Torque quickly realizes that the glimmer at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train some sort of large hostile creature. It is a smoldering mass of metal-encrusted ooze sprouting a multiplicity of pseudopods, each tipped with what appears to be a red-hot sword blade.
Round 1:
Initiative order
Senja
Eva
Kali
Creature
Torque
Asvald
Senja, Eva, and Kali can act!
DC 18 Knowledge (Dungeoneering):
This is a shard slag, a magically-infused ooze. It has a great deal of metal in its molten form, which it can temporarily form into blades with which it can attack at considerable distance.
If you get 23 or over on the check:
It is immune to acid, electricity, and fire, and has limited damage resistance against mundane weapons.
If you get 28 or over on the check:
It is vulnerable to cold and water, but does heat damage to anyone near it.
The good news is that since it hasn't acted, it doesn't get AoOs against you. The bad news....
Round 1 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Senja
Eva-acted
Kali
Creature
Torque
Asvald
Eva dashes forward into battle and cuts at the ooze, but misses. She immediately realizes that the creature sheds heat like a blast furnace. Take 5 HP fire damage, Eva, and give me a DC 16 Fort save to avoid being staggered for the next round.
Senja also shares what he knows about the shard slag, pondering the significance of this information a moment before acting. Raising his hand and pinching the fingers together, as if squeezing an imaginary throat, he casts a spell at the ooze!
Assuming that Knowledge check roll would allow me to know that oozes have to breathe, cast suffocation, DC 22 Fort save.
Initiative order
Senja-acted
Eva-acted
Kali
Creature
Torque
Asvald
The ooze's glow dims as Senja's spell tries to extract the air from it. It resists the primary effects of the spell, though, and quickly recovers its color.
With the information imparted by Eva and Senja, Kali steps up five feet and opts to try her luck with an Intensified Snowball spell against the creature.
Initiative order
Senja-acted
Eva-acted
Kali-acted
Creature
Torque
Asvald
Kali easily drops her intensified snowball on the ooze despite the cramped confines. It writhes in pain, slamming into the narrow walls of the passage; its radiance dims again as large patches of its surface freeze solid briefly, then remelt.
Then it acts. Because of the lingering effects of Senja's spell, it can only use one of its blades, but it wields that blade against Eva with terrifying accuracy. Eva, take 23 HP piercing damage and 10 HP fire damage.
"Let me stand against this monster, brave Eva." Torque lays a hand on the teacher and they both disappear and reappear a few feet back from where they started. The half orc then bravely steps forward and gets into a defensive stance. Move Action Dimensional Hop Eva and myself 5 feet southwest, 5 foot step and then total defense. AC is 29 for this round and I have 20 fire resistance.
While Torque and Eva are occupied in the narrow passage, everyone else sees a shadow fall across the glow emanating from the rock wall. Then something smashes through the rock!
DC 18 Knowledge (Arcana):
This is a gray render, a powerful magical beast capable of delivering massive blows with its claws and bite. It has no special attacks or vulnerabilities, although as displayed here it does particularly effective damage against inert objects.
M Wayang Witch 10 | HP 70 | AC 18 | T 17 | FF 14 (w/mage armor: 22/17/18) | CMD 18 | Fort +10 | Ref +11 | Will +11 | Init +9 | Perc +21
Knowledge (arcana):1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
"Uh-oh, this just got very...interesting," Senja observes. "That there is a gray render - a powerful magical beast capable of doing real harm with its claws and bite. Doesn't do anything special to attack, and there's no best way to hurt it. And it seems to be pretty good at breaking things."
Senja conjures up a swirling storm of little shadowy spheres, then throws them like so many marbles under the feet of the grey render, hoping to make it a little harder for the thing to smash his friends.
Use Misfortune hex on gray render, DC 21 Will save to resist, still lasts two rounds if he makes the save. If I can't target the render, since I don't see it on the map, I'll get the shard slag instead.
F Human Monk 10 [ HP 101/103 (0 NL) | AC 26* Tch 21 FF 24 | Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +13 | CMD 30 | Init +2 | Perc +17, low-light vision | Ki: 16/16 | Effects: mage armor ]
Eva stretches her arms and legs to punch the slag-creature with her freezing-cold extremities! Elemental Fist + Marid Style = +5 feet of reach and cold damage on Elemental Fist. Then, 5' step back.
Edit: Just saw the map with the new creature's location. Instead of 5' stepping back after my attack, I'd like to tumble away from the latest threat. I'm pretty low (26/67) and don't like the idea of getting smashed.
Feeling pretty good about the effects of her last Snowball spell on the ooze thing, Kali casts it again on the same enemy, then moves away from the gray monster.
Eva, my understanding of the Elemental Fist feat is that only the extra d6 is cold damage; the rest of it is physical. Also too, the shard slag has a 15' reach (!?), so you also have to dodge its AoO.
Kali's spell hits the molten ooze again, with similar (albeit lesser) effects. Eva strikes it as well, but realizes to her chagrin that the intense heat of its body makes it a danger to anyone touching it. Eva, take 11 HP heat damage, and DC 16 Fort save to avoid being staggered for one round from the excruciating pain.
Now comes the grim part. If your current AC is 24 or less, the shard slag hits you with its AoO for another 22 HP. The gray render also tags you with a claw despite its lack of fortune, for 14 HP.
Heaving its incandescent bulk back and forth, the shard slag sprouts a half-dozen glowing blades and slashes at Torque. Three hit solidly; the Lawbringer manages to dodge so that two of those narrowly miss vital spots. Torque's fire resistance likewise protects him from much of the damage the creature would otherwise do. Torque, take 27 HP.
F Human Monk 10 [ HP 101/103 (0 NL) | AC 26* Tch 21 FF 24 | Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +13 | CMD 30 | Init +2 | Perc +17, low-light vision | Ki: 16/16 | Effects: mage armor ]
Good catch -- only 1d6+4 of that is cold damage, so 7.
Two questions: do you rule one Acrobatics check versus multiple enemies, or as many as there are threatening foes? Second question: who picks which one to check against first? Third question: would you rule that the AoO is still provoked from every enemy even if the provoking action is interrupted by the first AoO?
Torque, does your fire resistance extend to your equipment? Eva, did the shard slag have cover against you from where you were attacking? IIRC, attacks of opportunity are targeted against the square you're leaving, not the one you're moving to.
F Human Monk 10 [ HP 101/103 (0 NL) | AC 26* Tch 21 FF 24 | Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +13 | CMD 30 | Init +2 | Perc +17, low-light vision | Ki: 16/16 | Effects: mage armor ]
For clarity, I've updated the map to include Eva's last position (black & white Eva w/ orange border). Based on that position, my reading would be that the slag did not have cover from my attacks, but I would've had cover from its attacks (thus preventing AoOs).
Since you would hit it even with cover, it doesn't matter. You're right that you have cover from its attack; I'd missed that Torque had moved you both SW instead of W. Also, doesn't your elemental fist do 2d6+4 cold damage?
Torque hits the shard slag twice in rapid succession, and with the second blow the incandescent ooze finally expires. Torque, the creature's body is just sticky enough that you have to move quickly to avoid your blade heating up. This likely won't matter, but two DC 22 Reflex saves or your sword takes 5 HP and 7 HP, respectively. Hardness is reduced by 5 against this damage.
Asvald hits the grey render once, doing it some damage.
M Wayang Witch 10 | HP 70 | AC 18 | T 17 | FF 14 (w/mage armor: 22/17/18) | CMD 18 | Fort +10 | Ref +11 | Will +11 | Init +9 | Perc +21
Senja can't help himself, and begins to laugh as the grey render swings futilely at Asvald. His laughter builds maniacally as he gives the mighty beast a wicked stare, focusing the evil eye on it!
Move action to cackle to maintain Misfortune, standard to use Evil Eye hex on render for -4 to AC. DC 21 Will save to resist Evil Eye.
F Human Monk 10 [ HP 101/103 (0 NL) | AC 26* Tch 21 FF 24 | Fort +10 Ref +9 Will +13 | CMD 30 | Init +2 | Perc +17, low-light vision | Ki: 16/16 | Effects: mage armor ]
HP: 13/67
Eva stands back takes a breather, allowing her allies to defeat the foe as she keeps her eyes open for ways she might be able to assist. Delay, but will come out of delay if anyone needs saving or something.
"Try to get it to move into the room. I don't think I can hit it with spells without it hitting me." Kali suggests as she casts a Mirror Image spell, creating 5 duplicates of her.
M Wayang Witch 10 | HP 70 | AC 18 | T 17 | FF 14 (w/mage armor: 22/17/18) | CMD 18 | Fort +10 | Ref +11 | Will +11 | Init +9 | Perc +21
Senja continues his dark laughter as he conjures up a long, narrow strip of shadow and hurls it at the grey render. The band of shadow wraps itself around the hulking creature's head like a blindfold, impeding its ability to strike Asvald!
Cackle to maintain Misfortune, standard to use Evil Eye hex on render for -4 to attacks. DC 21 Will save to resist Evil Eye.
