GM Faelyn's Strange Aeon AP

Game Master Faelyn

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Once more, the stoic halfling ventured forth into the gloom to set up an ambush for the enemy lurking within the rubble-strewn room. As he passes the darkness, he continues hearing the creature within muttering about the different textures and color of the skin, the variable stages of rot, among other completely inane observations.

Drafton, where exactly did you want to wait in ambush? Go ahead and place your icon where you are looking to hide, please.

Drafton, did you already place your icon where you want it? If so, I apologize, I was waiting on something from you here.

Yes, I had. Sorry, I should have said something.

Np, my fault for not looking. Update coming later tonight.

Drafton looks warily at the weakly scrabbling arms and gurgling growling sound. He contemplated helping but realized that if anyone who was under there was worth saving, helping them would only give away the amubush to the shape changer in the next room.

If you've held on this long... just wait a little more.

Sounds good, Drafton. Whenever you guys are ready, I'm prepared.

It was now or never. He had made a suggestion. It was too late to back out now. He summoned his magical force armor to protect himself, but it was more to buy himself a few extra seconds to psyche himself up. He was no hero and he didn't want to die, but if he could do something to help these people escape, then he should, shouldn't he?

Casting mage armor and moving up.

I'll follow Drafton's lead.

Carter was tense and worried, but couldn't think of any other ideas. He nodded, hoping he was ready for whatever was about to happen next.

Glancing down at the weak yet unnervingly waving arms gave Drafton an idea. Seeing the others start to move up he reaches down to the pile of rubble and grabs a handful of loose rocks then he drops them.

"Hel- hello? Is anyone there? Please... help." he said weakly, letting his voice crack and sound of desperation.

As he spoke he drew his dagger, tensing for the upcoming moment.

Bluff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Man, I'm starting to think I should have been a Rogue now.
Drafton is readying to use his naturalist bardic ability as well as a 5 ft. move and aid another attack at the Doppelganger when it comes around the corner.

Carter: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Dhamiskeanus: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Drafton: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Nova: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Doctor Latchke: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Almost immediately after Drafton's voice carries down the hallway he hears an abrupt stop to the whispering. A sudden, overwhelming silence overtakes the darkness... save for soft scrabbling of hands behind Drafton. It seems to drag on for eternity, still nothing more than the scrabbling and that's when Drafton feels it... That strange sensation that seems to warn you when someone of something is watching you... Drafton blinks his eyes a few times and then he suddenly spots it, a soft luminescence peering at him from around the collapsed wall. Your heart suddenly starts slamming against the walls of your chest cavity as adrenaline dumps into your nervous system, preparing to either fight or flee! As your eyes grow wide, a second luminescent glow appears, followed by an insane, breathy gasp. And then... "FRESH SAMPLES!" A shrill, high-pitched shriek!

Round 1! Carter is up first!

Since you're both aware of each other, no Surprise round. I mostly wanted to set the creepy scene.

Carter stepped back involuntarily. A surprised, fearful noise escaped his lips.

"G̨̰ͅh̀a͈̜̲͇̝̗͕!͎̟͝"

It wasn't a human sound at all, but the emotions were unmistakable. At his side, the reliquary clicked as it turned to a new position. There was a gurgle and the sound of wet paper tearing. Something charged out of the dark and attacked the creature near Drafton.

Summon Monster 1: Entropic Dog. Summoning at the square south of B11.

Morphic roll (50+ activates): 1d100 ⇒ 4 Only one, but it lasts a minute.

Moving south-east of blue enemy (above the number 11).

The strange quadruped looked like a skinless canine with an array of small white eyes across it's forehead and a vertically bisecting jaw. Two thin tails whipped behind it. It lunged forward and snapped at the nearest creature.

Bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The doppelganger lets out scream of fear when the strange creature appears behind it. The monster bites down on the doppelganger's leg, but cannot break through the tough hide. The doppelganger then turns strikes out with a clawed hand, raking several bloody cuts across the summoned monster!

Claw #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Damage #1: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Draft, Nova, and Dhamis are up!

The doppleganger's claws took the dog-creature's face clean off. It crumpled into a heap and dissolved into fleshy goo.

"Careful, this one's reactions are violent and impulsive. It forecasts its strikes, so don't over commit yourself."

Utilizing Naturalist. Everyone gets +1 to attacks, Ac, and saving throws against the Doppleganger.

Readying his dagger but keeping his own guard up, Drafton moves in against the Dopplganger and readied to swipe at its arms, drawing its focus.

Readying a fighting defensive aid another attack to help with whoever else might be attacking it next, while attempting to provide flanking.

Fighting Defensively, aid another attack: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 2 - 4 = 10

Current Ac. 18 vs. Doppleganger

Dagger, naturalish, aid another: 1d20 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 20
Piercing damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Dhamiskeanus rushed forward, unnaturally fast given his size. Using that momentum and the momentary distraction from the strange-looking canine, he sunk his dagger into the doppelganger.

Mage armor; AC 15

With a holiday weekend coming up, I'll let the party decide if we want to give Nova until Tuesday morning to post before I GMPC. Or if you guys prefer to give her until tomorrow night to post and then GMPC her for this round.

Round 1 Recap

Drafton moves into a position and assists Dhamis in disorienting the doppelganger, which allows Dhamis to sink his dagger deep into Dr. Latchke's side!

GMPC Nova

Beast looks up at Nova. "Time to kill now?" She nods and the duo move forward into the melee! Double move for both.

Round 2

Bold may post
Carter - 4 DMG
Dr. Latchke - 5 DMG
Dhamis - Mage Armor
Drafton - 3 DMG
Nova - 4 DMG
Beast -

"W̴̢̧̳̰̩̬̬̲̜̆̃̓̈́̃͆̆̃̈́̔̆̀̈̚͜h̴̨̧̧̛̝̱͕͕̼̣̘̼̮̐̓̿̓̈́̎̽͝͠ä̷̛̠͇̘̳͍́̓́́̈̉͗͊̕͝͠t̶̛̂́ ̨͖̪́̋̿͋̆̑͋̉̿͠ ̴̧͉̫̻͐̾̇͐͑͑͑͆̈́̋̕͝͝͠ẇ̵̢̩̝̫͖̤͚̖̱͉̬͇̓ạ̷̛͔̪̞̙͚̭͙̱̪͎̙̯̍̓̆̅̐̽̈͋̑̈́̓s̶͍̖̆̊̃͊̒̎͘̕̕ ̸̢̨̨̥̙̪̭̳͔̼̌̉̀̆́̄͘͝ͅt̸̢̧̖̤̘̦̹̗͙̹̎́̒̊̂̈͂̌́̈́̚͜h̷͉͖̭̮̟̥̥̞̙͉̍͋͒̆̅͂a̴̡͈͎͎̞̙͈̥̐̌̕ t̴͍̝͔̜͈̄̐͂͋͆́̓̍̚͝?̵̧̛͈̥͔̈́̀̿̔ ̸̥̲͕͚̦̼̥̀̀̈́͗̋͛̉͘͝" Carter said, startled.
.

Carter's reliquary clicked again at his side, unnoticed in the melee.
.

"Ẃ̶̧̡̧͎̣͕̞͖͙͈̤̭͓̲͎ḧ̶̠̬̼̭̲͇͉̠̫̖̪̜͊̈́̽̈́̑̈̃͒̅͐̓͛̆͊͜a̷̫̮͖̎́͛͌͂́̒͐͑͒͆̌̊͝t̸̛̒̄̄͝ ̮̥͉̗͖̖̺͉̣̬̪͖̋́̔̾̉͊̒̈͒̓ͅͅ'̷̟̼̜͉͓͐̾̈́͂̎̋̓̏͛͊̿̚͠s̸̢̫̦̙̰̮̣̬͙͚̟͂̿̐̕̚͜͠ ̸̞̮̹̜̩̖̦̈́̎̉̀͊͌̍̎͜͠ẘ̵̛̱ŗ̵̞͖͖̰̳͎͇̟͇̔̑̋̍̏̑̑̇̈́̒͘ͅo̸̜̣͈̠̤̙̙͍̲̫͗̒͒̓̃̐̂͂̅͗͛̕͘͜͝n ̶̧̲̳̤̰͕̰͖̈͑̌̍̒̕͝ǵ̸͋͜ ̴̞͓̟̳̟͔̟̪̱̻̝̓̾̇̂̓̀̊́̀͝w̶̭̘͓̘͖̫̘̘̗͈̐̑͘i̶̩̫̰̰̞̳̝̝̻̬̦͇̹̰̹͑̾́̿͌̍̂̊̑̋̉̚͝͝ť̴̬̥͓̪ ̢̢̰̮̫̜͎̘̤͍͎h̵̲͙̠̫̖̬̮̩͎͉̑̊̄͂̄̄͑̀́̓͠͝ ̸̜͇̞̒̀m̵̛͍͇̫͕̲̟̉̌́̅̐̚y̸̛̛̜͖̩͙͍͓̲̞͎͋͗͐̒̃́͆͌̕ ̶͔͍̖̩̤̤͔̦̘̝͎̥̙̽͗́́͌̑͆͒̚͜͝কণ্ঠস্বর?"

Summon monster, again.

Morphic? (under 50 is 1): 1d100 ⇒ 9 Only 1, but lasts a minute

Out of the puddle of viscra, like it was turning itself inside out, the terrible dog-thing burst forth again attacking the doppleganger.

Bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Bonus Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

"Doctor" Latchke screams in fear and pain as the faceless goo-monster suddenly stands back and rips a large chunk of flesh from his leg. He steps away from the flanking enemies and focuses all his fury on the undying goo-dog-thing... The first claw slashes deep into the chaos dog and the second literally drips the head from it's body! Viscera and gore splatters the nearby wall. '"Doctor" Latchke stops for a moment and looks at the dripping gore on his clawed hand. "This requires a more thorough examination... Must not dilute the sample with their blood!"

Claw #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Damage #1: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Claw #2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Damage #2: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Claw #2 Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Crit Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Round 2

Bold may post
Carter - 4 DMG
Dr. Latchke - 14 DMG
Dhamis - Mage Armor
Drafton - 3 DMG
Nova - 4 DMG
Beast -

Again, Dhamiskeanus raised his dagger and drove it down into the doppelganger.

dagger, naturalist: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 1 = 19
Piercing damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

AC: 15

Drafton saw Doctor Latchke's reaction to Carter's strange language as the odd looking creature appeared and then something began to tick for him. But he was more worried about those sharp claws cutting others to ribbons. He shook his head as he focused on trying to interfere with the Dr's claws.

Maintaining Naturalist, Bardic rounds 4/6

"My, Doctor how professional you seem to be with your... art."

+2 to Ac. if hit.
Fighting Defensively, Aid another Attack: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 2 - 4 = 4

Nova casts a protective spell upon Beast just before the phantom engages the good "doctor", but is not able to connect with its paws! Drafton attempts to aid one of his companions, but is also not quite able to do so. Dhamis, however, drives his dagger into 'Doctor' Latchke again!

Slam #1: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7
Slam #2: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Round 3

Bold may post
Carter - 4 DMG
Dr. Latchke - 17 DMG
Dhamis - Mage Armor
Drafton - 3 DMG
Nova - 4 DMG
Beast - Shield 10/10, Hated Target

Carter, you are up!

Summon Monster SLA, again.

With no weapons and already wounded, Carter felt helpless and useless. He cowered at the back of the group near the wall.

This time when his reliquary clicked and turned he noticed. "ক̷̪͕̭͖ͮͤ̅ͪ̋͢ি͎͚͈̼͂ͩͣͭ͑͐ ̴̨̢̭̻͒͊ͤ̓ͥহ̨̣̪͊̄ͥ̈́ͣͫͪ̑̊ͅচ্̢̜̱̳̥͕̥̻̥̹̞͈̤̥̞̭̱̈́̅ͭ̋́ͦ̿͊͂ͫ̑̾ͨ̉̾͜͝͞ͅছ͔̟̼͚̹̫ͧ̊̋̆ ̕͜ে̴̱̦̦ͬͪ?ͥ̿̀͏̠̯"

He took up the reliquary with trembling hands.

What is going on? Why can't I talk right? What is this thing doing?

Morphic?: 1d100 ⇒ 90 Two monsters, one round duration.

The strange dog-thing's face splattered against the wall fromt he force of the Doppleganger's blow, and as if rebounding from the impact, it turned itself inside out again, leaping forth as a newly formed creature. A moment later the fallen body did the same.

Now there were two of them.

Creature 1, Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Bite: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Creature 2, Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Bite: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

'Doctor' Latchke shrieks in pain again as the weird dog-thing suddenly climbs back up again even after being ripped in two. Now there were two of them! "Die! DIE! DIIIIIIIE!" He screams as his clawed hands strike out again at the undying monster dog, shredding what would normally be the throat and the form collapses once more into a pool of viscera. Latchke is freely bleeding from several wounds and although he looks unsteady, he's still fighting with all he has left.

Attack #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Attack #2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Round 3

Bold may post
Carter - 4 DMG
Dr. Latchke - 21 DMG
Dhamis - Mage Armor
Drafton - 3 DMG
Nova - 4 DMG
Beast - Shield 10/10, Hated Target

Seeing their target begin to succumb to his wounds, Drafton decided it would be best to return to more offensive measures.

Continuing Naturalist. 3/6 rounds. Moving 5 ft, adjust if I can or just moving if it's difficult terrain.
Aid another, attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

"He's weakening. Go for the legs!"

As he spoke, he took a moment to adjust himself so that he had the "Doctor" directly between himself and Dhamiskeaunus.

"ত̴̧̰͉̗̰͒̓̉̐͛͝ু̶̧͙̟̗̭̦̟̈́̇̿̚͠ͅম̷̩͉͕̥̪̪̖̰͎͇̏̀̂͊͊̄ি̷̜̖͚̰͖̤͛̓͆̿̓̚ ̷̫̎̌͑̿̓̀͑এ̸̺̯̩̏̅͂̕ক̴̘̄̒̉̎͗͛̇̈́͑͝া̸̗̹̬͙̩͆̒̄͌̈̑̚͝ͅ ̵̢̨̝͍̻͖̾̄̆̐́̏͂̏̿ন̸̡͎̮͇̹̪̣̭̻̪͑̄͒͒͑̂̆̏͠ও̷̼͌͂͊̄̿̄̕͝" Said Nova, directed at Carter. These words were not spoken exactly, but felt within one's mind. Nova startles and takes a step back. "What am I doing?"

She shakes her head to clear her thoughts, then casts guidance upon Carter.

Translation: You are not alone.

Beast ignores the rest of the group and claws eagerly at the doppleganger.

Claw1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Claw2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Drafton winced as he distinctly heard Nova speak. Caught up in the fighting as he was he hadn't heard Carter clearly but now whatever was going on bothered him.

Is that the cause of those dog... things?

Going to GMPC Dhamis to keep things from stalling.

Attack: 1d20 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Dhamis continues his relentless assault with the dagger as Beast's claw cuts a deep gash in the 'doctor's' side. Dhamis buries his dagger deep into back of the good 'doctor', right between the shoulder blades. The doppelganger lets out a shriek of pain, one hand reaching for the offending blade before collapsing to his knees. He stares at the gore on his claws as he falls face first to the hard ground. His breathing slows and lets out one last statement before slipping towards death. "...the samples... it was for science..."

Combat over!

Well done guys! You destroyed that fool. What would you like to do?

As soon as the mad doctor falls, both the strange dogs looked straight to Carter and watched him as they dissolved into the floor. Alien flesh gave way to protoplasm and eventually only smoke until they were gone entirely.

Beast plays with his claws and says "Not a good chase, but living flesh between my claws feels good. Where's the next one?"

Translation: You are not alone.

Carter was shaken. He slowly looked from where the dogs had been to Nova, then back again. He nodded.

"হ্̯̘̰͎̣͖̱̯̥̾̈͋͟য̘͉̙̥̖͎̽̽ͮ̅̋̊́া̥͎̩ͦͩͯ̓ͤͩ̅ঁ̞̝̞̃͆ͪͫͮͬ ͨ̽́̓ͯআ̓ম͎ͭ̊͋ি̷͉͖ͯͮ̓͑̅ y͖͓e͎̼̝̯s̺͎̖̹͔͓̣. I think you're right." he said, not really seeming to notice that his voice had gone back to normal.

He looked down at the Doctor and shook his head. Drafton let out a sigh and felt at his wounds, they were tender and still hurt but he hadn't ripped anything. As he did so, he remembered the weakly flailing arms underneath the rubble.

"Worry about dealing with this mess later. Help me free someone from underneath the rubble."

Moving to immediately go free the person with the creepy waving arms. Hopefully it's not too late... or that it's some kind of Undead. That would be no good too.

Drafton moved over to where weakly flailing arms had been. He started to move the rubble but then grabbed onto one of the arms and checked it for a pulse before it was entirely free.

Drafton moves away from the dead doppelganger and rushes to the shadowy rubble where he noticed the scrabbling arms. He quickly finds the form still feebly trying to pull itself free. He takes hold of one of the hands and just as he does he immediately notices that its cold and clammy... and then suddenly the hand tries to snatch Drafton's arm!

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Huffing and puffing as the doppelganger toppled over, Dhamiskeanus slowly began to clean his dagger on his own robes. At hearing that someone was trapped, he quickly sheathed it and rushed over to see if he could help. He was slowly gaining confidence in himself after the fight with the shape shifter.

"What? Where? Who's under there?" The questions came out slowly in ragged breaths as the expenditure of effort and energy started to catch up to the big man.

Drafton's eyes widened, he tried to fall away from the arm but it was too late. "Aaagh! Get it off! It's not a living creature whatever it is!"

grapple: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4

Just to clarify, Drafton, the hand was unable to grab you. You can fall back if you'd like.

Beast leaps upon the arm and starts raking it with his claws while grinning from ear to ear and laughing.

Claw1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Claw2: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Claw2 confirm: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Oh, hmm. My CMD was only 11 and it got a 12. So I thought it had grabbed me.

Nope, just a regular old attack. Also... Beast, you silly-goose...

Beast rushes forward quickly and shreds the offending arm into hunks of foul-smelling flesh; however, before Beast can do more than laugh there is a strange, sickening sound like the sound of ripping flesh and entrails! Suddenly nearby upper torso burst, sending rancid muscles, flesh, and bone fragments flying in all direction! Drafton finds himself covered in gore. There's a moment of silence, then suddenly the entrails from the remaining lower body begin whipping around violently! Beast looks to see a snarling head flying towards him with it's mouth wide open! (AoO for Beast, I'll finish the Beheaded's actions once I know whether Beast kills it or not.) Drafton looks down to see another hand inching its way across the ground towards him...

Round 1
Bold May Post
Beheaded:
Dhamis:
Crawling Hand:
Writhing Entrails:
Nova/Beast:
Carter:
Drafton:

"What the!? Oh! A new chase!"

Claw: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Oh my! What is that?" the large man exclaimed.

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Unable to figure out what exactly was happening, Dhamiskeanus did something he had never really done before. He got mad.

Chaos had run rampant here and it was finally just becoming too much. This was not how a facility such as this was supposed to operate. It wasn't so much that he abhorred chaos, far from it actually, but this was overboard. Something had to be done to restore some sort of order here.

"Enough!" he shouted. "You will all cease this absurdness at once!" he commanded.

Command Undead; 2 HD worth within 30 feet must make a DC 11 Will save or be enslaved.

Beheaded Will Save DC 11: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Crawling Hand Will Save DC 11: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Dhamis, finally having enough as the insanity of this place, suddenly commands the undead extremities to halt and the crawling hand freezes in place; however, the flying head continues to cackle madly. The writhing corpses sends its entrails out towards Nova and seeks to wrap her up with their sticky bits!

Nova make a Reflex save DC 14 please or become Entangled.

Round 1
Bold May Post

Beheaded:
Dhamis:
Crawling Hand:
Writhing Entrails:
Nova/Beast:
Carter:
Drafton: