassailable position, but that would've also prevented him rejoining the fray if need be. Players generally don't risk being isolated like that.

High single attack damage is particularly well suited to mook mobs, so remarkably, D's 24 suggests that the rogue might be very good for massacring a mob, not just the traditional single high value target. Since Shadow Walk gives him freedom of the battlefield, I'm thinking if you're ever in a battle with a mob of mook archers at range, shadow walking D into their midst would be effective.

Even more effective against a mook mob would be Tindarien's Lightning Fork with Gathered Power. By gathering power for a round, Tindarien would do double damage with his Lightning Fork. Surplus damage would flash over to the mob, but the spell could also chain to another mook in the mob, and the damage it sustained could flash over. Annihilation!

Nestaron's damage was pretty pathetic. He's built for healing and keeping the paty alive, and these things he did very well. (See comments in above post about Invocation of Community versus Orcs.)

Jex is the unsung hero (pardon the pun). His damage output was actually decent, and during the early rounds his Song of Heroes bolstered the party's attacks until the Escalation Dice took over. He also dished out healing and prevented the Orc Chieftain from using his Battle Curse again.

Still, it strikes me how reliant the 13th Age party is on teamwork. It's integral to success, and tbh, I like that. A mechanical reason and more importantly a reward for the PCs co-operating.

Finally, Heilbutt and Almador. NPCs don't benefit from the party's buffs or the Escalation Dice. They have decent base stats, but their main role is evidently tying up enemies.

OK, let's quickly go through my notes.

JEX
Charm spell. If you want to change it, that's absolutely fine. Lemme know. Also, Jex's melee is great fun, as it can triggers battle cries that help other PCs. Very novel.

WESTON
I think the trick with the longbow maybe to wait until the third round and the Escalation Dice at 2. In the first two rounds, its attack bonus is quite low compared to Weston's longsword.

SEYJA
She didn't get a chance to use many of her other powers, but that seems to be because they mostly come into effect when she's not Raging.

D
Avoiding hits is crucial, since D needs to retain Momentum. Maybe using Tumble to Disengage and then Shadow Walking should be used throughout combat.

NESTARON
He mustn't be allowed to fight orcs again!! It's cheating!

ZOLTAN
He's used 4 Smite Evil, so he only has a freebies left (1/battle). He rolled below average in the combat, yet still managed such a high damage output. I think paladins might be one of the highest damage dealers (not including spellcasters). Combined with their high AC, they're a formidable tank.

TINDARIEN
Gathered Power is only useful on Lightning Fork. I noticed that Tindarien has Chaos Bolt and Scorching Ray, and they're actually quite similar. (It seems the ideal might be a multi-target spell, a single target spell, and a breath weapon spell. Rather than 1 multi-target and 2 single target. YMMV.)

You do have Feather Fall though. If you wanted to swap it for a wizard spell with more oomph, go ahead; that is the main benefit of the Arcane Heritage.

Hmmm ... define 'quite low'. According to my sheet, the difference is just +1 better for the sword. Am I missing something?

And for the record, even though I seem to have gotten the credit for 4 kills, I doubt that I did the majority of damage to more than one of them <g>

Other than that, an awesome wrap up Neil. Thanks. Very helpful. Hopefully we will cake walk the next combat <gd&r lmao>

As a note, Barbarian rage is once per day. I know this adventure isn't likely to last longer than a day, but... Also there is still the chance of a free recharge on a 16+. So she isn't completely spent, yet. Likely, but... Also what about the free rage after escalation die at 4+? Still possible?

Good notes on the combat. This is my first time playing a rogue. Can you tell my last character was a barbarian? Good to know more about how choice and momentum go seriously together.
Thanks

Aye, MikeD. As I say, body count probably isn't a very insightful metric in D&D or 13th Age. Pretty much all it tells you is who did the last 1 hp damage to an enemy. Btw, Weston's at +5 to hit with his sword, +3 to hit with his bow.

But even the basic numbers we've looked at show that every PC was important to combat. NPCs? Heilbutt was half-decent, probably because he was using the orc 17-20 crit range... Almador, well, he was really just a meat shield. But hey, it's a niche!

Daily powers require a "Full Heal-Up" to recharge. A Full Heal-Up generally entails your Last Homely House/Waystation/Tavern situation, where you can get a hot meal and a bath, and tend to your needs. At the very least, it's finding shelter and spending the day foraging, hunting, repairing equipment and resting, etc.

So Daily powers don't recharge with the day/night cycle.

Taking the faster path by the river will give you the option of a Full Heal-Up, but it will make the final encounter more dire.

Seyja could net a free recharge of Barbarian Rage, on a roll of 13+, so it's not guaranteed. We'll cover everyone's recharges in the next round. Recharging on the Escalation Dice 4+ is a feat, an improved version of the power. (Seyja has an improved version of Barbaric Cleave, however, not Barbarian Rage.)

Rogues seem to be quite a cerebral class, very chess-like, you have to pay close attention to your current turn and your next turn, and so on. I think you've played him very well so far, Pandemonium. More heroically than most rogues tend to be played, but I like that, it's characterful.

A note on the encounter itself. It was actually two encounters, merged into one.

You have the first battle from the main rule book, vs 6 goblin scum(mooks), 4 goblin grunts and 2 goblin shamans. Recommended for a party of 7 1st-level characters.

The Haunted Helm is a short adventure, as written, so basically, I have few chances to really test the party's mettle in combat.

But I remembered how you rampaged through the zombies in the opening chapter, and the Icon Relationships foreshadowed an encounter with the Orc Lord's minions. So I looked at the official 2-hour 13th Age demo.

3 orc warriors, 2 orc berserkers and 1 orc shaman, as recommended for 5 2nd-level characters.

I wanted to wait until the 6 mooks were off the table before bringing in the orcs, to avoid melting the dice. I waited until the goblin shamans were off the table before bring in the orc shaman, because too many overlapping, ongoing effects would melt my brain.

How did I know the party wouldn't get massacred? Well, I spoke to Rossi720, who'd been running a 13th Age campaign, and he said he'd found the published encounters always too easy. I also read the writer's notes on the 2-hour demo, which stated the orc encounter would be easy for 2nd-level characters if the players worked together, and the GM should toss in an extra orc berserker or lizardman if that were the case.

This all suggested a 1st-level party could triumph if they worked together, but they'd be stretched.

Anyway, the end result is, your party of 7 1st-level PCs and 2 NPCs just fought a 1st-level encounter and 2nd-level encounter, back to back.

9 vs 18, 2:1 odds, and you emerged victorious. Not bad for poxy 1st-level D&D characters!

Alas, you lost good old Halibut the Barbarian.

Now you've had your first taste of 13th Age combat, what do you think?

Ahhh ... I see the error. I grabbed the + from Con since I am used to Str then Dex so grabbed the wrong plus <sigh> Thanks ... that makes it an easier choice <g>

I am fine with the escalation ... even though poor Heilbutt didn't make it. He was a great asset and fun from a RP perspective. But any combat where were are challenged and still emerge victorious is a good combat <g>

Aye, I think the 13th Age writers make the same mistake many RPG writers do. They assume we play more often than we do.

So by their scheme, it's normal for an in-continuity day to have four combats, and this will wear the PCs down so by the fourth they're really pushed.

Irl, for me a game session is probably one afternoon a month, so if I threw in four combats the story would never move forward.

Message games are similar, having a very slow pace.

TVS had five D&D 3rd Ed combats, for example, no plot to speak of, and still took four and a half years to complete.

So I'm more inclined to have fewer, harder combats, than more, easier combats.

Either way, after that gruelling battle, the PCs have earned an Incremental Advance.

This allows you choose one new component from your next level, and add it to your character sheet. Examples.

• A new Feat
• Extra Hit Points
• A Spell
• A Talent
• Extra magic item slot
• +1 to all skill checks

What's available at your next level is listed under your class in the SRD.

Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Fighter
Paladin
Rogue
Sorcerer

(You can't choose attack or defence bonus.)

Let me know here what your choice is.

I guess it's a trade-off. Speed of moving forward vs PC control of their characters during combat. It's kind of off-putting to have someone else make decisions for my PC but if the DM thinks it'll slow the game down too much, I understand.

I am interested in opinions from the more experienced players. I am debating between Precise Shot and Second Shot for ranged ... but there are some good ones for melee too, Cleave and Comeback Strike.

I think D needs Murderous +2 to hit and +2 crit range against Staggered enemies. Seems dastardly enough and totally in character. Woo hoo!

I have no problem ... long as D doesn't think Weston is strange <weg>

Heh, strange is ok. Staggered, and dangerous, not so much.

Yeah ... sure ... if ya wanna be literal <sigh>

<chuckle>

I'm thinking about the improved version of Barbaric Rage for Seyja.

OK, so here are some GM picks, for anyone seeking advice.

Seyja
Barbarian Rage Feat makes sense, certainly if we were playing a long term campaign a barbarian would be insane not to max out those feats.

Jex
Grab a new spell.

Weston
You already have Second Shot, so that's sorted. It doesn't have a feat you can access at 2nd level either. Precision Shot isn't that great. You only have a chance of hitting an engaged ally on a natural 1.

I'd probably grab the feat for Power Attack, so even if I missed I'd do the damage. Otherwise missing with a Power Attack really sucks!

Zoltan
More hit points! He's the tank.

D
Unfortunately Murderous is a class talent. You get three at the start, no more. I'd probably grab the feat for Shadow Walk. It does mean that if you fail the roll, you aren't suddenly stranded. You can still move and attack as normal. That makes Shadow Walk considerably less risky.

Sorcerer
Hmm. More hit points probably more useful than a new spell at this level.

As Tindarien has been a damage magnet - and I can see him being targetted, hit points would be good - but I was also thinking of Adventurer Feat 'You can now invoke your Fey Heritage talent in two battles each day'

Tindarien doesn't have Fey Heritage, alas. He has Arcane Heritage and Undead Heritage.

As always guys, I'm not draconian about character changes. The rules say, only do it during a Full Heal-Up, because then it's easier to explain in-continuity. But if you want to swap out a spell you've never even used before, for example, there's nothing to explain.

Ahh forgot that. In that case I'll go for the hit points!

Well, hit points are always useful. It's hard to argue against them tbh.

Hmmm ... I =did= miss Second Shot on my sheet <g> But did I miss something else? I thought I had Power Attack already too.

Feat for Shadow walk sounds good.
Thanks

So are we level 2? I'm pouring over the options and hope to decide before my head hits the pillow tonight.

Nope. In 13th Age you level up gradually, via Incremental Advances. Then when you reach 2nd level, you can basically scrap all of those Incremental Advances and start again if you want. It's just a way of keeping it constantly new and fresh, and allow you to experiment without constraint.

(Don't you just hate it in CRPGs when you level up your character, then later realise you've made a mistake but can't go back!)

Neptune. If you want to come up with some set plays for Jex, jot them down in his Gallery thread like Zeim's done for Zoltan. So if I ever have to resolve a couple of rounds in one go, it'll give me the guidance I need.

Neal _ Yes, I agree. Adding the extra hps is the best option for Zoltan.

Will do.

I like the incremental upgrade idea. I have always disliked the 'one moment you are able to do these things and then the next you can ... amazingly ... do all these =new= things'.

On the 'redesign' front, that is a nice idea too, especially when you are exploring a new class. RPGA also lets you do that any time until you get to 5th level. A step in the right direction <g>

OK. I've decided to add "Soundburst" as my additional spell.

Do you want to change Charm too?

I should also remind peeps of their magic items.

Jex has a Symbol of Gathered Power, given to him by the Baronessa.

During a quick rest, you can regain an expended Daily Adventurer-level spell. Quirk: One track mind.

D received a Potion of Fire Resistance +1 from the black cat, Griefer.

MikeD receives a blank chit for Weston, representing the resources of the Order of Averness.

At any time in the game, except in combat, you may cash this chit in for one of the following effects:

• Succeed at a minor skill check
• Receive a potion, scroll, rune or mundane magic item
• Restore one recovery
• Redistribute recoveries among the party with 1d4 losses
• Most importantly, you have to describe how Weston's relationship with the Order of Averness/Great Gold Wyrm was behind this effect, perhaps through a flashback

Tindarien gained a Potion of Healing from Fuldroik. Grants spontaneous heal using recovery +1d8 hp.

The party are also carrying Gorulon Gorehound's Helmet. It provides +1 to MD. When staggered you add your level to your hit and miss damage. Quirk: Loves the sight of blood.

And thank you, Neptune (see below), Jex has just found one of Lalleh's Champion-tier healing potions. Grants spontaneous heal using recovery +2d8 hp.

And didn't Jex just find another potion of healing?
I'll keep charm because Jex is charming

Neil, I =have= the 'flashback' (well, mostly <g>), but was thinking it would fit best when Weston actually uses the chit. If you would like me to drop it in sooner, I can.

OK, after battle recovery rolls. You can view all the rolls in the dice roller to your left (see Drizzle).

But what the furkin am I talking about?

All healing in 13th Age is tied to Recoveries. Each character has a set amount that increases per level, and they have to spend one to recover. So a cleric's Heal spell allows another PC to spend a recovery and regain hit points according to their recovery dice.

Some feats buff this. Tindarien has Strong Recovery, which allows him to roll two recovery dice and use the highest. Seyja has Strongheart, which increases her recovery dice from d10s to d12s.

Healing potions add extra dice to your recovery. In battle, instead of attacking you can Rally, spend a recovery to regain hit points.

So running out of recoveries is bad, obviously. Without recoveries you're reliant on scarce resources, such as a cleric's Cure Wounds spell, that grants free recovery.

It's worse because after each battle, if you're staggered (below half hit points) it's compulsory to spend recoveries until you're at full hit points.

If you have no recoveries left to do this, you still roll recovery dice, which give half the hit points, and for each one rolled you get a -1 to attack and defence for the rest of the adventure, or until the next Full Heal-Up. (Remember, a Full Heal-Up is basically half a day of rest and recouperation. See above.)

Anyway, after the recovery dice, how do things stand?

D HP: 21/21; Rec: 4/8; AC 14, PD 15, MD 11; Init +9
T HP: 24/24; Rec: 3/8; AC 11, PD 12, MD 14; Init +3
N HP: 27/27; Rec: 8/8; AC 17, PD 13, MD 13; Init +2
W HP: 33/33; Rec: 7/9; AC 16, PD 14, MD 11; Init +3*2
S HP: 33/33; Rec: 3/8; AC 15, PD 15, MD 11; Init +3*2
Z HP: 40/40; Rec: 7/8; AC 20, PD 13, MD 13; Init +2
J HP: 24/24; Rec: 3/8; AC 14, PD 12, MD 11; Init +4*2
Al HP: 27/27; AC 17, PD 14, MD 12; Init +3

Next up, recharging powers!

For that, I need you all to roll 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20. That's 1d20, five times, not 5d20. So go ahead and do that in the dice roller on the left. I've done an example for you.

Weston rolling 5 d20s 'cuz I was told to <g>
MikeD rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 20, 14, 15, 12, 14

D's rolls are 8, 6, 6, 19, 7
D Power recharge
Pandemonium rolled d20,d20,d20,d20,d20 and got 8, 6, 6, 19, 7

Eww

What are recharge rolls, Neil? Well, powers generally have one of several usages. At-Will, Per Battle, Daily, or Recharge After battle.

Powers that recharge after battle will have a recharge number, frex, 11+, and after battle, if you roll higher than that, ka-boom, you take the power back.

So I've asked for 1d20 rolls, five of, to cover any recharge powers you used. I'll apply them in the order that the powers were used, since we kept a log.

• D. Did not use any recharge powers. That's "Eww" to "Phew"!
• T. Used Lightning Fork (16+), rolled 18, regains use
• N. Did not use any recharge powers, although he did use Bless, Cure Wounds and Shield of Faith daily powers
• W. Did not use any recharge powers
• S. Used Barbarian Rage (16+), rolled 17, regains use
• Z. Did not use any recharge powers, although he did use 3 of 3 bonus Smite Evils
• J. Used Befuddle (11+), rolled 4, and Song of Heroes (11+), rolled 9. No recharge

While we're making lists, here's what I have down for your Incremental Advances then.

• D. Shadow Walk Adventurer-tier Feat
• T. Hit Points
• N. Healing Domain Adventurer-tier Feat
• W. Power Attack Adventurer-tier Feat
• S. Barbarian Rage Adventurer-tier Feat
• Z. Hit Points
• J. Soundburst Spell

Nestaron gets an upgrade for his healing. When casting a healing spell, the recipient can use one of Nestaron's recoveries instead. Or, because he also has Protection Domain, any other player character can volunteer their recovery. So when Nestaron heals, the party pools its recoveries.

One word of caution about how Nestaron's built. He is entirely healing focused, as such he misses out on a cleric's formidable offensive magic.

However, Tindarien's spell choice makes him better for attack single targets, as he doesn't use the sorcerer's breath weapon. And you have no wizard in the party.

So in MMORPG parlance, your damage dealers are also your tanks.

What does this mean? Well, unless you're ambushed again, you need to find battle advantage. This can be a strategy that employs terrain, or a trap, maybe your own ambush, etc. It's the role-playing stuff that will translate to an advantage in battle. Although a Viking-style face-off is ballsy, if the enemy has spellcasters, they'll probably have more AoE powers than you.

Still need recharge rolls from Neptune and Gypsy, then we'll be ready to move on to the next scene, which I think you will also find interesting, and will allow us to explore some more 13th Age-isms.

Tindarien Recharge
Gypsy rolled 1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20,1d20 and got 18, 12, 15, 16, 19

This is exactly why I like tactical maps. Using a tactical map you can see exactly where the chokepoints are, you can line up your ranged pcs (archers and spellcaster) behind the front rank who can block enemy access to the more vulnerable. In a battle run without a tactical map, like this last one, I had no idea what the terrain was and where we might setup such a position.

Yup that is much harder to 'accomplish' with the whole 'theater of the mind' concept. It means that the mods have to be written with that in mind. I am not sure that many writers are there yet <wink>

Well, while I agree to a certain extent. It also comes down to the players too.

In the last battle we didn't have hard walls to funnel the enemy. So we were open to ambush a bit more than other situations.

As players we could have said "we lead them into a tightly wooded area" or some such and arranged things differently.

I agree it takes more imagination to describe things and not simplify them too much. It is similar to the thought process that occurs going from d20 stuff to more gestalt stuff like Fate.

Aye, you've got the idea Pandemonium. The environment isn't set in stone, it's more like sculpting clay.

You have a rough description of the locale, but the players' intention should drive the details, unless it's a specific set-piece (frex, battle on a rope-bridge over a chasm).

So to gain terrain advantage, the player or PCs might ask: OK, we can't take this frost giant in a stand up fight, we need to lay a trap for it. Maybe we can lure it to a precipice, or under a cliff? Trip it, or drop boulders on it. Etc.

Or, if it is a stand-up fight, they might ask: OK, we're massively outnumbered by these skeletons, is there some way we can bottleneck them so we're only facing two at a time? Or, well, we don't want this battle yet, can we beat a retreat to more favourable ground, maybe a hill, and gain some advantage?

The Battle of the Cascades was an ambush in open, and broken ground, so there wasn't much for it but to fight for your lives. Sometimes that's the only viable option.

We'll move on while Neptune's building up to those recharge rolls. (Personally, I like to breathe on my dice, warm them up in my hands before rolling. Gypsy on the other hand, likes to stare at other people's dice and hex them. We all have our rituals.)

What I have for you next is an example of how 13th Age uses Icon Relationships to flavour an encounter.

We've already seen a little of that with the goblins. Because they followed the Orc Lord, they had battle axes and did +1 damage.

But in the next encounter, we'll use the Icon rolls to alter the story itself. We'll find out how afterwards, but for now I'd like you all to roll your Icon Relationship dice.

What, you don't remember what they are, from when we talked about them on 27th April this year!? Ah, OK.

Looking at your own character sheet, you can see your Icon Relationships on the left, about two thirds up.

Listed is an Icon, a score, and positive/conflicted/negative.

For example, Williag has a +2 conflicted relationship with the Dragon Emperor, and a +1 positive with the Lich King.

So I'd need to make two separate rolls using the Drizzle dice roller. The first would look something like this...

Character: Williag
Action Description: Dragon Emperor +2 conflicted
Dice Roll: 1d6,1d6
Game Turn: Icon Relationships

You roll 1d6 per point in the relationship, +1, +2 or +3, etc.

Character: Seyja Banic
Action Description: Orc Lord +3 Conflicted
Dice Roll: 1d6,1d6,1d6
Game Turn: Icon Relationships

Dice Roll Results: 2,6,4

So I have +3 with the Great Gold Wyrm, so I roll 3d6 ... correct?

Weston Gr Gold Wyrm - positive MikeD rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6 & got 3, 1, 3

So maybe the wyrm isn't sure about Weston this week, month, year <sigh>

Pale Dusk Icon rolls
Looks like positive Archmage for 5.

Don't remember if a 1 is anything. Don't think so, but if it is, note the 1 in the negatively flavored The Black.

D The Black-, The Diabolist+, The Archmage+
Pandemonium rolled d6,d6,d6 and got 1, 4, 5

Tindarien has The Diabolist -1, The High Druid +1, The Elf Queen +1

Tindarien Diabolist, High Druid, Elf Queen
Gypsy rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 1, 6, 1

Talk about extremes! I think only the 6 counts.

Zoltan: Diabolist -1, Great Gold Worm 0, Crusader +1

Zoltan Icon Rolls
Zeim rolled d6,d6,d6 and got 5, 6, 5

If it's 5's and 6's he's got em all! <g> if only 6's count then GGW (Conflicted).

Nice roll Zeim. They all count.

Wow we have a lot of stuff falling into place.

Right then, I'll tot up what we've got so far and update once Neptune's rolled.

Archmage 1
Crusader 1
Diabolist 1
Great Gold Wyrm 1*
High Druid 1*
Orc Lord 1*

*Rolled 6s

Nestaron rolled 4, 3, 4 on High Druid, Priestess, Crusader. Nada. Just typical!! Well, let's see if Neptune can break the deadlock.

Sorry about being late here. A sudden burst of busy-ness in life. Here are my rolls, which I make totally blind, having no clue what they're about. I need to do some reading...

Jex Icon rolls, Prince of Shadows +2, the three +1, Archmage +1
Neptune rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 3, 2, 4

So nothing decisive, but we can work with those results, certainly.

You'll notice my posting's a little slow recently, btw, I'm just riding out a bit of tendonitis in the right hand/forearm and trying not to exacerbate it, in a way that fast-typing tends to.

You want to be sure that you =do= get over it before you do too much!! I know a woman that tried to 'work through' Carpal-tunnel and ended up losing the use of her left arm for almost a full year! Not sure it tendinitis is as susceptible to that sort of problem, but I wouldn't want you to risk it!!!

I blame internet p0rn!

Physio reckons it might not be tendonitis, but rather a thumb sprain. Could be, I do high intensity training and was doing body blasters the week before. Just strange that it first came on while I was typing.

Your character sheets should now be updated with your Incremental Advances, btw.

Not sure how it happened, but you lowered my AC again. Should be 20.

Huh, yeah. Strange. Well it's sorted now (and uploaded).

Also guys, I forgot to mention I'm away on business this week!!

Show week is nearly over, peeps. Same thing every year, this week's a bit of a write-off for leisure time.

I think I'll have a post for you tomorrow PM though.

we are here when ya get a break.

The show finishes on Sunday, then I've got an easy week back at the office after that, resitting gas training. So this is only a short slowdown, don't mothball your d20s yet!!

Hope the show's going well!

It's going, and thus is going well.

Meanwhile, I've posted in the game thread, so you guys will have much to discuss, not least of which is the distribution of your goodies.

Gypsy and Exeter gained a chit, similar to MikeD's except theirs aren't blank. MikeD, a blank chit is something the player has, not the character, so you can use it whenever you want or feel appropriate. You just tell me you want to cash it in, and for what option.

Ahhh ... so I could decide to use it for another ... character's 'skill check' for example? Hmmm ... interesting.

Shall we discuss distribution IC or OOC? Zoltan could use either the armour or the sword. He uses both heavy armour and heavy blade. Either works well for a front rank fighter.

You can discuss here if you wish, Zeim. Obviously assume it's also discussed in-character offscreen. You have more nuanced things to discuss ic.

I've duplicated the goodies here.


Mike, I guess if you wanted to use it on another character you could. The knack is, describing how it relates to Weston and the Order of Averness.

So how did I skin this encounter in the end?

Well, after those rolls I had six Icons, with no clear winner, so I numbered them 1-6 and rolled a d6; result Crusader. So Renn became an agent of First Triumph, rather than a spy of the Archmage, or the High Druid, etc. This then flavours the encounter and goodies. Since the Crusader was rolled by Zeim as a 5 (boon with caveat), we'll have to wait and see what the caveat is!

Ahhh ... the way you worded it in the recap had me a bit confused. I think I have it now <g>

As to the goodies: Since Zoltan is clearly more focused on being the front like and Weston is as at home with his bow as with his sword, I would say Zoltan is a better choice for the armor and the scimitar that Weston. Besides, Weston isn't used to 'getting prezzies' <g>

One thing worth noting is that anyone can use the sword and armour.

Seyja, Weston, and Zoltan's damage dice would be unchanged, assuming they used it with the sane one/two-handedness.

Jex would improve to 1d8, no peno.

D's would stay the same at 1d8, but have -2 to attack. Tindarien's would improve to 1d8, but have a -2 to attack.

So in 13th Age all classes can handle a sword.

Armour works similarly.

Wearing heavy armour, D, Jex, Seyja and Tindarien's AC would improve by 1, but incur a -2 to attack.

Weston and Zoltan's AC would stay the same.

(The above examples exclude magical bonuses.)

Taking the above into account, the magic sword, Fusillade, would be most suited to Jex, Seyja, Weston or Zoltan. It's special ability is somewhat immaterial, since most of these characters will make a melee attack in battle. Least likely to make a melee attack are Jex and Weston, but that's not saying much; they both need to make melee attacks to use battle cries and manoeuvres.

Weston will still pass <g>

Seyja don't need no heavy armor... and prefers to use her greataxe.

The enchanter's oil is interesting, however.

D is so much more cool killing with tinsy little daggers. Never mind fudgey mechanical bits.

Well, if no one can use or wants the armour and sword, Zoltan would be happy to take both. Having your "tank" gain a better AC and do more melee damage is a good thing for the party.

I think everyone said they were not interested except waiting for Jex to chime in.

Jex will take the sword. Who uses a rapier anyway? So, Zeim, why don't you take the armor.

OK, how's this for a proposal?

Enchanter's Oil. Seyja
Renn's Armour. Zoltan
Fusillade the Angry. Jex
Rune Shard. D
Potion of Healing, 3 of. D, Weston, Tindarien

OK for me.

Fine by me.

ditto

Fine with me...

Agreed

Magic items sorted then. Excellent.

So, it's sleepies time. Without blessed Heilbutt to stick matchsticks under his eyelids, what's the plan for the party? Sentry duty in twos, split equally across the hours of darkness? Who's buddying up with who?

Will you be updating the pc sheets?

Zoltan will take one watch with anyone who wants to join him.

Absolutely, Zeim. I'll update and upload those bad boys asap.

With 8 people over one night, the PCs should all get plenty of sleep.

In the morning, you can decide whether you want to take a Full Heal-Up prematurely -- spend the day in rest and recuperation, regain Daily powers, but suffer a campaign setback (s*** gets worse) -- or push on to the Elbow and still have a day in hand.

Don't we regain Daily Powers after a night's sleep? Along with refreshing # of Recoveries back to full?

I think we would want to split the 'fighter types' so that there is one on each shift ... Zoltan, Weston, Seyja and Almador. The others can pick who they would like to stay up and chat with <g>

Negative. Possibly best explained in an earlier post.

But to summarise, "Daily" means a power refreshes at a Full Heal-Up. In 13th Age, an adventure is usually one day long; you try to get in, out, and back to sanctuary by nightfall. So in a travelling adventure like HHE, it would be sometime before your next Full Heal-Up. When you get back to town most likely.

But the PCs can have an early Full Heal-Up, by taking most of a day dedicated to rest and recuperation. The downside is that they suffer a "campaign loss". This will usually mean that bad things happen.

I was just renaming the HHE7 game thread, and was reminded of MikeD's comment that Heilbutt's was a great asset.

Indeed he was literally an asset. If you recall, Owain rolled a 5 on his Icon roll for his positive relationship with the High Druid, back at the start of the game. So I awarded him a follower. Heilbutt. If we were gaming around a table, Owain would have been controlling and rolling for Heilbutt. On a 5, the boon isn't all gravy, so it becomes the GM's job to make sure the follower causes some trouble for the party.

I think if he'd survived, Heilbutt's crush on Seyja would have led to more awkward moments. As it is, he resides with his ancestors and may they long counsel him on the perils of mountain women!

Well, since Seyja is used to working with Nestaron since they cooperated in locating possible campsites, I think it would be only natural for the two of them to pair up for sentry duty.

I'm open to other possibilities, however.

Well D is up for a middle shift, since he used to being awake at night. Any partner is fine, he doesn't talk a ton.

Neither does weston <wink>

Well read this afterwards. So if Z rejects him, he will swap to Weston's shift.

Jex will go on any shift and will work on lyrics for the Ballad of Heilbutt the Brave and start practicing with his new angry blade. It won't be a quiet shift.

Tindarien will pair up with anyone, possibly the Sergeant might be a good choice?

So here's what I've got you down for. Half-watches of roughly 2 hours, with the idea that all of you stay up and active until about 9 o'clock-ish.

1st. Nestaron+Seyja
2nd. D+Zoltan
3rd. Jex+Weston
4th. Almador+Tindarian

Also, I've updated and uploaded your char sheets. Shouldn't be any errors.

So Jex lost the coin toss, eh? <g>

Or Weston did....

It's worth talking about magic items in 13th Age.

You'll notice that true magic items, those items with a permanent bonus, are very rare. Not only that, but you can only attune to one per level.

There are no +1 magic swords. All magic swords have a special ability, as well as the bonus, a personality quirk and thus a name. The quirk's worth mentioning, because it infects the PC. Use too many magic items, and you suffer a personality collapse as your body is taken over by rogue magic items.

So Jex will find himself wanting to blurt out obscenities when he gets angry. Zoltan will find himself thinking abstract thoughts when under stress. Etc.

The attuning process can sometimes result in direct communication with a magic item. (So yes, you can end up talking to your sword. I guess it depends how good a conversationalist it is.)

Sooooo ... business as usual for Jex once he 'attunes' <weg>

Thanks, FWIW, I really like the sounds of that ... but it does put the onus on the GM to create ... 'interesting' ... magic items <g>

Sounds right for Jex - he and the sword are going to get along well

Hey peeps, you may have noticed another slight slowdown in HHE this week.

Don't worry, it's nothing major here, just the fallout from two weeks of expo, then gas training, and then hosting an American colleague this week (all the way from the Beaver State).

But November will soon be upon us, and I'll be trying to burn what annual leave I have left too, so keep watching this space.

In the meantime, something I haven't really surveyed you on are 13th Age's Icons.

<Shows page from book>

Firstly, what do you think of the Icons as written? You are meant to build on them and make them your own, but do you think the foundation is solid?

Secondly, there are no default pantheons in 13th Age. Though there are meant to be a multitude of pantheons, none of them are more real than the others. The gods are distant and mysterious, and beyond mortal ken, if they exist at all. Factions are divided amongst the Icons then. What do you think of this?

Finally, what's your opinion on how the Icons are used, mechanically, based on what you've seen so far.

As a starting group of "movers and shakers" who are key players in shaping world events I think it's good. I have a slight issue with Paladins following non-deities (if a Paladin gets magical spells from the one he follows, how does a non-deity grant him magic?), but that could be preconceptions from other systems.

I created my own god (as you know), with his own Sphere's of control and areas of focus. I am playing Zoltan as following his god, and that his god grants him his powers. He then "works" for the GGW as a sort of independent contractor.

I agree with Zeim that the 'starting list' as provided gives a decent starting point for just about any sort of 'motivation' a character might have. The idea that you take those 'broad strokes' and try to focus in on specific aspects of those initial broad strokes is an interesting idea and, I think, offers some great RP opportunities.

Unlike Zeim, I am not as ... 'concerned' about the fact that they seem to ... 'ignore' the specifics of the deities. I have always had a problem with that sort of 'restriction' ... or 'focus' ... depending on your perception <g> that a Paladin can't do anything without considering his diety. While I 'get' the idea of 'religious fervor', I also have a problem with it dictating every act a paladin might take. Looking at the 'Crusades' as an example, the Bible say (way near the top) thou shalt not kill, but the Crusades were all about killing. That had always bothered me. But in terms of RPG Paladins, it seemed to suggest that as long as you can 'justify' what you do, you can do wha-cha want. It is just a matter of being sure that your justifications are acceptable to your order's goals.

What all that means is that I can imagine a paladin finding an 'Icon' that best represents =the paladin's= feelings about his god and how best to serve.

The bad news is that Icons are only as ... 'useful' as the GM can make them. But given the 'd r a w n o u t' nature of on-line play, I think you have been doing an great job of making the icons important to our character's choices. It will be fun finding out how that all affects play as we move forward <g>

There's a section at the back of the core rules about converting the Icons to deities, but by default they're meant to be political factions.

This is specifically to allow the PCs to interact with them more, on the same level. The Orc Lord is literally some kind of orc Hitler, encamped at the far northern border of the Empire. The High Druid is literally a treacherous Feyborn witch, living somewhere in the Wild Wood and fermenting rebellion in the Empire.

It's assumed one or two PCs might actually become Icons, through the course of play, either replacing an existing Icon (Zoltan becoming the new Crusader, for example), or becoming a new Icon, Weston becoming The Questor or something. And this event is meant to herald the 14th Age.

But as for gods, by default the idea is for players to do as Zeim has done, and create the gods to fit their characters, rather than the other way around found in standard D&D.

We can then tie those gods into the Icons. Who else follows Zoltan's Herald, perhaps the Herald is a crucial figure in the Crusader or the Great Gold Wyrm's religion? That would depend on whether the Herald was light (GGW) or dark (Crusader), or maybe like real world Shiva, the Herald simply has dual aspects?

Either way, the Herald is suddenly a lot more interesting and intergrated into our specific story than most D&D deities.

I like the idea of icons, of major players in the world and getting swept into some of their schemes. Kind of elevates the characters in a realistic way.

True. Because every PC must have an Icon relationship, it does tie them into the setting inextricably. In some ways the PCs then define the setting.

Who are these Aurenaur e Du? At first glance it seems the Elf Queen supported them, since she took in Tindarien, but is that the real reason? Maybe she took in Tindarien to keep a close eye on him and ensure he didn't follow the same path, neatly glossing over Aurenaur e Du's true motives?

Etc.

I personally like how the icons are more approachable than traditional deities. But I could go either way with how they are represented or making them more deity like.

I personally like not having strong pantheons because it makes the world more customizable than other premade worlds.

Oh and Neil, Go Ducks! Being from that neck of the woods now. incase you don't get the in joke. Beavers are one Oregon college team and Ducks are the other. When I first moved to the state I was asked what are you? Technically I am neither but it is fun to watch the rabid nature of the fans.

I like that depth in a game, even a short one!

Well, he looked at me funny, Pandemonium. Turns out he's moved to Oregon too, from Oklahoma.

I think 13th Age has a solid D&D-ish system behind it, but what's intrigued me most is this setting customisation aspect.

I've played heavily detailed campaign settings, Mystara, Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, and I've played generic systems, like GURPS, Savage Worlds where you're expected to supply your own fantasy setting.

But 13th Age is the first game I've played where the creators have consciously tried to give you a framework to build on. As a GM, it does give you a headstart and I like that, I also like how it assists you, through One Unique Things, Backgrounds and Icon Relationships , to start customising.

Put it this way, I was very reluctant to run 13th Age as a message game, because I was convinced it'd be a lot of work, all that content creation. Yet, I can say with 100% certainty, it's been far less work than TVS (D&D 3rd Ed, Greyhawk) or INS (Savage Worlds, Aliens).

With your guys help, the story's written itself.

Neil,

I think the thing with 13th Age did to get that 'vibe' is sort of 'junk' the past efforts and start from scratch with their idea in mind. There are some real benefits to that approach, but it can also leave people familiar with previous, more rigidly structured games floundering a bit <g>

That is different from the path that 5th ed D&D took ... but with a similar goal in mind ... Get the players =AND= the GM working =together= to develop the 'story' and the 'world'.

I =like= that goal. But I think that there will be those that take some time to 'adapt' <g>

I like it as well, although it does seem to me to still be a lot of work for the DM. I'll take your word for it, Neil, that TVS was more work.

I guess part of it is when I look at this from a DM's perspective I see all of the blank spots that need to be filled in. I am not the most creative person when it comes to starting from a blank slate. That is why when I run it is always pre-written modules.

It is similar as a player. That is why I like detailed systems that lay out all the rules and options. I find I am not so creative as to just make up lots of cool stuff from scratch.

On the flip side, my creativity runs much more to finding the hidden synergies within systems and in using the rules in new and unexpected ways to accomplish goals.

I believe 13th Age has enough rules for me to work with, and there is great benefit to the way it involves the players in defining the world .

Happy Hallowe'en! I have written a spooky GM's post for you.

Zeim. Like you, I wouldn't have credited it and thought 13th Age would be a lot more work, but as it happens, if next to nothing been's published about the campaign setting, there's nothing to research or copy up either.

So, setting-wise, I'm pretty much reading what's posted by the players and making up every GM's post as I go along. It's actually much less time-consuming for a message game.

But aye, it would be more difficult sat around a game table, because the GM can't call a 5 minute timeout to ponder every new development. I guess, you might say that flying by the seat of your pants is easy when you're flying very very slowly.

Nice comments on how the system and tabula rasa elements worked out. I was concerned that it would be more work. But I tend to run almost completely fly by the seat of my pants as a GM and I have no issues ignoring stuff that hasn't been defined for the moment. One doesn't need to know all the answers just to make the scenario work, it is a matter of focus. Not saying that I don't get off topic, boy howdy, yet, it can work.

My concern for the game and work also revolved around all the crunchy bits that the characters can do during combat. You have greatly helped that by handling the combat yourself. But it is a question that has to be dealt with. The mechanics are built to make combat more interesting than just take a five foot step and swing. But it takes quite a bit of interaction to make that happen. I can see how at a table it would work better in some ways, and yet worse too. I like how this game is playing out. More story based, less worry over the niggily bits.

OK, Neptune's asked about 13th Age history and how familiar his character is with it.

Well, Jex would be very familiar with it, but here's the twist, the 13th Age doesn't have a history per se.

We know there have been 13 ages.

We know the event that started the 1st Age was the hero defeating the Wizard King (using dragon riders) and founding the Dragon Empire. Centuries later, giants sacked the Dwarven Kingdoms and razed Axis, heralding the 2nd Age. Few other time scales are ever given in the material, that's for us to decide.

Also, some events are mentioned as possibly ended one age and started another, even if it doesn't mention which age.

To give us a head start, I've put together a "best fit" timeline.

• 13th Age - 100 ya to present day. The Diabolist unleashes a zombie plague on the Empire. More recently, the Priestess cured the plague and a new Orc Lord arose
• 12th Age - 300 ya. The Blue is subjugated by the Dragon Emperor and the Archmage. The City of New Port is founded by refugees from Drakkenhall
• 11th Age - 500 ya. The Midland Sea is tamed by the Blessed Emperor, all of its monsters driven into the East beyond the Koru Straits
• 10th Age - 600 ya
• 9th Age - 800 ya. The Abyss opens. The Great Gold Wyrm sacrifices itself to hold it closed
• 8th Age - 1000 ya. The Golden Age of the Dwarves is ended by the war with the Elves. Drow flood the Deep Underworld with poisonous gas and the Dwarves are driven back to the surface
• 7th Age - 1200 ya
• 6th Age - 1500 ya
• 5th Age - 1700 ya
• 4th Age - 1900 ya
• 3rd Age - 2100 ya. The Lich King rises from the grave on his former island capital, now known as Necropolis
• 2nd Age - 2400 ya. An army of giants sack the Dwarf Kingdoms and raze Axis†
• 1st Age - 3000 ya. Wizard King is defeated by an army of metallic dragon riders and "orcs" created by the elves. The Dragon Empire is founded, the first Orc Lord is slain in the battle†
• Pre-History - 3000+ ya. Wizard King slays the White in battle, creating the wild magic region known as the Moonwreck*

When the Wizard King battled the White, it was said to have caused the Moonwreck, a region of wild magic and devastation to the north-west of the Empire. (It's marked on the official map.)

The blanks are indeed blanks.

Dragons

The Primal Chromatic Dragons, White, Green, Blue, Black and Red, are all associated with evil and elements in evil form. The Blue is dark sorcerery and air, the Black is murder, betrayal, and earth. The Red is wanton destruction and fire. The White was associated with death magic, ghosts and the Moon (its own element). The Green's fate is lost to history, but it would have been disease, poison, and water.

The earliest white dragons, the Primevals, were said to have had power over the dead, and increase/decrease in potency by the phases of the Moon. They could summon blizzards with one malign thought. Since then, white dragons have fragmented into subtypes, each of which might possess one of these abilities but not all.

Well it was nice playing with you all. But I fear that you may have to continue on with out me very soon <g>

But sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do <wink>

Seyja is doing her dead level best to protect Weston.

Of course, it might get her killed, too.

Are we on initiative now? Considering Gathering Power which the dragon is occupied?

Generally speaking, you only need to gather power against a single foe. It doubles the damage of your spell, yes, but at the cost of a full round casting time.

So against a single foe, you might as well attack on your first round and on your second.

Against multiple foes, where you might want to use your area effect spell, gathering power makes more sense.

If your area effect spell is high damage (like Tindarien's Lightning Fork) it can also be useful to gather power vs a particularly nasty foe, even if it's alone (like this white wyrm).

Initiative is now being rolled, so you can state your intent for the first round of combat.

It was Lightning fork I was intending to cast and I figured the first round the dragon would be distracted, depends on initiative I guess

A really fascinating round ahead, guys. I've just rolled it. One of those full gore rounds, for both you and the dragon, and it leaves you both having done a load of damage and starting the next round in a precarious place, due to specials.

The dragon starts the round dazed (-4 to attack), due to Zoltan's Curse of Chaos, whilst everyone in the party except D, Nestaron and Tindarien, start in the dragon's Wreath of Snow and Cold and take 5 damage straight off the bat.

Gypsy, Tindarien gains a +1 to attack vs undead, but the dragon is not undead, even if it's a powerful necromancer. You the player do have a chit, that gives you +1 to attack and damage vs the Beast, when you cash it in. (You can do that whenever you want, it's meta-game.)

Neptune. I also discovered an anomaly with Jex. He doesn't have Song of Heroes!? He used it previously and failed the recharge roll. So what I've done is swap Charm (not used in HHE so far) for Song of Heroes, and to make up for the inconvenience, given you a free recharge, so you can use Song of Heroes in this battle as intended.

[ooc: Thanks. That works better.]

I'll bear that in mind, thanks!

Wow. Didn't get much done last night with Storm Barney wreaking havoc. Look for the GM post today!

Love the idea of the Jex song book!!!

It took me an hour to write that verse!

I've added what I could find to Jex's Playbook.

The idea of 13th Age is that you create the canon as you go along, so we should record it as best as possible.

I think we're all enjoying and admiring your bardic contributions, Nep. Don't feel that you have to keep us entertained with every post though, I wouldn't want posting to become laborious for you.

Next up I should probably make a glossary, of all the things we've determined about the setting for ourselves.

Healing

OK, you are fighting a dragon. It's a very old, decrepit and greviously wounded dragon, but you are 1st level characters. You almost certainly will need healing.

Since you heal using the same system (recoveries) whether you're in or out of combat, healing is never wasted and there's never a bad time to heal, as such. Nestaron and Zoltan can heal others, Jex can also, though it's more random.

What other healing do you have?

D, Jex, Tindarien, and Weston have healing potions. You can consume a potion as a standard action, which still leaves you a quick action and a move action in that turn. So you generally can't consume a potion and attack with melee or ranged, but you might have other powers that only use a quick or move action.

All of your powers will state whether they use a quick, move or standard action.

Seyja has a player chit. A meta-game chit that Exeter can cash in for a free recovery at any time. The only caveat is that he has to describe what it is that gives Seyja this sudden revitalisation. Memories, emotions, etc.

Also keep in mind that Zoltan can "absorb" half the damage someone else takes from an attack 1x/battle.

Aye. He's already done that actually, saved Jex's bacon in the first round.

I've resolved the second round, and it plays like the polar opposite of the first round. No-one hit, not even the dragon, except Nestaron who did an amazing 3 damage with his sling so doesn't really count--- frankly, most of the PCs do more damage than that, even when they miss!

Almador hit and triggered his Next Attack Heavy power, for the first time in HHE, and did 10 damage, which was still less damage than Tindarien missing with his Empowered Lightning Fork, which did 14 damage!!

However, the ongoing damage from the dragon's Blizzard Breath and its Wreath of Snow and Cold is having a devastating effect on the front-line combatants. At least D dished out some ongoing damage of his own, triggering his Cruel racial power in the previous round.

Ok ... Weston has 'Tough as Iron' ... which says he can Rally as a quick action. It seems like a good time for him to 'suck it up' and renew his commitment to killing this abomination.

Weston does not appear to have Tough As Iron, but he does have a potion of healing.

Hmmmm ... it is on my copy of the char sheet ...

Huh. Well, here's the sheet I've been running from.

I'll have a quick flick through the previous threads. If Weston hasn't used Heavy Warrior before, I don't see the harm in swapping it out for Tough As Iron.

Neal - what does "Staggered" mean (in stat terms)?

"Staggered" is short-hand for being at half hit points. It has no further effect itself, but you might notice that various powers only trigger against staggered targets or when you yourself are staggered.

For example, D's Deadly Thrust can only be used against a staggered enemy.

There's no stat effect, unlike Dazed, =4 to attack, suffered by the dragon in the first round, after triggering Zoltan's Curse of Chaos racial power by rolling a natural 3 to hit.

D also managed to trigger his racial power, Cruel, in the first round, inflicting 5 ongoing damage (save on natural 11+) by hitting with a natural even.

Having said that, Almador also triggered the dragon's Whipping Tail, by rolling a natural 2 to hit, and the dragon's Wreathed in Snow and Cold power more than makes up any bad luck its had so far.

This power inflicts 5 damage on a PC if they're engaged with the dragon at the start of their turn. It's a very compelling reason not to go toe-to-toe with it, but alas, someone has to.

MikeD. I couldn't find any use of Heavy Warrior, so it's entirely your call. Heavy Warrior or Tough As Iron. I'd say in normal circumstances, Heavy Warrior would be more useful for Weston, as he might want to use his quick action to reload his bow. Fighting this dragon, Tough As Iron is almost certainly better.

Not sure how we got out of sync <sigh> But, yeah, that would be great. Thanks. Tough As Iron was more in keeping with what I had in mind for Weston <g>

Yeah, these PDF character sheets have proven a bit fickle. Firstly, the PDF file is written and read differently, depending on the PDF reader used. (So much for standards!)

Secondly, the reader doesn't allow you to save over an open file, so once you've edited it, you have to save as a copy, then manually delete the original and rename the copy before uploading.

Still, we don't update them very often so I think they'll do. Changed that for you, MikeD. Recommend opening the char sheet and hitting F5 to refresh, lemme know if anything's incorrect.

Thanks Neil. Looks good now <g>

I presume I got my chaos benefit from gathering power last round?

Also, as I failed, don't think I can cast lightning fork again this battle?

Hiya. You get the Chaotic Benefit in the first round, I guess to make not attacking a touch more exciting for the player. Lightning Fork can be recharged after battle on a roll of natural 16+, so it's expended for now. It missed, yes, but scarily it still did 14 damage on a miss.

In 13th Age, sorcerers are definitely the 'glass cannons'. I don't think even barbarians can match their burst damage. Btw, good thinking about the Scorching Ray. White dragons are vulnerable to fire-based attacks, which widens the crit range of attacks from 20 to 18-20. Pretty good!

Well, that was a rocky round, with good rolls and bad rolls spread around.

The dragon benefited from its Crippled Escalator ability, that allows it to use the Escalation Dice when it's even. Normally dragons use the Escalation Dice all the time, making them just as dangerous as a PC. This is unique to dragons.

The dragon will be Far Away in the next round, so only Jex and Tindarien will have a chance to hit (at -2) with their Chaos Bolts. Weston could conceivably get off a shot with his longbow.

The halfling is providing an opportunity to Flee. This is an automatic end of battle, so it would also end your ongoing damage from the blizzard breath. But it causes a campaign setback or some sort.

You're only 2 damage away from driving off the dragon, but it's higher in the initiative order. It can use its breath weapon from Far Away and potentially hit another three PCs.

I'd describe this as a knife edge.

Ummmm ... I am wondering how the unconscious Weston will be firing his bow <g>

And did Jex actually drop first? Did his song end? What about the end-of-song boon? A little confused.

He would end the song (benefiting Tindarien) and take his shot with the chaos bolt and hopefully that allows him to use his "Pull it together" battle cry to help his fallen comrade, Weston.

Good questions all.

Weston would have to be healed by +1 hp to regain consciousness. So for example, Jex or Zoltan could use their turn to run over to Weston, grab his potion of healing and feed it to him. He'd use a recovery and be back on his feet.

Jex's Song of Heroes was stopped by him being knocked unconscious, so preventing him from reeling off the final verse. He wasn't unconscious for very long, as Nestaron fed him his own healing potion in the same round (see Weston example above). And what a healing potion, it gave him a humumgous 20 hp, bringing him back up to 17/24 hp. It was only the ongoing damage from Blizzard Breath that dropped him back down to 12/24 hp. I'll edit the GM post to better describe this, because it was a pretty dramatic series of events.

Seyja was also knocked unconscious, but Exeter cleverly cashed in his player chit to give Seyja a free recovery that can be used at anytime. Thus she was back on her feet, and could Rally as normal to get herself out of the hit point 'danger zone', as it were.

Quite a tricky round to resolve, since the dragon disengaging changed the entire tactical situation, firmly in its favour. It probably should have disengaged a round earlier, but I guess we can blame the lure of the Aurenaur for that.

Whatever the Aurenaur is.... I'm sure it's all very wholesome and innocent, nothing to worry about, or anything to do with Tindarien's heritage.

Don't forget Zoltan also has a longbow. As he didn't get to act last round he should be able to get a ranged shot for last round plus another one for this upcoming round.

Excellent excellent, this is looking good! So, can anyone posit a plan that would guarantees the dragon gets driven off (requires 2 hp damage) and heals Weston (requires 1 hp healing), by the end of Round 3.

There is one way that I can see, but consider this a fun little test to acquaint you with 13th Age some more. (Note that it's pretty straightforward. Also note, you'll need to refer to the hidden combat log for Round 3.)

Obviously, we wouldn't loiter at this dramatic moment if we were sat around the gaming table, we'd plough on. But in a message game we can, and given the purpose of HHE as an intro to 13th Age, we probably should.

Pandemonium. D might notice the similarity in appearance of the halfling man who's sneaked up on them, and the halfling woman in his near death vision from the Battle of Heilbutt's Hallow.

Halflings in 13th Age are known to be agrarian folk, certainly those inhabiting the plains between the Queen's Wood (infested with elves!) and Amity Bay. These mohawked halflings look like they're from that same region, but are of a tribe D doesn't recognise.

Here's a stab at it:

Zoltan fires his bow for last round and this round, Jex uses his chaos bolt and Tindarien uses a spell. Nestaron heals Weston and D and Almador talk to the halfling, or follow him and leave signs for the rest.

Hopefully between the four attacks we can do the few points needed, and if Zoltan hits on his first one it should happen before the dragon goes.

Nice one, Zeim! You're most of the way there.

Zoltan can still ready and fire his bow in Round 3 (requiring a quick, move and standard action), and Jex can still cast his Chaos Bolt (requiring a move and standard action). The only other party member with a turn left is Almador, but he doesn't know about healing or healing potions.

Can anyone think of way to get him to heal Weston? (It's a bit of a trick question.)

You got it, Exeter. 13th Age is still a role-playing game, and talking in-char is a free action, so you can simply tell Almador to feed Weston his own healing potion.

This will give you Zoltan's longbow attack (guaranteed 1 damage from a miss), Jex's Chaos Bolt (guaranteed 1 damage from a miss), for your 2 hp of damage. And Almador using the healing potion on Weston for a guaranteed 5 hp of healing.

"But surely a character couldn't do all that in one round?" You might say, but 13th Age isn't very rigid on actions.

If it seems like the character would be struggling/disadvantaged, you can give them a -2 to hit, for example.

For a manoeuvre that would be a challenge, like using your move action to jump on a chandelier and cross to another balcony to engage the Black Knight, 13th Age describes these as "dicey", so you would use a skill check.

The most important thing is that play doesn't grind to halt while you search for a specific rule or rules, or adding/subtracting a sleugh of modifiers.

Excellent. That was a really interesting encounter, from a mechanics standpoint, and role-playing. I'm very fortunate to have such fine players and writers, so thank you for making GMing worthwhile!

So what have we learnt?

It's quite easy to balance monster encounters in 13th Age, and very easy to reskin monsters. Because even 1st-level characters have over 20 hp, you can ensure monsters won't one-hit kill PCs, yet still dish out damage equal or greater than the PCs, so they don't feel like lame ducks.

Since 13th Age doesn't like defense-focused monsters (they slow the game down), the ACs are generally lower than in other D&D games, and you have the Escalation Dice to buff hit rolls.

You also have the Flee option, which allows the PCs to escape danger if a TPK is looming, incurring a campaign setback, i.e., more dramatic story developments.

The maimed white dragon was a reskin of the crippled blue dragon in the rule book's beginners adventure. I kept the stats, changed the special effects. In the beginners adventure (Blood & Lightning), it gives two versions of the crippled blue dragon, one for 1st level PCs, one for 2nd level PCs. As with the Battle of Heilbutt's Hallow (where I put you up against a 1st then 2nd level encounter back-to-back), here I used the 2nd level version of the crippled blue dragon.

You handled it, no problem, I thought. This is understandable. As a modern, non-Gygaxian adventure writer, you want your encounters to be balanced for all gaming groups. Those who are savvy and those who aren't. So published encounters are likely to be a tad easy for seasoned vets like you lot.

You've earned another Incremental Advance anyway. You might remember the Incremental Advance you earned after the previous battle.

What about the story and characters, what have we learnt?

• We've learned Weston's ivory ring is called the Aurenaur, an Elvish name which can mean halo, corona, ring of fire or light, or as Tinderien translates it, "sunfire".
• Elven necromancers forged the Aurenaur from the tip of the White's horn after it was slain by the Wizard King, over 3000 years ago. It has been lost for a long time.
• It might exert some power over the dead, but has no obvious magic (+-) effects when worn.
• The ring was given to Weston's true mother by the Grandmaster of the Order of Averness, to be deliver to someone else, in a distant land.
• The Beast of the Titan's Elbow is an ancient white wyrm, one of the Primevals, known as the Master of Winter. White dragons are associated with cold, winter, the Moon, undead, ghosts.
• The Beast had already sustained terrible wounds when you first encountered it. You added some of your own.
• It called D, "broken shadow" and said he wouldn't find any of his lost farthings under its wings. A farthing is a quarter, thus "lost quarters".
• It found something strangely repugnant about Jex, saying he smelled "foul".

Anything else you can think of? And what is the meaning of it all!?

Well, my only ... correction ... would be to the 'You handled it, no problem' statement. While we =did= handle it, the bad guy got away and some of us got the crap kicked out of us, so there =was= a problem or two <wink>

Great wrap-up, though. Thanks for that. Helps keep thing from getting lost <g>

You did very well. If the result of the dragon losing its albiet truncated hit points was death, you would have killed it. But in 13th Age, some archvillains aren't meant to be slain by sword and spells, only defeated.

So it's a victory. It kicked the crap out of you, yes, but I remember when I ran Blood & Lightning for Gypsy and co, ftf, the crippled blue dragon killed a character before it was defeated. And I didn't stack the odds against them nearly as much as I have with you guys.

Having said that, in an ftf game you don't have the luxury of pondering your next move for 24 hours, say. So maybe sticking to the scripted encounters was wise in that respect.

Thought it went well, though I am more used to a different kind of "encounter adjustment". In D&D and such the way you adjust an encounter is to make the monsters less powerful. With dragons that means making them younger. Younger dragons have fewer hps and do less damage. It would be unthinkable in a D&D game, for example, for a 1-2 level party to defeat an ancient dragon, no matter how wounded it was. One breath would kill everyone in the party 5x over.

So, need to drop some preconceptions at the door I suppose.

I enjoyed the encounter and the wrap-up. Makes for an interesting - not necessarily better, but interesting - difference from D&D encounters.

I find 13th age more cinematic and story driven. I loved the explanation of much of the stuff. Makes it actually seem like a good choice for a message game.

Panda hit it, I think. It seems much more amenable to message gaming ... where the 'group story telling' is more important than I think it is for most D&D players.

Good question in the game thread.

Absolutely. The answer should be interesting!

Meanwhile, could a 1st level party win against a white dragon hatchling? Well, it's listed as a 1st level encounter, so yes I expect so. A huge white dragon is listed as 5th level.

The HHE white dragon was a subtype listed in the 13th Age Bestiary, called a blizzard dragon, listed as a 6th level encounter.

The crippled blue dragon in the official Blood & Lightning beginners adventure -- on which the maimed white dragon in HHE was based -- was listed as a 4th level encounter. What's termed an 'unfair encounter' in the rules.

All these levels seem quite low until you realise there are only 10 character levels in 13th Age.

Not 20, not 60, 10 levels. Comparing d20 systems, a 10th level 13th Age character has about as much oomph as a 20th level D&D 3rd Ed character. (And as we've witnessed here, 1st level 13th Age characters are considerably more durable than a 1st level D&D 3rd Ed character.)

13th Age is very concerned about making the most of the story. Most adventures are only played once by a gaming group, there are no dress rehersals, you pull out all the stops.

So my thinking was: The published HHE adventure (TSR, 1987) features a white dragon. Don't just use a white dragon, use a blizzard dragon, don't just make it any blizzard dragon, make it a legendary evil that can reveal more about the PCs themselves.

But I have to admit, dragon encounters always give me pause. I mean, how exactly do you fight a dragon with a sword?? It's like dragon riders, what exactly does the rider do, except burden the dragon?

Well ... as far as dragon riders go ... the dragons are raised by the riders and so they are getting 'free room and board' from them in exchange for the occasional 'joy ride' by one of the riders <weg>

Yeah, Dragon riders never really made sense to me either. After all Dragons (as portrayed in most fiction and RPGs) are supposed to be practically immortal (or at least with lifespans of millennia) and of genius intelligence. Why would an immortal genius consent to being bridled?

Look at it logically as well. Let's even assume the dragon is only of normal intelligence as a hatchling and becomes a genius later. A human rider would need to train it as a hatchling, which means when the human was old and dead the dragon would still be a hatchling, or a bit older.

For an old or ancient dragon to have a rider means it's rider encountered it when it was already ancient and a genius. Why would it allow itself to be saddled? Best I can think of is the dragon considers the human to be sort of like a favored lapdog it carries around in a "purse" to pet from time to time.

I had always thought that the dragons being ridden were either very young (the parents wanting to get the kids out of the cave so they could have a bit of peace and quiet) ... OR ... they were a different 'species' that was smaller and dumber ... kind of like centaurs and horses <shrug>

Aye. I guess it's the difference between the Fell Beasts in The Lord of the Rings, and Smaug in The Hobbit.

Having a rider on a Fell Beast was highly effective, but even if Smaug did consent to a rider, that rider couldn't contribute to Smaug's offensive capability in any way. A Larry Elmore-style dragonlance would only get in the way, and do nothing that Smaug's claws, teeth and fiery breath couldn't do much better. Firing a single bow from the back of a dragon in flight? Well, maybe Legolas could make it work.

I suppose in D&D, sticking a cleric on the back of a dragon could be pretty damn useful. Midair healing! Or even a socerer or wizard. If they could turn in their seat, they could act as tailgunner, if the dragon was being chased.

Zeim, I love your idea of riders being like a dragon's equivalent of a Pomeranian!

Hmmmm maybe the dragons kept them as part entertainment, but also to help with 'parasite' removal ... like the pilot fish that swim with sharks. A dragon with enough patience could train those stupid humans to get to those hard to reach places where parasites tend to congregate and get rid of the pests <chuckle>

Well, an update on December's play. My holiday plans for this year were cancelled, so I'll have plenty of time for posting in HHE.

My thumb sprain is much improved and not troubling my typing. I can still feel it tweaking when my exercising though, and it always amazes me how long sprains take to repair. I remember years ago, spraining my rotator cuff--- it took about half a year!

But either way, December should be good gaming in HHE, and I predict we'll reach the end of the adventure sometime by April 2016, giving us roughly a 12 month running time.

Not mega-short for a completed message game, Pandemonium here and KenSeg have run games that completed in 4-5 months. But I think by the end HHE will feel 'bigger' than it actually was, due to the sheer volume of encounters we'll have squeezed in.

If we compare to TVS, the D&D 3rd Ed message game I ran, that took 5 years and I count 8 encounters (over one and a half a year). If HHE runs as planned, it will have taken a year and contain 5 encounters!!

Sorry your plans didn't work out. But I look forward to lots of fun here <g>

I can sympathize with the sprain. I did something to my left thumb ... =years= ago and I can still feel it when I move it the wrong way <sigh> Hope yours recovers better than mine! But I have also noticed that healing in general takes much longer as I have gotten older <sigh> So I have decided that, along with no more birthdays, I will stop damaging my body as well <weg>

Having a blast with the game BTW <g> I will be sad when it is done.

I know what you mean, MikeD, and I've noticed it myself. (Healing taking longer.) But then, thinking back, I used to dedicate much more time to rest and recovery of injuries, and frankly, my lifestyle was a helluva lot more relaxed.

I used to sit and eat breakfast on a morning, have a sandwich for lunch. Nowadays, breakfast is a brioche and cup of coffee on the go. Lunch is a bottled milkshake. And let's not go into sleeping habits, also essential for rapid healing!

So imo it isn't senescence at work. As Indiana Jones says, it's not the age, it's mileage.

Well I certainly am eating a lot less than I did 'in my youth'. But that is so I don't blow up like a balloon <g> And I have to say that my life is a =lot= more relaxed these days ... but then that doesn't diminish the existing mileage I guess <wink>

So the game is afoot!

As explained previous, although The Haunted Helm is an old TSR D&D adventure, I've adapted it for 13th Age and am using the structure from the official 13th Age beginners adventure, Blood & Lightning.

Accordingly, you receive another Incremental Advance after the fight with the white dragon.

Scanning ahead, the beginners adventure gives the party a level-up after the next encounter. That's interesting. Since you can reverse your Incremental Advances (frex, new spells) when you level up, the Incremental Advance we're talking about here is only valid for one encounter. So I don't want to linger on it.

Needless to say, I've applied an Incremental Advance to the PCs. More hit points for D, Jex, Seyja, and Weston. Zoltan gets Strong Recovery feat, and Tindarien gets Lightning Fork feat. This boosts everyone's hit points enough to clear the Staggered condition. When Zoltan uses recoveries now, with Strong Recovery he'll roll two Recovery Dice, use the highest. (I've applied this retroactively to the recovery Zoltan used after end of battle with the dragon, gaining him an extra 3 hp.)

So, what's the party's status after the Incremental Advance?

D HP: 28/28; Rec: 4/8; AC 14, PD 15, MD 11; Init +9
J HP: 20/32; Rec: 2/8; AC 14, PD 12, MD 11; Init +4*2
S HP: 25/43; Rec: 1/8; AC 15, PD 15, MD 11; Init +3*2
T HP: 24/24; Rec: 3/8; AC 11, PD 12, MD 14; Init +3
W HP: 23/44; Rec: 5/9; AC 16, PD 14, MD 11; Init +3*2
Z HP: 24/40; Rec: 6/8; AC 21, PD 13, MD 14; Init +2
Al HP: 15/27; AC 17, PD 14, MD 12; Init +3

You'll need to optimise what recoveries you have left, and using them in battle will be more difficult because you've misplaced Nestaron.

Normally, to level up mid-adventure you'd have to accept a campaign setback, so this is a good example of what one of those is. It's an in-continuity dire turn of events that can't be undone, and is intended to create dramatic highs and lows in the story.

In this case, you can't save Nestaron immediately, but you might just be able to rescue him. And how long will it take the dragon to convince Nestaron to heal it? I don't know, but I'm excited to find out, and that's what it's all about!

(It also us to focus more on the PCs, since Nestaron was being ghosted.)