DM Carbide's Giantslayer

Game Master John Woodford

Kira swiftly steps back from the spider as it lands on the floor, her hand moving behind her to grab hold of her crossbow and pull it up.

5 ft. step back, then move action to pull out my crossbow.

Lidda delays, her hex having had no effect on the giant arachnid.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-

Apparently confused by all the commotion around it, the spider bites again at Jarrek but misses. Jarrek, DC 15 Fort save or another 2 points STR damage.

Party up!

Giant spider: AC 18 T 15 FF 13 -3 HP

Fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 Yay!

Jarrek swings his blazing sword at the spider again. "Get off me!"

Falchion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Damage: 2d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4) + 3 = 11 Hey, maybe the dicebot is fixed!

Round 3 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-acted
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-

Jarrek hits the spider solidly, cleaving through chitin and spewing ichor around the creature! It's still up and biting, though.

Giant spider: AC 18 T 15 FF 13 -14 HP

I'm going to wait with Svarog's action in case Lidda or Kira's makes a difference to it. He's just going to shoot at Jarrek's head the spider again, though.

Okay, so, I'm impatient. :P

longbow: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 - 4 = 5
dmg: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Svarog delivered a pinpoint, precision shot to a splintered board, which split from the crack shot.

Svarog paused to regard his bow with disgust. *Maybe I should have taken a drink before coming here. My aim might have improved.*

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Kira plinks a perfectly executed miss and then throws her crossbow away in disgust, convinced its firing mechanism is broken. Kira reaches into her hip pouch and pulls a small vial of clear liquid out, getting ready to drink it.

Yep... just... yep, pulling out Targeted Bomb Admixture and preparing to drink it next turn.

Haftor laboriously points his stocky crossbow at the spider. His tongue comes out the side of his mouth, pressed between his lips in concentration. He really didn't practice much with the thing, and had little faith in his aim. "All right, stand still ye bugger."

crossbow att (PBS) 1d20 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 - 4 = 5 damage 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Getting...closer.

This is painful to watch.

Lidda continues to stare in horror.

Round 4 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-

Fortunately for the party, the aura of ill luck that surrounds the Plague House seems to also affect its inhabitants. The spider's envenomed fangs clash shut some distance from its intended half-orcish victim.

Party up again!

Giant spider: AC 18 T 15 FF 13 -14 HP

Falchion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 Come on, dicebot!
Damage: 2d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2) + 3 = 9

Jarrek hacked at the giant spider again, but it dodged away from the glowing blade. "Ha ha! Not so eager now, are you, you ugly bastard!?"

Unsurprised by the outcome of his first volley, Haftor nevertheless apples himself to the task of methodically winding back the arm of his crossbow, and loading the bolt.

Round 4 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor-acted
Jarrek-acted
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-

Haftor prepares to fire again, and Jarrek can't hit the frantically dodging giant spider.

Lidda, Kira, and Svarog!

With an inward grimace, Svarog shot at the spider again.

longbow PBS: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 12
dmg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Gah, I've been forgetting Point Blank Shot! ...Not that it would have helped, but...

His grimace squirmed onto his face as he missed yet again.

I'm sure glad you don't roll to hit your companions in PF!

Round 4 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor-acted
Jarrek-acted
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-acted

Lidda and Kira up!

Kira pops Targeted Bomb Admixture and throws a bomb.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Damage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Welp...

Kira watches as the spider creature springs away from her thrown bomb at the last moments with disbelief followed by frustration.

Lidda continues to watch.

Round 5 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-
Lidda-
Kira-
Svarog-

The spider dances out of the way of Kira's bomb, and is then unable to recover well enough to attack Jarrek effectively.

Party up! Please, someone manage a decent roll to hit.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Targeted Bomb Admixture only lasts one round so this is a splash attack again. Splash damage is 6, DC 14 Ref for half damage. Jarrok, and the spider if the bomb missed, need to make the save.

Round 5 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spider-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-
Lidda-
Kira-acted
Svarog-

The agile spider manages to knock the bomb aside. It lands at Jarrek's feet and bursts, burning both the spider and the half-orc. The spider takes the brunt of the blast, though it's still up and fighting.

Haftor, Jarrek, Lidda, and Svarog!

Giant spider: AC 18 T 15 FF 13 -20 HP

Ref save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Falchion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Damage: 2d4 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1) + 3 = 6

Jarrek jumps out of the way of the worst of the bomb's splash, but misses his attack due to being off-balance. "Watch it, Kira!"

Longbow + PBS: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 18
dmg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Svarog's scowl lessened as he finally managed to strike the spider. "Enough of this dancing," he growled as he set arrow to bow again.

The spider finally holds still just long enough for Svarog to put an arrow into its eye cluster. It falls to the ground, twitching.

Out of combat! Finally! (Advanced creatures are really tough at low levels, with that +4 AC.)

Haftor holds up his warhammer and recites a quick prayer to the All-Father.

Cast CLW on Jarrek 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

He then points his crossbow at the door between Kira and Svarog. "If anyone's here, they heard us. We need to search quickly".

The silence following the battle is only broken by your movements; nothing else seems to be stirring in the ruined building, but you still search as quickly as you can.

Sitting on one of the shelves in the northeast bookcase is a sheathed dagger which the Trunauans immediately recognize as a hopeknife. The flat of the blade bears the inscription, "For Rodrik, my love." When Jarrek reaches for it, he notices that the shelf seems to have a false back. A bit of work reveals a hidden cubby, in which is an ornate gold coffer studded with small gems. It is empty, but looks like it could be worth something on its own.

Svarog notices that someone has carved "R + B" in one of the support beams next to the shelf. Meanwhile, Kira is examining the dead spider for any interesting bits and spots a glint of something in the cabinet to the southeast. Pushing aside the rotted boards reveals two iron flasks, what looks like a scroll case, and two glass vials of water marked with Iomedae's Sword.

Jarrek looks sick, but stoically looks around with the others. "Doesn't seem like there's anything here to investigate, really, does it? What was Rodrik on about?"

Svarog ran his thumb over the carved initials, and looked nearby more closely in case the lovers' mark signified more than Rodrik and Brinya's love.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Then he turned toward Lidda, heavy brow furrowed. "Lidda, you mentioned a hidden door. Where is it?"

If no one wants to try and ID the stuff we found immediately, then I say we head for the hidden door.

Lidda doesn't have detect magic prepped today, but Kira can have a go at the two iron flasks.

Incidentally, I missed a bit of the description. The staircase near Haftor goes up, and is clogged with debris from when the fire destroyed the upper stories. With that destruction, the stairs lead nowhere.

Haftor spotted the hidden door earlier. He opens it now, stepping back and pointing his crossbow into the doorway.

Craft Alchemy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Kira gives an apologetic look to Jarrek before examining the spider for a few moments, then reaching under the cabinet after catching the glint and pulling rotting board. Smiling a bit she pulls out the contents and looks them over. "We'll have to wait until tomorrow to look over the other items however."

Kira puts the items in her pack and stands up to move over to Haftor. Nodding to Haftor with his crossbow pointed at the hidden door, Kira pulls a small iron rod out and twists one of the gold-tipped ends of the rod, setting it to glow brightly. Kira then throws the sunrod through the hidden door, pulling up her crossbow to be ready for any further threats.

Jarrek crowds in behind Kira and Haftor as they open the door, sword ready in spite of his weakened state.

The first thing Haftor notices when he opens the concealed door is that the floor on the other side looks pretty shaky. Then he and Svarog hear movement above the door, and three spiders that look like smaller versions of the one you just fought come into view from above!

Surprise Round:

Initiative order
Spiders
Svarog
Haftor

The spiders drop down and prepare to attack the dwarf.

Svarog and Haftor can act! I've marked on the map the area of floor that Haftor doesn't trust.

Svarog lifted his bow and took a shot from behind Kira and Haftor.

longbow + PBS + melee + cover: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 - 4 - 4 = 3
dmg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

At the last moment, Haftor raised his weapon, and in redirecting to avoid it Svarog's arrow only thunked into the door mantle.

"Lure them out here, where we can all work to squash them," he growled.

Is he standing right under the statue? Better watch out for that, too...

Haftor instinctively pulls the trigger, then takes a 5' step SW, hoping to draw the critters out.

crossbow att (+1/+1 PBS) 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 damage 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Two of the spiders bite at Haftor as he fires, and both manage to hook their small fangs through his armor. Take 3 HP plus 1 nonlethal, and DC 12 Fort save or take 1 point STR damage.

Round 1:

Initiative order
Spiders-acted
Lidda
Svarog
Kira
Haftor
Jarrek

The same two spiders bite at Haftor again before he can retreat (Kira needs to get out of the way), but this time the dwarf is ready for them and avoids their attacks.

Party up!

Spiders: AC 15 T 15 FF 10

fort 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

I have 1 CLW left. I can heal Jarrek again if he prefers melee. If he prefers ranged, I'll heal myself.

Can Svarog still target the red spider if he goes a little up the stairs? If so, he'll do that. If not, he'll fire from where he is.

longbow + PBS + melee + cover: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 1 - 4 - 4 = 2
dmg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Svarog neatly planted another arrow in the doorframe. He snarled; this was embarrassing.

The map isn't entirely clear to me - can we go through a door and surround the spiders? It didn't sound that way with the secret door and all, but the map makes me wonder.

Yes, Svarog can target the spider from the stairs. You can also go around from the larger hall, but the floor looks a little shaky there, and part of it has already collapsed.

Haftor's worse off than Jarrek, so let's switch spots and put J up front.

"Get behind me, Haftor!" Jarrek pushed against the wall to let the dwarf by and get in front of the spiders. "We already killed your momma, now it's time for you!"

He'll use Inspire Courage to see if we can do better this fight.

Falchion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14 I guess average is better than last time...
Damage: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2) + 4 = 9

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spiders-acted
Lidda
Svarog-acted
Kira
Haftor
Jarrek-acted

Svarog misses with an arrow, and then Jarrek steps up and narrowly misses one of the spry small spiders.

Lidda, Kira, and Haftor up!

Kira switches her crossbow to her offhand and grabs hold of a bomb with her throwing arm, her bomb sailing over Haftor's head into the back of the spider group...

Attacking green spider
Touch Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
6 splash damage to the other two spiders, DC 14 Ref for half

Kira gives a small grin as the bomb's sticky fire splashes in among the spiders.

Kira probably would've hit anyway, but don't forget the +1 att/dmg from Inspire Courage.

Jarrek, I think starting inspire courage is a standard action, so you couldn't have attacked and started on the same round.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Spiders-acted
Lidda
Svarog-acted
Kira-acted
Haftor
Jarrek-acted

All three spiders are burned by the blast, one looking much worse than the other two.

Spiders: AC 15 T 15 FF 10
Green: -9 HP
Red: -3 HP
Blue: -3 HP

Once he switches places with Jarrek, Haftor heals him with a quick spell.

my last CLW for the day 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Lidda stares at one of the spiders. At their action, all three of the arachnids retreat back up above the secret doorway.

Out of combat, unless you want to pursue.

Svarog grunted, slinging his bow and re-drawing his sword. "Your fire was well-placed, Kira." He went over to make sure the fire wasn't spreading, and then glanced up where the spiders had vanished.

"This hovel is crawling with giant vermin. We should take it up with Omast. If the young come here, they could be injured."

He took his snooping into the hall, alert for more danger.

He'll open one of the double doors to the south.

The room on the other side of the double doors is quite large, taking up the entire corner of the building. Two rows of scorched, wrought-iron bedframes take up most of the space in the center of this soaring chamber, resting between a fire-blackened altar to the southwest and double doors to the northeast. In addition to those and the doors Svarog has just opened, there is a single iron door to the southeast. The windows along the southeastern wall are stained-glass, depicting saints and heroes in Iomedae's service. Despite the soot blackening the stone walls, the faces of the figures are noticeably less damaged than the rest of the room. Svarog notices a pronounced odor of burning flesh.

Wasn't this place burned down a long time ago? Like, too long for a smell to linger? Or does it smell like burning meat as in, badly cooked?

Svarog frowned, and on him a frown was a scowl. He looked around carefully without entering, especially for any footprints in the dust and debris, then went back to fetch the others.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 +2 vs. orcs

"There is a stink about this place," he said without preamble. "Burnt flesh. I didn't see anyone, or anything, in that room, but the smell is thick in the air. I will go in for a closer look. Watch the doors, that no one tries to escape."

Haftor acknowledges Svarog's request with a nod and a grunt. He re-loads his crossbow as he looks into the room with a wary eye.

does the sparing of the heroes faces look like they were not damaged, or that they were damaged and later cleaned up? roll 1d20 ⇒ 16 Knowledge (engineering) +7 or Profession (stonemason) +9?

what is the proper thing to do at an altar of Iomedae? I'll take 10 on Knowledge (religion)

Svarog--yes, the fire was decades ago. It doesn't smell like someone cooking, either. Give me a Survival check.

Haftor, the faces look like they weren't damaged. You are familiar with the proper obeisances at an altar of Iomedae, but are also aware that this was most recently an infirmary for plague victims before it burned.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 +2 vs orcs

Mmm-mmm, home cookin'.

Svarog entered the room, sword ready for trouble, and knelt to examine the debris and soot on the floor for tracks more closely.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 +2 vs orcs

Hey look! A floor. :P

Rising in disgust, he stalked over to the altar to look for anything of interest there.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Jarrek frowns at the burned bedframes and altar as he takes a few steps into the room. "Someone camping in here, with these spiders everywhere?"

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 9
Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 9 Well, at least it's consistent.