GMDQ's Skull and Shackles (Inactive)

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That's exactly where I wanted to be - thanks, DQ. Was on mobile, so couldn't edit.

Emberar jerks his head back and lets out a quick breath of relief as the crossbow bolt misses him. Seeing that Lark has delivered a grievous blow to the sahuagin, he sidesteps carefully and jabs with his halberd once more!

5' step NW (now technically adjacent to Corwin) and swinging away!

Attack S3! (PA, FF): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 for 1d10 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 6 = 19

I may be a little confused on where I should be on the map so just move me where fits
Corwin runs to help with the remaining sea-devils.
sword: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33 dam: 2d6 + 20 ⇒ (2, 5) + 20 = 27

AoO on Sahag 2: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

When the sahuagin tries to dodge past the bard, he leaves himself open. Thren is however more concerned that he might just cartwheel past and accidentally impale her tail and therefore doesn't swing at him so much as flail at him like being surprised by a bee.

The tiefling woman slides away from the wounded sahuagin with a quick step (5' step) and then sets up Lark for further stabbings while attempting her own.

attack on sahuagin 3: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31
confirmation roll on sahuagin 3: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
damage: 2d6 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3) + 4 + 4 = 12

Thren's blade strikes true, a telling blow through the creature's shoulder.

Standard action: attack
Swift action: arcane strike

Lark, you can only move half your speed when using Acrobatics. Jumping down 10 feet and then moving forward is doable, but especially with moving through the door, I'mma say it's too far to get into flanking position. I've moved you back to the doorway, as Threnody would still technically be in the other square when you moved. Also Thren, you can't 5' step through the doorway diagonally, there are two doors there and the frame/open door would be in the way. However, none of this really matters as I think about the math; I think with the way you guys are rolling...

Even without a sneak attack, Lark deals 11 damage to S2; Threnody, staying put or moving in the other direction, deals 12 to S2 and kills it. Emberar hits S3 for 19 damage, and Corwin finishes it off as he steps toward the door.

So, no matter, the sahuagin are dead.

You are in the captain's quarters. The hatch to the next level is open. You hear someone burbling and hissing below.

There is a table here that goes largely unused, still covered in the original owners pewter plate ware (worth something, but not massive amounts). What was a bed is covered in half dried kelp. Both of the closets are open and within you see bedlinens and clothes that have gone moldy; they otherwise have been stripped of useful or valuable contents.

These sahuagin are better equipped than the first group, and their crossbow bolts radiate magic.

Between all three of them, you find:
+1 elf-bane bolts (x9)
+1 human-bane bolts (x8)
+1 merfolk-bane bolts (x9)
potion of cure moderate wounds (x3)
mwk trident (x3)
mwk underwater heavy crossbow (x3)
crossbow bolts (x55)
feather token (anchor) (x3)
dagger (x3)
thieves’ tools (x2)
trapmaking kit, used
coinage worth 150 gp

(The earlier three sahuagin had ordinary tridents and heavy crossbows)

Again, this ship, having the same origins as your own, is very similarly constructed to your own so you should have a sense of the layout of the next deck. What next?

"Let's head down and find out what's gurgling," Thren suggests. "I'd rather we grab all the loot and divide it up at our leisure."

Sorry, didn't remember the doors. I am willing to accept AoO from them as I never used a move action instead.

Nah. Do note which way you go down.

The bard looks meaningfully at the hatch and then points at spots around it. Once everyone hopefully understands that she wants the party to surround the hatch, she gets ready and heads down.

Lark steps into position next to the hatch and prepares to follow Threnody and Corwin down to the middle deck.

Corwin, I hope you don't mind moving closer to the front line...

not at all, feel free to move me up
Corwin moves forward. "As long as someone can check for traps on this blasted boat, I'm glad to take the brunt of these critters' attacks."

Kahuranga, Emberar, any input? How's this for a rough marching order: Lark, Corwin (side by side or one after the other), Thren, Kahuranga, Emberar

Order works for me.

Kahuranga takes a moment to breath. "What a strange ship is this. What use have sea devils for a ship? Are they simply sitting here hoping to lure in unsuspecting sailors?"

I think my current AC is 18 (20 against non-magical ranged attacks)

Fine with that!

OK!

The ladder down is slippery, having been used by fishy people and lord knows what they have been carrying up and down.

DC 10 Climb or Acrobatics check. Failure simply means you stumble and/or clatter down--no damage but it may alert others to your presence. Those attempting to Stealth must succeed on the DC 10 check first.

Now's also a good time for Perception checks

Perception K: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Perception T: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Kahuranga watches the heads of the others as they descend. Taniwha attempts to take a deeper look.

Still flying, so not touching that ladder.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25

Order's good by me, sorry. Emberar, when he finally comes, will also be flying, so avoiding the need to be deft on the ladder!

Emberar floats down carefully, halberd clutched in his hands.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Acrobatics, heroism: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 13 + 2 = 28
Stealth, heroism: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 11 + 2 = 18
Perception (trapfinding), heroism: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 9 + 2 = 30

climb: 1d20 + 10 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 10 - 4 = 14

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Corwin focuses on making it down the ladder without falling. Pretty much to the exclusion of anything else that might be going on around him.

Sorry, thread didn't update for me!

It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. Or a shark or a bloodthirsty fish-man.

You know from the ship's layout that you are going into a small officers' berth, usually reserved for the cook or doctor or both. It smells literally and unpleasantly fishy on this deck.

Bits of phosphorescent coral are stuck to the portholes with some sort of natural adhesive--this creates the glow from the outside that makes it look like the lights are on within the ship. The coral does not emanate beyond where they are stuck, however, so provide no useful light.

All of you can hear a low, gurgling voice in a rhythmic tone. If anyone speaks Aquan, it definitely sounds like a spell, but Kahuranga, Emberar and Thren can also tell it's probably some kind of incantation.

The door to the rest of the deck is closed, but not locked or trapped.

Note about the battle map: we're using the bottom half of the Ship Map. If needed for SOME reason (looks around innocently), the hammocks on the map do not exist, but anything else "embedded"/drawn in the original map like barrels or crates do exist and are treated as difficult terrain or a hard obstacle. Some might be usable as cover, common sense applies here.

Thren waves for everyone to huddle close. "How about instead of eating a face full of bolts, I make an illusion on this side of the door. Someone opens the door and hopefully they fire first and think later?" The bard suggests.

All assuming there's a door between us and an exercise in teamwork feats!

You are all in the cabin, no door is separating you. However, I did goof on the room description. One door, closed, not locked or trapped, leads out into the berths; this is now the door you can see by Corwin. Another door, closed and locked, you're not sure about traps, leads to the Galley.

I'll argue you can see through either keyhole (those of you with darkvision) to get line of sight/effect to the other side of the door, though your view of the rooms beyond are limited.

"They've got crossbows ready," Emberar whispers back, "So, yes, I like that plan."

"Go for it, Thren, if you've got enough room to work. I can open this door to the galley if we need more space to spread out."

Perception (trapfinding, galley door), heroism: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 2 = 22

It looks like there's room for us to shift back and create one empty square in front of the door to the berths. If Thren creates an illusion there, then Lark can open the door. Does that sound right?

Sounds good to me. I was planning on making an illusion of Owlbear, as he's big and beefy and scary looking.

"I could fill the berths with fog to prevent them getting clear shots at us with their crossbows. Of course, we would be equally limited, but you seem to be focused more on hand to hand combat than ranged."

When you're done planning, please make declarative actions as to what you are doing, and we will proceed. Likely, initiative will be rolled once any vaguely hostile actions (e.g., blocking line of sight through spells) begin being taken.

The galley door has a trigger wire on the handle, but you can tell it was hastily jury-rigged, unlike the better-prepared traps upstairs. It shouldn't be too hard to trigger it safely. Disable Device DC 15

The bard shakes her head. "We can't see through the mist any better than them, that means we can't see more surprises. I'd rather we make them waste their time shooting off a volley, then we rush them while they're vulnerable. Your mist might be a decent idea in other circumstances, Kahuranga. But they'd probably just wait to see what comes out of it and shoot that first."

Lark, I forgot an addendum to the trap -- IF you can see it. Right now it's pitch dark, so only folks with Darkvision can see what is going on. Without light to help you, you've got a -6 penalty to disarming the trap. You succeeded highly enough to find it even in the dark.

Alas I need light to properly hack n slash

"We'll leave the galley aside for now, since there's just enough room in here." Lark fishes out a glowing coin and holds it up. "Lee was always good about reminding us to bring one of these."

Hat tip to Lee/KeefX for teaching me this habit: https://paizo.com/campaigns/GMDQsSkullAndShackles/gameplay&page=92#4552

Lark directs everyone but Threnody (and himself) to shift back a step, creating one empty spot in fron of the door. "Thren, go ahead with the illusion and I'll open the door."

When the image of Owlbear appear Lark grins in appreciation and pushes open the door the berths.

Reminder for new friends: Thren is making the image of a brawny human named Owlbear, currently stationed on Brightglass Isle, not the classic monster ;)

"As soon as you all are ready," Thren agrees. Then she casts her spell.

Thren casts a silent image to create a likeness of Owlbear.

Lark, you still need to have someone cast light on the coin to make it glow. The duration is 10 min/level so the coin Lee handed you ages ago would no longer be enspelled.

I was hoping that paddling out to the wreck and a couple of quick fights still had us at the outer limit of the duration for Lee's light spell. Ah well.

Lark frowns at the coin before replacing it and pulling out a torch and tindertwig. "I'll try not to set this place on fire...."

Still opening the door after Thren casts.

Sorry Lark, I admit I didn't actually check your link before, and missed that you had asked Lee to cast the spell. I thought you were referring to some time weeks ago when he would have cast the spell. No, we can assume that's the case and you probably have about 40 minutes left on the coin. Sorry for not being more thorough and for misunderstanding. (And good planning, btw!)

Thren, please remember to post your spell dcs

As "Owlbear" appears as the door opens, you hear, and some of you see, one of the crossbows release. The bolt flies through the air and just above Owlbear's upper shoulder, embedding itself in the door jamb behind you.

For those who can see far enough, the sahuagin that fired looks puzzled, but another points and shouts something, and a larger, smoother sahuagin behind them also shouts what is probably profanity in Aklo, or an order to press the attack, or both.

Please stand by, setting up combat

Round 1
Kahuranga hp 34/34 | AC 14 T 14 FF 12 | CMD 17 | Fort +2 Ref +4 Will +5 +2 vs air/elec | fly
Threnody HP 49/63 | AC 21 T 13 FF 18 | CMD 19| Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +6 |
Lark HP 61/68 | AC 19 T 14 FF 15 | CMD 19 | Fort++2(4), Ref+8, Will+6 | 4 Con damage, bear's endurance, heroism
Sahuagin Priest hp 57/57 | AC 21 T 12 FF 21 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +11 (+2 vs good) | ??
Sahuagin LT 1 hp hp 50/50 | AC 20 T 13 FF 17 | Fort +6 Ref +7 Will +6 (1 vs fear)
Sahuagin LT 2 hp hp 50/50 | AC 20 T 13 FF 17 | Fort +6 Ref +7 Will +6 (1 vs fear)
Emberar HP 41/48 | AC/T/FF: 19/12/18 | CMD 19 (23 v. overrun/trip) | F+9 R+4 W+8 (+2 v. enchant) | fly
Corwin HP 95/95 | AC 20, T 10, FF 20 | CMD 22| F+9 R+3 W+5 |

Per-round spells have been removed, recent per-minute or longer spells should still be up.

Please bear in mind whether you are in a lit, dimly lit, or dark area and account for concealment appropriately (and you can't sneak attack a concealed creature). Remember that except for the hammocks, any artwork on the map depicting objects is really there and thus is difficult terrain (many of you are starting on difficult terrain squares, though that is inconsequential for those who are flying). The crates drawn on the board (brown boxes that I added) offer partial cover (not currently added to the ACs of the monsters as they may move, so add +2 if you attack them with ranged attacks from where they stand.

The light emanates into the berth area to illuminate the shadowy figures of two crossbow bearing sahaugin, and a larger figure at the back of the room waving a trident in the air.

Kahuranga, Threnody, and Lark are up, then the bad guys, then Emberar and Corwin!

"Looks like we found some smarter foes boys!" The bard crows as she stops concentrating on her Owlbear illusion. Then she begins singing as it fades away. Her first few notes bring everyone moving just that much more speed before her song changes to something more inspiring.

Inspire courage is now active. +2 morale bonus on saves vs. charm and fear effects, +2 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls as per usual.

Haste is also now in effect. This means a +1 bonus on attack rolls, +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves, one additional attack at your highest attack bonus when using a full-attack action, and an increase in movement speed by 30' for all modes of movement. The boost to movement is an enhancement bonus. This lasts for 7 rounds.

You're welcome for all the buffs!

With Haste and Mage Armor, my AC is 19, 21 vs nonmagical missiles.

Kahuranga curses the Sahuagin closest to him. The one in the back seems more dangerous, but this one is the most immediate danger.

Will Save DC 17 vs Misfortune: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Oh, well.

Then he rockets upward through the hatch to hover safely in the cabin above.

Thren, thanks! The more plus symbols I get to type in dice tags the happier I am ;)

Lark advances into the berths and engages a sahuagin archer. Along the way he drops the glowing coin and draws his weapons.

Attack, sahuagin 2, s.sword, heroism, IC, haste: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 10 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 30
Damage, sahuagin 2, s.sword, IC: 1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 2 = 10

Thanks to Haste I think Lark can weave around the threatened squares to drop that coin near the middle of the room and still approach sahuagin 2 with the crate providing cover (even with some difficult terrain)

Lark round 1, move, drop coin (free), draw weapons (free), attack (short sword)

Sahuagin 2 hasn't acted yet, so he is flat footed...

Lark Sneak Attack: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 5, 4) = 18

EDITING IN PROGRESS

Thren magically bolsters the party, Kahuranga attempts a hex and then a hasty withdrawal alongside Taniwha, and Lark with his newfound speed dashes into the room and attacks the further crossbow-wielding sahuagin after dropping his coin.

The large sahuagin in the back, wearing seaweed like robes and bearing a wicked looking golden icon, steps forward and taps the coin on the floor with the icon. Inky shadows emerge, smothering the simple light spell, replacing it with impenetrable darkness.

Any characters without Darkvision are considered blinded in total darkness (outside the magical darkness, everything else has returned to being normally dark). Everything has 50% concealment (no sneak attacks); –2 penalty to Armor Class, lose Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) (Lark you do not lose this with Uncanny Dodge I believe, but you still take the general -2 penalty), and takes a –4 penalty on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks and on opposed Perception skill checks. Furthermore you must succeed on a DC 10 Acrobatics check to move at half speed (can't move full); failure means you fall prone. (Now, half speed still includes the speed you are granted by haste).

Meanwhile, both doors to the Galley open--one to the berths, one to the small cabin Thren, Corwin, and Emberar still stand in. All can hear the doors squeak open; furthermore, as the door between the Galley and the Cook's quarters opens, the trap on the door springs -- apparently set to trigger in the direction of whomever was on the cabin side of the door, regardless of who opens it. Corwin can feel the rush of air as the door opens, and hear the snap of the string...

Needle Trap vs Flatfooted: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Needle Trap Crit Confirm?: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

CRITICAL NEEDLE DAMAGE!!!!: 2d2 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4

Corwin Saving Throw Vs Poison DC 17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Corwin is pricked but not poisoned.

The sahuagin who still doesn't know where Owlbear went, drops his fired crossbow and, wielding his trident, steps toward Lark and attacks!

Sah Lt 1 Power Attacks Lark (-2 AC): 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 11 - 2 = 17

Lark feels the trident brush against his armor but no damage is done.

The sahuagin that Lark attacked gets angry from being hurt so badly! Lark can tell by the snarling that begins emitting from the creature. He sidesteps to flank with his buddy (5' step) and, dropping his crossbow, goes at Lark with claws and teeth!

Sah Lt 2 vs Lark, Claw 1, flanking, blood frenzy: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 33

Sah Lt 2 vs Lark, Claw 2, flanking, blood frenzy: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 32

Sah Lt 2 vs Lark, Bite, flanking, blood frenzy: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 14

Sah Lt 2 Claw 1 Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 21

Claw 1 Damage: 2d4 + 12 ⇒ (4, 2) + 12 = 18

Claw 2 Damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Extra Rend Damage: 2d4 + 12 ⇒ (1, 1) + 12 = 14

Lark is in the dark and feels like maybe he just lost an important organ or two.

Corwin and Emberar, then back to the top!

And if it makes you feel any better, those will be my last three 20s for the next three months, and all of my characters in other games will roll no higher than 4

We all figured out long ago you save those 20s for use on us, who are you kidding? :-)

Are you serious? I'd love to give each of those 20s to my PCs and they'll never get them. Or they will, but it will be on a "Profession Baking" roll rather than an attack roll.

“Well, s!*#,” Emberar mutters. ”Some foul shark-man priest...Keltheald, shield me!” As a nimbus of light briefly flares around him, Emberar steps forward toward the darkness. “Captain! We can’t see in this—are we falling back?”

OR—and this is a question for GMDQ as well—could I use dispel magic on the darkness? If so, Emberar will draw the scroll with his move action. But not sure if that’s technically possible, since I’d be targeting an object that I assume I can’t technically see.

Oh, the Standard Action is shield of faith for +3 deflection bonus to AC!

I believe you need clear line of effect, not line of sight, to target dispel magic. In other words, you don't need to see the object, but you need to have a clear, drawable line from you to the target. From where you are standing, you do not have line of effect--Threnody and the ladder she is standing on is in your way, as is partially the western wall of the cabin. You'd need to at least get to the doorway to get LOE. The other issue, which is the part where I might be thinking too hard, is indeed you may not have been able to see where Lark dropped the coin. I don't know if you can target something you're not sure is there. But I think let's just say you have enough of an idea from how the light was moving.

I'll also note that dispelling the darkness, if the caster level check is successful, will dispel the magical darkness, but the entire area is also dark anyway. I'm going to say that a cleric of twilight will be well aware that a darkness spell dispels a light cantrip, so you would know that dispelling the magical darkness will not return the light in and of itself.

Please clarify if you are drawing the scroll or stepping forward (you don't have enough room to make a 5' step because Thren is in your way, so you have to get ahead of her), and the space to the south of her is too narrow (difficult terrain). Flight won't help you here because there's nowhere to fly to..

Please update your statblock with your AC if you don't mind (or I'll forget) ^_^;

"What the...?" Corwin asks as a small needle grazes his cheek. A few drops of blood fall, but it doesn't seem to be anything too significant.
sorry, clarification question: is there anyone in the galley behind the door that just opened? I don't see anyone on the map.
With a growl he starts focusing on his other senses. using a move action to gain blind fighting with martial flex

The doors opened, but Corwin does not see anyone standing there. Perhaps there are footsteps within? But it's hard to tell with the general creak of the ship and the clatter of battle.

You've got a standard action left

Corwin slowly takes a step forward hoping that someone will illuminate the place soon.

Most of the things I want to do would probably get in the way of someone else. I'm going to delay for the moment.

We are back to Lark and Thren. Delay if you need to Kahuranga, but remember you and Thren are the only people who can see at the moment.