Heart of Darkness

Game Master Treppa

Combat is over. You may role-play freely.



MWAH-HA-HAAA

All is dark. Then come the visions, dreams, of Jenivere under sail, canvas snapping in the fresh breeze… a privateer draws close, but the captain and first mate order the crew to the guns, and the pirates are driven off… a storm rolls the ship, passengers staggering to their bunks to strap in while the crew reefs the sails… the magnificent sunrise the morning after the storm… fishing off the side in calm waters while the dinghy ferries passengers from a tiny port… a fresh wind rolls the waters, making balance uneasy and the stomach queasy…

Whisperleaf:
You are at dinner - “mess”, the sailors call it - one of the last you’ll be aboard Jenivere. In a few more days, Eleder will be in sight, along with the end of the voyage. You finish your oddly-seasoned meal and rise to leave the table, but the man sitting next to you scoots back at the same time. The leg of his stool lands atop your foot, a piercing pain…

… that’s real. Stomach heaving, head reeling, your foot is being pinched very painfully. Why are you lying on sand in the pale light of dawn? Or dusk? And what’s making your foot hurt? You raise your head groggily…

Your foot is in the pincers of a giant… thing. Sleek and dripping wet, it has your foot in the grasp of one of its two pincers while an ominously sharp-tipped tail rises above its back. As you stir and sit up, it releases your foot and backs off, obviously startled.

Around you lie people you recognize from on board the ship, other passengers, and even a prisoner. A pile of personal goods lies likewise above the high-tide line, very near your head. You recognize some of your things among the jumble. But none of the crew or officers are here. You’re the only one awake, and you’re all alone with three pincered, stinging things the size of a large dog emerging from the surf, in search of a meal. Your foot is bleeding, and the scent of your blood seems to be attracting the others as the first quickly recovers from its startlement.

You take 1 point of damage from the bite on your foot. You are dressed as you were at the last mess - if that’s armored, you still have your armor on. The pile of gear is nearby and your weapons are there. It’s your turn.

The Beach Map

Round 1:
Whisperleaf
Sea Scorpions

Everyone else is unconscious. Whisperleaf, you are

sickened:
Sickened: The character takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

"YEOW! I reached behind me and came up against a pile of things. I scuttled backward, and managed to find my quarterstaff amidst the pile. Gathering my wits while the giant bug was startled back, I took a quick survey and found three large, wet and HUGE scorpion-like creatures approaching and several unconscious people. My foot still hurt badly and was trailing blood as I moved.
Apparently my screech of pain had an effect on at least one of my companions. I kept up a litany of curses in both Common and Hafling at a nerve jangling screech, hoping to jolt the others out of their stupor. My only other choice would be to shift into one of my animal forms and flee, leaving them to their fate. I was loathe to do that, though. Humans as a whole might not have done well by me, but these had been my companions and none had offered me harm.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Actually, your action for this round goes like this: Move action: stand from sitting/prone. Standard action: rummage through pile and pull out quarterstaff. Free action: yell and screech and curse! You can attack next round, or cast shillelagh (one or the other).


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

ok, I changed it to reflect the actions I can do this round. Been a while since I rolled attacks and even then the online program did the rolling for us most of the time. :p lol, I'll get the hang of it again. :D


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Round 1 results:

Whisperleaf leaps up and retrieves her quarterstaff, yelling to her unconscious companions.

The sea scorpion, unnerved by the halfling's sudden revival but still hungry, turns to the nearest “corpse” and tries to feed. The other two make beelines from the sea to their own prizes, unwilling to go hungry.
Scorpion 1 attacks Ula, Scorpion 2 attacks Aerys, Scorpion 3 attacks Ichiro.

Ula:
You’re following Kiro through the dense, humid undergrowth of Kiro’s jungle home. Light slants crazily through the canopy above as huge dark vines swing before your face, blocking your vision while your arms thrash to push them away. Your take a step to break through the vines, and feel a searing pain as a thorn pierces your foot…

… only the pain is real, you see as you awaken with a start flat on the ground, head spinning and stomach churning. The ground is cool, soft, and grainy, and the pale light of dawn touches your eyes through closed lids. What you thought was the cry of birds is actually the screeching of a high-pitched voice, calling and cursing in several languages

You open your eyes to see a giant scorpion-like thing clamped on to your foot. As you sit, it clashes its pincers angrily. Everyone but Whisperleaf lies unconscious, though a couple of cries of pain from down the beach announce others being rudely awakened. The halfling has just retrieved a quarterstaff from a pile of gear nearby and looks ready to use it.

You take 1 point of damage from the pinch. You are sickened and effectively prone.

Round 2: Map!

Whisperleaf
Ula
Ishirou

Sea Scorpions
Aerys

Yep, you'll get it, Whisper! No worries!


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Ishirou:
A greying man near Ula wakes with a yell as one of the scorpions takes a chunk out of his leg. He clambers over the still form of Kiro towards the pile of weapons, from which he withdraws a beautiful katana and prepares to re-enter the fray. As he scuttles away, the scorpion tries to grab him.

Pinch! AoO: 1d20 ⇒ 3dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0 Miss

Ishirou move to G8, retrieve weapon, @13/14 hp.


Female Undine Druid 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +4, R +3, W +5; Darkvision 60', ER Cold 5; AC 15; HP 8/11, sickened

Head still a bit woozy from the dreams, the sting, and being awakened so abruptly, Ula scrambles to her feet and glances around wildly. She glimpses Kiro behind her and yells her name, and then punches the big scorpion thing attacking her on the the nose to scare it off, then puts her hand to the scimitar sheath at her side to see if it is there.
Unarmed strike: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 3 - 2 = 15
Damage if hit, nonlethal: 1d3 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1
Knowledge(Nature) on scorpion: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 - 2 = 8
Gack, terrible rolls. Oh well, at least she is on her feet now.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

As Ula jumps to her feet, the sea scorpion, sensing it had better get a bit while the getting's good, takes a pinch at the undine.

Pinch! AoO: 1d20 ⇒ 13dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0 If 13 hits, Ula takes 1 point of nonlethal damage from a pincer.

Ula knows this is a sea scorpion, typically a shoreline scavenger. These must be pretty hungry or confused to go after living prey.


Female Undine Druid 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +4, R +3, W +5; Darkvision 60', ER Cold 5; AC 15; HP 8/11, sickened

"OW!!!! Stop that, you silly creature!" current hit points reflects one point lethal damage and one point non-lethal damage.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

I see that some of the others are starting to awaken and continue the ruckus I'm creating. The scorpion thing has decided it still wants a bite of me. Hopefully it will discover I don't taste good or I'm not worth the trouble.
I gather my strength and prepare to swing a blow at it when another thought occurs to me. Rather than injure it, perhaps I can persuade it that it doesn't want to eat me. I cast Wild Empathy rather than hurt a creature who is simply hungry.

Wild Empathy: 1d20 + 1 + 0 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 1 + 0 - 2 = 11

I wasn't sure if I still needed to subtract the 2pts for being sick from a spell since it's non-damaging, but I did it anyway just in case


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Round 2 results (so far):

Whisperleaf makes some odd hissing and clacking sounds in the direction of the sea scorpion who first bit her foot. That scorpion has now turned its attention to Ula. Unfortunately, any bridges Whisperleaf tries to build crumble when Ula punches the creature in the head.

Ishirou, one of the survivors, scrambles for his weapon and draws it from the pile.

The first sea scorpion doesn't take well to being punched by Ula. With a hiss, it raises its claws defensively and whips its tail over its head at the undine.

Sting atk at Ula! Not the singer.: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16
Sting dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0
The sting does one point of nonlethal damage to Ula. Because it did not do lethal damage, I'm ruling that it did not pierce the skin and inject poison.

Before Ishirou can return to the fray, the second sea scorpion that attacked him moves forward and on to easier prey -- Kiro. Kiro takes one point of damage and awakens immediately.

The third scavenger takes another bite from a groggy woman lying near Kiro. The armored woman, despite doubtlessly feeling as bad as everyone else, leaps to her feet and attempts to punch the nearest sea scorpion right in the middle of the eye cluster. The beast snaps at her with its pincers as she stands.
Pinch! AoO: 1d20 ⇒ 4 Miss.
Punch!: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 5 - 2 = 16Punch dmg: 1d3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 - 2 = 2
Her gauntleted fist connects with what passes for its head. There's a quick crackle of chitin fracturing and its legs quiver momentarily before it lets out a ferocious hiss.

Gin wakes from dreams of seasickness to the sounds of battle, with yells, clacks, and hisses filling the air. You can rise to your feet and move to the pile of gear (or take another move/standard action) at will this turn. You are also sickened - see the spoiler above for the condition description.

The others on the beach lie helpless, trapped in dark dreams.

Round 2, continued: Map!
Whisperleaf
Ula
Ishirou
Sea Scorpions
Aerys
Kiro
Gin

Round 3:
Whisperleaf
Ula
Ishirou

Bolded names can still act in this round or the top of the next. Others have either acted (name listed but not bolded) or are unconscious (not listed). Map key: Red circle: disabled (unconscious). Blue circle: prone (but awake). Blue halo: armed PC/NPC. Red halo: hostile monster. Round 3 people, be aware that I will resolve actions in initiative order. So if Whisperleaf posts first and Kiro does something in a later post that negates it, Kiro's action wins because she's first in the remaining combatants. Make sense?


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

"Bloody Blazes! I sigh to myself as I prepare to cast another spell. So much for that idea. Too bad. Well, if we kill one, maybe they're edible. I cast Shillelagh on my staff in preparation to hit something.
ah, ok. Thanks


MWAH-HA-HAAA

You don't have to make a roll to cast a spell on an object in your hand. Unless the spell specifically says to make an attack roll, you just cast it.

Sure thing. Kinda nice not to have to roll for every blamed thing, innit?


Male Gnome Fighter 1 Init +1, Perception+1, F+5, R+1, W+0, Hp14/14 AC 12

I Get to my feet shaking off the grogginess of being unconscious. I run towards the pile of equipment. When there I search for my compound short bow and arrows. After finding both I pick them up and face the scorpion nearest to Ula


Female Human/Mwangi Hunter 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +3, R +5, W +3; AC 13, HP 9/10, sickened

Kiro is startled out of her odd dreams into sudden alertness with a sharp pain in her foot. She jumps to her feet and looks around wildly for Ula and Laga. Reassured by seeing Ula at least on her feet, she yells for Laga and commands her to come. At the same time, she punches the scorpion that bit her. I'm going to have to learn unarmed fighting if I do much of this! she thought as she shook her fist after punching the hard carapace. "I'm awake, Ula, but where are Laga and Zana?"
Punch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17 if that hits, then nonlethal dmg: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2


Female Undine Druid 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +4, R +3, W +5; Darkvision 60', ER Cold 5; AC 15; HP 8/11, sickened

Ula also wondered where her cat was. "Zana, come!" she yelled. She moved to the pile of goods (5' step) and picked up her scimitar. Thinking better of using it right away, however, she used Hydraulic Push to push the scorpion back. Spell-like Ability: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Current HP is 10 - 2 nonlethal

Both Zana and Laga have Come as one of their bonus tricks.

School evocation [water]; Level druid 1, sorcerer/wizard 1
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target one creature or object
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance yes
You call forth a quick blast of water that knocks over and soaks one creature or square. You can use this blast of water to make a bull rush against any one creature or object. Your CMB for this bull rush is equal to your caster level plus your Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier, whichever is highest. This bull rush does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Hydraulic push extinguishes any normal fires on a creature, object, or in a single 5-foot square which it is targeted against. Magical fires are unaffected.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

I hate to break this to you, but hunters and druids don't have an empathic link with their animal companions. Animal companions can learn tricks and more readily obey Handle Animal commands for the druid than for other people, but they have to be within hearing/sight and you have to issue a command for a trick they know. Summoner/eidolon have a telepathic link, but not druid/animal companion. :(

On the bright side, Ula has a scimitar attack available.


Female Human/Mwangi Hunter 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +3, R +5, W +3; AC 13, HP 9/10, sickened

Previous rolls are wrong and it is 2 min. too late to change them. The attack roll should be 15 and the damage 0 since I didn't subtract the sickened de-buff.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Kiro leaps to her feet, and the scorpion takes a swipe at her, which misses badly.
Pinch! AoO: 1d20 ⇒ 1 dmg: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Reflexively, Kiro punches at the scorpion, catching it a glancing blow. Kiro did one point of nonlethal damage for the hit, despite the weakness caused by the sickness.

Gin jumps up and dashes to the gear pile, retrieving his bow.

Round 3: Map!
Whisperleaf

Ula
Ishirou

Ula steps back from the scorpion and grabs her scimitar, then raises her hand. A gush of water bursts forth, washing the scorpion back down the beach, away from the group. The water sinks into the sand and disappears. Bull rush beat his CMD, moving him 10’ away.

Stepping up next to Kiro, Ishirou raises his blade and splits the beast in two. It collapses, green ichor spreading across the sand.
Katana: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 - 2 = 15 dmg: 1d10 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 3 - 2 = 11

Whisperleaf is up.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

Whisperleaf looked about and saw one scorpion thing dead and about half the people with her up and moving. There were 2 still laying unconscious nearby. She looked toward the bug nearest to her that had been pushed back toward the water by the Undine and back to the unconscious. Gin was closest to the woman and could work on waking her, but the scorpion thing was closest to the man. He was too heavy for her to drag further, so she opted for moving to him and started shaking him roughly while continuing to scream and cuss in multiple languages. She kept her attention on the scorpion thing while she jerked on the mans' clothing and beat on his chest.


Female Human/Mwangi Hunter 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +3, R +5, W +3; AC 13, HP 9/10, sickened

I got very confused, so I tried to reconstruct the action so far. I'm off somewhere since I come up with Whisperleaf's action of shaking the man as being the beginning of round 4??

Action so far according to Bonnie:

Round 1:
Whisperleaf wakes up, sickened, takes 1 pt damage from scorpion, then gets up and retrieves staff from pile, screeching to wake up others
Scorpion 1 turns to Ula, biting her and waking her up
Scorpion 2 heads for Kiro
Scorpion 3 heads for Aerys

Round 2:
Whisperleaf casts Wild Empathy to no aparent effect
Ula wakes up, sickened, takes 1 pt damage from scorpion, gets up, and punches (or tries to) Scorpion 1
Ishirou wakes up, sickened (I presume), gets up and retrieves weapon
Scorpion 1 attacks Ula back, causing 1 point nonlethal damage
Scorpion 2 attacks Kiro, waking her up and causing 1 point nonlethal damage
Scorpion 3 attacks Aerys, waking her up
Aerys wakes up, sickened (I presume), punches Scorpion 3 and causes some damage
Kiro wakes up, sickened, yells come to Laga, punches Scorpion 2
Ginormous wakes up, sickened, gets bow and arrows and faces Scorpion 1

Round 3:
Whisperleaf casts Shillelagh on her staff
Ula picks up her scimitar and casts Hydraulic Push which pushes Scorpion 1 back 10 feet, yells come to Zana
Ishirou attacks Scorpion 2 and kills it
Scorpion 1
Scorpion 2 dead
Scorpion 3
Aerys
Kiro
Ginormous


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

Looking back over everything, I get the same thing. Should be the beginning of round 4. That's what we get for rushing her, lol. ;)


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Everyone wakes sickened. I will finish Round 3.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

The sea scorpion, though pushed away by the geyser, is undaunted by water - after all, it lives in it - so it charges up the beach at the nearest inert form, a rather nattily attired gnome who gives a screech at being pinched and shows every sign of rousing.

Move to L8, pinch Gelik, 1 pt damage. Gelik wakes.

The scorpion who was just punched by the rather martial-looking woman seems to go mad, lashing at her with both pincers. Its long, jointed tail whistles over its back, thrusting the stinger at her face.

Full attack on Aerys:
Pincer1 atk: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Pincer2 atk: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (9) + 0 = 9dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0
Sting atk: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (20) + 0 = 20dmg if hits: 1d2 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Sting crit confirmation: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6 No crit

The sturdy woman doesn’t bother heading for the gear pile, but aims a full-on roundhouse punch at the scorpion. If the sting injury bothers her, she doesn't show it.

Aerys punch, sickened, PA: 1d20 + 5 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 5 - 2 - 1 = 17
Aerys dmg if hits: 1d3 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 2 - 1 = 4
Aerys fort save vs poison: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 2 = 21

Falaja awakens in the sand, prone and sickened, as a battle rages over her. She hears a sickening crack! of a chitinous shell, then the sea scorpion drops to the sand, oozing a clear ichor from the pattern of radiating cracks in its shell. The woman who just punched the thing to death looks down at her. "You all right?" She glances at the nearby man who still looks unconscious - or dead.

Round 3: bolded names may act any time

Whisperleaf
Ula
Ishirou
Sea Scorpion 1
Sea Scorpion 2 (dead)
Sea Scorpion 3
Aerys
Falaja (awake, prone, sickened)
Kiro
Sasha (unconscious)
Gelik
Gin
Jask (unconscious)

Gelik, the gnome, not bothering to get to his feet, scrambles back across the sand away from the biting creature, screeching. Withdraw 25 ft from sea scorpion 3, to I4.

Many thanks for that summary, Bonnie. I war cornfuzed.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

New Map for the above post.


Male Gnome Fighter 1 Init +1, Perception+1, F+5, R+1, W+0, Hp14/14 AC 12

With Bow and arrow in hand I step in front of Whisperleaf at J 7. Then draw my bow with arrow notched and fire a arrow at the nearest scorpion Scorpion 3 Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18Damage if hits: 1d4 ⇒ 2


Female Human/Mwangi Hunter 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +3, R +5, W +3; AC 13, HP 9/10, sickened

Kiro shakes her head, trying to get her bearings. She can see only one moving scorpion at this point, and lots of people starting to move around. Deciding that someone else will probably take care of the last scorpion, she moves to the pile and starts searching for all of her weapons and other items and gearing up. At the same time, she is getting very concerned about the continued absence of Laga, and continues yelling for her. Any spare time she has this round she is going to be scanning the area visually for any signs of her big cat. Figure she has moved to G7. Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20


Female half-orc shaman (possessed shaman, witch doctor) 1 Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4 Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +6;

Falaja wakes coughing and sick, but, battle rages around her. Instinct kicks her into gear and she nodded briefly at the warrior woman who spoke to her. Quickly assessing the situation, she rose and checked to see if the man laying next to where she had lain was still alive and worth bothering with. Jaxt, she thought to herself. His name is Jaxt. Memory was returning as she put names to each of the people who had been her shipmates. That was as far as she got, though. There was nothing but a black wall between her and the events between dinner aboard ship and now. She returned her attention to the here and now. People would need healing.

There was still one person laying prone on the beach. There was nothing immediate she could do for that one except pray the others could protect her. In the meantime she needed to see to Jaxt.

Suddenly it dawned on her that she was missing someone. She stood and looked around frantically, "Spot! Come, Spot!". Her little birdlike dinosaur was nowhere to be seen. He's a tough little creature, for all he looks so fragile., she thought to herself, trying to force away the panic that loomed.

do I need to cast perception to check if Jaxt is alive or dead? If alive, I will cast Virtue for now. If not, I will move toward Sasha.


Male Gnome Fighter 1 Init +1, Perception+1, F+5, R+1, W+0, Hp14/14 AC 12

ment Sea scorpion 1 not SS 3 on my attack


MWAH-HA-HAAA

Falaja: Checking health is a Heal skill check (1d20+heal skill modifier - 2 for sickened). You can also use Heal to render first aid, which immediately stops any bleeding or condition deterioration. But a quick Heal check is a standard action, and so is casting virtue, so you have to pick one or the other this round. Rising to your feat is the move action for the turn.

Kiro sees no sign of any of the animals who accompanied her or the others on the ship. Her yells are muffled by the vegetation of the jungle which is all that's visible of this island beyond the spit of sand, though it's pretty certain that whatever lives in the jungle can hear the shouting. Of course, the cats could too, if they were there.

Gin, still shaking and with whirling head and churning stomach, fires his bow at the nearest sea scorpion. Though he is on target, his enfeebled muscles don't get the bow to its usual full draw, and the arrow bounces off the chitin. Even with the -2 to attack for sickened you hit the monster. But the -2 to damage took all the oomph out of the attack. And no worries, I could tell which guy you were attacking. You can use the "monster in square X1" method to designate a target, too, if that works better. It's hard to tell which identical mook is which, and if the name tags are displayed, they cover up icons in close quarters like this.

MAP!

Round 4: bolded names may act any time

Whisperleaf
Ula
Ishirou

Sea Scorpion 1
Sea Scorpion 2 (dead)
Sea Scorpion 3
Aerys
Falaja (to finish Round 3 action - spell or heal)
Kiro
Sasha (unconscious)
Gelik
Gin
Jask (unconscious)


Female half-orc shaman (possessed shaman, witch doctor) 1 Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4 Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +6;

Falaja Heal Check: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 - 2 = 21


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

As the man scuttled backward and the blonde halfling pushed in front of her to shoot arrows at the remaining live scorpion thing, Whisperleaf decided it was time to finish this business. She recognized the blonde halfling finally as Gin, a companion from the ship she last remembered being on. She stifled the memories that began to flicker through her mind. Now was not the time for that puzzle. Now was the time for action. Taking aim with her Shillelagh she gathered her strength for a blow between the creatures' eyes. If nothing else, mayhap I'll blind it., she thought to herself.
Attack: 1d20 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) - 2 + 1 = 19
dmg if hits: 1d8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) - 2 + 1 = 0

Well... That didn't go well >.< Nothing like rolling a crit and doing zero damage, lol.


Female Undine Druid 1; Init +3; Perception +7; F +4, R +3, W +5; Darkvision 60', ER Cold 5; AC 15; HP 8/11, sickened

Ula shakes her head, trying to clear it from the remaining wooziness. She still wonders where Zana is as there has been no response, but first things first. There is still a live scorpion in front of her. Gathering her feet under her, she pushes off and charges at the scorpion and swings at it with all her (somewhat diminished) might.

Charge attack: 1d20 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 + 2 = 3
Dmg if hits: 1d6 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

If I got it right, she should have a clear path to the scorpion and the charge would leave her in K8. I'm assuming no obstructed terrain as none has been mentioned yet. This also reduces her AC to 13 for one round. And wow, she is clearly still dizzier than I realized lol.

My understanding of the action so far:

Spoiler:

Round 1:
Whisperleaf wakes up, sickened, takes 1 pt damage from scorpion, then gets up and retrieves staff from pile, screeching to wake up others
Scorpion 1 turns to Ula, biting her and waking her up
Scorpion 2 heads for Kiro
Scorpion 3 heads for Aerys

Round 2:
Whisperleaf casts Wild Empathy to no aparent effect
Ula wakes up, sickened, takes 1 pt damage from scorpion, gets up, and punches (or tries to) Scorpion 1
Ishirou wakes up, sickened (I presume), gets up and retrieves weapon
Scorpion 1 attacks Ula back, causing 1 point nonlethal damage
Scorpion 2 attacks Kiro, waking her up and causing 1 point nonlethal damage
Scorpion 3 attacks Aerys, waking her up
Aerys wakes up, sickened (I presume), punches Scorpion 3 and causes some damage
Kiro wakes up, sickened, yells come to Laga, punches Scorpion 2
Ginormous wakes up, sickened, gets bow and arrows and faces Scorpion 1

Round 3:
Whisperleaf casts Shillelagh on her staff
Ula picks up her scimitar and casts Hydraulic Push which pushes Scorpion 1 back 10 feet, yells come to Zana
Ishirou attacks Scorpion 2 and kills it
Scorpion 1 attacks Gelik, wakes him up and does 1 pt dmg
Scorpion 2 dead
Scorpion 3 attacks Aerys again, with pincers and sting, fails a crit confirmation and guessing only makes 1 pt dmg total to Aerys
Aerys attacks Scorpion 3 and kills it
Falaja wakes up, sickened, rises to her feet and does a heal check on Jask
Kiro retrieves her gear and looks for Laga
Sasha unconscious
Gelik wakes up, sickened (I presume), scrambles back across the sand, screeching, withdraws to I4
Ginormous moves 5 ft to J7 and attacks Scorpion 1 with composite shortbow, hitting it but with no effect
Jask unconscious

Round 4:
Whisperleaf Attacked Scorpion 1 with her staff, but apparently from a long ways away. She missed, in any case.
Ula charges at Scorpion 1 and slashes at him with her scimitar, but it was a swing and a miss.
Ishirou
Scorpion 1
Scorpion 2 dead
Scorpion 3 dead
Aerys
Falaja
Kiro
Sasha unconscious
Gelik
Ginormous
Jask unconscious


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

Yeah, I apparently forgot to move toward it. :p which is probably just as well, since all I did was give it a glancing blow with no damage. I guess my depth perception is a bit off ;) lol


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

I also just realized that, because I didn't move and Gin moved in front of me, I may have hit him instead, which means it's even better that I rolled such low damage, lol. Because I was facing the scorpion and I rolled zero damage, I may have come at an angle and just missed Gins' head. But, there may be other things to consider here. I know that if I was playing on one of my old DMs campaigns, he'd have found a way for me to have hit the person in front of me, lol.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

GM:

Education:

Whisperleaf: a couple of things. Yes, you would need to move to your target before you can hit it with a melee attack. When you move, be sure to specify your ending space on the grid so that I know where to put you. Also, when you roll a nat 20 or what is a critical role on your weapon, you have to roll a second time for that attack to confirm the critical. The second attack has to hit in order to get the critical damage. If it does hit, you roll damage once for the regular attack and again for the critical.
If you hit an opponent, you never do no damage at all. When you have negative modifiers to your damage, like being sickened, you will always do at least one point of nonlethal damage.

Now for the good news: you are not going to hit an ally by accident in Pathfinder. The Pathfinder folks had the good sense to do away with that sort of thing in their rules as written. So, for example, if you fire a ranged weapon into melee where one of your allies is fighting, you take a penalty to your attack roll but you do not risk hitting them. This may be unrealistic, but it also takes a certain annoyance factor out of the game.

Whisperleaf crit comfirmation: 1d20 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) - 2 + 1 = 15

That hits, so there's a second damage roll.

Whisperleaf crit dmg: 1d8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) - 2 + 1 = 4

Parting up to the sea scorpion with magically enhanced club, Whisperleaf brings the pain to the unfortunate beast just as Ula dashes up and practically collapses atop the thing.

Combat over!

Working on aftermath post. Give me a few.


MWAH-HA-HAAA

It takes a moment or two to realize the all the creatures threatening you lie motionless in the sand, oozing from numerous cracks in their chitin. The pink light of dawn is fading and the high cloudless sky shines with the early, bright blue light. The fresh seabreeze quickly clears all traces of illness from your bodies. As your heads clear, you become more oriented and realize that you are on the northern shore of – something? To the south, a wall of green rises in the form of a dense jungle filled with a cacophony of life. To the east and west, ragged arms of jagged rocks reach out to embrace a wave-tossed cove, while to the north, the waters of the sea surge and churn between the beach and a line of razor-sharp rocks.

Falaja finds that the tall, strong Garundi man is as alive as the rest of you, but his hands are manacled behind his back. He and the redheaded woman rouse quickly, and the ten of you stand on the beach together, otherwise alone, and with a tiny pile of your belongings stacked nearby. No cats or dinos answer your calls.

You can go ahead and make survival and perception checks to get oriented and discover what's in the area.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

Whisperleaf stepped back and rested for a moment, using her quarterstaff for support. Her feral nature retreated as the dire need for action ended. Had her Shillelagh failed, she'd have reverted to tooth and claw. It was still difficult to not instinctively shift to one of her feral forms as she'd done while a child in the deep forests. Her fey markings faded with the returning calm, the deep glowing gold and silver returning to the shades of green that looked like tattooing across her brow and down her cheeks.
She watched the Undine push herself off of the scorpion creature and asked her, "Are these things edible? If so, we need to not waste their deaths." She looked around at their location, sizing up her companions and their situation. From what she could see thus far, it appeared that their ship had foundered on the rocks off shore. But, if that were true, where was the wreckage? A strange situation.she thought to herself. here we are, stranded on a beach with no ship or remains of a ship in site and a few belongs in a pile rather than strewn down the beach.
She spoke to no one in particular, "Anyone have any idea where we are?
perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24


Female half-orc shaman (possessed shaman, witch doctor) 1 Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4 Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +6;

Falaja was relieved to find the man alive and more relieved when the little halfling killed the last of the creatures. With the battle over, everyone, including the man she'd checked, seemed to recover the malaise that had hung over them all. She recognized him as the prisoner who'd been aboard with them. It was nothing short of miraculous that he'd survived to wash ashore with his hands in heavy iron manacles behind his back.
Something wasn't right with this scenario. She searched her snatches of memory from shipboard trying to find an explanation for all of this. It didn't make sense. If the ship had capsized, the wreckage would be strewn down the beach, not piled neatly behind them. What in the name of Pharasma happened? she asked herself.
perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16


MWAH-HA-HAAA

As Whisperleaf peers around the landscape trying to make sense of their situation, she spots the stern of the ship wedged between the cliffs and the rocks on the opposite side of the little inlet they are near.

Map. You are north of A; the wreckage is at B, a few hundred yards away.

It's no real surprise that the ship is wrecked; the surf all along the stretch of coast is rough and violent. Indeed, every wave that crashes against the wreckage shakes and tosses it alarmingly. What remains of the Jenivere, and whatever may still be aboard it, will probably not last long.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

It's been awhile, lol. I know I have to move to the target and specify. Not that you can tell, lol. I totally forgot. BOB wouldn't like Pathfinder ::GRIN:: BOB is GOD ;) lol. Thank you for continuing my attack and damage rolls. I couldn't remember exactly how a crit roll went. I'll get the hang of this again soon. :D


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

"Look!" yelled Whisperleaf, pointing across the small inlet at what appeared to be the back half of their ship.
" I don't think it's going to last long! Ula, can you swim across? I can fly ahead and join you there. The others that are able can join us as soon as they can. We need to see if there's anything else that is salvageable, or anyone else still living." She looked around again at the others. "Someone also needs to stay with what little we have and the "prisoner". He won't be able to defend himself like that."

Whisperleaf shifts to Falcon form and takes flight toward the remains of the ship. She comes to rest on what remains of the railing, waiting for the others to catch up.

She lands at point B in D1. That is, as soon as it's her turn for action, lol


MWAH-HA-HAAA

We're not in turns, so anyone can act at this point.

Whisperleaf:
From Whisper's position on the railing, she can see that the cliff against which the ship is lodged is not sheer. It can be clambered along by an average person.

The Jenivere's bow is missing, apparently washed away in the rough surf. The lowest deck of the stern is smashed and compressed into the surf, but the upper and mid decks are intact - for now. The ship rests at an awkward angle, but the decks are still usable.

A dead sea scorpion lies on the mid-deck, being munched upon by a little raptor. A black panther sits nearby, sniffing the dead eurpytid with some disgust and yowling pitifully. Its yowls are answered by another of its kind who has clambered from the ship onto the cliff face and is prowling there, tail lashing.

A rope is lashed to a protruding timber, and the prow of one of the ship's lifeboats dangles from it, washing back and forth in the surf.

The others on the beach stagger along the sand, picking up their gear from the pile and looking around in some disbelief.

"Anybody got manacle keys handy?" the greying Garundi asks wryly. "Didn't think so. Can anyone pick locks?"

"Difficult to pick locks with sand, sorry," the Tian replies, shaking the redhead, "Besides, one who is in manacles maybe should stay there. Must be a reason."

"Yeah, there's a reason, and that reason is bullshit," the manacled man snaps, "I was framed... not that it matters here. What matters here is that I not be chained up and unable to defend myself from things like that!" His voice rises in frustration as he kicks at one of the sea scorpion corpses.

"Will you two shut up and help me find the rum? I need a drink after those bugs. And how did we get here?" The half-elf rummages through the gear, fruitlessly searching for a cask.

The red-haired human opens her eyes at the Tian's prodding and sits up groggily, saying nothing. She eventually staggers to the gear and retrieves an oddly-curved dagger-like blade (kukri) and a fine rapier. She then stares around at the island and ocean as if she cannot believe they are real.

The gnome wrinkles his nose at the state of his clothing and, with a graceful flourish of his fingers and a few muttered words, begins magically cleaning them of the sand and few water stains. He retrieves a small buckler, longsword, and shortbow from the pile, then turns to the group and bows. "I am Gelik, for those who are unenlightened. I cannot fly and I cannot swim in that surf - it would be foolhardy to try - but I can walk to what remains of poor Jenivere in time. Maybe... maybe others survive. Or maybe we can find provisions. It..." His voice breaks as he gives the landscape a despairing look, and he clears his throat before continuing. "It seems we may be here for a while."


Female half-orc shaman (possessed shaman, witch doctor) 1 Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4 Fort +1, Ref +0, Will +6;

Having found her gear among the piles, Falaja donned her mail and stored her blowgun and sling with ammo for each in hidden pockets. She picked up her quarterstaff once again and started walking around the small cove toward the remains of the ship. She called over her shoulder, "We had best hurry before the sea reclaims what she's given up." As she broke into a distance eating trot, she sought for her little companion through their telepathic link.


female Halfling (Fey Foundling) Druid 1 Init +3, Perception +10; F +3, R +2, W +7; +2 vs. death, +2 vs. fear; HP 9/10

the animals are here!, thought Whisperleaf. She quickly became her halfling self, lest the 2 cats decide she looked like a tempting meal. Leaning against the railing, she frantically waved her arms and yelled as loudly as she could. "Hurry! Your animals are here! Hurry!" She turned back to what remained of the ship and spoke to the animals, "Your people come, my friends. Let's get off this wreck and onto firm ground. Come, kitties! Come, little one!" She began to clamber down off the wreck. Hopefully there would still be time to search it when the others arrived. In the mean time she wanted to get the animals to safety.

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