Rajuna Two-Fangs |
Sorry if I was the hold-up. I thought we were voting on which door to go through. If not...
Raj takes and stores the bewildering array of vials he is offered before sliding over to the door (AB14). He plants an ear against it and listens briefly for the sounds of a symphony of poltergeists at play (in which case he'll choose another door), checks it for traps or threats he doesn't anticipate finding, and then tries to open it.
Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Trap Spot (Take 10) 15
STR Check (if needed) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
AC:16 T:14 FF:12
CMD:18 FF:14
Fort:+2 ; Reflex:+7 ; Will:+1
Effects:
Light (on blade) - 20 minutes
Carrion Crown GM |
Excellent. Just Walter we're waiting on then and we'll have the band back together. : )
Strength Checks
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
While Raj bounces off the door on his first attempt, his second, more well-placed kick knocks the door off its hinges.
The room beyond is much more brightly lit. When Raj and Rose file in, weapons at the ready, the reason why becomes immediately apparent--the eastern wall is missing, presumably destroyed in the fire decades ago. The waters of the lake outside languidly caress the flagstones in the eastern half of the room.
Where the remainder of this floor of the prison is mouldy and grimy, this room--exposed to the elements for fifty years--is absolutely filthy. Dirt and dust cakes every surface and congregates in the corners, although the mould and fungi appear absent.
In the south of the room is an immense furnace, large enough that Lem could crawl inside if he wanted. It lies dormant, but a nameplate above the grille reads "Ember Maw". A bewildering array of pipes comes from the furnace and snakes across the ceiling, most of them disappearing into the floor above while a few go through a wall. A carelessly heaped pile of coal sits abandoned in the northwest corner.
I have placed you all on the map. Please adjust if you like.(map link)
(Note, the furnace is a haunt. It can be damaged by positive energy as you have learned from facing the other haunts.) Here are my notes on haunts.
Having made the Perception check, you may act in the surprise round, if your initiative roll is >=10.
SURPRISE ROUND
Everyone roll initiative. One of three things is about to happen:
- If your initiative is >=10 and you make the above DC 15 Perception check, you may act immediately, using the information in the Perception spoiler.
- If your initiative is <10 and you make the above DC 15 Perception check, you may act in the surprise round using the information in the Perception spoiler, but you must wait until after I've had my turn.
- If you do not make the above DC 15 Perception check, you may not act in the surprise round and must wait until the first regular round.
I thought I'd try out getting you folks to roll Perception/Initiative for this encounter instead of me, and see how it works. : )
Theron Adrezi |
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 Hah, still the perception master
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 If only Monster Lore helped.
Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 Barely
As the inquisitor surveys the room, his instincts quickly tell him that something isn't right. There was an odd smell in the room. He glances at the furnace itself to see if the smell is emanating from there, and does a double take as he notices that it is moving!
The furnace is haunted! He yells as he quickly casts a spell at it.
Casting Disrupt Undead
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 4 + 1 = 22 Point Blank Shot
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4Point Blank Shot
Rajuna Two-Fangs |
Raj sees the metal beast grinning. "Aw what the HEL... 'Ware the furnace!"
Unsure what will effect this particular nightmare, Raj gambles that a blunt weapon might work. His hand slips into his burnoose pocket and comes out with a set of brass knuckles on. He steps into the iron monster and punches it, hoping he doesn't break his hand in the process. "What is WITH this place! Everything hates us here."
MOVE: Slip on Brass Knucks
FREE: 5' Move to AF16
STAND: Attack
Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Initiative 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26 <- Meet the Init Master, Theron. :P
STAND ACT: Brass Knuckles (crit: 20/2x):
MODS: None
HIT: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
DAM: 1d3 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Somehow I doubt even catching it flatfooted with let me Sneak Attack it, but just in case...
SNEAK DAM: +1d4 ⇒ 3
AC:16 T:14 FF:12
CMD:18 FF:14
Fort:+2 ; Reflex:+7 ; Will:+1
Effects:
Light (on blade) - 20 minutes
Virtue - 1 HP
Carrion Crown GM |
[dice=Knowledge(Religion)]1d20+6 If only Monster Lore helped.
Theron, your monster lore ability does indeed help; it makes sense that an Ustalavic inquisitor would be trained to recognise and deal with haunts.
Your bolt of energy strikes true and the furnace seems to wince in pain.
Raj, as you might expect, your blow rings off the metal furnace without doing any serious damage. Also, you should only get a single standard action in a surprise round (no move action), but what the heck. : )
Waiting on Karrik, Septimus & Walter. When Karrik posts I'll post for Walter and roll Septimus' initiative etc, unless Lem wants to do it for Septimus now.
Dragomir, please roll me an Initiative check.
Rajuna Two-Fangs |
Doh! Totally forgot that was a surprise round. Ah well, since it proved to be a fruitless mostly RP action... no hurt no foul, eh? For Raj's next trick he will kick the furnace and break his toe. :D
The thief takes a step back and shakes his hand at the stinging blow. "I just used up the dumb ideas... anybody got a smart one?"
Theron Adrezi |
Theron, your monster lore ability does indeed help; it makes sense that an Ustalavic inquisitor would be trained to recognise and deal with haunts.
Yayyy :D *reads the spoiler* Hmm, not sure if we have that damage type.
As Theron observes the effects (or lack thereof) of the opening attacks on the furnace, he realizes that it may have another weakness. It is a furnace, so cold may hurt it as well! Do we even have ice magic?
In theory, do you think water (as in holy water) would hurt it as well? Yea, I know you ruled that holy water doesn't work on haunts, but I was thinking it would make sense for this one if it is going to be using fire attacks on us ;)
Walter Vheist |
Perception - 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Initiative - 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Knowledge (religion) - 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Walter jumped out of his haze and practically out of his shoes. "Why is it alive?!" he wanted to shout, but instead just stammered "W-w-w-w-w-w-w--!!" before drawing up the voices and channeling the ceremony to burn this spirit's anchor.
Casting cure light wounds and five foot stepping away. Wish I could get behind the corner but I'll settle for farther away.
Karrik |
So sorry. I'm not getting updates to the thread after the website work.
Perception 1d20 ⇒ 5. Nope.
Initiative (for the non-surprise round) 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8.
Karrik continues looking for more obvious threats...
AC 15 T 11 FF 14
CMD 16 FF 15
F/R/W +6 / +2 / +4
Effects/Conditions )
Carrion Crown GM |
Actually, I'm getting the opposite: the darn thing keeps telling me there are more and more new posts when I know I've already seen them. Weird. Wednesday and Thursday were busy like I said they’d be, and Friday I actually had a post ready to go, pushed ‘Submit’ and the board ate it. And then ate the replacement. And then ate the replacement after that. By that time I was running behind at work and needed to get some stuff done. Sorry for the delay. : )
Walter, what are you casting cure light wounds on? You start your turn ten feet from the furnace. Or are you holding the charge? I shall assume the latter for now. (map link)
SURPRISE ROUND
Sequence of Events
Only Raj, Walter, Theron and Septimus notice the furnace animating, and all of them are able to act before the furnace does.
- Raj slams his fist into the furnace--and doesn't do much more than jar his arm.
- Walter casts cure light wounds and steps away from the furnace warily.
- Septimus downs a mysterious concoction and then a distorted translucent triangle shape shimmers into existence in front of him.
- Theron hurls a shaft of white light at the furnace, which seems to irritate it momentarily.
Ember Maw attack target (1=Lem, Raj, Rose, Walter, Karrik, Theron, Dragomir, 8=Septimus): 1d8 ⇒ 4; Walter
Ember Maw attack roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Ember Maw damage: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 1, 3) = 11
You fancy that the furnace grins as an orange light springs up inside it, then the grille bursts open and a burning shaft of fire belches forth, spearing between Dragomir and Rose before slamming square into Walter's chest--and for a moment, Walter finds himself transposed into the role of his father, standing across the desk from himself on that night, years ago, when he first called to the fire. It is only then that the searing pain jars him back to reality as a fist-sized section of his shirt becomes ash and his armour*, so recently acquired, is superheated in an instant.
At the same moment, three disembodied flaming skulls burst forth from the furnace, their grinning visages wreathed in flame as their teeth chatter in staccato rhythm--the entire situation has a strange air of disquiet, as the clattering of the skulls’ teeth is the only noise aside from those you make yourselves.
Burning Skulls’ Acrobatics Rolls
#1: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
#2: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Rose, Raj, Dragomir—you all get an attack of opportunity against poor defenceless Flaming Skull #2. Target AC is 13.
Initiative Order, regular rounds
Team PC: 16
Flaming Skulls: 3d20 + 3 ⇒ (10, 20, 6) + 3 = 39 ÷ 3 = 13
Ember Maw: 10
ROUND 1
That makes it Team PC's turn. Off you go. : ) Needless to say, all three skulls are at full hp at the moment. You won't be able to tell what damage you've done to the haunt until it stops trying to roast you. : D
Last request: please make sure you sort out your hit points before the end of round 1 and tell me what they are in the discussion thread. Thanks!
Dragomir Vuk |
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 w/ Pwr Attack
2d6 + 9 ⇒ (2, 5) + 9 = 16
I am at 21 hps atm...
Religion 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
Dragomir flinches as the gout of fire rushes past him only to pivot back as the skull comes shooting from the furnace. Glad for an enemy he can fight he puts all his effort into destroying one of the skulls
Theron Adrezi |
ROUND 1
I'm still at max hit points. Just curious, what square is the furnace in? I don't see it on the map
Religion: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Theron is unsure of the true nature of those floating skulls, but what he does know is that his spell was able to hurt the haunt... albeit slightly. He begins casting again.
Standard Action: Cast Disrupt Undead at the haunt.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 = 12 w/ point blank shot
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 w/ point blank shot
Rajuna Two-Fangs |
Raj smiles slightly through the grimace of pain. Bones I can hurt! I hope...
He delivers a solid punch to the jinking skull. He follows that with a set of strikes at the skull nearest the furnace - following his brass knuckles with a weaving blade strike.
MODS: None
HIT: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
DAM: 1d3 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
~ ROUND 1 ~
FULL: 2 Weapon Attack on Skull #3
MODS: 2 Weapons, flank (Dragomir)
HIT #1: 1d20 + 5 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 5 - 2 + 2 = 19
DAM: 1d3 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Sneak DAM: +1d4 ⇒ 3
Fang (crit: 19+/2x):
HIT #2: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 3 + 2 = 19
DAM: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Sneak DAM: +1d8 ⇒ 5
AC:16 T:14 FF:12
CMD:18 FF:14
Fort:+2 ; Reflex:+7 ; Will:+1
Effects:
Light (on blade) - 20 minutes
Virtue - 1 HP
Carrion Crown GM |
Raj's hurried blow to one of the skulls sends it careening into the wall, where it disintegrates into bone shards.
Shortly thereafter, Dragomir's swing at one of the other skulls goes wide, but Raj pummels it into cinders.
Theron looses another ray at the furnace, but it seems to glance off the steel ineffectively.
(GM Note: soft cover--Walter and Dragomir--had a part to play here.)
Speaking of which, the furnace is at the south end of the room: AD17:AE21.
Karrik |
The half-orc nearly loses his hat as the flying skull rushes near him. Biting off an orcish curse, he lets his scimitar clatter to the ground as he wildly draws and swings his morningstar in one mighty motion, staggering back a step in the process.
Round 1
FREE: Drop scimitar
MOVE: Draw Morningstar
STANDARD: Attack flying skull
FREE: 5' step to AF.13
---> Damage 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8.
AC 15 T 11 FF 14
CMD 16 FF 15
F/R/W +6 / +2 / +4
Effects/Conditions
Theron Adrezi |
Theron Adrezi wrote:Yep. : )Carrion Crown GM wrote:Just checking, that just means that my attack roll wasn't high enough, right?Theron looses another ray at the furnace, but it seems to glance off the steel ineffectively.
I guess that's what I get for momentarily ignoring cover rules ;)
Lem Longbarrow |
Sweat rolls down the tiny priest's face as the fire spews forth, filling the room with unbearable heat from the unholy fire. Lem gives a start as the fire rushes past him, sighing with relief to see Walter, and not a pile of ash, still standing next to him.
In the moment of hesitation the others spring forward, bringing their weapons to bear against the restless spirits. He snaps back to his senses, reaching into his pocket for the magical stone as he watches his friends' desperate fight. He raises his voice to be heard over the sounds of the roaring furnace and the swirling melee.
Strike true, and fear not the flames! The light of Desna shines brighter than any pretender's fire called forth from evil. No mortal shade, man or machine, can stand against the power of the Great Dreamer!
Move: Draw Magic Stone
Standard: Inspire Courage, (5/9) rounds remaining.
I have 10 HP and 1 temp HP from Virtue.
Carrion Crown GM |
Round 1 yet?
Yes, round 1 has begun, although on reflection neither you nor Rose should have got an attack of opportunity on the flaming skull as you were both flat-footed at the time. Rose, ignore your AoO (the skull in question is in smithereens anyway), and Dragomir, the skull you were threatening is already dead. I took your roll as being your Round 1 attack.
Round 1 summary so far:
- Dragomir misses Flaming Skull #3.
- Theron misses the furnace with disrupt undead.
- Raj smashes Flaming Skull #3, having dispatched Flaming Skull #2 in the surprise round.
- Karrik misses Flaming Skull #1.
- Lem starts inspire courage and draws his magic stone.
That leaves Walter, Septimus and Rose to act.
Walter Vheist |
Walter staggered backwards from the breath of fire-- No, no, a laser, he corrected himself mentally-- and then felt the blood run, itchy, across the numbness of his chest, felt it take a concave turn and knew that he was on the brink of death. It burned.
So he took it back.
Cure light wounds on himself - 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Then, he did the only sensible thing in the face of-- the, uh, laser-- he ran.
Going straight to AB13 and cowering there. Don't worry! I'll run in to cure the next person who gets bombarded from orbit by this thing. Wow. Ouch.
HP: 2 + 7 (cure light wounds) = 9 / 13
AC: 16 T: 14 FF: 14
CMD: 13 FF: 11
Fort: +1 , Reflex: +2 , Will: +4
~
Rose Springdawn |
Round 1
HP 13+1/19
Arcane Pool 2/4
Effects
Inspire Courage
Arcane Enhancement
Hit points are 13+1/19. Appears that I had lost track.
Enhancing her blade, Rose sends a beam of energy at the furnace, twirling clockwise and stepping to the side to strike at the skull.
Swift for Arcane Enhancement, Full action for spell combat. Disrupt Undead to the furnace, 5' step to AF15, strike the skull.
Disrupt Undead: 1d20 + 3 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 1 - 2 = 13; Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Longsword: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 18; Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 6
Carrion Crown GM |
Rose sends a bolt of magic into the leering visage of the furnace, but it only strikes a glancing blow (but it does hit and do damage). Her sword strike lands more true, however, and the floating skull is smashed to pieces.
(Rather than wait for Lem, I'll take Septimus' action this round.)
Bereft of corporeal targets, Septimus racks his brain for a means to damage the haunted furnace. Coming up with nothing, he decides that discretion, in this case, is very much the better part of valour, and moves out of sight of the furnace while readying himself to throw a bomb if a target presents itself.
(In other words, Septimus has readied an action.)
ROUND 1
Ember Maw
The enormous furnace emits a groan as the steel grille on the front contorts once more, and a beam of harsh white light lances out, narrowly missing Dragomir.
Attack roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9; miss
END OF ROUND 1.
###
ROUND 2
Team PC
The skulls are gone--only the furnace to worry about at this stage. Your target AC is 10, unless you are firing through soft cover, in which case it's 14. Carry on. : )
Karrik |
"Excellent!" Karrik grunts out as Rose smashes the skull. "Not sure I wanted to learn what that little oddity was capable of." Seeing only one obvious target left, Karrik steps in, driving his now-enhanced morningstar downwards in a vicious two-handed strike on the furnace. "Any brilliant ideas? I don't favor the thought of allowing it to immolate any of the rest of us."
Round 2.
Move to AE.16
Swift to spend 1 from arcane pool for +1 bonus on morningstar
2-handed Attack Furnace
.
Morningstar 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 19
---> Damage 1d8 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 13
AC 15 T 11 FF 14
CMD 16 FF 15
F/R/W +6 / +2 / +4
Effects/Conditions Morningstar enhanced +1 (1/10 rds)
Carrion Crown GM |
Karrik's blow, mighty though it is, only creates a small gouge in the surface of the furnace.
Karrik |
Know: Religion 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17.
CLAAAAAAAAAAAANG
Karrik's whole body seems to rebound from the furnace. "DAMN ME! This is next to useless... the metal's too resilient. (Hardness 10; HP 90) I don't believe the haunt is actually tied to the physical furnace, anyhow. Suppress the haunt itself!"
Rajuna Two-Fangs |
Raj drops his glowing dagger. He then tries to sidestep any sudden blows from the massive metal beast while pulling out a flask of holy water. He hurls the flask into the gaping maw of the furnace, hoping that some remnant of the haunt resides there.
Round 2
FREE: Drop Dagger
MOVE: Draw Holy Water (might draw AoO)
STAND: Throw it
Acrobatics (to avoid AoO) 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Stand ACT: Holy Water (crit: 20/2x):
MODS: None
HIT: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
DAM: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6
AC:16 T:14 FF:12
CMD:18 FF:14
Fort:+2 ; Reflex:+7 ; Will:+1
Effects:
Light (on blade) - 20 minutes
Virtue - 1 HP
Dragomir Vuk |
Knowledge: Religion 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Not knowing what to do, Dragomir reverts to what he does know.
Burn me will ya?, he says as he brings his sword around. Take this!.
Big Sodding Sword 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 Power Attack
2d6 + 9 ⇒ (5, 4) + 9 = 18
I have been having a HORRIBLE run of dice results on not just this but ALL my PbP games lately
Theron Adrezi |
Theron groans in frustration. Could one of you move aside? We need a clear path for spells!
On the plus side, Dragomir and Karrak are going to give the rest of us a nice +4 cover bonus as well ;)
Casting Disrupt Undead again
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 16 Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3 Point Blank+Inspire
Wow, this is going to take forever.
Rose Springdawn |
Round 2
HP 13+1/19
Arcane Pool 2/4
Effects
Inspire Courage
Arcane Enhancement
Rose sends another beam of energy flying towards the furnace, striking into the flames.
Disrupt Undead: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3