[OOC] Return to the Rusty Rat

[Toot]

A few notes to current standings.

1. I'm fine with more than one condition for readying. Will tell if I think it's unreasonable.

2. IIRC Toot  cannot see Giant as he's hiding, correct me if he dropped his cover. (Yes I rolled spot) so he has no idea about him aiming with a bow either.  On the other hand, IF Toot saw Giant he would recognise him as the orc accompanying duergar.

3. Torin is beyond the corner so I'm not sure Toot would tell him anything. the dwarf probably hasn't even heard Giant's demand but if he did he realises that whoever demanded the gnome to surrender can either see Portho who is invisible and two corners away, or referred to the other gnome riding a bear which means someone is between the druid and so-called comrades, raising doubts in Toot's defensive lie.

4. Toot being even wiser than the century old cleric certainly realises the same odds and ends described above.

Now back ic...

1)  Good to know...

2)  Sorry, I've not really been around due to two deaths in my family.  So I only skimmed through what had happened.  I will remove the mention of the bow but Toot saw the orc and the Grey Dwarf before any concealment.  So he is assuming one of them, even if he can't see them, is telling him to surrender.  Orcs and Grey Dwarves aren't known to be super kind to their prisoners hence Toot running for his life.

3)  Each round is about 6 seconds.  So technically everyone is moving a split second after each other so I didn't think he would have gotten that far ahead of Toot.  But Toot can still tell Torin when Toot catches up to him.  I am going Total Defense which is a standard action (and I think Torin said he was too) for this round so I would only get one move action.  Since I move 40' and Torin moves 20', I assumed I was 5' behind him so I could tell him then. 

4) Ok

5)  Now that I think about it, I forgot to separate Toot's and Boo's actions.  Toot went full defense but Boo would be running.  So Boo could make 2 move actions (40'x2=80') which is twice as fast as either Torin or Portho making a double move.  So that would mean Toot could have passed Torin and Portho.  Boo will not attempt to overrun.  If the adamantine armored Torin wants to be a meanie and use a little gnome as a possible shield then I guess Toot will have Boo wait.

6)  Just a reminder that since Toot is Tiny, he is allowed to run through their squares (if he dismounted Boo of course).  They would still get AoO if they wished.

[Toot]

7)  I was wondering, is the Illusion still active?  If it is, when Toot runs through the illusionary wall of Roots, the wall would block the other group's line of sight.  They might be allow a save throw because when Toot runs through the wall, Portho can't see the illusion to make it react the way roots would when someone plows through them.

8)  Oh did you check for spot with Boo too?  And just giving a friendly reminder of Boo's scent ability. 

[DM Surranó]

3) Portho left immediately after his spell and while Toot waited for Torin to move, Torin asked his question then moved (a side effect of turn-based gameplay). BTW I remembered dwarven march incorrectly. Torin's base speed is indeed 20ft not 15ft as I assumed. Next round, Portho moved further, Toot caught up with defensive Torin, then Torin moved even further. At this point I assumed we can use the "relaxed" turn-based stuff as I explained so basically Toot moved along with Torin, with the dwarf being continuously blocking his way of overtaking. As for telling anything; certainly he could answer the "duergar = gray dwarf" part.

5) Boo is probably more careful than running in this situation since he can't move any more than the dwarf without risking an AOO. Plus, no running around corners according to rules, right? (maybe one could have an "agile runner" feat for that

6) Noted and not forgotten.

7) No. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a std action whereas total defense is also a std action. So the illusion is gone as soon as Portho chose to withdraw in total defense (which, by the way, made it unnecessary for Boo to make his save ) As for line of sight; it's pretty much blocked by the corner just 10 feet beyond where the illusion was.

8) Good points. The draft is in Giant's favour (Boo caught scent of Torin and Portho from 60ft but sensed Lugar only from 15ft) but yes, Boo actually spotted the half-orc. I don't think he could've informed his master about what he saw, esp. the bow part.

[Toot]

5) Boo is probably more careful than running in this situation since he can't move any more than the dwarf without risking an AOO. Plus, no running around corners according to rules, right? (maybe one could have an "agile runner" feat for that

True but Boo isn't running.  He was just making 2 move actions.  Running would be x4 movement or x5 for Boo since he has the Run Feat.  But since he can't make a double move because of Slow-ass Torin   I guess Boo could guard Toot by doing an Aid Another action to grant Toot a +2 to his AC.  If that's ok with you, Boo would need to make an attack roll against AC 10 with his +8 claw attack.  Which would make Toot's AC a 24 (19+3 for barkskin + 2 for aid another)

[DM Surranó]

OK... I referred to "running" because you wrote "Boo would be running. So Boo could make 2 move actions" and I missed the difference.
Aid another is also OK but it's an interesting topic. The rules say to aid your AC Boo must make an attack roll vs AC 10. What does it mean role-wise? My common sense suggests that he makes some dummy threatening maneuver to distract Torin, but if it is so, Torin may interpret it as an aggressive move. What do both of you say?
What do the other players say?

[Toot]

RE: Running.  Ok, no problem.  I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page.


RE:  Aid another's defense:

I don't think Boo would actually make a roll until someone has engaged Toot in melee combat.

In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If you’re in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat, you can attempt to aid your friend as a standard action. 

Torin isn't engaging Toot in melee combat.  So I don't think Boo would have to make a roll.  I guess it would be kind of like a readied action.  Sorta.     

The other thing I noticed is it's only for melee combat.  Aid another does say you can use it for other things too so if the DM allows it, I guess you could use it for ranged attacks too.  But Toot would have to decide which he wanted to be protected from but since Toot doesn't know about the bow, he would obviously choose melee.

Also unless Toot tells him to protect someone else, Boo is always considered to be defending Toot.  It's kind of like a default setting. 

Defend (DC 20): The animal defends you (or is ready to defend you if no threat is present), even without any command being given. Alternatively, you can command the animal to defend a specific other character.

[Lugar]

You both make good points about the aid another action. I think it only applies in actual combat, as DM says, Boo would make threatening gestures at Torin, in this case.

Defend - seems that allows Boo or other animal companion to Defend without being told to do so. In case initiative were an issue Boo would automatically slap a potential opponent around if Toot rolled low and Boo high.

Also, Dwarves are not slow, we are steady and sure-footed! Everyone else is too fast

[Toot]

Also, Dwarves are not slow, we are steady and sure-footed! Everyone else is too fast

Slow ass...  

[Torin]

Torin speed is 30 feet for 7 seven hours. I am going to post on Monday or Tuesday.

[Toot]

Hmmmm... Maybe Toot should memorize Longstrider too.  With his rod of extend it would last for 14 hours.  Since Toot tries to avoid combat as much as possible it would make sense, and he could even share it with Boo.