One Step Beyond

Game Master Lemmy Z

Brother Cyrus casts Sanctuary, invoking the Will of the Gods that their pilgrim may go untouched.

You are..weird - Eitylen moves and then attack.

Bomb!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 212d8 + 3 ⇒ (4, 6) + 3 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

The creature growls in pain as the bomb lands on its chest. It looks directly at Eitylen and through the enemy's mask, the elf warrior can see its yellow eyes squinting with anger.

It murmurs an barely audible word and suddenly, two bolts fly at Eitylen. At the same time, two men with black masks appear

crossbow 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24 damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
crit confirm: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 :(

crossbow 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

That's 13 damage to Eitylen... Which drops him to 0...

Crossbowman Initiative 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
Crossbowman Initiative 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

They start acting on the next round.

Kadir's turn.

Oh s#!!

Kadir attempts to roll off his horse, swinging his leg over and spinning to land on the ground before adjusting his goggles.
Dismount as free action dc:20
Ride: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

As he adjusts his goggles he turns one of its arcane lenses, sigils appearing around his eyes before he then vanishes into thin air.
Using arcane bond to cast Vanish
Suddenly, from out of nowhere a mithral gun flies from the folds of space and begins unleashing a torrent of bullets at one of the crossbowmen.
Using Animate weapon as a swift action

Pepperbox: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 151d10 ⇒ 4
Pepperbox: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 221d10 ⇒ 10

How is the pepperbox attacking twice? Was the gun invisible as well when it shot for the first time?

Added a Token for Kadir's flying gun, BTW.

Animate weapon: Sorry I read that wrong. It's says just the base attack bonus. So yeah ignore that second attack. I thought the base attack bonus was magus level plus intelligence but that's just the "ranged strike". So it's just one +7 attack. I assume since the gun leaves my possession it's no longer under the effects of my personal spell.

Well... The good news is that since it's a +7, not a +6, you hit your target.

The crossbowman to your left is pierced by one of the floating gun's bullets. It screams in pain as the hot lead goes through his torso, but he still stands.

Tai Leng's turn.

Let's do this! LEEEROOOOYY!!!! JEEEEENKIIIINS!!!!

Leng charges at the cloaked figure.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

=|

...

I'm starting to think that this thread has something personal against Rynjin... Sadly, I'll have to add to his suffering...

As Tai Leng runs, yet another pair of criminals, this time and male elf and a human woman, appears out of thin air, slashing at him with iron daggers as soon as Tai Leng is within 10ft of the cloaked figure.

AoO 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

AoO 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (2, 4) + 8 = 14

Readied Attack1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24 damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Readied Attack2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

The cloaked creature laughs with a sickly voice at the warriors plight, but its mood sours when its own attack fails to hit their mark...

Cloaked Creature AoO: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

The creature then takes a step back and attacks again, but is equally unsuccessful.

Cloaked clawed-gauntlet attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 (it's its turn!)

That's 22 damage to Tai Leng. Notice that after their AoO they are visible, which means Tai Leng can use Snake Style/Snake fang against them.

Initiative Thug 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Initiative Thug 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Once again, they'll start acting next round.

Brother Cyrus' turn.

So uh, how did they have Readied actions if they weren't in Initiative yet? And wouldn't I have known there were still more invisible people if I was still perceiving invisible dudes once the first two appeared?

They had an Initiative... I just didn't roll them because no one was aware of their presence . These two are actually the ones Tai Leng and Kadir detected. The crossbowmen have better Stealth scores.

EDIT: In hindsight... I could have rolled their Initiative inside spoilers when you reached this alley. I keep forgetting about that because I often use spoiler to simply make the posts shorter, so I forget they are intended to hide stuff. :/.

Brother Cyrus steps forward and a rush of healing energy pours forth from him, healing his compatriots.

Channel Energy: 2d10 + 3 ⇒ (1, 5) + 3 = 9

Before I forget:

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Sadly, that isn't enough to block the attack, but Snake Fang does give you an AoO against the woman. She missed her 2nd attack, after all.

Next up is Eitylen, who thanks to Brother Cyrus, is above 0 hp once again.

Elemental Fist: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Damage: 1d6 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 10 + (3) = 19

These two are actually the ones Tai Leng and Kadir detected. The crossbowmen have better Stealth scores.[/ooc]

By the by, unless you changed this rule, it's a flat DC 20 to detect invisible creatures' presence, if not their exact location. I was saying, I should have known there was still someone, somewhere, invisible.

Hmm... It seems you're right, it only uses Stealth when the character making the Perception check is trying to pinpoint their location... In my defense, it's limited to detecting invisible creatures within 30ft, so Tai Leng would only detect them once he charges... And his passive Perception check is a 19.

If you want you can roll Perception and, if you get a 20 or more, retcon your turn to act as you would if you knew there were more invisible creatures around. I don't think these two will last too long anyway... Unless you guys roll really poorly.

Unless you guys roll really poorly.

This is a thing that never happens.

GM Lemmy wrote:

Unless you guys roll really poorly.

This is a thing that never happens.

Yeah... Tai Lengshould probably sacrifice a goat to Desna or something.

...The upside is that the NPCs have been just as (un)lucky as you guys most of the time. At least when it comes to attack rolls...

Like I said. First chance I get, you're going to import a temple of Norebo in from Greyhawk. Fix all my problems right up. =p Worked for two of my dudes so far.

Standing up and

Bomb to Crossbowman 1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 132d6 + 3 ⇒ (2, 4) + 3 = 9

See? You should follow Nicos' example! When he rolls poorly, at least he has the sense to target touch AC!

Eitylen's vial hits one of the crossbowmen straight in the chest. The flames burn hot enough to neutralize the man. He now lays on the ground, barely conscious.

Huh... I just realized the crossbowmen should have been able to act this turn... Well... no matter. They are red shirt mooks after all... In fact, I officially declare that their leather armor are all painted red.

Now it's Kadir's turn.

Dont forget the splash damage. 6 dmg, DC 14 for half.

oops. Forgot again. My bad.

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Some of the flames produces by Eitylen's bomb splash over a nearby thug. The man manages to avoid a good portion of the damage, but is still harmed.

Also forgot about Tai Leng's AoO...

With a quick fist covered in flames, Tai Lengs puts down the female thug.

Under the veil of magic, Kadir advances forward toward the remaining crossbowman. He appears in a flash and puff of black powder, his musket sounding as thunder!

Musket: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 232d8 + 5 ⇒ (5, 7) + 5 = 17

Alongside him his trusty ensorcelled pepperbox spins forward like a boomerang, firing on the thug.

Pepperbox: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 201d10 ⇒ 1

Kadir shoots the thug right between his eyes, instantly killing the criminal. His enchanted pepperbox also hits true, but isn't precise enough to kill its target. (I'm assuming you attack the other one, since the first guy died in the first attack)

The Cloaked creature mumbles with a low, dry voice...

Linguistics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Although Tai Leng can't comprehend the words, he identifies them as being spoken in Undercommon.

Didn't realize it was my turn.

"Go back underground, will you?"

Leng attacks him again, calling up lightning and fire on his hand and sending it poited like a spear at his chest.

Cast Defensively: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Damage: 1d6 + 10 + 3d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 10 + (3, 2, 5) + (3) = 27

I wish I had more resources because my attack rolls always seem to cooperate when I use them.

Sorry for disappearing. I'll post later today when I have more time.

Would you hate me too much if I said the creature has Crane Style/Wing?

Tai Leng delivers a vicious strike to the creature, and even its speed is unable to save its chest from being smashed through by the martial artist's fist.

The eldritch energy quickly flows into his target's body, causing the creature to roar in pain before finally succumbing to death. Its motionless body falls flat on the floor, and a black and fetid smoke leaves the fatal wound.

Poor thing... But I'm glad. Had it survived, the creature would most likely try to run away again...

At the sight of the last of his allies being slaughtered, the last crossbowman drops his weapon and raises both his hands.

"Okay, okay... I surrender!"

"Why did you attack us to begin with?"

"I'm a sellsword... Well... A "sellcrossbow". That's what I do... But we only attacked you because you came after him" says the man as he points to the masked creature... "You were not our original target."

"Who is he? And what? That second part I'm especially curious about."

"I don't know that... I had never met the guy before yesterday! He and another guy showed up at the Seven Spikes last night and said they wanted to talk to my boss... When we refused, his friend beat the crap out of us... They forced the way into the boss' office, and a few minutes later, we were all supposed to follow his orders... All I know about this ambush is that we were meant to attack Lukuber's men... That... Guy... Thing... Whatever... left about 20 minutes ago and when he came back, you were on his tail! We had no choice but to attack you!"

"Who is your boss? And who's Lukuber?"

Also I know I haven't said anything but I'll be/have been Taking 10 on Sense Motive for a 21 this whole time.

Don't worry. Unless you are in a situation where you can't take 10, I always assume you're "passively taking 10" on Perception and Sense Motive (which is why I asked you guys to put your bonus for those skills on your class/level tab). Occasionally Knowledge skills too... Maybe a few others if I feel it's something the character would do without having to put an active effort into it.

Anyway, this guy seems too nervous to be lying

"I work for mister Brodd Broken-Nose... Lukuber is one of his rivals." he speaks with a nervous voice "Look... I'm just a small fry trying to make a living... I didn't want to attack you... I don't even know who you guys are! Win some, lose some... You guys won. Can't we all move on with our lives? No hard feelings."

"Of course, of course."

"But if you ever mess with us again..." Leng trails off, then abruptly punches the wall, leaving behind a fist sized ball of fire. Continual Flame.

He leaves it at that.

The guy is visibly intimidated by Tai Leng's demonstration of power, but doesn't let his fear stop him and he quickly walks away from the alley. Unless someone wants to stop him for some reason, of course.

You and the fallen criminals are all that is left in this place. If anyone noticed the battle, they didn't feel like staying for a chat.

The other crossbowman and the elf woman are unconscious and bleeding. Everyone else is dead (including the dogs and the bloated man you left in the other alley).

Kadir calmly reloads his musket, absently catching the flying pepperbox that returns to his hand after finishing. Slowly he walks over and begins rummaging through one of the dead thug's pockets. "Looks like we've got some gang war on our hands here. Well I don't know what kind of trouble you gentlemen have gotten yourselves into but I bet someone would be most appreciative if we put a stop to this. Preferably in the form of precious metals," he concludes, inspecting the quality of their boots.

"Right. And who are you, exactly?"

What elf woman?

Presumably one of the people we just dismantled.

What elf woman?

My mistake... It's a human woman and a male elf. The former is alive and the latter is dead. both of them were part of the group that attacked you.

Kadir looks over the man with the fists of fire, pulling his arcane goggles down. "The name's Kadir. I'm here on family business. Used to be a soldier. Now I guess I do this. So why are you fellows chasing masked men into dark alleys?"

"We're investigating murders that have been happening in this city." Brother Cyrus pokes the hooded creature with his spear.

"This one jumped us when we entered the ghetto. It seems they know we're getting close."

"I'm Brother Cyrus, pilgrim of the gods. You seem to be a man of noble blood. What brings you through here? These slums don't seem like your destination.

healiiiiiiiing - The elf say in humorous pain

"Looking for my niece, pretty girl, red hair. She said she was on hard times but I didn't think she'd be living in a slum like this! Tell me Brother Cyrus if there's anyway I can help clean up these streets i'm at your disposal. I wouldn't want Evelyn to fall prey to these...things. She used to write to me in the war and I swore to my good uncle Asghar I'd watch over her."

Did i happen to find anything of value on the male dying guy?

There is not much on these guys other than their weapons and armor. They carry a handful of silver coins, but other than that, there isn't much of value.

Investigating the criminals (and the weapon the surviving guy dropped), you can find 2 crossbows, 4 daggers, 3 studded leather armor and 3d4 ⇒ (3, 4, 4) = 11 gold coins (silver coins, actually, but enough of them that it's better to simplify and convert their value to gold coins). That doesn't include the masked creature's possessions, though.

BTW, I'm actually surprised that you guys just let the crossbowman go... oO. Admit it! You only go after the ones I don't want you to chase! I knew Nicos started a chase scene just to annoy me!

Well, actually only Tai-leng let the crossbowman go. I started the chase because I better use my jumping skills now before the Fly/DD or suck, but annoying the DM is value added

These bodies needs an autopsy ASAP

The fact htat hte DM did not give us the loot of the masked guy make me beleive the guy is poisonous or something