Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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George and the Mayor's Own would scout the prefab fortresses. Construction, layout, makeup, garrison and surrounding landscape.
Stealth: 14
Investigation: 12
"Logistics always kill outposts. Without supply, and considering the limits of current tech, these prefabs should be easily dealt with. Cut them off from re-supply and they'll wither. They can't possibly be manning these things with any kind of strength. I could get a familiar inside fairly easily and we could recon the layout and defenses, then take them out. As far as the crazies/Eaters go, our regular forces should be able to handle them. Let's focus on defeating and repurposing the fast forts." Thomas suggests.
OOC - any additional ritual spells recovered during the time jump?
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Wandering crazies is a random problem, you just need to be mindful that it exists.
Most of elemental magic is combat magic, so no. There are protection spells, Protection from Energy etc, that are beyond you at the moment.
PPA castles follow a basic plan (ignore the labels). Ground around the castle is cleared out to 100'. In this case there water supply is a well inside the structure (access to water table)
Doc has been doing research and has developed Invisibility and See Invisibility
"Neptune's fuzzy anemones! How do they build something THAT big, that fast?!? Are they using some kind of stone creation spells?" Thomas is boggled by the size of the explored castles. "These are going up how fast?"
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
After the Change the PPA had huge stockpiles of concrete and rebar. It's amazing what you can do with a non-unionised workforce. (IE slave labour)
"We need to catch these suckers in the act of building, or just before preferably; strengthen long range patrols, etc." Aleister grumps. "Well, Beelzebub's basketballs," Aleister exclaims when he finds out what awaits at the castle. How in the name of sacred camel droppings did they get this done unobserved!!"
OCC - I was thinking of using freeze and thawing in cracks to weaken or seriously degrade concrete structures, like castles, so it wouldn't really be combat magic. Does 'Detect Magic' work or is it even worth anything anymore?
Aleister will take 'Hunter's Mark' and 'Create or Destroy Water' as his Ranger Spells (Might change if there is a problem with them working)
He will also work on the spell 'Mending' to see if a reverse can't be figured out - "Unmend" as it were (He will have been working on this during the down time; good for breaking locks, etc.)
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Open in the middle? Classic Castle layout?
What's the surrounding terrain like? Any high ground with say 5 miles?
They built it here at the junction of three roads. The ground had already been cleared for the airport. Yes yes to your questions
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Santiam+Junction,+OR+97759,+USA/@44.4342705,-121.9434697,1127m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m13!1m7!3m6!1s0x54b8c0ffa5d3d251:0x1088e7acc720d1b4!2sBend,+OR,+USA!3b1!8m2!3d44.0581728!4d-121.3153096!3m4!1s0x54bf6c7f1fcf1369:0xb0b754ba95cccf37!8m2!3d44.4359019!4d-121.9415635
It wasn't done unobserved, it was done during a mass invasion of PPA troops and people where too busy elsewhere to stop it.
Detect Magic works. Unmend strikes me as superfluous. It's easy to break stuff, fixing is what's hard.
"I think we need a better idea of what's going on inside and their capabilities and stores. The PPA is making it clear they're more than ready to fight and a castle is traditionally stocked for a siege. We also need to take into consideration the PPA may bring in reinforcements. I can't imagine any of our more peaceful neighbors will be happy with a war in the offing right on their doorstep," Sarah points out.
The last thing Sarah wanted was a war with multiple factions just because they couldn't be bothered with a meet and greet. People had good reason to be tetchy about their borders these days.
"I still say we make contact with the locals not allied with the PPA and see if we can find someone who knows what's going on inside. Slaves might be willing to rat on their masters and there have to be others involved with transporting goods."
"We could also get people inside, a couple at a time, invisibly. Slowly build a strong force to take them down from inside."
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
"Could they hold the invisibility?" Sarah asked. "Perhaps a small force to lift the gates or for sabotage?"
George is much more skeptical of the utility of magic and instead wonders if they can't find a way in from the air.
'There is a ski area not too far away. Wonder if we could launch gliders from there? Drop in on top of them at night?'
Investigation to find Hang Glider Hobbyist 13
And 100% stealing from the source material!
"Three Fingered Jack, to the east and north a bit, looks like a good launch site, or Mt. Washington to the south and east; but a closer look would be needed." Aleister smiles gloomily. The he smiles brightly, "The firebombing of Tokyo! Yeah, we can get a couple of dozen hang gliders running over that pile, dropping fire bombs and other nasty stuff, at the very least it would serve as a good distraction. Just imagine what a hundred or so gallons of burning oil all over inside, it'd be a hot time in the old town tonight!"
Panic is a mechanism that strengthens the gene pool.
Thomas answers Sarah's questions " It's the person casting the spell that holds it. For example, I could cast it on you and hold it while you travel into the castle, up to an hour. As long as you don't get hit or attack, you'll stay invisible the whole time. Once the spell is broken, I'll know fro the release of the magic threads that connect me to any spell I cast. Using that method, I could get everyone inside, leaving me until last if that was the plan. Not as good as a teleport, but still effective infiltration."
With regards to the flight plan, Thomas looks less sanguine about it. "I don't know about someone else, but flying over an enemy fortress, when that enemy is armed with high-powered bows, all the while tied into a flimsy hang glider, doesn't sound like a good life plan. What about those portable catapults you were on about, Aleister ? Couldn't those be used to drop little gifts among the enemy? Ideally, we need easily repeatable, highly effective plans on how to take down these forts, even if it's one by one. How do these forts communicate with each other?"
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Just imagine what ballista bolts will do to flimsy hang gliders. Or maybe catapults firing gravel.
I was thinking under the cover of darkness as a one time thing. But.... Gravel catapults sounds horrible
Max "I like the invisibility idea. How many people in town can do the magic thing? Do we have enough to have us all Invisible at the same time so we don't have to go in one at a time?"