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Monday, December 23, 2013

Ironclads

I got Josh a copy of Ironclads for his birthday, and we set up Scenario 2, in which CSS Atlanta comes down a river to a sound where two Union monitors wait. The Confederate objective is to damage at least one monitor and get out to sea; the Union ships need to capture or sink the Atlanta.
Atlanta made it to the sound and met Weehawken, which looped around. Atlanta charged past with spar torpedo lowered; the Union monitor, having narrowly escaped the ram, crossed Atlanta's stern at point blank range and hammered her with heavy guns. Atlanta took a waterline hit and flooding meant she rode lower in the water; but her return fire damaged Weehawken's rudder, forcing her to circle port. The Confederate left Weehawken behind and steamed on to meet the USS Nahant, but her damage slowed her just enough that the second monitor was able to avoid her ram. Once again, Atlanta took the brunt of Union heavy guns at point blank range; but once again, she gave better than she got. Nahant's turret jammed and she couldn't bring her guns to bear; and she was forced to maneuver out of Atlanta's way or risk being rammed with a spar torpedo. With the two Union monitors out of position to block her, the Confederate raider steamed out to sea.
From a tactical point of view, this was a tie. Atlanta had been seriously damaged but not disabled, and the two Union ships would have been in good shape once they repaired the effects of their critical hits. From a strategic point of view, though, Atlanta won...although the Union ships had a slight edge on speed by that point, and might have been able to pursue...

Saturday, December 7, 2013

DnD 4e Online game

I've joined a Play by Post game of D&D 4th Edition. The premise of the game is that we'll be a military unit, with action on land and sea and underwater. I decided to take a Warforged fighter.

Unit DEN-10, level 9
Warforged, Fighter (Weaponmaster)
Build: Great Weapon Fighter
Fighter Option: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents Option: Two-handed Weapon Talent
Theme: Watershaper
Background: Experimental Prototype (+2 Athletics)


FINAL ABILITY SCORES
STR 21, CON 17, DEX 10, INT 8, WIS 15, CHA 10

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
STR 17, CON 14, DEX 10, INT 8, WIS 14, CHA 10

AC: 25 Fort: 24 Ref: 17 Will: 20
HP: 80 Surges: 12 Surge Value: 20

TRAINED SKILLS
Athletics +14, Endurance +12, Intimidate +11, Perception +11

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +2, Arcana +3, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +6, Heal +8, History +3, Insight +8, Nature +6, Religion +3, Stealth +2, Streetwise +4, Thievery +2

POWERS
Basic Attack: Melee Basic Attack
Basic Attack: Ranged Basic Attack
Watershaper Attack: Buffeting Wave
Warforged Racial Power: Warforged Resolve
Fighter Attack: Combat Challenge
Fighter Attack 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter Attack 1: Weapon Master's Strike
Fighter Attack 1: Steel Serpent Strike
Fighter Attack 1: Unstoppable Advance
Fighter Utility 2: Glowering Threat
Fighter Attack 3: Dance of Steel
Fighter Attack 5: Bedeviling Assault
Fighter Utility 6: Ignore Weakness
Fighter Attack 7: Come and Get It
Fighter Attack 9: Jackal Strike

FEATS
Level 1: Warforged Tactics
Level 2: Weapon Proficiency (Gouge)
Level 4: Armor Proficiency: Plate
Level 6: Warforged Superiority
Level 8: Battle Berserker
Level 9: Improved Defenses
Level 9: Two-Handed Weapon Expertise

ITEMS
Dread Gouge +2 x1
Magnetic Layered Plate Armor +2 x1
Iron Armbands of Power (heroic tier) x1
Rushing Cleats x1
Amulet of Life +2 x1
Gauntlets of Blood (heroic tier) x1
Potion of Water Walking x5
Distance Javelin +1
Adventurer's Kit
Helm of Exemplary Defense x1