[PFS PbP] GM Debug's The Paths We Choose (5-99) (Inactive)

Game Master DebugAMP

Bulgo produces a pair of knives which he hands over even as he removes the slaves fetters.

"Your good deeds are never overlooked." he tells the two crusaders.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

"But it looks like that unpleasant man is going to want to concentrate on other things. Unless I miss my guess they will try to ambush us. Everyone be ready, we may be able to turn the surprise on them."

Looking around, are there many other people or town guards around?

"I can't say I'm feeling especially charitable towards Midley and his thugs." he adds, palming his own higher quality knife and the magical blade he found earlier.

"If the Qadiran gentleman turns out to be a poor loser we will afford the opportunity to simultaneously teach him sportsmanship and advanced conflagrational theory," Diri says, mimicking an explosion with her hands.

Almost immediately upon noticing the thugs, 1 of them steps forward into the open and gives a yell. What few customers in the area quickly duck into the nearest building. "Them slaves gonna be your new bodyguard? Hah! Boss Midley wants em. And my orders are to get 'em from you!"

There is not a guard in sight, which is not uncommon in the seedy underbelly of Absalom. It is late in the day, but the main drag of Misery Row is reasonably well lit by torches and the light of the setting sun. Sorry Sihir

Midley and his other thugs maintain their hiding places, but as soon as the first thug finishes talking, you hear the man you've identified as Midley give a whistle. The other thugs, poorly hidden, all begin to move forward hoping to catch you off-guard. Unfortunately for them, this is all quite apparent to you...

Round 1: Sore losers!
Midley
Talmar (Red Slave)
Blue Thug (12 dmg)
Conlaoch
Sihir
Holianda (Blue Slave)
Gray Thug
Shambala
Bulgo
Red Thug
Diri
Peran

Midley springs out from behind his hiding place, knowing full well his cover is blown, and takes an opportunity to fire a blowgun dart at the first viable target, hoping to cull the group for his thugs.

Blowgun at Peran: 1d20 + 12 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 12 - 2 = 27
Damage: 1d2 ⇒ 2
Sneak Attack Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7
Peran, you feel a harsh poison radiating pain from the point of the wound.

Talmar leaps into action to defend those who freed him. "The Silver Crusade protect their own!" He brandishes his knife, preparing to slice at anyone who comes near the party. The thug in the doorway of the bar at the north comes running out with his spear at the ready and hurls it at Bulgo.

Thug's Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Thug's Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

The thug's attack was very precise, however Bulgo's uncanny ability to read the situation prevents it from being worse. With the thug now in range, Talmar rushes forward and slashes in with a quick cut.

Talmar's Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Talmar's Confirm: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (4, 2) + 6 = 12

The strike is neat and accurate. With a quick cut of the blade, Talmar deals the first foolish thug a grievous wound.

Conlaoch laughs. "Now this, I understand..."

He moves forward, drawing his nodachi, and swings at the closest thug he sees.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

The thug is standing, but barely. His facial features show orcish descent, and orcs are known to keep fighting long after they should.

I will have shed my disguise by this point (if it hadn't elapsed on its own) - meaning, for whatever it might be worth, that Midley & droogies won't recognize me. I wonder if I could somehow turn that to my advantage...?

They do not seem to care much who is between them and their slaves.

Oh, don't they?

"Ah, Mr. Midley, is it? How do you do? Such serendipity that we had wanted a word with you as well...."

Suddenly, what should appear looming over Mr. Midley from both sides of the alley, but a pair of titans, each in massive fittings of Eagle Knight livery, their faces masks of vengeful ire?

Major images, DC 22 Will save to disbelieve *if interacted with*.

"Unburden the captives of their shackles, arrogant worm!" Booms one. "Or we shall unburden this long-suffering world of YOU!"

"Ahhh.... that is... we already have..." stammers Bulgo somewhat terrified by the massive figures.

"But you might want to help against those guys over there..."

He points at Midley and his thugs.

"They want to put them back in shackles... Mr ... ahhh.. I missed your name.."

"Hear that?" Replies the other titan. "Two have been freed - but two remain in chains...and the one still clutching those chains stands at our feet." His glowing-eyed gaze practically burrows into Midley.

Wow, nice move Sihir!

Midley stands his ground, looking fearful and uncertain. "Conjured? Concealed? An Illusion? Guards! Defend me! That's what I pay you for!"

The toughest of the thugs flies into a nearly suicidal fury and begins to hack at the ankles of one of the huge eagle knights. Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 "The bigger they are the harder they fall!"

Sihir, I believe you have to take a standard action to concentrate on the image to make it react appropriately on your next turn, otherwise it vanishes.

Holianda moves to Peran who seems to have taken a nasty wound. "Blessings of Iomedae be upon you"
Lay on Hands: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3

Round 1: Sore losers!
Midley (Blowgun at Peran)
Talmar (Red Slave, Slash and crit)
Blue Thug (23 dmg, Staggered, Hurled a spear at Bulgo)
Conlaoch (Make Blue Thug have a massive headache)
Sihir (Conjure your worst nightmare)
Holianda (Blue Slave, Lay on hands)
Gray Thug (Attack the image)
Shambala
Bulgo
Red Thug (Will delay)
Diri
Peran

Fort: 1d20 ⇒ 13

Peran takes a dart to the neck and starts feeling weak.

Peran does manages to step forward a bit and fires off a potent lightning bolt.

At Midley and the grey thug.

Pew pew laser beams: 10d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 2, 1, 5, 3, 2, 6, 1, 1) = 26
Reflex 22 for half

Diri takes a few steps forward, incites a prayer to Brigh that sounds more like a rote recollection of a probability treatise, and holds her holy symbol aloft.

Diri moves, casts prayer (CL 5).

40-foot burst will miss the foe on the far right, and might be blocked by a wall on the red one below...GM's call.

Bulgo, thinking attack as the best form of defence, and not wanting to be squashed by a titan, runs up behind the thug that dared to attack it.

And unfortunately unless you have threatening illusion, I don't get a flank:-( In this case he'll go 5' further, and get a flank, not so much to get the flank, but to get within 5' of Midley for next turn

He tumbles a step past the thug.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 <- vs CMD or attracts an aOO

"Take that..." he says, driving in a dagger to the thugs back.

attack,flank: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 11 + 2 = 23

damage: 1d4 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (1) + 6 + (6, 3) = 16

Shambala focuses on the thug that attacked the illusion and tries to probe his mind with his magic.

Mind Thrust I, Will DC 16 halves: 5d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 5, 1, 5) = 15

Bulgo tumbles past the thug, and sinks his dagger deep. The thug collapses and nothing but a death rattle escapes his mouth.

Midley Reflex: 1d20 + 11 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 11 - 1 = 22
Thug Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Midley completely evades the lightning bolt, not even suffering the slightest wound. His mercenary is not so lucky.

Per Shambala's request...
Shambala takes advantage of the chaos and blessings of Brigh, and begins to overwhelm Midley's mind with violent imagery.
Mind Thrust I damage: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 4) = 11
Will Save: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 1 = 26

The last thug moves forward and attempts to take down Bulgo with his axe.
Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Midley drops his blowgun to the ground, drawing his long blade and swinging hard at Conlaoch and then quickly retreating into the allyway to evade the surrounding foe.

Bastard Sword Spring Attack: 1d20 + 12 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 12 - 2 - 1 = 23
Damage: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Conlaoch, his blade was also poisoned, and the wound threatens to overcome you!

Bulgo, you can take an AoO on him.

Talmar, seeing Bulgo's prowess with his knifes, moves carefully around the battlefield to provide him flanking.

Round 2: Sore and aching losers!
Midley (5 dmg, attack)
Talmar (Red Slave, double move)
Conlaoch
Sihir
Holianda (Blue Slave)
Gray Thug (26 dmg)
Shambala
Bulgo
Red Thug (Will delay)
Diri
Peran (Poisoned)

Looks like I ninja'd you GM. Also, Shambala deals 5d6 with Mind Thrust since he has Spell Specialization (Mind Thrust I) as a feat :)

Hardly anyone notices the dark little fellow in the back as the titan sidesteps the thug's ankle-nipping with unnatural agility for a being of its size, slamming one foot down over the alleyway.

"Where do you think YOU'RE going?" It bellows at Midley. Its eyes begin glowing brightly, and the temperature around it rises....

Opps, my fort save is a success, actually adding my fort bonus would be helpful.

Sihir, go ahead and make an intimidate check against Midley with a +2 bonus (for masterwork tools).

"Guards! I said to kill these things! It's a construct... or a trick... or something!"

He tries to make an AoO on the titan. Attack: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
...and fails to even hit the right square. Poor guy spent his AoO and doesn't even get a will save for his trouble...

The thug nearest to Midley nods and prepares to carry out his employer's orders, while the raging thug at the end of the alley seems a little less discriminate about his targets.

Action log revised with errors fixed. Everyone highlighted can take their actions. I'll adjust timing of actions as needed if it had a major effect on the fight.

Round 2: Sore and aching losers!
Midley (Attacked)
Talmar (Red Slave, double move)
Sihir (Concentrate on illusion)
Conlaoch (pending damage and fort save)
Holianda (Blue Slave, Waiting for an opening)
Gray Thug (33 dmg)
Shambala
Bulgo
Red Thug
Diri
Peran

Don't mind if I do...and note that relative size has a very large impact on Intimidate checks: a 4-point difference for every step of disparity between the sizes of those interacting. Sihir would take that as a penalty against Midley, but as far as Midley's concerned, the small dark and freakish stranger is not the one doing the intimidating - but rather the Huge being in front of him, Huge being 2 size categories larger than Medium....

[dice=Intimidate, "masterwork tool," 2 levels of size advantage]1d20+11[/dice] If you want to retract the "masterwork tool" bonus since this particular "tool" provides its own much larger bonus for reasons covered above, I'll completely understand.

I'm well aware of the size difference. I gave the +2 for using Eagle Knights specifically.

Midley seems particularly scared by the image chasing him down.

Shaken for 2 rounds

Sorry, weekends can be tougher for me to post on

Bulgos AOO: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16 <- extra +2 if he was flnaked when moving
damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
extra Sneak damage if he was flanked when moving: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11

With Talmar in place to help with flanking, Bulgo lets his daggers do the talking, worried about what this battle is doing to his finery!

attack, TWF, flank: 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 2 - 2 = 19
off handattack, TWF, flank: 1d20 + 10 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 10 + 2 - 2 = 18
main hand damage,magic: 1d4 + 6 + 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 + (1, 6) + 1 = 18
off hand damage: 1d4 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (6, 6) = 21

Fort Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Conlaoch shakes off the poison, but he is getting angry with these thugs. He steps up and swings.

Power Attack, Prayer: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 = 27
Damage: 1d10 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 1 = 18

Sorry, I can't tell who is who on the map, but my intention was to take out a guard near the leader, and then intimidate the leader next round.

Midley is quite adept at ducking in and out and is able to evade Bulgo's swipe. The thug on the other hand is not so lucky. The first slice deals him a grievous wound, and the second severs an artery. He appears to be dead before hitting the ground.

Conlaoch, since the thug near Midley is gone, I'll presume you're going to engage Midley.

Conlaoch moves forward to engage Midley, and Holianda, seeing a new weapon now available, hurls her dagger at remaining thug.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 1 = 17

The dagger strikes but fails to penetrate the mercenary's armor. Conlaoch's violent strike on the other hand leaves quite a mark on Midley.

The last remaining thug charges at Bulgo, having just watched one of his compatriots fall to his flashing blades.

Flail: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Round 2: Sore and aching losers!
Midley (18 dmg, shakened 2 rounds, Attacked)
Talmar (Red Slave, double move)
Sihir (Concentrate on illusion)
Conlaoch (pending damage and fort save)
Holianda (Blue Slave, Threw dagger, grabbed axe)
Bulgo (Dispatched red thug)
Gray Thug (33 dmg, charged)
Shambala
Diri
Peran

Peran opens his mouth and lets out a potent but noiseless scream as he sniffs and points at grey.

Sonic Damage: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 5) = 15
Fort DC 22 for half and to avoid being dazed for 1 round.

Mop-up duty!

Diri also blasts the grey thug.

Move, cast burning hands

Reflex DC 14 halves: 5d4 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 4, 4) = 18

"urgllll" sighs Bulgo, looking at the new rent in his shirt.

That changes to "arrghhhh" as he sees the blood flow though. He turns a bit pale and his arms shake...

Be nice to get a flank buddy here to finish off Grey, Bulgo goes down next time he is hit, of course that burning hands may have done the trick.

Shambala tries harder to mentally crush the grey-clad thug's mind in front of him.

Mind Thrust I, Will DC 16 halves: 5d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 4, 4) = 17

Fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Ref save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The scream and the wave of flame drops the thug to the ground hard, leaving only Midley left.

I'll use Shambalas action on Midley.

Will save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Midley makes another slash at Conlaoch and then ducks into the nearby building to evade the enormous knights. He seems pretty convinced that the eagle knights are a trick of sorts but can't discern if they are an illusion, conjuration, construct, or what.

attack: 1d20 + 13 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 13 - 2 - 1 = 25
damage: 1d10 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 8 - 1 = 10
acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 15 - 2 - 1 = 16
will: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 - 2 = 9

Conlaoch, you can take an AoO on him.

Round 3: Sore, scorched, and aching losers!
Midley (35 dmg, shakened 1 round, Attacked)
Talmar (Red Slave)
Sihir
Conlaoch
Holianda
Bulgo
Shambala
Diri
Peran

Bulgo steps forward and throws a dagger at Midley.

attack, cover, into melee: 1d20 + 9 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 9 - 4 - 4 = 13

Sorry, map didn't update. He ran into the building.

In that case Bulgo retrieves one of those cure moderate potions and drinks it.

CLW: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (3, 3) + 3 = 9

Peran takes a step through an alternate reality as he skitters forward towards the door.

Dimensional Slide during movement. Cast Potent Burst of Radiance, 2 Arcane pool remaining.

Once there Peran causes a potent flash of light to envelop the escapee.

Damage if Evil: 5d4 ⇒ (3, 4, 2, 2, 2) = 13

Reflex 23 or be blinded for Rounds: 1d4 ⇒ 1 On a successful save dazzled instead.

Diri shrugs as the fight moves further away from her, as she steps to the middle of the group.

"The inexorability of this battle's result is victory now that the lone holdout foe has reduced his options for engagement," Diri says, now that Midley cut himself off from collateral healing.

Channeling: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 1) = 9 Positive energy to anyone outdoors within 30 feet. (It's not selective, so it might stabilize or revive unconscious foes...)

Reflex: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Peran, you bolt in after him and see a crowd of frightened bystanders in what appears to be a dirty pub. It's not difficult to aim the burst high enough to only catch Midley, however his quick reflexes allow him to evade the burst completely. You do notice the remaining 2 slaves, still in chains, in a corner of the pub.

Diri, there are no surviving thugs to benefit from the healing...

Diri, there are no surviving thugs to benefit from the healing...

"Highly efficient!"

Shambala follows Peran and evokes two missiles of pure force and directs them to hit Midley.

Magic Missile: 2d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 = 8

Holianda picks up a new weapon from the slain thug. Talmar on the other hand is quite happy with his dagger, and bolts into the pub after Midley.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage: 1d4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 = 6

Round 3: Sore, scorched, and aching losers!
Midley (49 dmg, shakened 1 round, Attacked)
Talmar (Red Slave, Slash)
Sihir
Conlaoch
Holianda (Blue Slave, Obtain new weapon)
Bulgo (Healing up)
Shambala (The spell that always* hits)
Diri (Healer)
Peran (Nightcrawler)

The first titan half-leaps down and stomps his foot onto the alleyway, sending a powerful, focused shockwave directly at Midley!

And for my next trick: Shadow Gambit!

bludgeoning damage, DC 22 Fortitude save for half: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 3) = 10

Fort save: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 - 2 = 22

Midley watches as the foot stomps down hard. "You have got to be kidding me..." He ducks a bit and raises his arms to cover his face, hoping to use the table and intervening assailants as cover. At the last moment, a smile breaks across his face and he begins laughing. A bit of blood sputters from his mouth and nose as the illusory shockwave strikes him, however he finally seems to understand what's going on. "Heh...heh... hah... HAHAHAHA! OOMPH.... ow... ow..."

Round 3: Sore, scorched, and aching losers!
Midley (54 dmg, shakened 1 round, Attacked)
Talmar (Red Slave, Slash)
Sihir
Conlaoch
Holianda (Blue Slave, Obtain new weapon)
Bulgo (Healing up)
Shambala (The spell that always* hits)
Diri (Healer)
Peran (Nightcrawler)

Due to current circumstances, I'm going to roll Conlaoch's AoO to see if any other changes need to occur...

Power Attack + Prayer AoO: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 1 = 16 Miss

Conlaoch's turn

Peran doesn't mind blinding innocent bystanders with burst of radiance. Evil bystanders can potentially get burned by the damage though.

Assuming you center the blast near Midley you wont be hitting any bystanders. Also, given the location you are, its probably fairly likely that there are one or two bystanders here that the burst would hurt. And that would probably attract much more attention than you already have.

Edit: Forgot that burst of radiance isn't half damage on save. Retconning....

Despite steeling himself for the blow, the wounds accumulated from the searing blast of Peran's spell and Shambala's blast allow the illusory shockwave to overcome what little fortitude he had left, and he crumples to the ground. "I...knew it.... was fake... I ..." *THUD*

Holianda comes forward and begins tending to his wounds. "Those who fall in battle receive the judgement of the sword, but those who can live to face justice should."

Heal: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Combat over!

As per usual, when the dust settles, Diri will offer triage, (disarming the unconscious hostiles first).

Channeling x2: 3d6 + 3d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 3) + (3, 5, 4) = 25

With a shrug of the shoulders suggesting 'now what?' Diri motions toward the fourth slave.

Sihir comes in with the others, and leans casually on his cane over Midley's unconscious form.

"And yet...not entirely, was it? Never entirely."

He leans down closer to Midley's face, Sihir's own cracking into a frightful leer before continuing.

"Also: The Sun*, you did!"

* = Wayang idiom; almost a direct corollary in both in circumstances of use and deeper metaphorical implications to Human uses of "Hell" as an expletive.

Bulgo extracts the keys from the unconscious slaver and moves over to the last two slaves. Unlocking their fetters he says
"You are free now." he points to the former crusader "Your actions in the crusades bought your freedom."

To the other slave he indicates the three crusaders "Their courage and deeds have also bought your freedom. You owe them a debt of thanks."

He looks at the rent in his shirt.

"Does anyone know a good seamstress?"

Peran sniffs at Bulgo's torn shirt

"I know one, but she lives in Vudra, probably not a good choice..."