DM Carbide's Through a Cracked Mirror: A Fool's Gold Errand (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

No leader apparent by dress or equipment. Give me a Sense Motive check.

MARSOQ tactics 101. Sometimes it's more important to kill a soldier who the others look up to as opposed to an officer.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

"We killed the senior officer, but now they're fighting better."

Drovic, in your brief observation it seems to you that one orc in particular gets a bit more deference than the others. Unfortunately, he's not on the edge of the group.

Soooo what are we waiting on?

Conner and Dashel have actions in Round 2.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Round 2, Studied Target, Many Shot

Conner fires three arrows as a full round action at the Orc in AD-14.

LB Att1: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 12 + 2 = 17
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 2 = 12
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8

LB Att1: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 2 = 19
LB Dam: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8

Conner, I only see two rolls to hit.

If first attack hits, both arrows on first attack hit.

That's right; I thought of that after I'd shut things down at work. Does the third arrow have to be against the same target?

Conner's first two arrows put the designated orc on the ground.

No, and if the first two did the job, then I would have fired the second shot (third arrow) at the next closest orc.

The next orc is staggered by the arrow, but still standing. For now.

RD 2: Dashel

Dashel will run to get to T:12 (I assume the "O") are the orcs.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 Looking for lookouts, traps, anything that could be an ambush or cause me grief.

Yes, the Os are orcs. They don't seem to be keeping lookouts.

At their action, the orcs rush the most obvious person they see. The only one who can reach the cleric launches a blow at him, but Dashel is easily able to block it with his shield. The second one that Conner hit staggers forward and collapses to the ground before he even gets halfway there.

Round 3:

Initiative order
Drovic
Besmarial
Conner
Dashel
Orcs-

Party up!

Drovic slowly moves around the edge of the group, eyes trained on the 'head' of them.

Focusing.

RD 3: Dashel

The servant of the bringer of light quickly parries the orcs blow then he slices down at the beasts chest with his longsword,

+1 longsword, df: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 2 = 17;damage, df: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 2 = 13

Dashel's sword cleaves into the charging orc, staggering it but not quite putting it down.

When I get back to the map, I'll mark the nominal dominant somehow. Orcs in red are the ones running on ferocity alone.

"Is that all you've got...heathen!"

Round 3, Studied Target, Point Blank, Sneak Attack

Conner moves forward to P-11 stealthily, and fires one arrow at the Orc in U-15, and the second arrow at the Orc in V-14.

Stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34

LB Att1: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 13 + 2 = 28
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 4 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 2 + (5, 6) = 24

LB Att1: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 = 30
LB Dam2: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14

Confirm: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 2 = 23
Add'l Dam: 2d8 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (8, 7) + 8 + 4 = 27

Since the party seems to have things well in hand Besmarial continues to hang back, watching for reinforcements.

One of the orcs (Drovic, it's the one you've tagged as the senior present) snarls out an obvious command, and is clearly angered by the refusal of any of the other orcs to do anything but chuckle and make disparaging remarks in Orcish. The one that Dashel attacked manages to swing once and miss before falling; four more move up and attack the cleric, but only one hits for 10 HP.

Round 4:

Initiative order
Drovic
Besmarial
Conner
Dashel
Orcs-

Everyone is up!

What were the results of my Round 3 attack?

Sorry; deleted the orcs from the board and forgot to describe what happened. Both of Conner's targets fell, killed outright.

Drovic continues to focus.

Round 4, Studied Target, Point Blank, Sneak Attack, Precise Shot

Please move me forward 5 Feet to P-11, as in my last post for Round 3.

Conner moves forward five feet to Q-10 stealthily, and fires one arrow at the Orc in U-11, and the second arrow at the Orc in T-15.

Stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17

LB Att1: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 13 + 2 = 30
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 4 + 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 + (4, 4) = 17

LB Att1: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 2 = 13
LB Dam2: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 2 = 11

Conner, AFAICT there is no orc in T-15. Do you mean T-13?

Conner's first arrow leaves the orc staggered.

RD 4; Dashel

"May your journey to the afterlife be marred with much retribution upon your vile soul."

+1 longsword, df: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 = 27;damage, df: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9

He attacks the orc that just hit him.

Assuming that Conner meant T-13....

Conner's arrows leave two of Dashel's attackers running on nothing but ferocity, and the cleric's followup sword blow does the same for a third. The one who tried to give an order last round runs for it, fleeing into what's left of the central keep.

The wounded orcs hold it together long enough to attack Dashel again, and one of them hits (along with the unwounded orc). Both blows are glancing ones, though. The remaining two orcs advance over the bodies of the fallen, continuing to press the attack against Dashel; only one hits, though. The one who hit laughs and says something in Orcish to the others. Dashel, take a total of 21 more HP.

Round 5:

Initiative order
Drovic
Besmarial
Conner
Dashel
Orcs-

You're up!

RD 5: Dashel

On the the orc that he previously hit,

+1 longsword, df: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 = 27;damage, df: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9

"To the afterlife."

Dashel, the one you previously hit dropped after it attacked you. That's one of the things about orcs that makes them a little tougher than you'd expect--unless you kill them outright, when they go negative their ferocity gives them a final action before they fall.

When it gets in ferocity ability it doesn't die until it reaches it's con score, so it can act once each round that is way I hit the orc in negative numbers to put it down.

Ha! I'd conflated it with half-orc ferocity--the pureblood version is even tougher. I'll finish out this fight the way I thought they were, though, and then they're going to get a little harder to kill.

Drovic closes the gap silently and continues focusing.

Where are you moving to, Drovic? The one you've been focusing on ran back into the ruins of the keep, and is now over 100 feet away from you.

Directly towards him 30 feet. I thought I was following him as he went?

He didn't really move much until this round. Since he wasn't engaged, he didn't just double-move, he ran (4x base speed).

Coward. I'll continue to chase, I have 3 round to attack before the chance goes away.

Coward.

By an amazing coincidence, that's what the other soon-to-be-late orcs said, too.

Round 5, Studied Target, Point Blank, Manyshot, Precise Shot

Conner fires two arrows at the Orc in U-12, and the third arrow at the Orc in T-13.

LB Att1: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 13 + 2 = 25
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10
LB Dam2: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 2 = 13

LB Att2: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 2 = 24
LB Dam3: 1d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9

Conner drops the first orc outright and staggers the second. Dashel staggered his, as well. Both swing at the cleric and miss, then fall.

Drovic, you can see that the last orc has stopped right around where the stairway down was in the keep in the other world. His back is to you, but he looks over his shoulder frequently. He shouts something in Orcish.

Round 6:

Initiative order
Drovic
Besmarial
Conner
Dashel
Orcs-

You're up.

I have you now. Drovic slips up silently, enjoying the feeling that the orc is looking right through him without knowing his death is only moments away. He feels the familiar weight of Aconite in his hands, then rises up behind the orc and breathes out an elven phrase in the orc's ear. "Esta e' seere." Aconite plunges towards the orc's heart.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 15 + 20 = 43
Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 2 + 2d8 ⇒ (1) + 2 + (2, 8) = 13

DC 14 fort save or die.

Drovic, you miss the instant kill; the orc is bleeding out, though, and is only staying on his feet because of sheer rage.

Dashel looks around and casts detect magic to give the fallen orcs a quick examination for the presence of magic.

Dashel detects no magical auras on the bodies.

He extends the search outward working his way towards the hole leading to the other world.

Let me clarify--what you're seeing here looks to be just like the abbey in "your" Golarion, except for the minor difference of apparently having been demolished a few years ago. The damage done to this abbey considerably surpasses what a couple of cave giants and a militant band of orcs did to the abbey that you found in the first "other" Golarion you reached. The pit that Drovic has found is in the location analogous to the stairs down into the maze in the abbey in the first "other" Golarion you reached. No rifts in the immediate vicinity as far as you can tell.

Conner, you're up. No targets in the near vicinity, although you saw one flee towards the keep ruins.

Round 6, Studied Target, Rapid Shot

Conner fires moves to V-12 and rapidly fires two arrows at the retreating Orc.

LB Att1: 1d20 + 13 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 13 + 2 - 2 = 28
LB Dam1: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9

LB Att2: 1d20 + 13 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 13 + 2 - 2 = 15
LB Dam2: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9

Conner, AFAICT Rapid Shot can only be used as part of a full attack action, and you moved more than 5' to get to V-12. I think you also take a -2 for range. Not that it matters; your damage for the first arrow alone on top of Drovic's is enough to drop it outright.

Did not say Full Round Attack Action in the description I had. No biggie.

The last orc on the surface falls. Drovic, you hear shouts and clanking of metal from the pit.