GM BPChocobo's Thornkeep Level 4 - The Dark Menagerie (Inactive)

Game Master Black Powder Chocobo

Josturm nods. "Sound good. Let's check the other doors." To El he says. "Maybe we have to get up on the bridge to receive the gift."

If everyone wants to go that way, Jostrum will keeps his eyes out for trouble.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28

T20 on the doors

Before leaving, Ki says Give me a moment. He takes some meat from his rations and offers it to the owl while making soothing hooting sounds.

Handle Animal, take 10 : 10 + 7 = 17 While offering food.

Looking at Ki, then the dried fruit, Shi-tashi flaps down within a foot of Ki, sniffing the food cautiously.

@Ki: You notice that for an owl, Shi-tashi looks awfully fat, as if it swallowed something large.

Continuing to coax the bird Ki says calmly Don't owls regurgitate large pellets of bones and such? How do we get this one to throw up? Maybe enough food? Knowing that owls eat live prey he offers the bird the best choice from his rations - likely dried meats or raw but cured pork.

The owl moves up and tries to bite at the food... but hardly any of it goes down. Shi-tashi then walks to Ki and opens its mouth, revealing a large piece of jewelry inside its gullet.

I'll need either a Heal check to pull it out safely or an attack roll to simply kill the owl and take the item.

Its got something stuck in its throat. I am afraid I'll hurt if I just pull it out. Can someone give me a hand? An assist? Guidance? With that he takes his small hand and tries to remove the item.

Heal: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17

Elindriel attempts to help Ki retrieve the jewelry, but her inexperience with the concepts involve don't make things any easier for him.

Heal (Assist): 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Waiting for others before continuing.

Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

That'll make it good enough!

While Elindriel can't get her hand in right, Jostrum holds the owl still as it's frantically flapping its wings while Ki's slender armored hand reaches in and pulls out an amulet with a beetle shaped ruby. Coughing up a bit of digestive fluid, the owl begins to happily eat the meal the cavalier set out for him.

At the same time, the room changes; the starry sky on the ceiling is replaced by flagstone and the trees are revealed as stone spires. The obsidian walkway remains the same.

To same some time.
On a hunch, Elindriel casts detect magic... and discovers that the amulet is indeed magical!

Oh, Oh, what room does Maul get? He reaches for the amulet

Ki lets Maul have the amulet. Magic. Wonder what it does?

Spellcraft (Take 10): 10 + 10 = 20

@Elindriel: It's a golembane scarab.

Jostrum looks around. "Now what?"

Options are to either climb up or take the door from the hallway. I think the consensus is there and I'll be pushing there over the weekend for lack of any other response.

Ki has spoken on the subject.

Josturm nods. "Sound good. Let's check the other doors." To El he says. "Maybe we have to get up on the bridge to receive the gift."

If everyone wants to go that way, Jostrum will keeps his eyes out for trouble.

[dice=Perception]1d20+15

T20 on the doors

Jostrum was checking the area before the owl had indigestion.

Elindriel is perfectly fine with the other door....

@Jostrum: The door seems quiet.

Everyone gets into the usual party arrangements... and Julian opens the door!

The archway of this chamber’s entrance is curtained with black chains
and metal rings, from which hang the hands of many species— animal paws, humanoid hands, and skeletal fists. Within this room stretches a sun-drenched, dusty canyon. Layers of reddish rock create small plateaus that rise up in graduated ledges against the walls of the room, which appear to be impossibly high canyon walls. Tall pillars of orange stone rise up from the parched earth, all seemingly randomly dispersed throughout the barren landscape. One of these hoodoos soars well above the rest, easily rising thirty feet into the sky above. A fissure in the walls opens up to the northeast, revealing a night sky full of stars in the distance.

Will?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 You never know....

Jostrums takes a tentative step in and looks around.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20
KN: nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

@Jostrum: It is such a sight... the columns and hoodoos look serene and peaceful, more so with the starry sky above you. You should know that this is fake, but it's so hard to feel that way.

The one thing that does catch your eye is the gigantic hoodoo in the back; you can see pieces of sparkly silver metal in it and you think the chunks are large enough to be removed and viable.

What would be involved in climbing the large hoodoo? How high are the sparkly bits?

I think it's thirty feet.

The large hoodoo is 30', since it's uneven with handholds, DC 15 Climb, or better if you use some equipment to aid you.

I got this Maul begins climbing taking a rope up with him.
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Ki watches the man climb and wonders about Sty.

The sandy earth beneath Julian's feet feel cool to the touch as he approaches the large hoodoo. Using the rope to lasso the top, Julian makes his way halfway up the hoodoo.

Map updated

Ki watches the man climb and wonders about Sty.

"I don't know how difficult it is to handle an airwalking animal that is not trained for it, but there's only one way to find out!"

Miss Dominique will cast Airwalk on Sty.

"Now he will be able to go airboarn" She says with a smile.

"Have a bit of luck as well! You might need it!"

As soon as Miss Dominique says the 'l' word... a half-dozen tiny, misshapen creatures come out of hiding, leaping from behind the other hoodoos and crevices throughout the chamber.

Surprise round activity

Four of the menaces look like ugly, malformed chihuahuas on hind legs with the other two appear as beetles with crab heads and warhammers at their side.

The hoodoo next to Miss Dominique begins to shake as one of the tiny-beetle things hits it with well placed hammer strikes.

V2 DisDev: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Miss Dominique Reflex DC 17: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Miss Dominique Bad luck Reflex DC 17: 1d20 ⇒ 1
Elindriel Reflex DC 17: 1d20 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 3 = 21
Elindriel Bad Luck Reflex DC 17: 1d20 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 3 = 11
Damage on Failure: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 6) = 16
Miss Dominique @ Elindriel, 16 damage each!

Both Miss Dominique and even Elindriel get knocked around by falling rocks! While Miss Dominique's natural reflexes were poor, Elindriel was about to avoid it when the dust hit her nose, causing her to sneeze and get her head conked by the tallest part of the hoodoo.

Meanwhile, the dog-like creature, sarmed with shortbows, fire arrows at the hanging Julian.

V1 arrow @ Julian: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Damage on hit: 1d3 - 4 ⇒ (2) - 4 = -2
V2 arrow @ Julian: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Damage on hit: 1d3 - 4 ⇒ (2) - 4 = -2
V3 arrow @ Julian: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Damage on hit: 1d3 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3
V4 arrow @ Julian: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Damage on hit: 1d3 - 4 ⇒ (3) - 4 = -1

His armor catches most of the arrows, but one pricks his skin.

Julian, 1 damage

Init Order (bold = up)
Jostrum
Julian
Elindriel
P2
P4
P1
P3
Ki
V2
V1
Miss Dominique

Map updated!

KN: nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Jostrum begins firing arrows at the creatures!

Rapid, PBS: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 1 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 = 9

Rapid, PBS: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

All arrows are Cold Iron

Five foot step west. Start with V2, moving to P4 if V2 goes down.

@Jostrum: You realize that the creatures are fey... gremlins to be exact! The beetle ones are vexgits, masters of sabotage, while the ugly-dog things are pugwampis, that bring bad luck to anyone close enough.

Already standing far enough away, you fire two arrows, first one felling the vexgit that injured Elindriel and Miss Dominique, the cold iron sizzling its skin. You zip around and fire a second arrow, but between aiming past Miss Dominique and the hoodoo being somewhat in the way, it bounces off of the stone structure.
Arrow OK, 2 good: 1d2 ⇒ 1

V2 is down

Any easy way to indicate elevations in there?

Updated the map with markers, hope that helps Ki! Note that all of the hoodoos (the round shapes naturally on the map) are 10-20' tall

Perfect.

Elindriel, seeing the gremlins attacking Julian, moves to assist.

Move action: As indicated on the map
Standard action: Attack P2
Attack (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 9 - 1 = 26
Attack (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 - 1 = 15
Damage (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d8 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 2 = 15

@Elindriel: Despite the bad luck it radiating from all of the pesky gremlins, your skill was still more than enough to flatten the tiny fey with impunity.

Also, as you enter the room, the helmet speaks once more.

P2 is now down!

Julian whispers Protect me Maul and pushes himself off the wall in order to do a body splash on one of the pugwampi's

acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
attack/damage: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 231d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Roll twice for all d20's - the P's have a bad luck aura...

acrobatics: 1d20 ⇒ 3
attack: 1d20 ⇒ 12

@Julian: You almost control your leap off of the column, but your foot slips on the hoodoo as you push yourself off, causing more of a fall and not a flying body slam.

Julian Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Julian Bad Luck Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
Falling Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Julian Grapple: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Julian Bad Luck Grapple: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Like a large, angry, falling rock, Julian crashes to the ground with his haphazardous body slam. While the resulting falling damage was negligible to the pugwampi, the alchemist's mass is more than enough to hold down the tiny fey!
Julian, 1 point of falling damage to you since you could not land on your feet. Further, you are prone on the ground. Good stuff, though... you're prone on the ground on top of the pugwampi, who's considered grappled!

@Elindriel: Since the only pugwampi Julian could target was P2, did you still want to attack that one, or choose another (presumably P4?)

Elindriel will choose another, that's fine.

Sounds good!

The remaining pugwampis begin to engage the party.
P2 Escape Artist vs CMD 19: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
The little fey underneath Julian is still stuck.

Meanwhile, another pair hop out from behind hoodoos! One (P1) of them points at Jostrum's bow and yells, "BREAK BREAK BREAK!" and the bow begins to vibrate violently.

Jostrum Fort save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Jostrum Bad Luck Fot save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

However, Jostrum well made bow resists the affects and is still in one piece.

The other (P3) does the same thing, pointing at the bardess's blade and yelling "SHATTA SHATTA SHATTA!"

However, her magical blade ignores the effects. The pugwampi's ears curl down as he mouths an 'Uh oh' to himself.

Init Order (bold = up)
Jostrum
Julian
Elindriel
P2
P4
P1
P3
Ki
V2
V1
Miss Dominique

Unsure about his ability to engage the creatures around the Hoodoos, and unhappy that he does not get to air walk with the pig, Ki calls out What are these things? He slowly rides forward as he pulls his bow and looses a single arrow at P1.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 251d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Let me know if I am close enough to have to roll twice. Better yet,

@Ki: It's odd, you should be unlocked, but the blessing by Miss Elindriel seems to be holding better and you fire your arrow with great accuracy! Technically, due to bit of luck, you had to roll twice anyway, except you get to choose the better result instead of the worst :) huzzah!

The pugwampi is nicked and nearly slain, except you can see some of its wounds healing up automatically.

While one of the vexgits bleeds out, the other tries to topple a hoodoo towards Julian and the stuck pugwampi, not caring for the ugly dog fey.

V1 DisDev: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

However, this hoodoo is being problematic and doesn't want to budge yet.

Init Order (bold = up)
Jostrum
Julian
Elindriel
P2
P4
P1
P3
Ki
V2
V1
Miss Dominique

Elindriel, realizing that Jostrum will be the best one to pick off the gremlins on the hoodoos, rushes over to attack the only one she can reach.

Move action: As indicated on the map
Standard action: Attack V1
Attack (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 1 = 14
Attack (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 9 - 1 = 22
Damage (Falcata +1, Power Attack): 1d8 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 2 = 12

@Elindriel: Your blade narrowly misses the tiny fey, that looks at you devilishly.

Not sure if she can cast this on her action or not, but it's worth a shot

Elindriel, seeing her blade about to miss, casts a quick spell and gains some amount of inspiration, causing her blade to shift its path slightly and pierce the fey after all.

Immediate action: Cast gallant inspiration
+2d4 added to attack roll: 2d4 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4

Sounds legit, play on!

Your blade's about to miss, when you cast your quick spell and the blade curves the other direction.

The vexgit is severely wounded, much like Ki's arrow, the gremlin would have been felled had it not been for its fey defenses.

Jostrum steps to the northeast and fires two more arrows.

Aiming for P3, then P4 if the first one goes down.

Rapid, PBS: 1d20 + 10 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 10 - 2 + 1 = 29
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

Bad Luck: 1d20 + 10 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 10 - 2 + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 = 10

Rapid, PBS: 1d20 + 10 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 10 - 2 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

Bad Luck: 1d20 + 10 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 10 - 2 + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12

:(