Unintentional cheating?

As I seem to inadvertently stirred up a hornet’s nest, I'll bow the will of the majority. I'm not sure why anyone would have a problem with this though.

There's a massive difference between a level 16 item and a level 15 one.

Two level 8 items do not equal a level 16 one.

The best example I can give in favour of my point of view is this...

'A level 16 item you say?'

'A +4 two-handed dynamic sword?'

'Nah, I'll take three potions of healing instead as they have a level value of 5, therefore total: 15.'

Level 16 value: 45,000gp.

Three level 5 potions value: 150gp.

Ultimately I'm actually getting three and a half much lesser items in exchange for one good one.

The items I've chosen are quite utilityish. A helmet that gives me a boost with opportunity attacks, a backpack that lets me carry more stuff and the worst +3 longbow you can get. These items do make for a more colourful character though.

The problem I have with the double-sword wielding Vogir is simplicity...

I don't want to get him a single 16th level longsword (eg. +4 Dynamic: 45,000gp) as I'd be forced to remember two different 'to hit' and 'damage bonuses' as well as the different special abilities of the swords.

Did Scott mean for us to choose from a surprisingly small selection of 16^th level items or can I just find 45,000gp in a chest and suit myself?

According to the rules of magical treasure acquisition in the DM guide, we’re allowed to buy anything of our level or lower.

So, Scott, Assif, Dag, Christoph and Hagen… Do I get my selection of lesser things and some gold to spend or do I simply get a boring longbow +4?

(Not meaning to load the question or anything?)

;)

Tat: 2

Back in town, Vogir sells his lesser magical items to the local vendor of magic and then seeks out the sorcerous tattooist to have his Demonskin tattoo embellished. The process is painful but will no doubt be worthwhile. The blue dragon’s lightning breath is not something Vogir’s prepared to suffer through again

Vogir upgrades his Demonskin tattoo: (10 resistance)

Chicken vs Pork

Silently seething at Orestes intercession, Vogir skulks from Black-cloak corpse to Black-cloak corpse, looting as he goes.

Although killing these servants of the dragon was pleasurable, the actual dragon got away.

Orestes swears it was the ‘girl’ they were sent to rescue and therefore, somehow NOT a monster…

Vogir suspects he’s correct.

Vogir suspected he was correct before the orc even suspected it himself.

Vogir just didn’t care.

…

Actually that’s not true.

Vogir was actually hoping the dragon was the spoilt little ‘princess’.

Avoiding the orc’s glare, Vogir finds a small chest of gold and an interesting looking helmet.

Vogir gets a Helm of Opportunity +2

All for Naught (gp)

Sighing with disappointment, Vogir rolls the dead opportunist adventurer over with his foot.

A tiny amount of gold, a magical backpack and a magic bow?

Is that it?

How could such powerful opponents have so little treasure?

Still, the backpack is useful and the bow is marginally better than the one he currently has.

Vogir gets a Longbow of distance +3 and a Handy haversack.

Worse than the Black Cloaks

As Vogir and Orestes wrestle manically over whether Sibylle should live or die, she quickly realises her peril. Far from being the valiant heroes she had expected them to be, her would be saviours appear to be worse than her captors. Yes, they had kidnapped her, but they were only going to send her to her mother - they would not have even entertained the thought of murdering her in cold blood!

Bellowing with a mixture of fear and rage Sibylle belches forth a large electrical storm cloud that erupts in the middle of the party, sending them reeling for cover. Seeing that the way is clear, and sensing that the Black Cloaks enchantments had faded with them, she barrels through through the open door, screeches through the room containing the Black Cloak corpses and smashes her way through the wall to freedom.

Recovering quickly, the party follow her. The monk leaps through the new hole in the wall, landing softly as a feather, whilst the others charge down the stairs as quickly as they can.

Arriving outside, they all look up but Sibylle is already a receding speck in the sky, flying not towards Thereanthor's capital - but towards her adoptive home of Fewham.

Realising that their prize has gone - and with it all chance of reward money - the party set about exploring the Black Cloaks tower in search of anything they can find that will make this misadventure more worthwhile.

You may each have one level 16 item of your choosing (unless, and I'll take this under advisement, level 16 is deemed too high - please let us know in the comments below).

Here ends the adventure to save Sibylle and thereby encourage Fewham to join the anti-Theranthor resistance. Instead, Fewham remains isolated from the Theranthor's rule, but also treats any of you as hostile. You should be so proud of yourselves...

Hatred in the time of Dragons

Orestes looked around him in disbelief. Had it really come to this? Were the others nothing but brutal killers? This creature was cowering before them, helpless, and their first impulse was murder?

Orestes drew himself up to his full height, his swords gleaming as they were pulled out of their scabbards. He clenched his jaw tightly shut, remembering what it was like to be judged for who one of your parents were. He remembered how the teachers had repeatedly singled him out for punishment despite the fact that we was the one who kept being beaten up. He remembered looking around him for support and only seeing hatred in the eyes staring back. He was not going to let that happen to Sibylle. Vogir was no different from the bullies in school, and like them, he must be stopped. Orestes was no longer a scared child, but an armed warrior, ready to kill ...and ready to die.

The world slowed down. There was no moral doubt, no shade of grey. There was right...and then there was evil to be extinguished.

Sins of the mother

Lowering his bow, Vogir scowls at Orestes. How dare the meat-shield orc prevent him from firing!

This supposedly helpless damsel they’d been tricked into rescuing had turned out to be a young dragon.

Not just a dragon but the offspring of the tyrant Theranthor herself!

It may be cowering now but if it gets out into the open, they’ll be no stopping it escaping…

This has to end now.

Angels with Broken Wings

Raphael watched another wound heal that he had just caused. It had been a good blow, but the cuts on the other Dragonborn's body seemed to close faster than he could open them. He could feel his powers weaken. The battle seemed to have lasted forever.
In a quick pause he dared to look over his shoulder. It was just in time to see the body of Gabriel hit the ground. With terror he could see the grinning face of that horned bastard. He looked further to the right where he could spot Uriel. The look on the Warden's face told him what he already knew. Only Bahamut himself could turn this battle now. Without Michael's Runepriest magic and minotaur strength and the unwithering, unstoppable power of a fanatic like Gabriel, it was only a question of time until the non-believers would wear them down.

Raphael's muscles tensioned as his mind slowly realised their situation. The sword slowly sinking towards the ground, he reflected on the last few minutes. What had happened? They were used to fight fanatic fighters who would rush towards them, but these combatants withdrew to re-organise. Usually their opponents deserved to die and fought for their lives, but these fought to find out who is the better team. They had used cunning instead of desperate last stands, they had fought together instead of trying to just save their own lives.

Michael looked up to the sky. They didn't know how to fight such fights! That was not what they had trained for. He searched the sky for a sign to find out whether Bahamut would forgive them? He slowly looked at Uriel who understood and with his head lowered to his chest, nodded. Rapahel's head turned and he could see the Dragonborn's sword being raised for another attack and the archeress' bow being prepared for another shot. He lowered his sword and raised his left hand to signal his opponent to stop.
"In Bahamut's name, we yield."

[I bow my head to Kirk who was able to stop my winning spree!]

Dirty, rotten, lawyer

At last Indigo gets his day in court.

Something smells in the world of Fissa

Introducing Charlie Stilton...

Recessive compulsion

Happy to watch Indigo and Rudha-an creep up the spiral steps, Vogir hides stealthily behind the solid but now open front door.
Let the more gung-ho members of his group take the risks while he stays safe under the protection of Dokan.
Vogir’s smugness ends however as he feels a strange tug…
It’s as if a hook has lodged itself behind his navel and he’s being fished from above.
Unwilling but unable to resist, Vogir glides up the stone stairs closely followed by the equally dominated Dokan.
Cursing, Vogir finds himself compelled to follow his teammates through the first doorway they’d come to.
Inside the room’s gloomy interior, Vogir can just make out the shadowy form of some humanoid creature sitting behind a huge desk covered in parchment, skulls and candles.
‘Don’t be shy humans. Come in.’
Vogir grimaces. A demon. And, from the power of the compulsion he just felt, a powerful one.
The demon is already conversing with Indigo, but it doesn’t sound like it’s going well.
At the sound of the words ‘In exchange for your soul’, Vogir feels his eyes unconsciously slide towards the many hiding crevasses within the circular but large, gloomy and cluttered room.

Priority one

Blinking his, still frost covered, eyelashes; Vogir keeps a nervous lookout for any sign of the cowardly ambushers returning. After Dokan and Rudha-an heal everyone back up and when the area seems clear, Vogir slinks off to recover the bodies of the two bastards they’d managed to bring down. Hefting them easily over his shoulders, Vogir dumps them one at a time next to the campfire. They both seem human, well trained and experienced… How many other immoral bands of adventurers had Lord Patrick Rician sent after his ward? But more importantly: What do these two dead adventurers have that’s worth pilfering?

Ouchity!

As a little bit of work avoidance, I just worked out approximately how much damage the Revengers were forced to heal from the vicious assaults of team Manus Arcangelus... Including THP boosts but not including Belial's regeneration or the Healing spirit's major contribution, the Revengers' were forced to heal loads... Porkins: 9HPs (Totally ignored by the angels as he was only able to take one action per round). Belial: 33HPs (Not enough to fell him as he was surprisingly ignored by the angels on the most part). Twinkle: 86HPs (Easily enough to have knocked her out). Rip: 206HPs! (I guess I did rather put him in harms way). Total damage healed (excluding the regeneration and Spirit of healing) was: 334! And this doesn't even account for the fact that the Revengers had Resist: 5 ALL damage. Even more in regard to fire (13 resistance) in Belial's case!