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ieri
Tolling Bell Cultist
(1/10/04 6:16 pm)
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Need mephit advice (Warning: Sunless Citadel Spoilers)
WARNING: MINOR SUNLESS CITADEL SPOILERS AHEAD
I'm running the Sunless Citadel as a prelude to RttToEE. We just finished our first session yesterday. You can see the log here:
pub102.ezboard.com/fokayy...3483.topic
Anyway, the party let the water mephit loose, then managed to do 11 damage to it rather quickly (a combination of a magic missile and dumb luck), and it flew off. Then the cleric got down to -6 in a battle against 5 skeletons behind a door that only opens if you do a turning check against it. They figure that room's the perfect safe place to rest, and pretty much, they're right. There's nobody down there who could possibly come by and get the door open.
But they're planning to rest for 4 days (3 to get the cleric back to 0 HP, then one to get his spells back so he can heal himself). I figure it'll take a day for the mephit to find water, regen and get back to try to take them out again. But when he returns, he'll find their tracks lead into a door he can't open. So naturally, he'll wait outside.
The goblins or kobolds, if they wander through, won't mess with him, and he'll leave them alone (his geas says he needs to kill the ones who broke the water keg he was in... that's the party, not the goblins).
So he's waiting outside for 3 days... and I just noticed the "summon mephit" ability all mephits get once a day. I don't think he'd summon one before he found them locked behind a door... but while he's waiting, it seems to me he would think it wise to try to get some support.
I could rule that his geas disallowed this, if I wanted to keep it easier for my players... but they're headed towards RttToEE, so I'm thinking maybe giving them something to fear isn't such a bad idea.
So, do you think I should A) Roll up the summons, and go with whatever happens, B) Just have a certain number summoned (one, probably) to help out the first mephit, or C) rule he can't summon due to the geas?
BTW, for anyone who's following it, they had substantially less problems with the Troglodyte priest than I expected. He DID get protection from good cast, and I didn't lower the AC of the twig blights, and they still managed to take him out without serious wounds to anyone but the cleric (who was seriously wounded every time he went in battle... his AC is horrid because he spent all his money on a Dwarven Urgosh, which he's now decided he doesn't like, and is only wearing scale mail, with an 11 dex).
-Ieri
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Cordo Crowfoot
Deathmantle Cultist
(1/10/04 6:27 pm)
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Re: Need mephit advice (Warning: Sunless Citadel Spoilers)
It depends on how you want to play it in your campaign, but usually I save those summon abilities. It's embarassing in a way, as it is an admittance of failure to summon others of your type. So I figure he would at least try to see what he can do on his own first.
By the way, if you didn't make the connection, it's good flavor for the mephit to "cast" stinking cloud by sticking his butt up in the air and breaking wind. That should be his first move as the nausea effect is quite powerful.
Then if that doesn't work and he gets beat back again, he can retreat and summon at that point.
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ieri
Tolling Bell Cultist
(1/10/04 6:40 pm)
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Flavor
That's funny... well, last time I started with his breath attack, because the PCs were lined up quite well for it. And then they threw a magic missile and got a crit on him so fast that he just ran. But, next time he's not gonna hold back.
I decided to try rolling the summons, and decide whether to use them afterwards, but I just rolled them and he failed every time anyway, so the point's moot.
There WILL be a third fight if he doesn't win the second though. They're in a room with only one exit, and he'll be blocking that, so he's got an easy line of retreat, and only one of them can attack him without cover. PLUS, they won't use their bows. One of them shot him last time, but didn't do 5 damage, so it was ineffective (I said it passed through him as if through water). Now they think he's immune to piercing damage.
-Ieri
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 Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(1/11/04 8:30 pm)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Need mephit advice (Warning: Sunless Citadel Spoilers)
A couple points:
1. Additional mephits summoned by that mephit stay for only an hour, and those summoned mephits cannot summon others. It is presumed that the first mephit is called to guard the keg.
2. Being in negative hit points does not necessarily mean that you remain unconscious. Reread the section on this, as you will find that you have a 'chance' to recover and become conscious. Not only does this make some sense, but it will help game play tremendously. If another party member makes a heal check, then I would have the cleric wake up in the morning (yes, even negative, but stable). He obviously cannot do anything strenuous, but praying for spells and then healing himself is acceptable.
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ieri
Tolling Bell Cultist
(1/11/04 8:52 pm)
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Questions
Under mephits, it says they can summon another mephit as though casting a summon monster spell. It also says that a mephit that has just been summoned cannot use its own summon ability for one hour, and that this ability is the equivalent of a 2nd-level spell.
So I looked at summon monster I... it says it lasts for 1 round per level. But if the mephit only sticks around for one round per level (whatever "level" is in this case? hit dice of the summoning mephit?), then the note about not being able to summon for one hour is rather unnecessary. Not to mention that summon monster I says that summoned monsters can't summon. Where do you get the information that he sticks around for only one hour? I'm really not sure how to read it at this point.
I did just read over the rules for stabilization and consciousness, and you're right. Thank you for pointing that out.
That takes care of their rations problem rather nicely as well. (4 more days rest can be cut to 2, and they won't be nearly as short on rations).
-Ieri
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ieri
Tolling Bell Cultist
(1/11/04 8:55 pm)
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Found the summoning rules
Okay, I looked in the glossary at the back of the book, under summon, and found the 1 hour rule. It'd be nice if they listed that somewhere a bit more obvious, but now I see what you mean, and the whole point of this thread becomes moot.
Thanks,
-Ieri
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Infiniti2000
Brother of Venom
(1/11/04 9:53 pm)
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ezSupporter
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Re: Found the summoning rules
"...the whole point of this thread becomes moot."
Sometimes it just works out that way. 
Note that you don't have to use those rules, but they do make things easier. Regarding summoning, IMO they should just say that summoned or conjured creatures cannot summon, conjure, or call other creatures. Period.
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