DougFungus' Masks of the Living God

Game Master DougFungus

Kaylee's face turns grim as the "arm" crashes through the door. She prepares to stab the thing next time it breaks through. "Any ideas on what this thing is?"

Readied action to attack the arm if it comes through the door again.
Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

"No, but I have one on stopping it." Lorant holds the club up ready to swing as soon as whatever it is is through the door.

Readied Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

"There might be something of import in here," Lector remarks calmly, glancing only briefly at gods-know-what was smashing through the door. "We might not get another chance if more come. So ah, please keep it busy, Mr. Pelus."

Full-round action to attempt to unlock the drawer.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 2 + 1 = 29

Edit: Actually, retrieving the tools is probably a move action. Can I save that roll for next round?

[dice=initiative]1d20+4+1

Do I have line of sight outside the door now?

I suppose you would. I'll update the map tonight with what you'd be able to see. You'll have another round before this thing can break through so you can plan accordingly.

yes you can save your roll Lector.

Uh, maybe this will slow it down...

Kerret conjures up a slick of grease outside the door.

DC 15 Reflex save or prone.

1st lvl spells: 4/7 cast, 2nd lvl spells: 2/4 cast

Status effects: mage armor

initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Preparing for the worst, I cast Bull's Strength on Lorant.

+4 to strength for the next 4 minutes.

Kaylee 14
Vastar 12
Kerret 8
Lector 6

Lorant, Roll initiative.

Whatever it is smashes into the door once again. Splinters fly about and a sizeable hole forms in the door as it almost falls off its hinges. Lorant and Kaylee attack at the pile of living masks of Razmir. Lorant hits but Kaylee misses and Kerret casts his spell.

Ref Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 Pass

Just outside the door behind the humanoid pile of masks is Egarthis. He touches an amulet around his neck and it begins to glow.

MAP!

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

"Kaylee, watch out! Move back!" Lorant swings again the creature made of masks.

Attack (Bull): 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 2 = 15
Damage (Bull): 1d10 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 2 = 8

Grease has a wide area, any chance Egarthis was caught as well?

Trying not to mind their guest, Lector unrolls his toolkit and gets to work on the lock.

Disable Device: 29 = 29

I send swoop to harass Egarthis.

F17

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

While I pray for Erastil's aid bless +1 to attack for everyone and then step forward beside Kaylee.

Lorant, we should be able to 5ft step into a flank which will give me a chance of hitting.

Yeah, a 10' x 10' square in front of the door should have caught Egarthis as well, based on his placement on the map.

Kerret tries to think of anything he may have learned about mask creatures like this one.

kn(arcana): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

But with the others occupying the mask-thing, Kerret decides to try Egarthis, bouncing his flaming lash from the Razmiran to the creature.

burning arc: 7d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 6, 5, 5, 5, 2, 1) + 7 = 36 DC 17 reflex for half (Egarthis)
burning arc: 3d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 6, 1) + 3 = 13 DC 15 reflex for half (Masky)

Stowing her rapier, Kaylee draws her crossbow and fires a bolt at the Razmirian instead.
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 +2 if Ergathis is human
damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 +2 if Ergathis is human
Maybe that thing will stop if we kill the mage...

Here is a picture of what you're fighting

Could everybody please list their current AC and HP in their next post

Initiative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Egarthis Initiative: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7

Kaylee
Masks
Vastar
Kerret
Lorant
Egarthis
Lector

Retcon: Egarthis Reflex Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 Pass, all actions carry over unchanged from last round.

• Kaylee:

  I have a few problems with your listed actions that I need to work out. Stowing a weapon is an action. You could drop it as a free action and draw your crossbow to fire but I have a difficult time imagining somebody wandering around this place with an un-wielded, loaded crossbow. Unless you can justify this somehow I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to revise your action. Thanks.

• The Humanoid form that is comprised of masks strikes the door one last time causing it to fall off its hinges and fall to pieces. The doorway is now completely open to pass through.

• Vastar commands Swoop to attack Egarthis. The bird obediently does so but Egarthis evades all Swoop's attacks. Vastar casts Bless.

• Kerret casts Burning Arc.

  Egarthis Reflex Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 Fail, Egarthis seems to have some immunity to fire. The spell hits but he manages to ward off some of the damage.
  The spell arcs over to the masks but the creature us completely unaffected.

  Kerret Knowledge Check:

  This creature looks to be some sort of Golem made of masks. You've never seen anything quite like it but you can discern that it has many of the standard Golem traits including Magic Immunity which is why your spell didn't affect it. Bludgeoning attacks are going to be the best way to hurt it since other forms of attack will deflect off its hard body and its probably vulnerable to Sonic attacks.

• Lorant swings his club at the masks but misses.

• Egarthis' amulet summons into existence 3 Hell Hounds surrounding himself and swoop. He orders 2 of them to attack Swoop (1&2) and the third to attack Lorant(3).

  Hell Hound 1 Attack + flank: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 2 = 8 Miss

  Hell Hound 2 Attack + flank: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 2 = 17 Miss
  Bite: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 6

  Hell Hound 3 Attack + flank: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 2 = 16 Lorant, I think this hits with your current, unarmored AC. Please confirm.
  Bite: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 3

  Egarthis points his finger at Lorant and fires a Scorching Ray.
  Scorching Ray w/-4 cover Vs. Lorant touch AC: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 7 - 4 = 13 Hit
  Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 1, 1) = 14

• Lector picks the lock on the drawer and finds a potion, a ring, a Salve, a whip, manacles, 3 legers and a pouch containing 50PP.

MAP!

25 hit points, AC 12

Doig, I should be just south of Kaylee on the map.

Kaylee loaded the crossbow back when she drank the cure light wounds potion. In a tense combat situation a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death so it's best to be prepared to act as soon as possible. As for dropping/stowing, I'm okay with her dropping the rapier in the heat of the moment. Since that is a free action, can she go ahead and reload this round?

Current HP 28/29. AC 11.

Lector raises a thankfully concealed brow when he sees the whip in the drawer. With the door destroyed, he hastily shoves the contents of the drawer into his pockets, except for the whip, which he brandishes threateningly.

Doig, I should be just south of Kaylee on the map.

Fixed. I missed that when reading posts. It will be updated with the next map.

Kaylee loaded the crossbow back when she drank the cure light wounds potion. In a tense combat situation a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death so it's best to be prepared to act as soon as possible. As for dropping/stowing, I'm okay with her dropping the rapier in the heat of the moment. Since that is a free action, can she go ahead and reload this round?

Excellent. I forgot Kaylee loaded the crossbow so everything works out. Egarthis is Human so you can factor that into your future posts.

[list]

Clubs on the Mask Golem! Kerret calls out over the fray. Blades won't do very much against it. Magic either, although I may have something...

Kerret focuses on the automaton and summons forth a roar of power.

Cast Ear-Piercing Scream on Mask Golem.

sonic: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3 DC 16 Fort or dazed.

Doug, one of those hell-hounds owes me a DC 15 reflex save or prone.

Doug, one of those hell-hounds owes me a DC 15 reflex save or prone.

Wow, I need to start paying more attention to this stuff...

Hell Hound 3 Reflex Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 Pass, Everything continues as normal.

You need to start rolling low! :D

HP: 18/40, AC 13. Not looking good for us. Should I wait for the Mask to go first?

I noticed another map thing. I moved Swoop to F17 but you have him at F18 which makes him more threatened.

To be honest, I was posting from my phone and the wall didn't really show up to me. If I'd known, I would have kept him behind the danger-funnel. Lorant and Swoop, backed up by three casters, might have been able to hold-the-line a little better than Lorant and Kaylee backed up by two casters.

It also renders my attempt to flank pointless. I can't 5ft-step through a wall: I just couldn't see the wall on my phone...

Kaylee, if you 5ft-step back and I 5-ft step into your place then I could play meat-shield-basher with Lorant.

Kaylee and Kerret, between the three of us we should be able to boost Lorant's AC to 17 (with Mage Armour) and heal some of his wounds. We won't defeat a golem/construct (which the spell immunity suggests) without solid melee that overcomes DR. And that's Lorant.

In a better environment, I would suggest running away until the summoned hell hounds faded but I don't think we can do that here. However, casting Protection From Evil on our two door-fillers would render the summoned creatures out of the fight.

Swoop has 7 hit points and is, in all likelihood, about to die. However, if we could get him back on our side then mage armour could boost his AC to 23 and Shield Other could double his hit points.

Crud, I thought Lorant put on that Hide Armor... How high are the ceilings? Maybe Swoop can 5' up, out of reach of the hounds, either that or a full withdraw down the hallway.

Oh crap. I totally forgot about the armor. That's my fault.

"Lorant, I can't hurt either of them. I'll help protect you instead." Kaylee then takes a few careful steps back and casts mage armor on Lorant.

I was prepared for a lot of different scenarios when I was assembling this adventure. I was prepared for splitting the party. I was prepared for a full out assault on the temple, completely ignoring the main storyline. I was prepared for you to burn this place to the ground while everybody slept. However, I never once thought you'd manage to run the adventure completely backwards without recovering your items first. I'm trying my best to balance this fight out but as GM I still feel compelled to work within the confines of the storyline.

I'm both excited and frightened to see what the near future holds for this adventure.

I fixed swoops location on the map once again. There is a lot going on in this fight. I'm trying really hard not to miss anymore details moving forward but keep calling out my mistakes if I do.

How tall are the ceilings?

10 feet high.

I just realized you might be waiting for me. I adjusted Lorant's AC to include the Mage Armor now.

Lorant screams as the fire burns him, but he maintains his focus and swings at the Mask Creature again. He manages to step into the swing this time and drives his momentum into the hit.

Attack(BS, PA): 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 - 2 = 28
Damage(BS, PA): 1d10 + 5 + 2 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 + 6 = 19

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Extra Damage: 1d10 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

Swoop flies up and over the battleground withdraw action, will still provoke an AoO from one hellhound, I think to land behind Lorant.

I step into Kaylee's place and swing for the mask-thing.
attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
damage if light mace: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
damage if heavy mace: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Initiative:
Kaylee
Masks
Vastar
Kerret
Lorant
Egarthis
Lector

• Kaylee 5 foot steps back and casts Mage Armor on Lorant.

• The Mask Golem breaks up from its humanoid form and into a swarm of flying masks that bump and jab and bite. As the swarm circles and attacks Lorant, every so often a mask will leap out and attempt to latch itself to his face.

  Swarm Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5 Lorant, roll a Fort Save DC:12 or be nauseated from the swarm's Distraction ability.
  Combat Maneuver/Masks of Control: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 Pass, please roll a DC:13 Will Save at the beginning of each round you are wearing the mask until it is removed.

• Swoop takes off provoking an attack from HellHound 2.

  AoO: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 Miss, swoop arrives at his destination successfully.

  Vastar, because of the change in the golems form I figure you might want the opportunity to revise your actions. Let me know what you want to do and I'll resolve them before next round.

• Kerret blasts the Masks with sonic energy. A few of the masks fall to the ground lifeless but otherwise continue barraging Lorant.

• Lorant, same deal as Vastar. If you want to revise now is your chance.

• I'm going to wait to post Egarthis' actions in case they are affected by any changes.

• Lector stuffs his pockets with his findings from within the drawer.

MAP!

Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Will Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Lorant tries to dodge the flying masks, but is hit by several. He maintains his focus, though, and sees an risky opportunity. He steps into the heart of the mask swarm and brings the greatclub around to smash into Egarthis.

Step to H-17. Huge petition to use my previous crit roll in attacking Egarthis.

Are these revised actions or next round actions Lorant?

Revised actions. When the mask swarm appears, Lorant sees a chance to attack Egarthis directly.

I'll close the round tomorrow evening. If anybody has any more actions they want to revise this round they will have until then.

In that case, can I revise my action to forego my attack, dismiss my grease as a standard and move back behind Rhomelus?

If I'm giving everybody else the chance I suppose it would only be fair to do the same for you.

Revised Action

I move beside Swoop and cast Protection From Evil on my new ally.

Lorant 5 foot steps to H-17 and successfully crits Egarthis. Egarthis drops to the ground, but is not quite dead.

Kerret dismisses his Grease and moves to E-13.

Vastar Moves to G-14 and casts Protection from Evil on Swoop.

MAP!

Next Round Begins Now!

"It will be difficult to damage the golem while it is in that state," Lector remarks grimly, brandishing his newfound whip. "Should we make a run for it?"

"Running is not a bad idea at the moment. Kerret, can you still see magic auras? Does this priest have anything we should grab as we go?" Kaylee asks as she grabs her weapon off the ground and prepares to make a run out of the room.

I'm a little busy at the moment Kaylee, and you know it will take me a bit of time to determine which objects have auras. Still, isn't that blue gem he's wearing around his neck exactly what we're looking for? Kerret shouts over the clattering of the mask-golem swarm. Lector, maybe try to grab those sheets off the bed and slow up that golem a bit?

Detect magic takes 3 rounds to determine location of auras. Maybe we can use the bedding as a makeshift net? Those hellhounds should be gone pretty soon, if we can keep Lorant up we could still win this.

You can still hit a swarm, can't you?

Should I wait until after the Mask Golem?

I can try my sonic spell again. I was waiting for Kaylee and the Mask Golem to go before I posted my action though.

Kaylee holds action to see if the hellhounds disappear and whether the bed sheet plan works. Sorry for the hold up, Kerret!

Sorry for the delay guys. I was changed to night shift without warning and am still adapting to my new schedule. The hell hounds do disappear. I forgot to mention it last round.

Nodding at Kerret's suggestion, Lector approaches the bed and pulls off the bed sheet.

I think that's 2 move actions right there.