DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy SKT: The Storm King's Thunder OOC thread

So they way that works, I believe, is the person with the best score rolls and someone else can "Assist". They also roll (not sure if its a skill roll or just a D10) and if the succeed then the person making the check gets a +2 (again I believe) to their roll. Group checks are usually for something everyone is doing, like sneaking around. Not sure you can say everyone, even if they are not trained in History, would be able to know about the Reindeer.

Here's how I handle this.

1) There are no assists on knowledge skill tests. You either know or don't know something. The player has to make a really good case when they lobby to assist in a knowledge check.

2) The player must be trained in the skill to use it. Depending on how obscure something is, it may be silly. Pretty much everyone can tell a lizard from a chicken. Does everyone know how to tell a gecko from an iguana? How about and agama from an anole? This is the DM's call. In the case of the lizard vs chicken, I would never ask for a skill check.

3) Everyone that is skilled can make the check. If Zeim doesn't know how to tell an agama from anole, does that mean that I don't? Nope.

4) There is a difficulty class associated with the skill check. See the quoted material below to see how to make that decision. As for difficulty, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything has a section on research and recommends using DC 10 plus the creature's challenge rating. That's usually a good metric to start with but a stone giant and a hill giant are high CR's but might be easier to figure out than a 0 CR. The best guidance is in the DMG:

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Task	            DC

5) There is strong guidance on how you decide what skill to use and I use it:


But if you think about this golden horned reindeer, It could have historical significance, be a natural creature that was blessed by a god and has magical powers. In short, all four skills could apply.

Oh, and to be clear, as a player I know none of what Aqua has in store for Zindra and what's going on with the golden horned reindeer.

Interesting stuff ... but as far as I am concerned, it is the GM that has to do all that 'heavy lifting' <weg>

I'm somewhat aligned with all of the above.

Here's the bottom line/official ruling because it's all I have time and mental energy for right now:

1. An Int (History) check has already been done. If you want to repeat it then it would be under the "assist" rules Zeim mentioned where someone with higher training would be able to gain advantage based on someone else. As in... if a player has studied history enough to be the hero here, they get the chance to shine and gain an advantage from someone who has studied less but may provide a useful bit of insight.

I'm ok with that in preference to Neptune's point 1, in that I prefer rewarding character training over lucky dice.

2. Neptune has indicated more options than History in point 5. A new roll with one of these other aspects would be cool. (Knock, knock, hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.). And I used the scale in point 4, you all just didn't see it (or anything above the existing roll, hahaha.)

3. I'm curious if the party will do anything different based on all this. I guess we'll see!

At least 13th Age made every first level PC a mountain lion.

But actually, going by 5e's default backgrounds in the PHB the player characters all have rather mundane lives prior to first level.

How can you =ignore= the 'game value' implied by that =awesome= pair of images <chuckle> Thanks AD!!

The situation in the Ravine, basically.

"Masks? I think everyone will be wearing them in the future"

*giggle*

*giggle* *giggle*

Pande - on the armor thing, another option is to hold onto it and the next time you reach a level divisible by 4, instead of taking the Stat increase you can take a Feat that would let you wear Medium armor.

Davroar or Zindra could probably start wearing Hide +1 for immediate benefit.

True.

An immediate benefit is far superior in my mind.
Enjoy!

Lightning-Sword Bearer

I see runes before my eyes, in the morning, at work, when drinking beer at night
Rune-lore is clear to me, like the sky, the oceans and money for free
No fight too hard for me, I love melee
When Icelandic anarcho-capitalism pumps in my heart

I can tell friend from foe, by their expressions when I enter the room
Separate barbarian from baboon, the difference between hero and goon

I’m the bearer of the lightning-sword... THE LIGHTING SWORD!
It’s not there to see, but when I need the steel
It gives me absolute supremacy... SUPREMACY!
I’m the bearer of the lightning-sword

But one trick is above the rest, Life is no stress for me
I have the advantage, I’m the bearer of magic steel
Out of thin air, a blade flashes straight into my hand

When the ghosts of the night attack in the dark, I know I might lose my blade
What I own can be taken from me, this item forged by metal dwarves in the past

Nice cover art! The world needs more of it.

And from epic to the nerdy.... AquaDyne. Gust of Wind spell says it can move a medium sized creature 15 feet backwards, suggesting a wind speed of about 70-80 mph. I reckon that might have a chance of uprooting the sword if fired at the pommel but since it's all magic, not physics, what do you reckon? Am I barking up the wrong 30-foot blade?

I started to do math and then realized that it's all probably the same with just a few tweaks. I'd expect wind to provide the same force as a rope pulling on the pommel.

Anyone in the party have Mold Earth? Probably an easier approach

No-one has that cantrip afaik. Jaliera suggested Mage Hand and if it can lift 10 pounds 30 feet in 6 seconds (1 round), that's about as much force as it takes to open a jar of pickles. I guess it depends on whether it can grip the runestone hard enough... just like opening a jar of pickles!

Went to late showing of D&D: Honor Amongst Thieves last night btw. I enjoyed it. It's a bit Guardians of the Galaxy, a bit more The Princess Bride, and seems made with genuine love of the game. It most definitely isn't serious or artistic but it flies by like a fun, light-hearted one-off session.

My only criticism would be its extreme family-friendliness. Except when playing with kids in the group, my D&D games have always been a lot more bawdy than this film.

I like Glork's idea of leverage, but having watched the video, I see it requires tightly cinching the lifting board/log to the post/sword. That'd be rope in your case, and swords have sharp edges unlike round fence posts. And at some point you'd have to get close enough to the sword to tie the rope around it, and I'd probably require some sort of roll to avoid touching it in that process.

Of course, there's the simple solution: Glork is 10 feet high. Kriv is 7 feet high. That's probably close enough to reach the stone.

Hey... he never got that far... But Glork did get bored standing there with a finger up his nose.

Isn't Glork hungry? There's an all-you-can-eat buffet of fried chicken!

(OOC - We also have a Druid who can shape change. He is one level shy of being able to change to a flying creature, but as a Circle of the Moon adherent he can become an Allosaurus, which is 16.5 feet tall. Should be easy to climb on its back and reach.)

Those birds are a teensy bit overcooked even for Glork.