OOC Thread

[ravenn4544]

jeezus

please remind me that we actually need this skull intact to cure the royal family right? Did it say dead or alive?

[Inferno]

RIP Elsa.

Who wants to play shortstop?

Dredd is short enough.

jeezus
please remind me that we actually need this skull intact to cure the royal family right? Did it say dead or alive?

Cure the royal family? At this point, I'm just hoping against hope that one of us lives.

[Inferno]

The image of the crown under the lich's throne gives me a little hope.

ToH 25d.png (547.84 KiB) Viewed 1231 times

[Grognardsw]

I didn't think that would work, but it's all she knows.

[Zhym]

It wasn't a bad idea. If her rolls were better, it might have revealed whether any of the weapons were capable of hurting Acererak.

[Grognardsw]

I forgot to add the + for invisibility, and the +4 for motionless opponent, if it matters.

[Zhym]

Are those BtB bonuses?

[Grognardsw]

Yes, DMG p. 70 for +4 for motionless/prone opponents. Interestingly, three pages earlier it says a held/paralyzed/totally immobile opponent can be hit automatically.

[Zhym]

Well, what p. 70 says is that stunned, motionless, or prone opponents should be treated as if attacked from the rear, but at +2 instead of +4. If there's no benefit to attacking from the rear, the bonus might not apply (do you think Acererak "sees" through those rubies?).

I'll give it a chance. Since neither Xale nor Elsa said who would attack the skull first, I'll use an "initiative" roll. If Elsa got the first hit, I'll let you pick which weapon Elsa used to strike the stationary skull. We can assume it automatically hits and I'll tell you if it had any effect.

Intra-party initiative. Xale: [1d6] = 5 Elsa: [1d6] = 3

Oh well. Xale got the first hit in (as described in the post), at which point the skull immediately began rising, making the question of motionlessness moot.

[Zhym]

BTW, are Xale and Malibran doing anything this round, or just waiting to see what happens with Dredd's plan?

I guess it would just be Malibran, since Xale has a stated action to attack with hammers (unless you want to say differently).

[ravenn4544]

Malibran waiting to see the outcome of the crown and scepter move. He has limited options otherwise.

[Inferno]

Also, please state which end of the scepter Dredd will try to touch to the crown.
Good luck!

Thanks. Zoster touched the silver end of the scepter to disintegrate the mummy. Is the silver end touching the crown in this image?

[Zhym]

The crown and scepter are not in contact in that image.

[Inferno]

Interesting.
Which end is the lower end, closer to the crown, please?

[Zhym]

The silver knob.

[Inferno]

Spoiler:

THE DEMI-LICH ACERERAK HAS BEEN DEFEATED!

Yeah!
Way to go, AleBelly. You figured it out!
Congrats all!

[Zhym]

It may be the best and most clever way to defeat Acererak.

From Gary Gygax's forward to "Return to the Tomb of Horrors":

In one tournament use of the setting, a team managed to triumph using the crown and scepter found earlier as the ultimate tool against the demilich. As Acererak's skull levitated, one PC set said crown firmly upon the bony pate; another tapped the regal adornment with the "wrong" end of the scepter. Poof! Scratch one demilich, and give the tournament's first place to the innovative team of players who thought of this novel solution. Russ Stambaugh, the DM for the group, was stunned. "Could that work?" he asked. I shrugged, admitted I certainly hadn't thought of it, but that it was a stroke of genius that deserved reward.

[Inferno]

Yeah, Ale!

I know we're not done yet, but thanks for DM-ing, Zhym. I've had a lot of fun.

[AleBelly]

Spoiler:

THE DEMI-LICH ACERERAK HAS BEEN DEFEATED!

Yeah!
Way to go, AleBelly. You figured it out!
Congrats all!

Well, poor Worren had the idea. He just used it on himself!

I was chatting with Zhym - I thought after seeing what happened to Worren that this approach was a trick - that it would somehow strengthen Acererak. I'm surprised it worked!

[max_vale]

WOW! Way to go people! I gotta say; I was pretty sure it was going to be a TPK. Nicely done amigo! (and Worren/Zoster for the idea!)