Mothman's Whispering Cairn
Game Master Mothman

Init:
Harrigan 23
Masked archer 18
Approaching footsteps 15
Boland 13
Damion 12
Bells 9
Andolphas 6
Brashen 7

Harrigan.

Moth and Harrigan:

Moth:

We can dispense with spoilers, I think it is just making it harder to keep track of things at the moment.

Harrigan throws down a smoke-stick to obscure himself and Brashen from the archer, then leans over the downed warrior, fumbling for a healing potion.

Another arrow flies out of the darkness ... but this one is aimed at Boland, not Harrigan or Brashen. Has Bowls cast mage armour on himself yet? I can’t find anything to say yes, but I might have missed it. If not, the arrow hits for 7 points of damage.

Up above, Andolphas has dropped the lift down about forty feet, when a light appears at the top of the shaft above, and to helmeted heads look down the shaft, silhouetted by the light behind them.

“I don’t care who you are!” one of them yells. “You’re not allowed down there – bring that platform back up here! ... Holy hell, he’s pointing a crossbow at me!”

Boland, you are at the bottom of the shaft and have an unlit sunrod in hand. Your turn. You can both light the sunrod and pull out a potion on your turn if you like, is that still the plan? Harrigan and Brashen are about forty feet away to the east, but currently obscured by smoke, and you can’t see the archer, though the arrow came from the south east.

Damion can take his turn now too.

"Bring the town guard to evict us if you wish, but do not try to stop us. The evil here is greater than you can imagine, and the peril we assume is our own. I wish you no harm, but act against us and I will have no choice but to fire," the inquisitor calls up the shaft in a stern but even tone. He keeps his crossbow aimed at the speaker on the ledge, but does not fire yet...

Call it a readied action to fire on anyone who takes hostile action against us.

Moth, Boland did cast mage armour on himself, back when we were first entering the tunnels

Boland only registers the danger he is in as an arrow hurtles out of the darkness before him, only just being deflected by his magical barrier at the last moment. He abandons his efforts to pull out his healing potion and instead runs over to the cover of the smoke-stick Harrigan had just lit.

"Is he alright?" he asks Harrigan, fighting the urge to cough amid the smoke. "I can give him the potion, can you see the archer?"

If harrigan already has a potion out, Boland can administer it to free up Harrigan's next action. Alternatively, Boland can fish out a healing potion of his own and give Brashen that. Or he can go after the archer next turn; I'll take your lead Harrigan.

I had a feeling you did, I just couldn’t find it.

Andolphas continues to lower the platform. "Things are going from bad to worse," he grumbles, "and I still need to get my armour back on..."

There is a loud click and then a creak from the eastern passage (near Harrigan, Brashen and Boland), and then the sound of jingling bells grows somewhat louder, accompanied by more clicks and creaks.

Andolphas continues to wind the crank, lowering the lift. Approx 80 feet down now.

Down below, Harrigan tips back Brashen’s head, opens his mouth and pours the healing potion down his throat. 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

One of the serious gashes on Brashen’s torso knits itself back together, and colour returns to his face. He gasps in a deep breath, coughs up a gob of phlegm and blood, and his eyes snap open.

There is nothing further from the archer ... at the moment.

The two heads withdraw from the top of the lift shaft, and Damion and Andolphas can faintly hear the sound of two or more voices in debate above the clanking of the chain. A moment later, a long thin object – a stick, a metal bar, a spear or something similar is thrust towards the thick chain where it meets the scaffolding above the top of the shaft.

It appears that someone is trying to jam the chain. Damion has a readied action to shoot if any hostile moves are made – this would probably count, but all you can see is the spear or bar and part of the arm holding it – a tough target to hit. Let me know if you want to fire anyway.

Damion's readied action, or his turn if he doesn't take the readied action. Also Boland's turn.

With a powerful snap, the inquisitor's crossbow lets loose.

"I warned them..." he thinks to himself to assuage any guilt for his actions.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 to hit, dealing 1d10 ⇒ 8 damage. Easily within the first range increment.

The Pholtan then immediately rips the receiver back with expert skill and loads another bolt.

This feat chain is so cool...

Seeing as only his arm is visible, I think I need to call this improved cover, giving him a +8 bonus to AC ... in which case that is a miss.

Damion’s bolt streaks past the outstretched arm, and the spear is jammed into one of the large chain links. The winch mechanism shudders, and the lift comes to a grinding halt.

How far from the bottom of the shaft are we now?

Approx 100 feet.

Boland gets out another potion and administers it to the still recovering Brashen. Potion of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 – based on Boland’s last post.

Boland, Harrigan and Brashen can hear the sound of small bells getting louder, from the direction of the east passage, joined by a clanking and clicking sound, but nothing is visible through the smoke of Harrigan’s bomb.

Andolphas and Brashen.

Andolphas tries to lower the platform as much as possible before the men above manage to jam the pulley mechanism. "Come on, come on," he mutters before whispering a request for the Green Lady to smile upon him...

Of course, given that this is not yet a moment of life and death, the priest suspects that this situation likely would not warrant divine or even saintly intervention, but keeps that thought to himself.

Brash groans and stands, somewhat shakily, to his feet. Taking in the scene with a glance he glares at Bowland and Harrigan. ‘Took your damn time getting down here didn’t you? Have you dealt with that bastard with the bow yet?’
As he speaks Brash looks through his pack for another healing potion.

Brash groans and stands, somewhat shakily, to his feet. Taking in the scene with a glance he glares at Bowland and Harrigan. ‘Took your damn time getting down here didn’t you? Have you dealt with that bastard with the bow yet?’

As he speaks Brash looks through his pack for another healing potion.

"Perhaps that will teach you a lesson about charging off by yourself! Not all of us have the benefits of a ring of featherfall," Boland cuts back, though there is relief in his voice that the big man is ok.

However, the jingling sound concerns him. He listens intently and tries to work out what is making it.

Perception check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Knowledge Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

The elevator refuses to budge further as Andolphas strains at the winch.

Brashen, you may stand and pull a healing potion (if you have one).

Boland, the darkness and smoke obscures your vision, so you can’t see anything. In your experience, small bells like the ones you can hear might be used as a simple alarm or warning system in buildings or dungeons, and something wearing heavy armour (or made of metal) might clank like that.

Harrigan.

"Well, so much for a quiet entrance!" Boland mutters

'This is going to s!$# even faster than I thought it would. Harrigan, take out the archer, you've got the best sight out of the three of us. Bowland get me some light and you and me can try to hold the passageway. I don't know how many of these bastards are coming but it'll be best not to let them spread out. And where the hell are those damn priests?'

The entrance to the eastern passage is only about 10 feet from where you all stand, none of you have seen what is down it.

"Right," Boland replies as Brash takes command. He holds the Sunrod at the ready. "Tell me when."

Since when did I become a person who just says "Tell me when" when told to defend the passageway? he thought briefly to himself. Since when did I come the person that was thought capable of holding the passageway? Though he felt the same fear he had come to know when about to enter battle, he also felt a little elation, and pride that he was part of something, and could be relied upon to do his part.

Boland will hold until Brash leads, striking the sunrod as he goes to light the way

How close is the elevator to the walls of the shaft, and how rough might the walls be? Or is it suspended in such a way that it hangs out in the open, without any walls nearby?

"I'm on it boss, but I need to spread out the welcome mat for your buddies first."

Harrigan slips out of the smoke darting from pillar to pillar in an attempt to keep them between him and the direction of the sniper's last shot. On the way he grabs a pouch from his belt and loosens the string on it, dips low as he passes the entrance to the tunnel where the bells are ringing and drags the bag by the bottom in a line across th entrance leaving a trail of caltrops in his wake. All along the way his eyes are sharp looking for any sign of movement and listening for anything to give away the sniper's position.

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Stealth 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Wont be on again today, so will post an action now. Brash will drink the cure light wounds, then move to the passage way, standing just beside the opening so as not to be a target for archers. 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

How close is the elevator to the walls of the shaft, and how rough might the walls be? Or is it suspended in such a way that it hangs out in the open, without any walls nearby?

There are no nearby walls at this point, but the elevator is contained within a cage-like shaft constructed of a lattice-work of timber and steel – this is the same structure that the others climbed down. The members that make up the shaft are generally not spaced that close together, and it would be possible to leave the elevator platform and climb down the outside of the “shaft”.

Harrigan darts out of the smoke and dashes across the ten food wide passage opening, spilling caltrops across the entrance as he goes. Glancing down the tunnel, the dwarf can see at least six (perhaps more) humanoid figures wearing heavy but somewhat damaged looking armour strung with small bells, marching up the tunnel with an awkward staccato gait. The don’t show any particular sign of having noticed him.

Looking south, he can see the archer peering out from behind a column about fifty feet away. The archer doesn’t appear to have seen Harrigan either.

At the top of the elevator shaft two figures lean over the hole – outlined by the light in the chamber above – and empty a container of rocks down onto the heads of the two adventurers below!

Andolphas and Damion are hit by 1d4 fist to head sized rocks each, each one dealing 1d6 points of damage. A DC 15 reflex save (one save total, not one for each rock) halves the total damage. You get a +2 bonus to the reflex save if you are wearing a helmet of some type.

The two people who emptied the rocks are now visible (but have some cover) at the top of the shaft.

Boland delays, waiting for Brashen, so Damion is up.

Reflex save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17.

Damion stows his crossbow under the hail of stones and ties the rope he had used to lower Boland down around the seat of the winch mechanism before turning to Andolphas.

"Go!" he gestures to the rope now dangling off the side of the platform.

Reflex save: 1d20+4.

Damion stows his crossbow under the hail of stones and ties the rope he had used to lower Boland down around the seat of the winch mechanism before turning to Andolphas.

"Go!" he gestures to the rope now dangling off the side of the platform.

Reflex save: 17 + 2 + 2 = 21.

Andolphas yells in surprise as the stones tumble down the shaft, but luckily, they either bounce harmlessly off his helmet or miss him altogether. The priest wraps his chain shirt in his miner's poncho, but takes a moment to check that his potions, holy symbols, weapons and backpack are secure. He tosses the bundled armour out of the elevator, then grabs hold of the rope and prepares to climb out.

"No time to put the armour on. I hope it survived the fall and didn't fall in some deeper chasm," he mutters to himself.

Andolphas throws his bundle overboard, where it clatters noisily onto the rocky ground some distance below, and begins climbing down the outside of the lift shaft.

Several figures wearing rusted plate armour (with pieces missing and broken) and strung over with tiny bells clank and jingle their way out of the east passage. They do not appear to notice Harrigan, who hides nearby, but march into the smoke cloud. More emerge from the passage behind the lead two. Two of the armoured figures almost stumble into Brashen and Boland within the cloud, and lash out at the pair of adventurers with the maces they hold, with jerky, almost mechanical swings. One mace skids harmlessly aside on Brashen’s chainmail, and Boland steps aside from the other attack. The two men can make out little details of their attackers in the obscuring smoke, though the jingling of the bells marks their positions well enough.

Brashen, Boland and Harrigan’s turns. If you attack anything in the smoke cloud there is a 20% miss chance.

Harrigan darts across the room closing in on the sniper from one pillar to the next.

Stealth 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Double move @ 1/2 speed for stealth. Leaves me 30' from the sniper, assuming there is still a pillar I can use for cover or he doesn't have darkvision.
Man I need the fast stealth rogue trick. It would take me ages to stealth across this room.

Brash lashes out with his axe at the nearest figure, throwing all of his considerable muscle behind the attack. He squints through the smoke and grunts as the impact of his weapon strikes into the softer flesh of his opponent.

power attack 1d20 + 10 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 10 - 1 = 26 damage 1d12 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 3 = 21 miss chance 1d100 ⇒ 98 Im assuming I would get the re-roll from blind fighting in the smoke as well if needed?

Caltrops have any effect? They marched right over them. If they were ormal it may cut them down to half speed- but if they are zombies I don't think they are going to care about them at all.

Oh yeah ... caltrops. Forgot about those.
They did have a mechanical effect, they shouldn’t have got in an attack due to their reduced movement – since they missed anyway it probably doesn’t matter at this stage.
Either way, they don’t actually react to stepping on the caltrops. Undead.

Brashen’s axe blow cleaves straight through the rusted armour, and his non-living opponent collapses in a jumble of broken armour and mouldering bones.

You never did roll the damage for Andolphas and I being rained on with rocks. I suppose I can do it for us: 1d4 ⇒ 2 rocks, dealing a total of: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11 damage. Since we both made the save, that's 5 damage to each of us.

Huh. Thanks for that ... I sort of changed exactly how I was going to approach that halfway through typing the post and must have left out the rolls.

And for some reason, I misread Moth's post and thought a successful Reflex save negated damage... so the description in my previous post clearly was incorrect. Attribute that to wishful thinking? ;-)

5 damage it is... :-(