Darkest Corners volume 2

Game Master Harakani

"Hmm. Interesting theory. It seems most plausible - the best one so far." the clockwork chimed excited. "Then we know the approximative size of this 'master vampire'!"

The duration expired, Sefu returns to normal size.

Looking around in the room and then up, Ophelia decides that she has seen most of everything of interest in the room. Just one thing left. She pulls parts of the barricade close to the hole in the roof and rips of a large chunk of the carpet/drapers/charmed person cloth. With surprising agility she jumps up on the makeshift staircase, which cracks under her weight but still holds, and stuffs the hole tight.

"No sense in leaving it open - this should at the very least hinder the use of this opening as an escape route. Shall we take the coffin and complete our sweep of the building?"

"Sounds reasonable. Grab away and let us return to our search."

"Affirmitive." Ophelia nods and picks up the casket, handing it to Sefu. With one last look around in the room she leaves and (quietly) heads for the last unexplored location on this floor - the stairs up!

Stealh: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

However, despite her best efforts, something heavy and metal is not as quiet as one could hope.

To check: you are closing up the coffin and taking it with you? While light for a chest, it's still a solid weight.
RE Sweep: this floor is now checked (this was the last room) so unless you want to revisit the rooms here that you checked, you are ready to go to another floor. Up?

Yes - to both. Until the Bull's Strenght extract wears off (it has a 40min duration, shorter then the Mutagen/Overcharge), Ophelia is operating at Str 25. So she should be able to drag it around for a bit. It might come in handy as a hostage/bargaining chip later : )

Up it is!

Addendum: Due to a surplus of magic fuelled strength and the fact that she is only using a one handed weapon (silver light mace), Ophelia could probably hold the casket under one arm and swinging her weapon with the other.

"I concur, lets head upstairs." Castor agrees with the plan.

He eyes Ophelia with mild disbelieve, rising one eyebrow.

@Ophelia: Well, Sefu's not looking so good, so if she can, fine. Chest weighs 100lbs empty. It is Hardness 8, 60hp
Once the hole is filled to Ophelia's satisfaction, the group head to the stairs, where they encounter the Sergeant.

"You're clear? Did you find anything?" casting a quizzical look at the chest under Ophelia's arm "Looting?" he asks in disbelief.

The chest wasn't that heavy for her - but it was certainly unwieldy. After some coaxing she managed to tuck it underneath her left arm, holding out the other a little bit to help her keep balance. She noticed Castors look - but couldn't make anything out of it at the moment. A raised eyebrow? Curious. I have observed the gesture before - I wonder what it means? I have to investigate later ...

---

"Yes. Yes. No." Ophelia responds quickly. For a brief moment she stands confused before realizing what the Sergeant is going for. She humms to herself and start making motions as if to hand the chest over to the Sergeant but stops halfway trough. With her head tilted slightly to the side she re-evaluates her decision and instead puts the chest down and opens it for him to see.

"The Guard Sorcerer theorizes that this might be the source of the vampire-ism currently ailing the building. I think he is correct. Therefore it might make a handy bargaining chip and/or hostage exchange token if/when we find the vampire contained within."

"This is probably the resting place for the master vampire. If that is the case, it should be a hafling-sized creature, Sarge." Castor adds to Ophelia's explanation.

"And I am no sorcerer." he whispers under his breath.

"But §125.12C, On Organization and Ranks, state ..." Ophelia whispers weakly before falling silent again.

The Sergeant nods
"Well done! If that is the little bloodsucker's coffin he'll have to go back to it if we discorporate him."
"Okay. I checked the floor below this one. Let's go up..."

The stairs continue, leading up into darkness. Shadows close around the staircase, and while you just can see the doorway at the top, you can see nothing within it.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23
Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

"There are bats up there in quantities rarely seen outside Ustalav. Though that is an interesting occurrence, it is no comfort. Let us at least hope their intestines are emptied." Castor informs his collegues.

"Good luck, Sefu" he says and unleashes another protective spell from his favorite wand at the volunteer.

Ophelia already tried and rolled low on a perception test - luckily she has competent coworkers : )

"Bats?" Ophelia tilts her head to the side, looking up the staircase. "I've seen some bats under the rafters - they where friendly enough. Seemed to like fruit ..." She trails off a little bit before shaking her head and blinking, getting back on track. "However - Bats are known to have a connection with Vampires. We should assume they are hostile!"

@GM - is it reasonable to assume the PCs know how to deal with a potential swarm?

Even so, Ophelia only got some Alchemical Fires to attack them with - and she is not so certain that Fire is the correct element of choice inside a woodworking workshop :P

Know (Nature): On Bats: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (17) + 6 + (5) = 28

given those rolls? Yes. Sounds like at least one Bat Swarm. I imagine the Guard is trained to deal with swarms, given the ease with which they can be summoned. What do you want to do?

Sefu starts heading up the stairs
Stairs require going up single file, or squeezing. There are five positions. Sefu is in #1. Call out a number, and give me an initiative roll :)
Bonus points if you explain what you're carrying, why you picked that number, and what you're expecting.

"... If the number of bats waiting upstairs is *many*, conventional weaponry may prove inefficient. I have a pair of Alchemist's Fire - but deployment of said fire may have perilous side-effects given the nature of this structure. Any ideas?" Ophelia queries as she follows Sefu's footsteps.

Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Ophelia will pick number two. Reason: Her "hostage" might only be useful if the vampire knows that she has it!

Carrying: Under left arm: The "hostage", a heavy wooden box. In right hand: Vial of Alchemist's Fire, unless someone has a better idea! (then she'll have her mace out)

Expectation: Vampire sitting on large stuffed chair, petting white cat. "I'ff beeen expecting yuo mister ..." That and/or a large pile of bats :P (silent prayer that the vampire rolled a "1")

"Sounds like our best shot. I do have a scroll that might help. But it might not work on flying swarms and it could also set the building on fire." Castor says.

Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Castor will stay last as before.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Perception for Myla: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Laurestine follows directly behind Ophelia with her rapier drawn.

"More vampires? Ugh, suddenly I feel like they turned from intelligent undead to an infestation! What's going on around anyway?" she says in half-jokingly.

"خفاش؟ من نفرت خفاش ها! آنها وحشت زده هستند و در تاریکی زندگی می کنند و نیش می زنند چیز! “

...only to have a tiny dark shadow drops silently down on him, slamming into his head and bouncing away into the darkness beyond.

Sefu, already drained, collapses in the doorway at the feet of the revealed and reeling spawn he attacked moments before. At the meaty thump the twittering from this area intensifies. The light coming through the doorway is just enough to reveal the ceiling is blanketed in hanging bats.

This is a large attic space, with swarms "above" you for the seeable distance. Any noise is likely to send them swirling. Basically: until there's noise there is now swarm. Soon as they get properly woken up the whole area goes swarm.
The 'tiny' shadow is probably your halfling vampire. He's in the room right now. Won't have had a chance to hide again, but can do so on his next action. Right now light would reveal him.
Tactically your problem is that you have a five foot doorway with a vamp spawn - a big one - on the other side. You can move through each other's spaces, and right now Sefu is down, so someone can stand over him and engage in melee if desired.
Marching order: Sefu, Ophelia, Laurestine (Myla), Sarge, Castor
Init order: Laurestine, Master Vampire, Castor, Ophelia, Spawn, Sarge
Round 1: Fight!

MOOOOOOOOORTAL KOOOOOOOOOOMBAAAAAAAAAAT!!!

"All right? Let's dance." ;-)

...waiting on Laurestine and master vampire...

Let there be....light!

Laurestine casts light on her rapier and positions herself to defend their side of the doorway.

Megalomanic!

The bats above the door rustle at the sudden light, but the hulking brute in the doorway blocks enough that they do not move.
The master gives an eerie, impossibly high-pitched laugh and walks back slowly into the darkness, vanishing from sight like a shiny nail dropped into a vat of oil.

Hmm, does the big spawn still look flat-footed ? Ophelia might wanna go for a tackle to get him out of the way, but she'll need to weight her options a bit more.

I recognize that such a crash is *very* likely to stir the bats!

He does, indeed. Strange to see one of the Children of Darkness looking blank in combat - must be his recent change

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

"Lets move like we got a purpose" Castor leans forward and touches Ophelia with his wand, protecting her from evil influences.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 + 1d6 ⇒ (15) + 13 + (1) = 29

Round 1

Ophelia steps up over Sefu's fallen body, interposing herself between him and any further harm. With a calculating glance she swings her mace at the spawn. It seemed more prudent to permanently remove the threat rather then merely displace it!

To Hit: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 10 + 2 = 18

Damage, Silver: 1d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 = 14

Five-foot step up to Sefu's square. Move Action to use Study Combat on Spawn. Standard action to hit Spawn with silver light mace

Sefu is in the doorway (downed) with Laurestine standing over him - basically blocking the doorway. Laurestine was making sure the Vamp didn't come back to finish Sefu off, I believe.
Ophelia; you could move through the doorway, but you'll need to make an Acrobatics roll to avoid AoO. If you're going to do that you can then be on the side of the spawn, inside the room, if you like.

Oh, I missed that!

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (2) = 11

Using 1 point of inspiration!

Ophelia roughly shifts past the spawn, giving him a headbutt in the progress, graceful as only 300 lbs of brass, copper and steel can be!

Hmm - not high enough, but if he's flat footed he doesn't get an AoO.
Ophelia roughly pushes past the spawn - lucky he was inexperienced enough not to have reacted quickly - and lashes out.
The damaged spawn reels back again.
bats: 1d20 ⇒ 5
The bats stir at the noise, but do not descend.
The spawn lashes out at the metal woman. Unlike his fellow spawn, this one lashes out with a large mallet.
attack ophelia: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20Ophelia, I believe that'll hit even with Protection From Evil? bludgeoning damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Sarge closes as far as he can, then calls out
"Iomedae! Lend us your light!"
A momentary pulse of light bursts from his shield

Round 2!
Init order: Laurestine, Master Vampire, Castor, Ophelia, Spawn, Sarge

Yes, with the Protection from Evil spell and the Mugagen up, Ophelia has exactly 20 AC : )

*CLOINK*

Laurestine concentration: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 damage: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (7, 5) + 4 = 16 save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
attack: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 2 = 17 damage: 1d3 + 1 + 3d6 ⇒ (2) + 1 + (1, 6, 5) = 15

Laurestine calls out in the twisted Draconic tongue, then slaps the spawn in the doorway. It backs away, raises its mallet threateningly.. and then crumbles into black dust.

Through this cloud of powder comes the Master Vampire, sword in hand - but it is with its other, empty hand that it strikes: and misses! Laurestine jerks backwards as the Master hisses up at her in fury in frustration.
Init order: Laurestine, Master Vampire, Castor, Ophelia, Spawn, Sarge

Castor uses the wand to protect Laurestine as well.

"Finally, we meet the source of the problem." he says quietly.

Round 2!

Seeing her first target disintegrate infront of her Ophelia rapidly shifts her focus on the one that takes its place. Caught between her and Laurestine, there was precious little the Vampire could do to evade her strikes!

To Hit, Flanking: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 10 + 2 + 2 = 24

Damage: 1d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 12

Move Action to use Study Combat on the Master Vampire, if needed a 5-foot step into position then a Standard Action attack!

Stealth roll please Ophelia!
Castor: I know that wand might look weak, but it's stopped me doing Dominate soooo many times. They know you've been using it, and what it does.
Sergeant Valdemar lashes out with a stream of searing light
searing light attack: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 2 - 4 = 0 - but is forced to abort his attack at the last minute or risking burning through Ophelia.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Oh ....

One bat-swarm coming right up! :P

Round 3!
Laurestine concentration: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Laurestine chants again, and her hand glows with holy light... but distracted and half blinded by the Sergeant's attack she misses her small target.
Hissing, damaged by Ophelia and lucky to escape two positive attacks, the Vampire turns to mist and heads back into the dark room.
Laurestine AoO Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16damage: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (8, 3) + 4 = 15 save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Laurestine's spell discharges into the cloud of mist as it leaves, causing it glow momentarily.
Gaseous form. Moves 30ft. Ophelia, you may AoO if you wish

A chittering fills the air, high pitched noises that can be felt, not heard. Finally, disturbed into awakening, the bats explode into motion as the vampire passes through them.
Ophelia - take damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4 damage. You are not a 'living creature', are you?

Mind-effecting stuff and stuff that targets souls (Trap the Soul, Binding ect) works - otherwise she isn't really counted as alive

But as we discussed earlier, I'm all for waiving her defences if it makes sense : )

That's fine: was looking at Distraction and Bleed.
Bats provide cover and concealment 50% miss (but any such miss hits a swarm)
Ophelia can take her AoO, then Players turn.
Yeah - we need a recruitment

AoO: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 2 + 2 = 17

Damage, Silver: 1d6 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 = 14

Distraction makes sense, but she doesn't have anything that requires Concentration Checks. Bleeding would seem silly, I don't think Ophelia has much liquid in her. Some drops of oil to oil her gears perhaps :)

ironically you hit because it took on gaseous form! 4 damage.
Opehlia's mace swings through the cloud, dispersing some of it.
Players, GM

Castor takes out a bottle of Alchemist's fire and throws it at the swarm, trying to scare it off.

Attack: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 2 = 21 I do not know how far they are, so I go with 10 - 20 ft
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

"Where do you think the vampire is headed when we have the coffin here?" Castor asks calmly.