The Seer's Journey - DM Downrightamazed

Game Master downrightamazed

As Sir Justahl focuses his holy magic on the skeletons, Gray does the same, each man looking for something different. In the end, the paladin shakes his head; "I can detect not a trace of evil on these things. None." Shortly after, the Pharasman cleric delivers similar news; "There are faint traces of magic, but it is mostly transmutative, perhaps remainders of the magic used to apply the metal coating. Anyway, my spell just washes right over them, I can see no clear magical auras emanating from them."

By the way DRA, I'm assuming neither East nor West doors are locked?

Now that he knows this is just a promenade -- a grand hallway used to connect two even grander ballrooms -- Jorzan figures it's a safe bet the doors aren't locked, an assumption both Justahl and Kelne agree is a good one. However, since the young rogue has been busy checking the gigantic things for traps, he hasn't yet had a chance to check the door handles to see if they're locked, so he doesn't know for sure.

When you go to check a door handle, accompany it with a stealth check, unless of course you don't care about being heard, in which case don't worry about it.

Knowledge (local, Stormfare): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

"Well then," Kelne said, hefting his sword, "Let's go and introduce ourselves. Raise a bit of mayhem and take some of the pressure off the dwarves. Jorzan, if you'd like to have one of those flamestrike arrows ready?" Kelne crossed to Jorzan's set of doors, ready to fling them open as soon as everybody was ready.

Gray, the Feral Boy, and the Monster all nod gravely at Kelne's words and ready themselves for whatever comes next.

Just DMPCing the guys who seem to have dropped off the radar right now.

Stealth: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31
Disable Device: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (6) + 17 = 23
As Jorzan quietly makes sure the door is unlocked, taking care of it if it is, he whispers back "One of those arrows will bring the whole castle running, the whole point of the Dwarves is to distract our foes while we sneak in and get Kevin. Once we have him safely, then all hell can break loose." Thinking for a second he continues "Maybe Karthan can imitate a wolfguard and draw the other guards in here while we all hide against the wall, then we shut the doors behind them and can hopefully take them out without too much disturbence" if all agree Jorzan switches to a poisoned sleep arrow and lines up against the wall while Karthan does his thing.

"Doing this quietly will be very difficult," Kelne said, "It's a big room with who knows how many guards, who will not simply wander meekly into an enclosed space to be slaughtered. I'd rather do it quickly than muck about and give the enemy time to organise. However," a rather nasty grin split his face, "I think I can provide a nice little distraction. If we're going to imitate somebody, why not the man in charge? Karthan, the vest, please?" He was the only person who knew enough to imitate Ormir, even briefly.

"Certainly." Karthan hands the vest to Kelne, and then hides in a nook. "When the guards come in, what method do we want to use to take them out? What can we do that's quiet?"

The promenade continues to be utterly, eerily silent. With no windows and only the grand ballroom doors, the only air circulation comes from under those doors, and is rather scant.

I'm pretty psyched to see what you guys do, here.

Kelne donned the vest, taking a moment to fix an image of Ormir in full battle garb in his mind before assuming that appearance, along with an expression of short-tempered annoyance.

"Use your own best judgement," Kelne said. They had sod-all options in the quiet department; people just hadn't geared up for it. He made a note to invest in some appropriate gear at some point, "I'll take a few moments to find out what I can, but don't count on me luring them in close and make sure you take them out quickly before they have a chance to raise the alarm."

With that, he swung the doors open and stalked into the ballroom, eyes sweeping the room for enemy combatants.

Jorzan sized Kelne up in his disguise as Ormir. To be honest, he was fairly surprised and impressed with the big fighter's ability to pull it off.

Having thought for a bit aboiut Karthen's question he finally turns to answer it. "Well, this room is pretty sound proof it seems to me. I barely was able to hear the guards through the door, and I was carefully istening and am trained in such things. Plus the dwarves should be kicking up a racket by now themselves. If we can get the doors quickly shut behind them I think we be all right."

As he stops to think again suddenly something comes to the young shadowdancer. It as if tendrals of dream fragments from the past nigjt come weaving back into his mind, providing information, showing him how to manipulate the Shadow in a new way. A strange look comes upon his face as he says "I think I have an idea. You, monster, you stand there against the wall beside the door. Your job is to close it as soon as the last guard comes through and the Make Sure No One Leaves through it. Justahl you on the ther side of it. You casters, hide behind the pillars on the other side of the room and make sure no on gets through that door. Boy, if you want to stay by your pal instead that's up to you. Once the guards reach the middle of the room Monster shuts the door and we catch them in the crossfire. As for making sure you're not seen..."

Once everyone is in place Jorzan concentrates in a way he never has before. As he does so, shadows rise up before those against the wall, forming patterns. As a single bead of sweat trickles down his furrowed brow, finally the image in his mind snaps into place in realty and where the monster and the others were standing now appers to be an empty wall. His first ever illusion complete, Jorzan grins and says " That should do it!" Then, as the 'Baron' moves to open the doors, Jorzan dashes to the end of the room, wraps himself in shadow and pulls out a special arrow of Gnomish design.

[Ooc]Cast: Silent Image (shadow conjuration) of blank wall and doors
Readies Gnomish sleep gas arrow

by the way Justahl, saince the skeletons are just skeletons, it should be alright for you to summon your horsey after all ; )

Sir Justahl was thinking of how to get everyone to just charge in; but the team valued stealth so much, he was frustrated that he could contribute nothing in that way. He often wondered why in the name of heaven that the Inheritor herself selected, among all others, himself for a secret stealth mission. But Justahl had faith. There was a reason, even if he could not see it.

He nods at Jorzan's plan; finally we get to attack instead of be ambushed!
Softly he whispered; "Come forth Nouhves! You are needed!" And Nouhves comes forth from a pearly white gate, which closes behind him.
Sir Justahl pats him in friendly greeting, glad to see him. Cassandra's arm reaches out to him as well, and Nouhves snuffles at her, testing for apples. Cassandra giggles at the touch.
Of course! he thinks, I was chosen because she likes my horse! Justahl grins ruefully at the thought as he strips the lance from its case, mounts up and moves to his indicated position.

If you look carefully, you can see Nouhves is standing several inches above the ground, on small wisps of cloud. This seems to mute his footsteps considerably.

So now you got a Stealth ride at least! Now we just need to work on you ;^)

Karthan holds the Rod of Widen Spell in his hand.

"I can make sure that they do not move once they enter the room - or I can burn them. Do we care about killing Ormir's retainers, or are they casualties in the name of a greater good?"

He glances at Justahl for the answer to that.

"Either way, try to get them to come into this area..." he marks out a pattern on the rug... "And I'll either throw a fireball down at them, or cause the floor to grapple them."

With the rod of Widen Spell, Karthan can drop an 8 square radius fireball or black tentacles spell, depending on whether or not we want these fellows crispy and low on hit points, or immobilized but still able to scream at the top of their lungs.

I'm not sure guards will be screaming at the top of their lungs, but then a fireball only gives a "dull roar" and it might takesome of them out, so I say go with the latter. Just make saure Kelne is out of the way. And actually, maybe Jorzan can pop out and Kelne orders "get him!" Or whatever to make them rush forward. Then when you drop your bomb, Jorzan has a very good chance of getting out of the way if it happens to be too close.

So: everyone's hidden, Kelne is disguised. I'm just holding tight until someone says "I open the door". Don't wanna jump ahead of y'all.

Well, technically Kelne already did say that, just some of us had wanted to add some more before that happened. Such is the nature of PbP sometimes. So unless anyone else has anything to add, and there's been some time for them do so, I think we can get this party started DJ!

Ah, so he did. Yeah, the following posts threw me off a bit. Aight, party ahoy.

Kelne grabs the door handles and pushes the giant doors into the ballroom, his visage matching that of the baron; bald, with a great bushy grey beard and piercing, steel-colored eyes, broad shoulders and none of the paunch that typically attaches itself to a man's midsection past a certain age. The doors are so heavy they literally *whhhooooosh* as they open, and then bump into the walls with a heavy thud.

The ballroom is so achingly familiar that Kelne, Justahl, and Karthan all suffer brief but dizzying bouts of deja vu. It was here that Kelne first met Keshla, first flirted with noble girls and discovered the joys and miseries of adolescent games of the heart, and here that he first saw what could become of men with whom the Baron grew displeased, put on public displays of humiliation and laid low for all to openly mock at special parties designed specifically for that purpose.

Here it was that Justahl once attended a function as emmisary from Izmir, his dashing looks and celestial air a hit with all, but none so much as Countess de Crosta, the dwarven noblewoman from the White Dragonhold, who promised him riches beyond his imagining if he would be help her keep the nights warm in her far palace.

Here it was that young Karthan endured several fund raising galas for the University, and first honed the tremendous social skills that would serve him so well throughout his life; his incredible natural charisma and exotic appearance and bearing making him an irresistible curiosity to those assembled. He remembers his mother smiling proudly, indulgently, as he performed simple tricks with fire, occasionally even joining the Baron's strange court jester, who was called Red, in delighting the crowds.

The ceiling is a massive, arched affair, painted with many murals dedicated to the wealth, health, strength, and virility of the Baron. The room itself is a perfect square, 100' on a side, and with two exits on each wall except the one where Kelne is currently standing, which of course has the doors to the promenade in addition to its two exits. Against the far wall is a dais on which sits a throne built entirely of gems and precious metals, a monument to the Baron's astonishing wealth, ego, and often-questionable taste. The walls are stone clad in marble, and the floor is pure marble. Everything is polished and clean and gleaming. Despite the cold and the awful business that brings you all here, it is impossible to not appreciate -- even if just for a moment -- the richness and beauty of the raw materials involved in the construction of this room.

Jorzan's excellent hearing was very close to having the whole picture; there are indeed three guards, but two others are in the room as well, who must have been silent when the young rogue was listening. Three of the guards are seated on the ground, in the exact center of the room, playing cards. Kelne recognizes instantly the game. The other two are leaning listlessly against the wall by exits on the north and south side of the room. The three in the middle are 50' away, of course, being that they are in the center of the room. The other two are each about 80' away from Kelne's current position. It is a minor stroke of luck; all five guards are low-echelon pikemen. There are no wolfguards present.

As the disguised northman stands there glowering, the three guards look up, their eyes as big as dinner plates.

"...ohhhhh s!+@." squeaks one of them.

"All of you. Over here. Now." Kelne jabbed a finger at the floor in front of him, his glare at the two at the doors making it clear they were included in the command as well. Fom his clipped tones, he was keeping a tight lid on his anger, and under the circumstances, the Baron would no doubt be devising some nasty punishment for such slacking off. Of course, disobeying his order would only make things worse.

Though not a master of disguise, his imitation of Ormir's voice ought to be sufficient, and in their state of fear, none of the guards was likely to notice any discrepancies. He'd really rather not kill them, the interrupted game of cards serving as a timely reminder that they were ordinary people trying to make the best of bad circumstances. Or at least so he'd like to believe.

Finding the extradimensional space in which Kevin had been hidden was going to be a tricky proposition. The palace was a big place, after all. From what Karthan had said, it ought to be close, but if not in the promenade, would it be in the ballroom or above or below that space? Somehow he doubted any of the guards would be privy to the information.

The boy hides behind the monster, who is ready to push the massive door shut on a moment's notice, though he's clearly curious about what's going on in the next room, poking his head out from behind his furry cover and cupping a hand to his head to make out Kelne's words and the guards' reactions.

Karthan touches the Mockingbird Amulet, sending his voice through the wall into the room the pikemen just vacated, and from his concealed area, casts Detect Thoughts. Via Message, he says to Kelne "Ask them why they aren't guarding the boy, like they're ordered to. It might make one of them think of his location."

@Karthan (or anyone who happens to recall): What's the Will save vs. glamer for the Vest of Disguise Kelne is using? Is it the usual 12, or something higher? I can't recall if you hot-rodded that item or if it was just bog-standard.

The three guards who were playing Trump are petrified with fear, their eyes huge. The other two seem a little more confident about their odds of survival since while they have no doubt they'll be punished for their complicity in letting their friends slack off, at least they were still doing their jobs.

The gamblers get to Kelne first, and all have their eyes averted, staring at their feet. "y-yes, m'lud?" one of them manages to squeak out.

The other two are ambling over at a slow pace, and are still about 30 feet away.

Standing in the back of the group. Gray silently surveys the room. He grips his shield tightly as he occasionally checks over his shoulder back to the room they entered from. He looks into the shadows and up to the ceiling, then back to the gambler's. He waits for any sign of danger.

Standing in the back of the group. Gray silently surveys the room. He grips his shield tightly as he occasionally checks over his shoulder back to the room they entered from. He looks into the shadows and up to the ceiling, then back to the gambler's. He waits for any sign of danger.

DM DRA: It's got a Will DC of 14 for people who interact with the glamer. Note that "interacting with the glamer" is nebulously defined; Karthan never uses it to try to impersonate a specific person, more to make him seem plausible in whatever crowd he's in.

I interpret it as meaning anyone who comes into physical contact with the person gets that will save to recognise that it's an illusion, since the two senses in play won't give matching information. The important bit is that the spell grants a +10 to Kelne's (untrained) disguise check, whereas the guards will get a +6 to their perception checks to spot discrepancies, as fairly close associates of Ormir. In other words, the disguise probably won't hold long, particularly if Kelne starts doing out of character stuff to make them suspicious. Of course, the planned duration of the deception has just gone down sharply.

In contrast to seemingly everybody else, Kelne had always been skeptical his acting abilities were good enough to lure the guards back to the promenade, and now decided he wasn't going to waste his time trying. Nobody else seemed to have picked up on his expressed doubts, and once people had started assuming the guards would walk meekly to the slaughter, he'd given up on the conversation in favour of actually getting on with things.

He'd let the guards come to him, rather than advancing out into the room, so they ought to be plenty close enough for Karthan to pin them with his magic if need be, or for a decent charge to carry his allies across the distance. He'd gone into this intending to gather information and perhaps lure the guards into a trap, but now he realised he had the chance to accomplish someting very different. Something which wouldn't be served well by further deception.

Kelne let the tension build for long moments, giving the amblers time to get a good bit closer before finally speaking, "The good news," he began in almost conversational tones, "Is that I'm not going to messily kill anyone for dereliction of duty. The bad news is that you have a difficult choice to make."

"My name is Kelne," he went on, dismissing his disguise to reveal a very different man standing tall and proud before them, a silvered symbol of Callistria gleaming at his throat, "I think you all know enough of me to realise I would never set foot in this cursed place save to destroy Ormir once and for all. Believe me when I tell you that my friends and I are quite capable of finishing that malevolent vampire." He waved a hand, signalling those friends to show themselves, "And so we come to your choice. Do you remain loyal to the man who inspires such terror in you? Who would slaughter you on a whim? Or do you cast off the shackles of generations and seize your chance of freedom?"

In many ways, he had come full circle, appealing to his fellow citizens as he had so long ago to rise up and free themselves of the vampire. The difference, he reflected as he met the gaze of each guard in turn, poised to leap after any who looked like running to raise the alarm, was that he was now in a position to act even if they turned him down. Nevertheless, if these men could step out from Ormir's shadow there was hope that they could achieve their victory with a minimum of bloodshed. And if not, well, for the sake of his conscience he'd needed to make the attempt before meting out violence to all who stood in his path.

"Damn it!" Jorzan swears to himself as he sees Kelne begin to go off in a different direction. The plan had been so simple, surprise and intimidate the guards with the Baron's image and demeanor, then quickly command them to follow him. Then before they even had a chance to think about it, it would have all been over. Now, he risked the chance of getting to the boy in time. Still, it was hard to fault the man for giving his countrymen a chance at redemption. Regardless of the right or wrong of it though, Kelne had made his choice and rolled the dice and it was how it was. Only path now was to move forward with it.

Ever ready to adapt to any situation, Jorzan quickly uses a wand to ensure his next shot does not miss and then stealthily moves into position. The others could reveal themselves if they wished, a Paladine and the Monster should be enoughj to intimidate anyone. Jorzan worked best from the dark and so remaining hidden, he readies himself to fire an Enhathladi sleep arrow at the first guard who looked likely to raise the alarm

Cast-true strike, UMD:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29
Stealth: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32
Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21 (if necessary)
(The way I'm going with it DRA is that Jorzan can use the wand while Kelne is talking and then move and ready an action as part of surprise or winning init. If that's incorrect lemme know and if necessary I'll change things.)

(The way I'm going with it DRA is that Jorzan can use the wand while Kelne is talking and then move and ready an action as part of surprise or winning init. If that's incorrect lemme know and if necessary I'll change things.)

Yeah, that's cool.

As for Disguise, the way I play it is pretty close to what Kelne said; the person has to at least converse with the Disguised individual to earn a Save attempt, and they just get the one per encounter. Obviously it's moot at this point, though. :-)

@Jorzan: What does "moves into position" mean? What square are you looking to be in? Here is the map if you need a reminder. I put you in J-10 for now, but I dunno if you want to be that close to Justahl. Anyway, please clarify.

Anyone else who wants to verify their position on the map, please feel free to do so if you want. :-)

Everyone shifts a bit as Kelne makes his play. In your minds, you all go over the information he gave you about the various types of guards' capabilities. You know these men to be lower-level guards, nowhere near as deadly as the lethal wolfguards. Nonetheless, they are capable fighters clad in good, thick plate armor and possessed of high-quality weapons, much moreso than one might expect to be wielded by a simple watch-guard.

The Guards' stats:
AC: 20/11/19
HP: 34
F/R/W: 6/2/1 (2 vs. fear effects)
CMB: +7
CMD: 18
mwk Guisarme +9 (2d4+5/x3)
I post all this so you can do hit/miss narratives without waiting for me. Likewise, if you cast Fireball (lookin' at you, Karthan) or similar, feel free to roll Reflex (or whatever) saves for them.

Silence hangs heavy. One of the guard's jaws literally drops as Kelne appears before them. All five look simultaneously utterly relieved and completely baffled.

The guard furthest away from the northman seems to recover his composure first. "Kelne! Oh yeah, yeah, we know about you. We know your story very well. And you're right! We never thought about it that way! Freedom! From Ormir! Of course, it's a natural thing to want. So. Just you here? Or you got friends?" He's looking around but doesn't seem to notice any of the rest of you. Or at least not yet.

Please note! The guard doing the talking is located in E-6 on the map.

I meant moves into a position to be able to get a bead on all of the guards. Unless they're moving, last position for monster and Justhal should be against the inside part of the wall parallel to the door. I only say this to indicate that at this point, no one should potentially be in Jorzan's line of sight except possibly Kelne

His intense concentration and perecption allowing him gain a perfect read on the guard, Jorzan oaths a single expletive as his suspicions are confirmed. He had known that anyone trusted enough by Ormir to guard the throne room had likely sold their soul a long time ago.

Wasting no more time Jorzan let's fly a precisely targeted arrow seeking to put down the guard before he can sound the alarm.
Arrow to hit: 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (3) + 31 = 34
Damage: 1d8 + 3d6 ⇒ (8) + (1, 1, 5) = 15
Guard Fort save vs sleep arrow DC23: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

His spell driving the arrow directly to his target, the guard has no chance against the powerful Enhathladi sleep agent and drops as if pole-axed. Moving and wrapping the shadows around hinmself again the shadowdancer whips out another arrow and prepares to let fly

just waiting to see their init to see who goes first in round 1. And sorry, posting from my cell and the map doesnk( seem to want to work right

Seeing an arrow fly out of nowhere and smash their erstwhile leader to the ground, where he stays, seems to have a galvanizing effect on the guards. They scowl and knuckle down, hands instinctively reaching for their swords. One of them shouts out "Guards! Attaaack!" His voice rings through the ballroom, but it's not clear who he's talking to as there is no answer except for the clamor of your weapons.

Initiative Order:
Jorzan: 22
Karthan: 21
Kelne: 20
Monster: 17
Feral Boy: 10
Gray: 9
Sir Justahl: 8
Guards: 5
(There were two ties, so I resolved using DEX and just bumped the numbers around a bit to make things easier to read.)

Jorzan is up to start Round 1! Fight!

Now that the alarm has already been sounded and knowing that he may still have need of one of his more potent arrows in the near future the shadow rogue instead uses one of his milder, yet still effective poisons. Another arrows flies from the darkness
Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
Damage: 1d8 + 3d6 ⇒ (1) + (1, 2, 4) = 8
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Guard save vs Blue Whinnis DC14: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

and smashes into another guard, but this time the man is able to fight off the poisons effects.

At next furthest guard

Sense motive: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17

"I really don't know why I bother," Kelne said as he pulled his sword, "Did you really think I wasn't prepared for you to say no? That this was a fight you could win?"

Rather than engaging the front line, he slipped around behind the group, interposing himself between them and their line of retreat before burying his sword in the man at the rear.

Power Attack, with vital strike: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
Damage: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (8, 7) + 10 = 25

Moving to E7 and attacking the guard at F7, presuming it was the other one Jorzan took down. Mobility boosts his AC to 27 against attacks of opportunity, and protection from evil boosts it to 29 if the guards are evil.

Active buffs: Protection from evil, hide from undead. Not sure of the durations on those, come to think of it. If cast from a first level scroll, protection from evil would have expired by now.

Additionally, it occurs to me that it matters whether the guards are flat-footed in that first round. Because if so, Jorzan's crit succeeds, and between him and Kelne, that second to rearmost guard is down. If not, he's still standing at one HP.

you are FF until you act (unless you have a class ability, etc. that prevents it), so yes; the guards are all flat footed

The horrified guards seem set to fight on, but are also obviously aware that they have bitten off far more than they can chew. Two of their number are already down, with Jorzan picking them off seemingly at will and Kelne moving too fast for them to follow, much less hit. In fact the poor guards are so intimidated that the one attempting to slice Kelne as he glides past just plain drops his sword, the weapon clattering to the floor and sliding five feet away.

AoO against Kelne:
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Karthan is up!

Note to all ranged fighters: Don't forget that non-combatants blocking line-of-sight between you and a target provide a -4 to hit for Soft Cover (this comes as a +4AC bonus to your target). This stacks with the -4 for firing into melee combat, if and when applicable.

Also, the map is updated.

Karthan takes a 5' step out and unleashes a spread of flaming magic missiles, one at each of the foes who are not yet sleeping.

1d4 + 1 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 + 4 = 8 One in front of Kelne
1d4 + 1 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 + 4 = 8 top one in row
1d4 + 1 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 + 4 = 10 second one in row
1d4 + 1 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 + 4 = 7 third one in row

"I would rather not see you all killed for your misplaced loyalty to Ormir. But if that is the fate you choose, so will it be."

@Karthan: The one in front of Kelne is already down, so I'll apply that missile damage to one of the others. There are currently only three guards standing.

@Monster and then @Feral Boy are up next!

Round 1 - Initiative 17
HP 70
AC 18

The monster leaps from the behind the door to stand before the guards, rearing up to tower over them before slamming his fist down towards one of the guards. Despite the guard's plate armor and the sudden shock of a huge monster attack, he manages to side-step the attack and the monster smashes only floor.

Monster moves to I7
Attack vs guard at G8 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15

The boy remains hidden behind the statue, knowing his friends are making good progress against these particular villains.

The guards are keeping their focus even as they're being ripped apart, not that it's doing them a lot of good.

Initiative Reminder:
Jorzan: 22
Karthan: 21
Kelne: 20
Monster: 17
Feral Boy: 10
Gray: 9
Sir Justahl: 8
Guards: 5

Map is updated.

Gray is up!

Gray comes out from behind the pillar and moves 20ft up towards combat. Then Readys his weapon for combat.

moves to i-9 and draws his morning star.

Sir Justahl is up!

Sir Justahl rides Nouhves to (M-N,7-8) and casts Eagle's Splendour. Charisma becomes 25
He seems to positively glow now.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!" one of the guards screams like a little kid when the Monster comes barreling around the corner. "GUARDS! ATTACK! WHAT THE S~#% ARE YOU WAITING FOR!" he also yells.

One of the guards steps back and out of the way, trying his best to duck attacks from Kelne and the Monster as he maneuvers for position. Taking advantage of his guisarme's reach he swings for his fellow northman but Kelne's superior reflexes keep him out of the blade's way. The other two guards both drop more carefully back, preventing the possibility of attacks of opportunity. Unfortunately, the middle one is too cowed by Monster to be able to hit him. The last guard retrieves his weapon from where he dropped it just a few seconds ago.

Suddenly, with no preamble, no gathering of arcane forces, no clanking or whirring or flashing or any other announcement, all four skeletons simply bound to life and start attacking. The one in the northwest corner turns around and pummels the Feral Boy, its giant lead-coated fists smashing into his tiny face, breaking his nose and splattering his blood against the marble wall.

The skeleton in the southwest corner lashes viciously out at Gray and connects with the Pharasman cleric's shoulder, severly bruising him and denting his strong armor. That same skeleton seems somehow to know exactly where the wily Jorzan is and swings at him, too, but fortunately for the young shadowdancer his superb quickness allows him to duck at the last second, and the fist whistles overhead, just missing connecting with his jaw.

The other two are striding forward, their faces frozen in horrid rictuses of grinning agony and their metalshod feet clanging terribly on the marble as they close rapidly in on Karthan and Justahl, death clearly their only intent.

"The Guards will not stop unless we command it, Kelne." Growls the guard who just retrieved his weapon. "Surrender now and we'll let you live. Otherwise we're gonna let the guards pummel you flat. The Baron makes them himself, you know, and all they do is kill."

Round 1, Initiative 5 - Guards
Guard 1 - 18/34HP, AC20
MA: F-5 (Provokes AoO from Kelne and Monster)
SA: Attack Kelne with guisarme: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Guard 2 - 18/34HP, AC20
MA: 5' Step to G-6
SA: Attack Monster with guisarme: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
Guard 3 - 18/34HP, AC20
MA: 5' step to G-9
SA: Pick guisarme up off the ground
Lead Skeleton 1 - 75/75HP, AC24
FAA: Attack Feral Boy twice:
Slam 1: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21
Slam 2: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19
Damage to Feral Boy: 2d8 + 12 ⇒ (3, 7) + 12 = 22
Lead Skeleton 1 - 75/75HP, AC24
FAA: Attack Jorzan and Gray:
Attack Jorzan:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21
Attack Gray: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
Damage to Gray: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Lead Skeleton 3 - 75/75HP, AC24
FRA: Double-move towards Karthan
Lead Skeleton 4 - 75/75HP, AC24
FRA: Double-move towards Justahl

Map is updated.

Initiative Reminder:
Jorzan: 22
Karthan: 21
Kelne: 20
Monster: 17
Feral Boy: 10
Gray: 9
Sir Justahl: 8
Guards: 5

Jorzan is up!

AoO, with power attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

"Alternatively," Kelne said, smiling the genuine and frightening smile of somebody who had decided that his opponents were evil enough that he would feel no compunctions about taking some small measure of his revenge by cutting them down, "I could hack two of you down and get the third to call them off. Or perhaps all three and fix up one of your fallen friends enough to do it." Or perhaps even use the vest to disguise himself as one of the guards and see if that worked. Best not to try that until there was nobody left to contest his orders though.

"So. Who wants to get out of this alive?" he asked conversationally, as he readied an attack on his next target.

Knowledge(arcana): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Damn! Wish that could have been my attack instead! Can I Trade DM? ;^]

As the skeletons animate themselves Jorzan suddenly recalls an old, obscure and valuable textbook he had once stolen from a library and skimmed through before hiding it in the room of an annoying rival. Along with his anonymous note to the head librarian indicating where the missing tome could be found, the book had succeeded in eliminating said rival from his life for quite some time. One of the chapters he had read though had covered just such things.

Raising his voice enough for all his companions to hear he yells "They're not undead, they're constructs! And they're immune to magic and most elements! Only blunt weapons of the strongest metal have any real chance of harming them!"

Knowing he had little chance to harm the constructs, Jorzan's mind races as he tries to think his way out of this situation. Realizing he had little chance against the constructs and that Kelne's plan may be the best chance at survival they now have, the shadowdancer decides to pit himself against an opponent he can affect. Diving, rolling and leaping to move past Gray and into a position to attack one of the guards he drops his bow and draws his Talon in one smooth move, whipping the poisoned chain weapon to try and knock out his foe.

Moves through Gray's square to E-10, AC27 vs AoO's
Acrobatics to avoid AoO from Skeleton and Guard: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (12) + 16 = 28
Attack: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19 (+flank from Monster)

It is at this moment though that he again seems to hear the very shadows call his name "Jorrrrssssssaaaaannnnn. I Aaaaam Heeeerrrreeee, Caaalllll mmmmmeeeee." "What the hell!" he calls out, his head whipping from side to side. The distraction is just enough so that the poisoned blade misses it's target, instead whistling scant inches from the guards shocked face.