GM Bigrin's Giantslayer (Inactive)

Game Master bigrin42

Spellcraft to identify the wand: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

"What's the blood god?" Vashta asks. Any more info on that.

She looks over Molly's shoulder, trying to discern for herself the thing's magic. Not bothering to roll, since I think Molly got it covered.

Wand of CLW, 8 charges left

Nulgreth, the Blood God is the orc deity of bloodlust and fighting. He believes in slaughter as its own end, and loves seeing his followers drench themselves in the blood of their enemies. For more info, see Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes (which I do not own)

"Handy trinket, this," Molly says, flipping the wand up into the air and catching it again. "Eight minor healing spells, ready to use. Very handy."

Rubbing his jaw, Storn crouches down to look over the loot gathered from
the zombified orc.

Knowledge REligion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

"Good mail. A little light for me though. And Nulgreth?! Bah. That adjacent, pale imitator to the Lord in Iron. The orcs overcomplicate religion. I am curious about -why- this orc rose from the dead though."

Shrugging, Storn steps back, looking to Mariana.

"You, careful woman. I am in your debt for your aid. Við berjast fjölskyldan saman; we fight as one. You want to check doors and be cautious, I will respect that. Unless you take too long."

Storn grins, showing his bloody teeth.

"I will endeavor to do it faster, Storn, and between us and our companions, we can take all troubles big or small."

Looking to the rest, she casts detect magic to see if any of the other items have major value.

"I tend to find myself of less use in combat than others that might be familiar with that spell. Unless you wish to hold onto it, Molly? I could hide it here," she says as she pulls down her sleeve to show the device that looks as if it would eject the wand into her hand with very little effort.

"Haven't been that useful in battle meself," Molly murmurs. "But yeah, you take it. I can cast me own spells."

Storn glances between Molly and Mariana and shrugs.

"Eh, someone take it. I don't want it. Hard to heal and decapitate those who oppose me at the same time."

Quill packs up the stuff, both on himself and others. No one wants the mwk chainmail?

Quill looks around, wondering where to go next.

Last map.

"I think maybe I saw another passage over this way?" Quill asks. I12ish on the map.

Can always be sold... Might be worth using a few of those charges; Storn's down, as am I (though I'm planning to stay out of fights if I can help it).

"Come on, Othdan, I think we're almost done here. I for one will be glad to get out of this place. Hopefully Quill doesn't find too many other places to go," she adds, smiling at the elf as she makes the joke.

"Yes, we really need to leave before the other half-orc gets back. He said he'd be back tonight..." The boy trailed off as he realized that what he said might be taken by the adventuring group as a reason to stay, rather than a reason to leave.

"Good. We'll ambush him and maybe finally get some answers," Molly says, firmly.

"Just curious, can anyone guess how long this zombie has been a zombie? I just want to make certain that this is not the same half-orc we are talking about right now."

I would think maybe a heal check to see how long the body has decomposed?

Mariana looks over the body trying to think if there is anything she might know about the situation.

Know Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Heal?: 1d20 ⇒ 8 If so...not it!

Storn kneels down by the zombie, looking it over with Mariana.

"Can usually tell by the smell..."

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Looking over the corpse, Storn noticed that it couldn't have been dead for more than a few days, a week tops. The skin was still intact, and the bloating was minimal. If he had to make a guess, he'd say the half-orc had been dead about 3-4 days.

Thinking it over, Mariana had heard stories of some clerics of particularly evil or vengeful gods being returned as zombies for minor infractions against the deity's will. Of course, there were almost as many ways to end up a zombie as there were to die.

How far are we from town?

Storn pokes at the corpse, sniffing at it a bit.

"Hrmph. Still fresh. A few days; less than a week. So let's put this all together."

The big Kellid moves to his feet, ignoring his partially-healed wound.

"Sorry Othdan, this isn't fun but we'll keep you safe," says Storn. "Frankly you're at the age where you need to be exposed to some death and destruction. Otherwise you'll grow up into an elf or something."

Grabbing a filthy cloth from his pack, Storn proceeds to wipe off his sword.

"So we wait for the other half-orc? Fine by me. We've got Quill's hall to explore while we wait. Also, can someone who does thinking put this together? We've got a murder, weird graffiti, a second-rate hope knife, and a couple of half-orcs kidnapping children."

The Plague House is just outside the town walls

Storn grumbles, looking at the others.

"Somebody quick want to run Othdan back? We can hold down the fort. He can get traumatized later."

Quill waits to finish exploring the area before leaving.

"I think maybe I saw another passage over this way?" Quill asks. I12ish on the map.

Do you want to backtrack to I12? Or open the door at EF10?

Do you want to backtrack to I12? Or open the door at EF10?

This Elf completely missed that there was a door at EF10, it seems like the darkening almost completely obscures the door there. Yeah, that's a much better plan.

"Oh wait," Quill shrills. "There is a door right here! What's behind this?"

Quill opens the door.

Ignoring Mariana's intake of breath, Quill walked up to the remaining exit from the room and yanked it open. No traps exploded, or monsters came roaring out. In fact, he stepped through to find a short angled hallway that apparently connected to the eastern passage from the meditation room.

Here's the map

"I finally get Storn to show some patience...and now I have to worry about Quill," she mutters under her breath as she shakes her head slowly.

"Well, no sense in pulling out now." Yelena wipes off the head of her hammer and grimaces at the putrefying corpse. "Which, coincidentally, are the words that gave me life in the first place. Let's finishing exploring this fun-maze."

Mariana gives Yelena a look of shock and continues to shake her head, unable to believe the group she has landed with, despite the fact that each one is growing on her in one way or another.

"So we just wait now?" Vashta asks with a sigh, sinking down to the ground to lean against the wall.

Quill uncertain about the plan, waits to see what happens next.

"I can take the boy back if you'd like. I'm not afraid."

"I also thought about offering, but if the half-orc should see us, it could spoil any ambush and ruin Storn and Yelena's fun. And we wouldn't want that, would we? I think they'll get cranky."

In the end, you decided it was best to wait for the half-orc to return, rather than take the chance of missing him. Othdan was not happy about the situation, but the promise to escort him home, coupled with some rations and some water settles him down.

The afternoon passed slowly, and by the time the sky, visible through the ruins of the northeastern wall, grew dark, boredom was rampant. And a bored Storn was not a good thing.

Before I can go on, I need to know where you are waiting? Upstairs? Downstairs? Which room? Any lights? etc.

"It will be hard, but we should put everything back as close to it's original state as we can. Othdan, does the half-orc check on you each day? If so...we can set our ambush in that room. If not, then perhaps near the ladder, but out of sight?"

As time drones on, Mariana will spend a great deal of time telling stories to the group. She does have some fair bit of skill in it...

"I think we should have the lights off," Molly says. "I can see in the dark, and I can conjure lights if and when we need them."

She frowns a bit.

"Of course, so can a Half-Orc. See in the dark, I mean. Still, we shouldn't give the game away too quickly."

"Uh. If we aren't going to give the game away, maybe we should clean up the messes we created upstairs? I mean, Storn and Yelena have abattoir'd this place pretty completely. The orc, unless he's an idiot, is going to know something is different, " Quill opines.

Storn nods over to Quill gruffly and spends some of the time while the group waits for the half-orc to return cleaning up the carcasses upstairs and strategically moving debris to cover the blood stains.

"We wait downstairs by the ladder to the haunted room. That seems their way down. We need to make sure the half-orc can't escape."

"My magic's just about spent, but I can provide light. And a couple other tricks that might work on this half-orc if he's not too strong-willed," Vashta says.

She joins Quill in cleaning up the upper floor.

So, waiting in the room with the sword emblem? I'll set it up. If no one has posted differently by my lunch break, we'll move on. Sorry for the delay. I failed a Fort save on Thursday and have been pretty out of it.

Yelena has little to contribute to the discussion, accounting to her dwarven upbringing. Dwarves view ambushes as a necessary evil when fighting dishonorable foes, and hardly comparable to the gallantry of open combat. "Regardless of where we wait, I don't think we should provide him an escape route. Blocking the stairs after he enters would be prudent."

It took an hour or so to clean up, hiding the bodies of the rats and other vermin, and stashing the zombie's corpse in the room with the remnants of the gelatinous cube. Then, you closed the portcullis and settled in to wait.

It wasn't long after dark that you heard movement in the hallway leading to the stairs. It was at that moment that you realized there was no cover to hide behind in the mosaic room. If the newcomers came in here, there was no way they would not see the large group laying in wait.

Fortunately, the voices moved past the eastern hallway, pausing only for a moment. The growling, grumbling language being used was not like anything most had heard, and after a moment, the voices faded to the north, probably entering the room where the zombie had lain.

Suddenly, the voices cut off, and then one made an exclamation!

The sound of rushing footsteps can be heard from the hallway, and a door slamming open.

While the group is still waiting, Molly takes a moment to load her crossbow.

"They know we're here, they're talking Giant, they're trying to get out! Go!"

The Kellid girl runs up to the doorway, takes a bead on who- or whatever might be trying to run past and chants a single Word of Power: "Somnos!" A wave of powerful lethargy rolls away from her outthrust hand...

Molly runs to I 11 and casts Sleep at who- or whatever might be trying to get out. Will save DC 14 to overcome.

Clarifying...we hear them running in two directions? If so, I go the opposite way as Molly, if NOT, then I follow to the north room, full movement and cast Grease on the targets!

Mariana moves quick, following Molly's lead to slow or stop the targets completely, as best she can...by making things slick.

Molly and Mariana raced out to confront the fleeing person. As they neared the end of the hallway, Molly stepped on a pressure plate. The trigger set off a set of well-concealed bear traps that leaped from the floor to snap at the girls. The traps bit into their legs, holding them fast. Both managed to get their spells off, surprising a runty-looking troll-like creature with mottled blue skin and nasty claws. The creature ducked its head and resisted Molly's color spray spell, but couldn't hold its feet and sprawled in the newly arrived puddle of grease on the hallway floor.

Inside the other room, someone cursed and ran for a different door. A burly half-orc slammed through the door next to Vaashta, who was statled to have been dragged so suddenly into a fight.

Sleep, not colour spray, but whatevs. ^^;

Also: OW!

Quickly stepping backward to give Storn a chance to take the half-orc, Vashta casts, hoping her magic can daze the half-orc and end this fight quickly.

"Remember we need one of them alive!" she reminds her companions.

5-ft. step to G-6
Cast daze (DC 13 Will save)

Doh! Brain fart there. Sorry about that, Molly. And yes, ow is right.

Vashta, unfortunately, you cannot move diagonally past a corner.

What type of action would that be? Standard, move, or full round?

OK, I will instead cast defensively and then just move back behind Storn.

Concentration check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

I believe escaping from such a thing would be a standard action

We spoke about healing me with the CLW wand. Was that actually done?

Storn starts at the sudden noise and then groans.

"But I cleaned up and everything. Something is going to die. And fine, but only one gets to live!"

As Vashta moves back, Storn lets out a roar, but rather than stepping in, he holds back, letting the half-orc come to him. Storn quickly chants a spell.

Actions: 5' step back, ready action to attack half-orc. Swift action to activate war blessing for +1 AC.
Positioning: Vashta didn't indicate where she was going. I'd like Storn at H5 if it all possible and she could end up at I5 or whatever.

That's fine with me. Vashta's happy to get away from the dangerous metal things. That said, can I suggest rolling out the readied action; it saves time in PBP.

Round 1, Init 13

Lots of stuff happening all at once. I'm surprised none of us noticed the traps before, it would seem we've been all over this floor making checks.

@Molly: Sleep is a full round cast, meaning that it would go off at the beginning of your next turn should you cast it.

Quill moves to engage the half orc, trying to help Storn. He moves to H7 and draws his bow. Move and move action.

"Draw it into the room, Storn! Let's get all of us on it!"

AC 16; hp 9/9