DM EngineHouse - Smoke and Shadow (Inactive)
Game Master EngineHouse

Round 3:

13/18 hp, AC 13/9/12, CMD 14, Bless.

Wincing it pain, Gregory lashes out with his earthbreaker at one of the dogs...

Earthbreaker: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 = 15, for 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9 Bludgeoning damage.

Map for Turn 3

Sorry Odol. You do reach the adept but you don't manage to strike a blow through his arcane defences. Moments later he steps back and fires at Damrang, as described.

Gregory, you dash the brains of the dogs in U5 over the rough floor of the pit, killing it instantly.

Obadiah takes advantage of the clear lie of fire over the pit and looses another arrow at the first adept.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Once again, a shot that by rights should strike true is turned aside by magical trickery. Vhailor, looking over to Corlit you see that he is no longer attempting to hide his attempts to break free from his bonds:

Corlit Escape Artist: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

They hold for now

Salvin, you're up

Round 3 HP 6 AC 17

Salvin grimaces as he quickly touches his crossbow bolt wounds, letting the Goddess' healing light pour over him. Then he grunts as he swings his greatsword down hard on the prone dog in V6.

Healing 1d6 ⇒ 6

if I'm prone, I won't try to stand up. Since I'm not sure of my state or the dogs, I'll post a normal roll and let you apply any negatives or bonuses.

Greatsword power attack 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Damage 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (6, 2) + 9 = 17

Salvin can't quite bring his heavy blade to bear in the confines of the pit and the dog avoids a bloody death.

Back on the surface, the First Adept brings his repeating crossbow to bear against Odol

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 4) + 2 = 9

The bolt strikes home with painful force, punching through armour and flesh.

Second initiative group is up.

Round 3 Init 8

Damrang steps forward and attempts to slam his axe into the man who just shot him.

5' X7 and Waraxe 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 241d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Round 3
HP 9/18

Odol tires of dealing with the adept's magic, Odol runs forward to X8 and attempts to wrap the adept and force him to the ground.

Grapple 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

In a brutal display of teamwork, Odol tackles the adept. Momentarily pinned, he is unable to stop Damrang's axe from carving his head clean off.

In the pit, the surviving dog desperately tries to finish off Salvin even as the paladin's wounds close:

Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

It's jaws grasp nothing but steel

For clarification, everyone in the pit is prone so attacks are made with no modifiers (all combatants get -4 AC and -4 to hit).

Corlit escape artist: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Corlit wrenches his hands free from his bonds and lunges at Vhailor

"You won't catch me out again!"

He moves to I7. His standard action was taken up freeing himself.

Vhailor, how do you react?

You are still in a position to coup de grace Olivia before Corlit reaches you. It is clear that he doesn't care if you kill her or not - she was dead to him when she started offering to help you.

Seeing Corlit rise from his bonds and move to assault, Vhailor turns from Olivia to meet the new threat.

Arcane words spilling from his mouth, his hand crackles with stored energy as he reaches out to Corlit....
Touch: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15 for 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11

Vhailor is casting shocking grasp then attempting to deliver it unto Corlit. The spell is being cast normally (not defensively) so if Corlit has Improved Unarmed Attack I will draw an AoO.

Corlit lets out a stammering scream as electricity plays across his flesh. Smoke rises from him but he doesn't fall.

We'll do without a map this round, the fight is winding down

Initiative Sequence (start of round 4)
Obadiah
Gregory
Salvin
First Adept
Vhailor
Odol
Damrang
Corlit
Dog

Salvin and Gregory feel the ground shake beneath them and in a matter of seconds the floor of the pit they were trapped in rises back up to ground level. The leaves on the forest floor fade back into existance leaving no trace of the hole.

Obadiah, seeing Corlit get free, drops his bow and charges at the wizard drawing his sickle as he does so.

attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The curved blade punches through Corlit's armour and he is knocked to his knees. He tries to stand but his shock-ravaged system gives out and he collapses. He dies staring at Olivia with accusing eyes.

Gregory and Salvin are up. The first adept is within 20' of both of you, but you're both still prone as is the surviving dog.

Round 4:

13/18 hp, AC 15/11/14, CMD 16, Bless.

Gregory takes a swipe at the remaining dog, and then staggers to his feet.

Earthbreaker: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 1 = 17, for 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9 Bludgeoning damage.

"Salvin, get that caster!"

Round 4 HP 7 AC 15 (-2 because of charge), Bless

Salvin quickly uses lay on hands as he gets to his feet. Then he makes a partial charge toward the first adept, swinging his greatsword hard.

Healing 1d6 ⇒ 1
Attack 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 Damage 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (4, 4) + 9 = 17

Gregory almost offhandedly slams the hapless dog into a nearby tree as he gets back to his feet. It flops down at the base of the trunk deathly still.

Salvin, your attack feels like it's hacking through tar and the head adept easily ducks it, twists out of your reach and fires at you again:

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 5) + 2 = 9

Salvin drops heavily to the ground, his heavy sword clattering down next to him. Beyond his fallen form the Helix order soldier levers another bolt into place. As the rest of the party closes in on him he shouts defiantly:

"Roll up! Come try your luck!"

Map for turn 4 (after First Adept has acted)

Round 4 Init 8

"You'll pay for that pretty boy."

5' step attack First Adept, or Move action to setup flanking with Odol.
Waraxe
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 151d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Round 4:

Seeing that Corlit has fallen, Vhailor resumes his vigil over Olivia - still a few traces of electricity playing out across his right hand.

No action - Vhailor has no real ability to shoot into combat, so will leave it to the professionals.

"Bloody hells, I'm going for Salvin. Finish this mage!"

Odol rushes over to the fallen figure of Salvin and places his hands over his wounds. Move to W5

Casts Cure Light Wounds 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Sheathing his bloodied sickle, Obadiah marches back over to his longbow and picks it up, readying himself to fire at the First Adept once again. (Moves back to L6 and picks up longbow as a standard action)

Gregory and Salvin are up. Remember you're once again prone, Salvin

Round 5:

13/18 hp, AC 13/9/12, CMD 14, Charge, Bless.

Gregory regards the First Adept with open disdain.

"That would be me."

He then calmly charges the man, taking a powerful swing at him with his earthbreaker!

Earthbreaker: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 + 2 = 25, for 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 6) + 6 = 15 Bludgeoning damage.

Salvin's stands from being prone and picks up his weapon.

That's two move actions, so I'll just watch Greg turn him into paste.

Gregory's blow comes too fast for either arcane wards or boosted reflexes. The leather armour buckles effortlessly - plate probably wouldn't have fared much better - and the First Adept is sent reeling. He staggers backwards...but doesn't fall. Instead, he sholders his crossbow again and fires:

5' step fluffed as knockback

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Confirm Critical: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (2, 6) + 2 = 10

The magically charged bolt punches into Gregory's chest a few inches above his heart, but the sturdy warrior does not fall.

"You like that...hurk..."

He coughs and blood splatters from his mouth

"...want a little more!?

He loads another bolt

Vhailor continues hanging on waiting for his stout compatriots to silence the knave.

Round 5

9/18 hp, AC 15/8/15, charge, Dance of the Blades, Bless, Lead Blades

Odol charges across the battlefield at the undying adept aiming a sweeping blow with his waraxe at the adept's head. "Sure, I'll take some more!"

I think I have a straight line, but if not, please adjust accordingly.

Attack 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 28
Confirm 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 16
Damage 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (3, 1) + 3 = 7 Slashing

Odol's attack hits home with deadly force, halfway severing the head of the mercenary wizard. He dies instantly and falls like an abandoned puppet. In the silence that descends after the battle is over, the barking of many more dogs can be heard, seemingly from all directions. You may have felled this patrol, but there are more to come.

Gregory casts Detect Magic, and quickly searches the three fallen mages...

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15.

"We need to get out of here and quickly. Are we killing this one or leaving her here? If we let her rejoin her friends she'll tell them about us. If we kill her then she'll have cogs implanted in her head and be sent back against the town. I vote the latter. Obadiah if you're going to make a run to warn the town I can't stop you, but this is dangerous."

Damrang will make sure he has all of his gear and then be ready to move out quickly.

No time for moral debates now, we've wasted enough time on that.

Gathering his gear, Obadiah nods at his friends council, but the resolve in his eyes is clear;

"Iadenviegh must be told of t' deceit within their walls and 'earthstones! Should I make it alive, I'll try and find this company but go I must brother..."

With that he clasps Damrung's forearm and nods to the others, before beginning a measured jog:

"Luck of t' 'unter to you all lads. I 'ope to see you again... in this life or t'next!"

Thanks guys -been a blast, hope that once commitments die down Obi will be back - even if its as a cog-dead lol.

"Perhaps Mr Obadiah should take Olivia with him? To substantiate his claims?" Would be a clean way to get rid of her? - and looking forward to when Inquisitor Creepy can make a resurgence.... Mother!

Eyes momentarily cloudy as Mr Obadiah departs, Vhailor gives a clumsy impression of a salute.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

"I think the others are coming from over there" gesturing vaguely to the East "Should we go away from them?"

Vhailor has a scroll of Snapdragon Fireworks that we could use to draw them to one spot? - make it easier to evade the web if they move off of their search pattern?

"I agree with the gnome, send her to Iadenveigh with Obadiah. And yes, let's get moving away from the patrols. We can circle back to investigate them further once things settle down."

Then Odol pauses for a moment, "Though we have clearly proven ourselves to those below now as well. We could also try the waterfall."

Damrang clasps Obadiah's arm firmly.

"Be safe, be fast."

"I've no desire to deal with the waterfall people but I don't want to die either. Whatever gets us out of here fastest."

The paladin nods at the suggestion.

"She can back up your testimony against the mercenaries. Be careful they don't burn you down before you can return."

He perks up at the suggestion of the waterfall.

"I doubt we can outrun them all, so perhaps hiding just inside the darkness is our best bet."

"Agreed. Just behind the waterfall might be a good idea. As things stand, there is no love lost between us and them, but it is just possible that those whom dwell beneath might be sympathetic towards us."

Vhailor has no issue with this plan.... though he calls dibs on any scrolls we found on the newly dead bodies...

Making sure the adept's wrists are bound and her mouth gagged to stop her drawing attention, Obadiah leads Olivia away back towards distant Iadenveigh. The pair of them are soon lost from sight amongst the trees.

That's going to be an interesting journey to say the least. Thanks for playing Black Dow.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party clambers down into the ravine, wades through the plunge pool and batters through the waterfall. Every one of your are soundly drenched by the time you set foot into the wide passage beyond.

Marching Order
Salvin and Damrang
Vhailor and Odol
Gregory

I'm going to assume you adopt the standard tanks -> casters -> rearguard marching order. Let me know if you want to change it up.

The corridor before you is clearly man-made. It is ram-rod straight and cut with well-built, shallow steps that lead gradually down into the darkness. Lanterns of some kind line the walls but they are not lit and seem to be fed fuel via brass pipes clamped to the wall. Larger brass pipes run along either side of the floor. Large nozzles point ominiously from them into the corridor at ten foot intervals. The air is hot and humid - the walls are slick with condensation.

Knowledge (Engineering): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

Squinting somewhat in the darkness, Vhailor casts light upon the tip of his metal staff. He then moves to the lanterns, pipes and nozzles - giving them a speculative prod by means of attempting to discern their purpose.

Middle is good with me

Knowledge(Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8.
Knowledge(Engineering): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27.

Gregory casts a wary eye over the pipes and nozzles.

"Let's get out of the immediate area. The nozzles are fitted with sprung valves that will open when whatever is in the pipes reaches a certain pressure, and I doubt that it would be a particularly pleasant experience..."

"I'm already feeling enough pressure right now, so I have to agree with Gregory."

This was a bad idea.

Knowledge(engineering) 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Salvin takes a closer look at the pipes as he passes by, but can't seem to figure anything out about them. He walks with sword out looking for traps.

Perception 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (1) + 0 = 1

Marching order is good.
Knowledge (Engineering) 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Odol nods to Gregory, "Interesting, I've never seen anything of the like before. Do you think they are some sort of trap?"

Odol draws his waraxe and follows the rest of the group as we move deeper and begins looking and listening around the tunnel for any evidence of traps or guardians.

Perception 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Is the tunnel metal or stone?

Who took the magic loot?
If no-one else wants them, I could hold onto the healing potions for a time...

"We may want to use those healing potions and conserve our magic since several of us were harmed in that last fight. I would suggest we give the stronger potion to Salvin and have Gregory and I each take one of the others."

I can also carry the suits of Helix armor unless we want to split them up.

Salvin's is down to 2 HP and has used up all of his magical healing for the day.

The tunnel is made of stone, Odol, though it is re-enforced at regular intervals with metal supports. The blocks that make it up are too large for a single man to lift - a design feature that would normally make a wall needlessly difficult to construct.

So, do you take your chances with the tunnel or the forest? I suggest you vote on it.

Tunnel.

Tunnel

Fores.. no sorry, Tunnel - what was I thinking ;)

tunnel

Tunnel and I vote that Salvin drinks the potion of Cure Moderate Wounds

"Salvin, let me take a look at those wounds." Odol moves forward to Salvin. "Salvin, if you don't mind, I'm going to see about healing you. We need you ready to help on the front lines if we are attacked."

Odol chants quietly in Dwarven and moves his hands across Salvin's wounds. A metal tang briefly fills Salvin's mouth.

Casts Cure Light Wounds healing 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 hp

Gregory will also do some healing...

CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8.

You set off down the tunnel. You walk for some 200 feet and it's still going, extending further into the darkness than your torches and light spells can penetrate. The sound of the waterfall still echoes down from behind you but more quietly now. There is a faint smell of coal smoke in the air.

One by one, you begin to notice the passage is getting hotter. The two thick pipes running either side of you begin to click and bang as they expand under heat and pressure.