Crypt of the Everflame PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Wilmannator

Jaender, feeling weak, remains somewhat forlorn and in the back of the group. He will wait patiently while the group investigates the newest door and what lies within. Should he be asked to assist with any searching or device disabling, he will gladly, if weakly, help.

@ HamiltonYou want a masterwork short sword?

A STR penalty is a STR penalty. Won't matter. Thanks, though.

I'll collect the list of stuff, and see what we have at this time, unless GM Damo has a list he can share with us. No big, will only take a little while.

Trask hangs back, a bit, letting Sven (and Rudi) take the lead, using The Executioner unceremoniously as a walking stick.

'Sven' will take the lead at this point, gently removing Rudi from his path and entering the next room. He hopes there was no one there for Rudi to speak to, but isn't banking on it.

Jaender is carrying his gear, plus the extra things provided specifically to him. Unless someone wanted it specifically, he will carry the +1 dagger. He is to small to carry one of the wooden shields

-Posted with Wayfinder

Roundantaimi opens the door to check what is inside the chamber. The first thing he sees is this:

A single pillar in the center of the room supports this wide, domed chamber. The pillar is surrounded by a pit, but a stone bridge crosses the pit on the south side. Dozens of arrows jut from holes in the pillar, facing every direction.

The door he is opening is spring loaded, though, and a loud click signals the beginning of the hail of arrows. The entire top row of arrows fire at once, two of them striking Roundantaimi. They are identical to the blunted arrows carried by the villagers: while they sting, the damage they cause the poor gnome will likely not last long (8 total nonlethal damage).

Wishing he had some kind of enormous shield, Roundantaimi steps back. The door slams shut as he does so.

That was round 1! Describe your next actions. Update positions on the map as you feel appropriate.

Strong Brute carries one of the tower shields and the potion of Bear's Endurance. I do not believe he has picked up anything else.

The large man ensures that Rudi is ok. Seeing that the gnome is likely only winded by the blunted arrows, the brute will slide past him, opening the door while remaining behind the shield, hoping the trap will play itself out.

Carrying the other shield, Ophiuchus follows along side of Strong Brute. "Strong man that sings, I cannot see where I am going. Can you see where you are going? Can you see through wood? Is that why you hugged the wooden statue that tried to kill us? I might have to take a break for all the things trying to kill us once we rescue the sister so the crazy man can be less crazy."

Unequipped my shield, equip Tower shield, tagline not updated w/ tower shield stats. I have a list of all the items I took,/have been given on my CS - wand, torches, tower shield, short sword

Ophiuchus almost bashes the weakened Hamilton Trask in the face with his tower shield before finally strapping it on and standing behind Strong Brute.

Strong Brute opens the door to the same loud click that Roundantaimi experienced. Kneeling behind their tower shields, Ophiuchus and the strong brute stand bravely and resolutely before a hail of arrows while Strong Brute keeps the door open with his left thigh.

Round after round of the (non) deadly hail thuds into the enormous and overbearing wooden shields to fall uselessly to the floor. After the strange contraption fires the tenth time, it whirrs to a halt. Two loud *clicks* may be heard from within the chamber and then all is silent.

Eventually getting the courage to peer over their shields, Ophiuchus and Strong Brute see the door opposite has opened, as well as the one in the south. One by one, the companions file into the now safe room, stepping over a phenomenal number of arrows as they do so (difficult terrain everywhere in this room now). If one cared to count, one would find a full thousand arrows had been fired from this contraption.

The southern door of this chamber also lies open, and a room beckons beyond.

By the way, for some bizarre reason, the expected strategies for this do not involve waiting it out. Who wouldn't? The supply of arrows can't be infinite, right? Our party when I did this wedged open the door and waited it out in the safe section of corridor... but why wouldn't the authors have included it in their "what they might do" text? Strange. Don't worry, though, I gotcha covered.

As the first adventurer enters the room, the see...

A continuous carving of mourners runs along the walls here, leading to a staircase on the south side of the room.

At the far end of the chamber is a stair case that seems to lead down further into the lower levels of the crypt.

As with the room that had the shadow in it, please take your time to discuss what you'd like to do from room #11, and position yourselves anywhere within one move action from the entrance in room #12. I'll wait for a majority response (and quite a few hours) then I'll tell you what happens. Wouldn't it be nice if it was "candy for everyone!". On today of all days, it'd be nice to have a treat instead of a trick. Who knows, maybe the treat room is later on... oh, wait, I know! And so does Jaender. Follow him to glory!

"Ow, Ow, Ow, OWW!" Roudantaimi tries to avoid the arrows, with little success. As his shield-bearing companions take position, the gnome crawls out of the way, and waits for the rain of arrows to pass.

--

Roudantaimi peers into the newly opened souther passage. "I'm not one to say I wasn't curious what lies ahead, but this recent surprise made quite sore all over. I don't think I could take another beating like it. So, who wants to go first? I can light up the place if you want!"

I took the liberty of adjusting people based on what just happened on the map, and then put myself in the next room, hopefully some all of you follow, and most of you actually lead the way in :)

Jaender looks worried when Roudantaimi comes out battered and bruised from the room.

Poor guy, keeps trying to offer flowers and is getting rebuffed... I hope this doesn't affect him down the road...

He bites his lip with worry and cringes when 'Sven' and 'Poochie' enter the room behind the overbearing shields, and breaths a sigh of relief when the come back out looking no worse for the wear.

"What? Stairs to go lower?" He asks when reported back about the next room. "So the villagers got this trap set up, only half of the swords were padded, and most everything else in here was pretty safe, except for the shambling undead. Our rambling resident CooCoo clock mentioned "We'll do the lower levels tomorrow... something something the dead live down there..." So it might be prudent to assume that everything from here on out is deadly."

He leaves that ominous thought hanging in the air, creating an awkward moment of silence before saying, "So, shall we keep going?

Trask has 2 potions of cure light wounds, 2 smokesticks, a good deal of food and water and 20 NL arrows

Trask comes out of his stupor... hard to think when even moving is so tough. "Uh, wait..." he stammers, too late for the two behind the tower shields. "I could just disarm... never mind."

Trask moves into room with Jaender, to take a trained look around.

"Spellcasters, how are you all doing with spells? Thing are about to get much more real, so we need to be ready."

"Mr. Trask, I can cast lots of spells. I can make my weapon magic, I can heal you when you get hit again and are close to death, and I can ask for a blessing from the divine above. The great divine above always listens to me. I talk to it all the time. I tell it how happy I am that I am not dead yet, and I can still go on grand adventures and be a hero. I tell it all about my new friends. Even the friend with the pretty wolf that doesn't talk to me much." Turning to Strong Brute, "I even sing to it, but my voice isn't beautiful like yours."

"I know that many of you are hurt, some are close to death like I was. We could use some time to rest but I cannot stop thinking about the sister that is lost and scared and alone, maybe with things that once lived and died and now live and want to kill her. If she is like me and scared of the dark, it would be horrible. If you cannot make it Mr. Trask, we understand. You are a great hero that gets eaten by demons and shadows."

Honestly we could use a rest, but not sure how the game mechanics work with the sister. Whatever way the others vote I am cool with.

In reality, it has been time. We're better off resting, and going in strong, than barreling in weak and tired, and all dying. Trask will be far more effective at STR 8 than STR 7... ok, maybe not FAR more effective, but +1 to hit and damage is a big deal.

"Poochie, are you sure? I don't want us blasting our way, only to need rescuing ourselves. For all we know, the sister is already dead. We must be practical about this. Heroes are sung about because they sacrificed themselves to the 'greater good'... often they don't come back. I'd rather come back, and not be sung about. But, you wanna be a 'hero', so you tell me what you want."

"Well, a little rest could do us a world of good. Not sure how much good it'll do to Roldare's sister, however."

...Kassen's tomb contains a wellspring in the lowest level that will heal your wounds and bring renewed strength to your bodies.

"Mayor Uptal mentioned a place of rest and healing below, I am tired, and we all could use a chance to rest, but it seems the best place for that is still yet just ahead of us. We can push a little further, can't we?"

Jaender, I f*cking love you. I was just about to quote the Mayor.

The adventurers, now that it has been mentioned, can hear a faint dripping of water from just beyond the stairs on the other side of this room. Other than the grid coordinates that have suddenly appeared around the walls, there is no reason not to go through the room and down the stairs to check it out... ;-)

Resting is indeed a good idea, as is Jaender's suggested location. The promise of "renewed strength" is especially poignant to some. In reality, regarding the sister, it has been 2-3 days now since the "Voice" took her. If she was going to be killed... well, you know. You only have the ravings of a madman to tell you she is alive. He "knows" it, but he seemed to have a very poor grasp on time and how the past related to current events. That aside, killing yourself isn't going to save her if she is alive.

"I had forgotten that. Damned shadow... drained me more than I had thought. Let's go down to the wellspring, then."

In reality, regarding the sister, it has been 2-3 days now since the "Voice" took her. If she was going to be killed... well, you know. You only have the ravings of a madman to tell you she is alive. He "knows" it, but he seemed to have a very poor grasp on time and how the past related to current events.

Damn you man! I cannot accept that she is dead. Pouts in corner

Taking his newly assigned point position, the Strong Brute walks cautiously towards the sounds of water, his head turning left and right in a slow arc, looking out for any more terrible things as they creep along.

Jaender, I f*cking love you. I was just about to quote the Mayor.

Just trying to do my part! And I didn't want to use player knowledge, so I made a mental note when you first said that so I could go back and refer to it... Which maybe pushes the limits of player knowledge :)

"I'll do my best to help out in the front line, should anything happen. I know I will be a poor substitute for Hamilton, but I will try," Vox says, stepping into the room and taking a position opposite Jaender. "I need to make amends for almost getting us all killed, a second time..."

As vox moves into the room, he points to a position just within the circular chamber in order to have Einhardt stand guard. The youth knows with her quick wolfish speed, Einhardt could make it clear into the room before him in the blink of an eye.

"Just don't be reckless, kid, when you're trying to make amends." Trask says, a note of sympathy in his voice. "The gods know we've all been there... we've all made mistakes that have... we've all made mistakes. Don't let this one be your last."

'Damn it! Find the strength... you have it within you. You can protect them. It is what you do... protect people from themselves. No more heroes need to die.'

"Poochie, use that wand on Rudi... we don't want him passing out when his gun barks next time. Let's be careful." 'Don't sound so tired. These greenhorns could break at any time... they've been pushed hard. You need to be their strength.'

"Maybe that water we're hearing will be a nice place to relax... a cool drink from a mountain spring is probably just what we all need." 'Or a belt from a flagon of dwarfish whisky.'

He picks up The Executioner, and strides to the front of the line. Bah, nevermind. I feel fine. Let's go!"
bluff: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (12) - 2 = 10

"Ok Mr. Trask. Come her little man that can speak strange languages, I will heal you."

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

'Sven' looks at Hamilton stride back to the front line dubiously. In his opinion, Hamilton should let Vox come to the forefront so the older man can rest, but an entire life spent in slavery is not conducive to expressing one's point of view. A slight shake of the head is all that is given, then the brute presses on.

Updated some positions on the map, notably moved Strong Brute and Roundantaimi to be inline with their descriptions or likely positions. Let me know if I got it wrong.

The group begins to relax as they enter the chamber. Caution is still very much their watchword, but their guard slips. Hamilton and Vox are the only two alert enough to spot the well hidden creatures behind the pillars.

A quartet of skeletons, somehow still oozing blood well into their undeath, leap out from behind the pillars to menace the group.

Next up: Hamilton

As an FYI, The CLW was my spell, not charges from the wand.

Trask, upon seeing skeletons, drops his bardiche, pulls his warhammer, and closes on #1. He then swings.
warhammer PA: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16 for: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

In his grit and determination, he finds a way to land a solid blow. Perhaps not as solid as it would have been, but the silver warhammer that he was given in the Worldwound strikes true, crushing another skeleton's head.

Hamilton: This is the surprise round, so that'll have to be a charge action (in order to draw your hammer while moving). I'll drop your AC appropriately and move you to a more distant opponent (#3). The AoO doesn't come because they're flat footed, and despite the cover you still hit... if that's okay.

Rotting, pungent blood pours forth from the fresh cracks in the skeleton's skull. It slumps to the ground completely inert.

The remaining skeletons move in to attack the nearest living creatures, flailing at them with their sharp, blood infested claws.

Skeleton 1 claw 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Skeleton 1 claw 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Hamilton damage taken: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Skeleton 2 claw 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Skeleton 2 claw 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Strong brute damage taken: 1d4 + 2 + 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + (2) + 2 = 8

Skeleton 4 claw 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Skeleton 4 claw 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Ophiuchus damage taken: 1d4 + 2 + 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 + (4) + 2 = 12

My "roll good" continues! Ouch and sorry!

Taken unawares as they are, the companions suffer badly at the claws of the undead.

Next up: Vox (Surprise Round), Strong Brute, Jaender, Hamilton (Round 1)

"Noooooo!" comes a faint, haunting wail from somewhere in the middle of the room as Ophiuchus falls to the floor, unable to remain conscious due to his severe wounds.

On Vox's turn, this will be his action

The young man speeds forward across the room, moving within 10 feet of Ophiuchus, careful to move on an arcing path so as not to cross close enough for the second skeleton to attack. At the end of this movement, Vox attacks.

attack(lucerne hammer): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

move action: move 15 feet forward, staying out of the threatened area of skeleton #2. Once within 10 feet of skeleton #4, Vox will attack (I don't have access to my computer so I can't move my token.
standard action: attack skeleton #4

"Oh no. More things that are dea...." Caught completely unaware, taking severe hits, Ophiuchus falls to the floor, bleeding from massive wounds.

The brute watches Hamilton pull out his hammer, and witnesses the effective devastation it wreaks on one of the skeletons. He then winces in pain as he is slashed by one of the walking dead. He drops his scythe, drawing his huge, knotted club as he again seeks that inner fire, drawing upon it to strengthen his blow as he swings the club with both hands at the beast in front of him.

Club, Raging: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 2 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 3 = 11

Sorry, Vox, yours is the last action of the surprise round. I'm going to assume you're okay with a 5ft step to D4 and attacking skeleton 2 this round (from reach) instead. You can move up and attack skeleton 4 next round.

The skeleton in front of strong brute explodes in a shower of blood and bone as the ranger's hammer passes easily through its ancient frame. Broken bones and gore flop to the floor and move no more.

Next up: Strong Brute, Jaender, Hamilton (Round 1)

Cyrus'd. I'm going to treat this as though Strong Brute posted after my last post.

Strong brute strides forth and smashes the skeleton menacing Ophiuchus in half. Blood spurts out of its bisected spinal column as it falls to the stone, deader than dead.

Next up: Jaender, Hamilton (Round 1)

If you would, just change my action to include moving to the skeleton that downed 'Poochie', please.

Edit: Ha, Cyrus'd the post to rectify the Cyrusing.

I can't say how much I enjoy that I have become the 'kleenex' of ninjas. Branding at its best!

Jaender debates internally for a split second what to do, but eventually shrugs his shoulders again at the effectiveness of his companions. The non-chalant attitude changes as he sees the beating those friends take at the hands of the bloody skeletons.

Drawing upon his inner arcane, he releases a ray of disruptive energy in hopes of tearing at the fabric of what gives unlife to the bloody bones.

disrupt undead, ranged touch, point blank: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 for damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

-Posted with Wayfinder

I moved Jaender to where he'd have an unobstructed shot at the skeleton - otherwise it'd have cover and +4 AC.

Jaender's glowing bolt of energy strikes the skeleton in the center of its mass. Blood flies off its ribcage in a fine mist. Several of the creature's ribs crack or break off entirely. Alas, while damaging, the bolt lacked the energy required to bring the creature to its end.

Next up: Hamilton (Round 1)

sorry, missed that it was a surprise round. That is probably even better

Trask, concerned about the kid, nevertheless keeps his attention on the skellie. move action, study opponent, then attack.

hammer time!: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5 Tracks exhaustion is showing, as he swings his Hammer wildly.

The bloody skeleton seems untroubled by its companions untimely redemise, and continues to paw at its prey.

Skeleton 1 claw 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Skeleton 1 claw 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Claw damage: 1d4 + 2 + 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + (4) + 2 = 10

Undead blood mingles with live blood as a weakened Hamilton Trask has grooves carved in him by the undead thing's bony fingers.

Next up: Vox, Einhardt, Roundantaimi, Ophiuchus (Round 1), Strong Brute, Jaender, Hamilton (Round 2)

Hamilton, please update your HP total on your tagline if you have the time. :-)

Ophiuchus, make your own stabilize roll if you please. DC 10 constitution check with a -2 penalty, I believe.

Grimacing in pain, straining to remain vertical, Trask yells out, "For Poochie!!! Someone save him!! He swings his hammer, hammer time?: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5. Pain and weakness over come him, as he fails to land a blow once more. He looks to his companions, hoping they can end this skeleton before it ends him. He does take a 5' step back and pulls out one of the two healing potions they have, preparing to either use it on himself, or Poochie.

Correct

Stabilize: 1d20 ⇒ 12

I'm going to give two contingencies, with so many others before me.

Skeleton is still standing: The brute hurries over to the skeleton, his blood still boiling as his companions continue to suffer at the hands of these wretched undead creatures. He raises his club in both hands, yelling wordlessly as he brings it crashing down.

Charging Club Rage: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 3 = 12

Skeleton is down: The brute calms down, ready for the fatigue that always comes to him after such a display. As he breathes heavily, he hopes one of his more knowledgeable companions will assist the...will assist 'Poochie'.

Jaender, now sure that his companions can handle the last remaining skeleton, rushes to 'Poochie's' side. He reaches in the folds of his robe, pulling out the potion of cure light wounds given to him by the mayor. Popping the cork, he dumps it down the Nagaji's throat, hoping he doesn't make the poor thing choke.

Can't technically do that all in one turn, but considering the worst case scenario is that the Strong Brute will explode this skeleton in a shower of blood and bone right before my action, I don't think it will be a big deal. Poochie will technically get one more opportunity to stabilize, though I don't think it will matter much...

Potion, CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Slipping in and out of consciousness, the Naganji continues to ramble, barely coherent at times.

"Merian ... I had the oddest dream. It sent my spine to shivering. I dreamed that I met your father. You are right, he is guano crazy. And he dressed me like you, wearing dresses. Then I met some adventures, a gnome who fired a gun, and a wayang sorcerer, a huge man that wielded a scythe. I thought that was for farmers, and two humans that were depressed all the time. And the most beautiful wolf. I could pet the wolf until the cows got tired in the fields and went back to where they were from. We fought all these undead. It was horrible. All to light a fire. I am so glad it was ...just a dream."

For the sake of Strong Brute's rage round, do see if you can kill the skeleton before him. It dies regardless, though, so do also post after-battle activity. A nice and totally not subtle GM hint will be to conserve your healing as the sound of dripping seems very close and you can smell fresh, pure water from even here (mingled with putrid and dusty crypt scents).

Also, new map for when you work up the strength to head down the stairs: Crypt - Lower Level. I've put you in standard marching order, but feel free to move your icons. No threats in the next room, I'll describe it when you get there.

Vox moves against the last remaining skeleton, intentionally moving through an area the monster can guard, hoping to draw it's attacks. Once the youth is just south of the skeleton, Vox whistles for Einhardt, signaling for the wolf to flank the skeleton.

move action: move to the square directly south of the skeleton. This action will provoke an attack from the skeleton, but will hopefully allow Einhardt to move through the last remaining skeleton's threatened area without provoking. Vox will then hold his action until Einhardt is in flanking, before attacking.

The hunter holds his attack until the wolf is on the opposite side of the skeleton, and then both attack together.

attack(l. Hammer, bludgeoning): 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 3 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Hearing Vox's whistle, the wolf moves quickly moves at the skeleton and stands opposite the hunter, before lunging and snapping with her powerful jaws.

attack(bite): 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 2 = 24
attack(crit. Confirmation): 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + (4) + 1 = 10

trip attempt(cmb): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

I apologize, I'm away from my computer and can't move my tokens. Sorry for the confusion.

Hurray!

"Oh skeletons! Where did I put my gun!? Oh, oh, they're already exploding! Ah, never mind then... Aah, Poochie, are you all right!?" Roudantaimi storms next to the fallen Nagaji, watching Jaender pour the healing potion down the Nagaji's throat "Did that help? Where is that happy stick? Still on Poochie?"

Damn, missing all the action again...