_Didn't but fought the king of the Royal Fist Monkeys. Near TPK. Everyone's down from monkey fighting but Connie. Until the king tried to bite Connie and she shoved a sleeping potion in his mouth and he rolled a four. Took his crown, cut their losses, and headed back to civilization, screw catching medusas. (Got attacked by a witch that sinks their boat on the way home, but whatever--they have a rowboat.)
_New session:
_So then like new player coming in--Izzy. She is used to straight up 3.5, she's a Raptoran which is like a bird person but not a birdhead kind of bird person. She's speaks elvish. Like Izzy does, not her character--like actual Drow. So does or did Satine. Her PC has this Elvish name but we can just call her Mi.
-Also here's a twistment: Kimberly Kane decided to go druid, she is not elvishnamed. Her new character's name is Dirty D. No, her barbarian did not die. KK just got real excited about Call Lightning.
_Same dog though. Or same dog family. She's up to Sueno 7. She swears Sueno 7 is making it to 20th level.
-Anyway so they like show up and go drinking. And so like I get to roll on the chart with the bars in it in that book I wrote, they walk into the Frigid Cudgel where the bartender has a ferret
-...that is actually a polymorphed wizard. Which fact is on my chart in my book for some reason. And KK knows this because she's a druid and can talk to animals.
-So then I get to do a ferret impression. Always a pip.
-Life goes on, an objective is selected by the players. (One of those Red Marches days where they could pretty much make you go anywhere if they were perverse enough.) It is across the sea.
-I just realized I implied like I do ferret impressions all the time. Which I don't. This isn't Ferret Guard. Satine's old character had a ferret. But I think she died before anybody could talk to it and find out like the feelings it had and who it really was inside. Or was it a weasel? Need continuity cops. Are you still reading this?
-They catch a boat manned by some Drownesians.
-Things progress. At some point I have to solve the following physics problem:
If you fire a Type III-era Fireball at the surface of the ocean directly beneath a giant mutant mindcontrol starfish* that is chewing on the side of a boat which that starfish is approximately the same size as during a combat round where that starfish has been frozen in time, what are the chances that the boat itself will catch on fire (which of course consideration is the reason for the water's surface being targeted and not the aforementioned radially symmetrical megachinoderm)?
-Now they are playing an organ where the pipes are shaped like life-sized petrified people screaming.
___
*The answer to the question you have about the mindcontrol starfish is "Yes". My mental powers work even without me putting a fish on your face.
From what I understand about the spell fireball (which of course is completely arbitrary since every bit of it is made up), it pretty much detonates on impact. So you could target the water underneath something, but the explosion would go off when it hit the object. So if the starfish was on top of the water and you assume the fireball is a 3D sphere, the chances of the boat catching on fire are pretty good. Although the word "good" is probably not accurate to the PCs if they happen to be on the boat...
ReplyDeleteWould the Starfish take damage if it is frozen in time? Damage by fire takes time (walking on coals, testing an iron, hand over flame as examples)-which the Starfish isn't currently subject to.
ReplyDelete@Sean
ReplyDeleteThe starfish is not in the water, it's above it, clinging to the side of the ship The"impacted" mass in the water.
And, in case you;re wondering, the spell description is no help as to whether water counts as an "triggering impacted mass". I just decided it was.
I decided 10% chance of hitting the boat depending on the accuracy of the targeting.
ReplyDeleteAnd, also, in case you were wondering I was not actually hoping for a Dragon Magazine Forum style endless simulational physics debate. But if someone wants to start one, have fun...
ReplyDeleteI seem to remember that it was a weasel.
ReplyDeleteI liked how towards the end of this you asked if I was still reading.
ReplyDeletei would have said 10% too
ReplyDelete10% that you are still reading?
ReplyDeleteI'd say much higher than 10% - starfish are not very thick, so it would require incredibly precise aim and a whole lot of luck. If the ship is struck by the fireball, it will probably burn, as it's sealed with pine tar Also, Unless the ship is very large it's probably bobbing a bit here and there so it could lurch further in toward the center of the 'ball, or tilt back so much that the starfish is also outside the range of the fireball entirely.
ReplyDeleteActually, that's it - I would find tie the likelihood of the ship catching on fire to the starfish's save. Roll D6-3 to determine the ship's direction and the starfish's bonus or penalty to its save, and then say 66% if he fails his save, 33% if he makes it, and 0% if he gets a natural 20 (plus in that case he only takes 1/4 damage.
10% at best, if the fireball overlaps the deck of the boat and envelops some of the rigging. The blast is just too brief (less than a second) to start a fire on a ship FLOATING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN. Especially on the outside where water-churning combat with a giant beastie is taking place. Though I too would rule that the surface tension is enough to detonate the fireball.
ReplyDeleteSuch is my arrogant opinion.
@menace
ReplyDeleteremember the wizard can aim the burst so only its edge hits the starfish
(I made him dex check, and he rolled a crit)
@Tom
I figured the flash would, after the timestop ended, set the starfish alight, thus making the possibility of burn last longer