[PFS][Game Day VI] DM DoctorEvil presents 01-51 The City of Strangers, Part 1: The Shadow Gambit (Inactive)

Game Master DM DoctorEvil

Don't worry! I'm a cleric!

Looking at Kru over his anytime breakfast, waiting on the return of Loverboy, Carp tosses down a rasher as he nods. "Yes, let's head out."

"To the Meatgate! There is probably more meat to sample there..." He says with a lick of the lips.

"You would trust the meat there? Sorry, my standards are a bit higher. (But not by much)"

It takes about an hour (and a whole lot of bad judgement) but eventually Hullric returns, the mask hiding the expression on his face. There is no sign of Roold who is snoring loudly in the back, evidently sated, or perhaps just passed out.

Following the information received the group heads for Meatgate, which is located on the very fringe edge of Kaer Maga. In an area known as The Warrens. This area is the poorest district in the city, and the homes are all wooden structures sometimes many stories high, that lean out over the street oppressively. This area also has the only break in the fortress cities high ringwall, and Meatgate is right out of the breach.

The market here is filled with low income families and beggars, and the goods are rather suspect, not of high enough quality to be sold in Down market. After a couple hours of looking about, and asking a few likely-looking souls about Shadow Lodge, the group is getting tired of getting nowhere.

The market is quite busy and the crowd makes getting around all the more frustrating. Looking about for some shade from the hot Varisian sun, and for anyone else who looks like they might know something of value, rather than trying press substandard goods on them, both Kru and Ellie see something unusual. A half-elf wearing a chain shirt and a black and white holy symbol shaped like an eye, is pointing right at the group.

Advised to the scene, Ellie and Kru are not surprised when the attack in the crowded bazaar begins.

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Surprise Round

24 Ellie
22 Hullric (surprised)
19 Feuerseele (surprised)
19 Half-Orc warrior
18 Gnome bowman
13 Lomar (surprised)
10 Human mage
10 Carp (surprised)
4 Kru
4 Half-Elf Cleric

Able to see the attack coming, Ellie has the first action, move or standard only, before the attackers start in. I will say the author of these two parts does have an affinity for surprise attacks.

On my phone, can't post particularly much detail but don't want to hold things up...

Elli begins inspiring courage and rallies her party.

"Look alive! The elf!" she says, pointing toward the halfelf.

Didn't mention, but until further notice, all movement is considered difficult terrain due to crowd buzzing about. No charging in that environment either. But for some reason, ranged attacks are not affected per the text.

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Surprise Round - continued

Lucky to see the attack coming in the crowded market, Ellie starts her inspiring performance to try to help her allies combat the ambushing foes.

The half-orc warrior draws a gracefully curved scimitar and advances on the party, eyes locked on Kru, shoving bystanders out of the way as he comes.

Taking cover behind a wagon of trade goods, the gnome bowman fires a shot at Ellie, crying out "Take that, foul human!"

Clearly targeting Kru, the mage launches a missile of pure force that strikes the barbarian hard, knocking the wind from him momentarily.

Ellie takes the arrow shot for 4hp dmg. Kru takes 5hp dmg from the force missile. The gnome bowman now has cover from ranged attacks. Kru is up after taking one shot.

Free Action: Enter Rage 

Move Action to Draw Greatsword and move to the Half Orc.

Kru yells, "Time for your demise."

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (2, 3) + 9 = 14

Attack Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage Crit: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 3) + 9 = 13

Free Action: Enter Rage 


Move Action to Draw Greatsword and move to the Half Orc.

Kru yells, "Time for your demise."

[dice=Attack]1d20 + 6
[dice=Damage]2d6 +9

[dice=Attack Crit Confirm]1d20+6
[dice=Damage Crit]2d6+9

Unfortunately, since this is a Surprise Round, you can take either a Move Action or a Standard Action but not both. As such that great attack roll goes for naught. Feel free to re-do your actions, if you like. Unless you have significantly different plans, I will assume the move and draw is what we go with.

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Surprise Round - concluded

Kru drops all pretense and flies into severe battle rage drawing his mighty weapon and lumbering forward to where the half-orc warrior awaits.

To the side, the half-elf cleric moves forward slightly, trying to avoid the crowd of market-goers, who are still just figuring out what is going on.

End of Surprise Round

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 1

24 Ellie (4hp dmg)
22 Hullric
19 Feuerseele
19 Half-Orc warrior
18 Gnome bowman (cover)
13 Lomar
10 Human mage
10 Carp
4 Kru (5 hp dmg, raging)
4 Half-Elf Cleric

Back to full rounds. Ellie, Hullric, and Feuerseele are all up. Remember that every square is difficult terrain due to throngs of people starting to panic.

Feuerseele prepares to use her wand of magic missle on the wizard to interrupt his spellcasting..
Ready action.
MM: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Hullric chants out, "May the Lantern King guide your strikes." As he moves toward the enemy mage.

Standard Action: Cast Bless (+1 attack and fear saves)
Move Action: 10' (difficult terrain)
**So everyone should be getting a +2 attack/+1 damage due to Bless/Inspire Courage.**

Ellie takes a few steps into the crowd, drawing a javelin, and attempting to spear the closest combatant (the Human Mage (TM), I think?)

Javelin, Inspired, bless, Pointblank Shot: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 15 for Damage, Inspired, PBS: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5

Move (15ft through terrain)drawing javelin, Standard attack, free to maintain performance.

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 1 -continued

Ellie pushes forward through the scrambling crowd, find a clear line of sight she throws one of her javelins at the unarmored mage, but even though the range is close, her attack narrowly misses, tearing a hole in his loose robe, but not damaging the caster.

Calling on his deity to bless the party, Hullric spreads that divine power out amongst all his allies, make their martial prowess just a bit better.

Withdrawing her wand, Feuerseele readies to use the wand on the arcane caster should he start another spell.

Circling Kru with a sneering growl, the half-orc warrior makes a mighty swing at the raging barbarian. The stroke is an attack the Kru would typically parry harmlessly, but his blood rage makes him careless, and the scimitar strikes him for a second wound of the fight.

From his position behind cover, the gnomish bowman targets Lomar, firing an arrow at the tengu alchemist, but this time his shot is wide of the mark.

After the arrow whizzes past him, Lomar is up next.

Seeing the archer shoot at him, Lomar moves closer, close enough to throw a bomb, which he does.....

Bomb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14vs Touch ac
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

If a miss, 5 damage (dc 14 Reflex for 1/2 that)

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 1 - continued

Didn't post it above and too late to edit now, but Kru took 6 more dmg for a total of 11 so far.

Striding through the pell-mell crowd with a purpose, Lomar lobs a bomb over the cover that the gnome is using and is satisfied at the high-pitched scream of pain that follows the <CRUMP> of the explosion. The damage to the gnome is serious, but not enough to end him.

Readying to cast something nasty, the human mage gets a surprise as Feuerseele's wand discharges sending a force bolt back at the mage, who is struck for nominal damage. His concentration must be great becuase his own force missile flies above the crowd and slams into Kru again, from behind.

So that's now 13 hp dmg for Kru, as he and Carp are up next.

Kru is starting to look pretty beat up. He swings at the Orc.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 4) + 9 = 14

Invoking the 24-hr rule, I will DM-PC Carp for this round.

Bushwacked at Meatgate- Round 1 - continued

Seeing Kru taking some serious damage, Carp slides over near the raging barbarian and lays a soothing hand on him, casting Cure Light Wounds in the process.

CLW to Kru: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Meanwhile the barbarian, who has flipped into fierce battle rage, cuts his foe down in one mighty swing, leaving the Shadow Lodge member a bloody ruin.

The half-elf cleric grasps her holy symbol and chants a few words, invoking positive energy which suffuses the fallen orc-warrior, who regains consciousness, even though prone. The positive energy mysteriously does not aid Kru or Lomar, who are within the burst radius.

End of Round 1

Carp, I didn't see it in your profile, so not sure if you have a CLW wand, but you could use that instead of a spell slot if you are so inclined and equipped.

Bushwacked at Meatgate

24 Ellie (4hp dmg)
22 Hullric
19 Half-Orc warrior (10hp dmg, prone, dropped weapon)
18 Gnome bowman (cover, 8hp dmg)
13 Lomar
19 Feuerseele (used ready)
10 Human mage (2hp dmg)
10 Carp
4 Kru (13 hp dmg, raging)
4 Half-Elf Cleric

Ellie and Hullric are up to start Round 2

@DM: Yes. I bought the Wand after the first mission. I forgot to add it to my profile. Thank you for botting me.

With his sight directly on the mage, Hullric approaches him and gives a friendly greeting before stabbing him with his dagger. "Hello there. I have come to tell you of the blessing of The Lantern King. Do you have a few minutes to listen?"

Dagger vs Mage +Bless +Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 12
Damage +Inspire Courage: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7

Move Action (Difficult Terrain): 10'
Standard Action: Attack

Hearing Hullric talk of the Lantern King, Ellie sends a dagger- -imbuing the well-honed chunk of obsidian with a fraction of her magic- -towards the same target.

Free Action: Maintain Inspire
Move Action: Draw dagger
Swift Action: Arcane Strike ("Holy crap, I have Arcane Strike," she noticed, halfway through the second scenario...)
Standard Action: Throw Dagger

Dagger, Pointblank, Inspired: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 12 for Dagger, Arcane Strike, Inspired, Pointblank shot, Whetstone: 1d4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 2 - continued

Keeping her inspiring routine up, Ellie draws and hurls a magically infused dagger at the mage but the well-aimed blade is turned aside at the last moment, as if the magician has some kind of invisible warding protecting him.

Hullric tries to proselytize to the same enemy, but his knife-stroke ends in the same fate as Ellie's throw -- turned aside by his magical ward.

The half-orc warrior delays, waiting for something.

Rather than firing again, the gnome bowman, who is burnt nearly to a crisp, unstoppers a potion from his pouch and drinks it, trying to salve some of his blistering wounds.

Those actions bring us to Lomar and Feuerseele who are up next.

Feuerseele will cast daze on the halfling.
DC 17 will or no action next round.

Bomb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24 vs Touch ac
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

"No! You shoot at me and then attempt to heal when it gets tough? Nope! Not on my watch!" Lomar yells at he throws another bomb.

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 2 - continued

Giving the gnome bowman no respite, Lomar lobs another bomb at his small form, scoring a direct hit. The explosive liquid damages the Shadow Lodge archer considerably, leaving him clearly in bad shape.

To to that off, the ifrit sorceress casts a bewitching charm spell that has no effect on the smoldering archer.

Attempting to cast a spell defensively, the human mage apparently has his concentration split between the spell and Hullric's blades. The result is a small spark of electricity as the spell fizzles...

Carp and Kru are up next.

Carp, seeing Kru healed up, turns on the woman left to her own devices. "You have one chance to surrender before I am forced to act." he warns as he moves close to her and draws his katana in one hand and keeps the wand in the other, leaving his buckler strapped into place.

Double Move

Kru swings at the Orc.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (2, 1) + 9 = 12

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 2 - concluded

Carp draws his katana, and rushes fortht to threaten the cleric of Nethys, calling for her surrender.

Meanwhile, Kru deals a deathblow to the prone half-orc warrior, clearly putting it down now.

"The Shadow Lodge will not surrender to you false Pathfinders. Not in Kaer Maga, not ever." replies the true believer. She then steps back from Carp and casts a spell on him.

Carp needs a DC 13 Will save or be frightened for 2 rounds, success means he is merely shaken for 1 round.

End of Round 2

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 3

Bardic Performance in effect

24 Ellie (4hp dmg)
22 Hullric
18 Gnome bowman (cover, 9hp dmg)
13 Lomar
19 Feuerseele
10 Human mage (2hp dmg)
10 Carp (needs Will save)
4 Kru (13 hp dmg, raging)
4 Half-Elf Cleric

New round means Ellie and Hullric are up.

Hullric continues to talk to the wizard as he attacks him. "Come now. Does the cat have your tongue. Do you not want to hear of the great Lantern King?

Dagger vs Mage +Bless +Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 24
Damage +Inspire Courage: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

Critical Threat: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 6; Darn.. was so hoping for crit.
Critical Damage: 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 1 = 9

Will Save | Inspire: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 1 = 16

The spell attempts to frighten Carp as he sees a large dragon appear behind the woman, striking fear into his heart, but he steels himself. "You cannot deceive me!" he yells as he shakes off the spell, but remains a bit shaken.

"I can do this all day," Ellie lies. "How many can you dodge?"

Free Action: Maintain Inspire
Move Action: Draw dagger
Swift Action: Arcane Strike
Standard Action: Throw Dagger

Dagger, Inspired, Pointblank: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 26 for Damage, Pointblank, Inspired, Arcane Strike, Whetstone: 1d4 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 9

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 3 - continued

Stabbed by a pair of daggers, one held by Hullric and the other hurled with arcane energy by Ellie, the wizard falls. His blood stains the sand of the street in the once-crowded market of Meatgate.

His garments smoking from the constant bombardment, the gnome archer staggers towards his remaining ally, but his wounds are so great he can barely move. "Muminah, help me. I fail..." he cries feebly to the Nethyian cleric.

Lomar, Feuerseele, Carp (shaken) and Kru are all up for the good guys as the odds start to get much better.

Bomb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

For the third time this fight, Lomar lobs another bomb at the bowman.
"Stop resisting, you only prolong your suffering!"

Bushwacked in Meatgate - Round 3 - continued

Lomar's bomb strikes the disabled gnome perfectly, exploding on him and knocking the ranger to his feet, unconscious and bleeding.

"You may murder my crew, false ones, but I will stand and fight you to the death upon my vow to the Shadow Lodge," cries the cleric Muminah fiercely, even though she is the only enemy remaining against six.

Feuerseele, Carp (shaken), and Kru against just one foe.

"Don't throw your life away! Just tell us where the lodge is! We will spare your life!"

Not wanting to let up on the offense, Carp moves forward and slashes at the woman before she can cast another spell, "Murder? You have attacked us. Do not falsely claim the moral high ground!" he yells.

Katana | Shaken/Inspire: 1d20 + 4 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 - 2 + 1 = 11
Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7

Kru moves and shouts, "Prepare to die"

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 4) + 9 = 14

Bushwacked in Meatgate - Round 3 - concluded

Slashing at the remaining foe, Carp is frustrated when his katana strike is turned aside by the cleric's armor.

Kru moves up beside the priestess, but his wounds leave his mighty swing a bit slow and she sidesteps it with relative ease.

Feuerseele (DM-PC'ed) moves through the remnants of the market-crowd to try to cut off any chance of escape.

Stepping backwards away from the oncoming Pathfinders, the cleric calls out "Great Seeing Eye, protect me from any harm this foe may cause." and she casts a spell, holding the charge for now.

End of Round 3

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 4

Bardic Performance in effect

24 Ellie (4hp dmg)
22 Hullric
13 Lomar
19 Feuerseele
10 Carp
4 Kru (13 hp dmg, raging)
4 Half-Elf Cleric

All the party is up against the one foe.

Feuerseele casts daze on the cleric. DC 16 will or no action

Getting behind Carp, Lomar shakes another bomb at the cleric and lets it fly...

Bomb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

With the enemies dealt with on this end, Hullric makes his way toward the last standing enemy, pushing through the crowd that remain.

Double Move (Difficult Terrain): 20'

Never tell me the odds.

Ellie elbows her way through the crowd (15 foot single move), throwing a Hail Mary of a javelin over the fountain and the crowd towards the cleric.

Javelin, Inspired, Pointblank: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 28
To Confirm: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Damage, Pointblank, Inspired: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 1 = 6
Extra Critical Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Kru attempts to shake off his last miss and swing again.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 1) + 9 = 11

Bushwacked at Meatgate - Round 4 - concluded

As the number of foes narrows to one, the Pathfinders meet in the middle and by a variety of means, hack the Shadow Lodge cleric to pieces, whether by Ellie's trick shot, Lomar's bomb throwing, or Kru's muscle-driven weapon, the result is the same.

End of Combat

The market place is nearly deserted as the combat ends. But seeing the fight end, some begin to trickle back, giving the Pathfinders and the corpses of their foes wide berth. Before long, street urchins start pulling at the fallen foes, hoping to find treasure enough for a day's meal on the bodies.

Hullric shoos the scavengers away as he searches their bodies for any further clues about the Shadow Lodge.

Perception (Search): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Ok, I'm on vacation, see you all Tuesday. Bot as needed.