GM Giuseppe's Council of Thieves

Game Master Giuseppe Capriati

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Round 3
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The eagle lets out a high pitched squawk as the howler's quills stab into it. Luckily it manages to avoid the quill breaking off, flapping in place and pulling back. If it weren't a creature summoned from another plane, it may have given up on such prickly prey after that - but bolstered by Faustinia’s spell and its planar nature, it continues its flurry of attacks.

Faustinia lets Petals’ song wash over her against the howling. ”Keep up your magic!” she shouts for encouragement. ”It's keeping that damned maddening howling out of my head!” As if to demonstrate this mental clarity, Faustinia fires off another dart of acid with much greater accuracy than her last.

---

Quill defense damage to eagle last turn:
1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Eagle reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Celestial eagle attacks:

Bite green, flanking: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 2 = 24
Damage, smite: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Claw green, flanking: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 2 = 15
Damage, smite: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Claw green: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 2 = 6
Damage, smite: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Faustinia attack:
Acid dart, into melee, bless: 1d20 + 2 - 4 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 2 - 4 + 1 = 18
Acid damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

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Round 3
==========

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Varius yelps as he is stuck by the howler's spine, and overcome with pain from it. He continues to attack the southern howler.

Attack-Dual-Sickened+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 23 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Attack-Dual-Sickened+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 8 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Crit: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 22 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

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Round 3
========

Thankful for Petals's song, Catina softly hums along. Not loud enough to distract from the elven girl's singing, but enough to make herself feel the energy imbued in the song. "It's working. Stay together and we can hold them off!" She tries again - with little luck - to find room over Alessandro's shoulder for a swing of her glaive.

--

Attack at green, of blue if green is already dead. Both will have cover, so I included the -4

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 - 4 = 4
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

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Round 3
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reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
perform, countersong: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 2 = 13

OW! Mother of all things holy, why do creatures exist that hurt you when you hit them! she screams profanity in her head as the spikes dig into her lower arm. The pain splicing into her song driving notes into chaos. And also throwing her aim at the wall instead of the infernal beast, hammer hitting with a crack into the stone where the crunch against flesh would have been preferred.

attack with hammer, sickened and blessed: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 - 2 = 11
damage: 2d6 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 - 2 = 6

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Round 2
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Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 6

I missed that I was flanking with the eagle.

Reflex DC 14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

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Round 3
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Kukri: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 1 = 17
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Kukri: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

If Green Howler is alive, Alessandro attacks it, otherwise, he 5-ft steps diagonally and attacks Blue Howler.

"Ouch. This creature is a fiendish porcupine. I'm hurting myself more than I'm hurting it."

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 3 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

Varius hits the howler despite feeling sick, and he does so with incredible strength and accuracy. The howler in front of him seems just about to collapse, but still manages to stay on its feet. Alessandro completes the job and puts down the first howler, the steps diagonally and brings down his kukri on the other howler.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Alessandro: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Alessandro: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Varius: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

In addition to this damage, Alessandro must also make two DC 14 Reflex saves or bits of the quills break off in his flesh, causing him to become sickened until the quill fragments are removed.

The remaining howlers do not waste time and fight back! They keep focusing on Alessandro and Varius, and while the first is able to dodge both attacks, Alessandro is caught by surprise by the astounding rapidity of its foe, whose maws close around his ankle!

Alessandro takes 8 points of damage!

Alessandro is starting to lose a lot of blood.

In the meantime, Lady Faustinia’s eagle continues its attacks, and together with its master, they manage to cause some serious wounds to the howler they’re fighting against.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Faustinia’s eagle: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Petals swings her hammer again, but she misses wildly, and Catina has no better luck.

The fight ensues!

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Active effects: none

① Varius (Conditions: none; Status: 24/32 hp)
② Alessandro (Conditions: sickened; Status: 8/38 hp)
③ Blue Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -8 hp)
③ Green Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -44 hp)
③ Red Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -8 hp)
④ Lady Faustinia (Conditions: none; Status: 22/22 hp)
⑤ Petals (Conditions: sickened; Status: 24/27 hp)
⑥ Catina (Conditions: none; Status: 31/31 hp)
______________________________________________________

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Round 3
==========

Varius continues fighting gamely, looking quite a lot like a dog that's met its first porcupine.

Attack-Sickened-Dual+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 15 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Attack-Sickened-Dual+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 23 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Another crit?: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 11 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

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Round 4
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The eagle screeches in pain as long quills pierce its glowing body, but it still continues its assault. A fiery glow of righteous fury burns in its golden eyes.

While it keeps the howler near Alessandro busy, Faustinia turns her attention to the one on her right. She says a few arcane words that glide off her tongue, and her hands clench as she wrenches a slick oily pool into existence under one of the howler's feet.

---

Faustinia casts grease (DC 16 Ref) under the blue howler.

Eagle reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Celestial eagle attacks:

Bite red: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Claw red: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Claw red: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Since Petals and Catina may be interested in knowing if Faustinia's spell will succeed...

I'm pleased to reveal it will. The blue howler will be prone after Faustinia's turn.

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Round 4
==========

attacking prone howler, blessed and sickened: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 1 - 2 = 21
damage if hit: 2d6 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 3 - 2 = 5
perform countersong: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 9 - 2 = 22

Oily black bubbling up from the ground, causing the spikey evil thing to slip and fall, makes the pretty little elf almost want to giggle... if it wasn't for the potential death and insanity these creatures want to bring to them all. Ignoring the pain in her arm, she increases the volume of her song and brings down her hammer in a two handed over the back smash straight into its hip. The spikes unfortunately makes it glance off more than she wanted.

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Round 4
=======

Catina watches anxiously how Alessandro gets his, and pushes deeper despite of his condition. "Watch out!" She follows him and calls on Shelyn's divine power to heal his wounds.

--

Use the Find traps slot to cast CMW on Alessandro.

CMW, Alessandro: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (3, 6) + 4 = 13

Reflex DC 14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Reflex DC 14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

One of the howler quills pierces Alessandro's arms and won't come loose. The pain sickens him and his faces pales.

"Perhaps a ranged approach would be best against these beasts."

Alessandro uses the withdraw action to safely move towards the back so he can draw his bow next round.

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 4 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

Varius continues to attack his enemy, and manages to get in a solid hit, although the quills again pierce his hand in the process. In the meantime, Alessandro withdraws behind Catina.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Varius: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

The howler on the left pounces on Varius, and the other one does the same! Varius finds himself suddenly assaulted by a multitude of simultaneous attacks, but his defensive skills are good enough to avoid three out of four attacks. Only one attack hits him, with the howler to the south biting his arm.

Varius takes 9 points of damage!

Faustinia's eagle relentlessly attacks, but this time the noble extraplanar being does not manage to hit its target. Its master, in the meantime, creates a layer of grease behind the howler on the left, causing it to slip and fall prone. This gives Petals the right opportunity to attack. The elf brings down her hammer on the prone howler and wounds it.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Petals: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Since casting a spell would cause Catina to provoke an AoO, I will assume she attempts a concentration check in order to cast the spell defensively. The roll is in my GM Rolls.

Unfortunately, while casting her spell to heal Alessandro, Catina lowers her guard, thus allowing the howler in front of her to attack her and potentially interrupt the casting. The tiefling girl is able to avoid the bite, though, and successfully completes her spell, restoring Alessandro’s health!

The battle rages!

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Active effects: none

① Varius (Conditions: sickened; Status: 12/32 hp)
② Alessandro (Conditions: sickened; Status: 21/38 hp)
③ Blue Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -20 hp)
③ Green Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -44 hp)
③ Red Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -8 hp)
④ Lady Faustinia (Conditions: none; Status: 22/22 hp)
⑤ Petals (Conditions: sickened; Status: 21/27 hp)
⑥ Catina (Conditions: none; Status: 31/31 hp)
______________________________________________________

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Round 5
========

(Thanks for that, Giuseppe. It's a bit difficult to prep my action before anything else, so you might have to do some interpreting as you did just there. Glad to see the spell came through.)

Catina is glad to see that Alessandro made the wise move and withdrew from the fight. However, the direct result is that she's now face to face with the bristled creature. "I can't swing," she informs her companions. "They're too close." Improvising, she tries to put a hand on the Howler's snout. "You don't look like mindless beasts, even if you probably don't understand me. If you would just reconsider for a moment..." She channels a spark of Shelyn's divine might into the touch, hoping it might distract or delay the Howler.

--

Dazing touch domain power on red. If the touch attack hits and the creature has 4 HD or less, it is dazed for one round (no save).
melee touch attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 1 = 25

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ROund 5
========

Varius bravely stands his ground, blood pouring out of his multiple wounds, particularly as a howler gets a particularly nasty bite in on him. He redirects his attacks to the blue howler, doing his best to avoid the vicious quills. His swords work ceaselessly, and his hands are absolutely saturated with blood from repeatedly running into the quills.

Attack-Sickened-Dual+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 23 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Attack-Sickened-Dual+Bless: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 8 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

More crits!: 1d20 + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 6 - 2 - 2 + 1 = 15 Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

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Round 5
========

Hold on Catina Petals thinks but doesn't speak, since she is paranoid enough to think as soon as she stops singing the creatures will start howling again.

perform, countersong: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
attack blue, sickened, blessed, still prone?: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 1 - 2 = 15
damage if hit: 2d6 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (1, 5) + 3 - 2 = 7

Her song remains strong, though she is reaching the end of it, the drowning inches from the light, hope and desperation mingle, much as hers does.

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Round 5
========

Alessandro drops his kukris and draws his longbow and fires at the red howler. Unfortunately, the pain in his quilled arm negatively affects his aim.

Longbow: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 - 2 = 11

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Round 5
==========

As the howler by the eagle moves up, so too does the planar eagle. Following behind it, the eagle tears at the beast while it’s distracted by Varius and Catina.

Faustinia points at the most injured howler again and fires a dart of acid at it. Even as Varius becomes covered in blood (his own and the howler’s), Faustinia sees Catina lay a hand on one of the creatures’ faces. She can see the magical workings, but it still looks like a way to get a hand bitten off. ”I hope you know what you’re doing, girl!” she calls out.

---

Celestial eagle attacks:

Bite red, flanking: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Claw red, flanking: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Claw red, flanking: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Faustinia attack:

Acid dart @ Blue, blessing, into melee: 1d20 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 2 + 1 - 4 = 18
Acid damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 5 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

Varius strikes hard and precisely, rubbing salt into the howler’s wound. Alessandro has worst luck, and misses.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Varius: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The howler on the left tries to get back on its clawed paws, but in doing so, he allows Varius to attack it once more.

Varius AoO: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Unfortunately, Varius misses his chance to dispatch the howler for good. Petals still has a chance, though!

Petals AoO: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 6) + 1 = 13

The elf does not let the chance pass her by, and she brings down her hammer on the howler with incredible strength. The howler roars one last time and collapses to the ground in a pool of black blood.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Petals: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

There’s only one howler remaining now, and it focuses its rage on Varius. With a terrible bite, the howler pounces on Varius and bites into his neck, leaving him bleeding to his death on the group in a matter of seconds!

Varius takes 13 points of damage!

The howler then tries to hit Catina with its tail, but Catina dodges the attack with ease.

Faustinia and her celestial eagle significantly injure the only remaining howler. The beast, however, does not seem to be willing to give up.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Eagle: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Unfortunately, the eagle is only able to attack once, since the quills prove lethal for it and after a heroic service, the celestial being disappears.

In order both to protect Varius and attack the howler, Petals steps over her friend’s senseless body and tries to bring down her hammer on the howler. She succeeds, but the howler is still on its paws!

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Petals: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Finally, Catina tries to daze the howler but the creature is too strong for that effect. And its quills delve deep in the tiefling’s flesh.

--- QUILL DEFENSE ---

Catina : 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Catina takes 3 points of damage. She must also make a DC Reflex save or bits of the quills break off in his flesh, causing her to become sickened until the quill fragments are removed.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Active effects: none

① Varius (Conditions: dying, sickened; Status: -5/32 hp)
② Alessandro (Conditions: sickened; Status: 21/38 hp)
③ Blue Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -47 hp)
③ Green Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -44 hp)
③ Red Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -27 hp)
④ Lady Faustinia (Conditions: none; Status: 22/22 hp)
⑤ Petals (Conditions: sickened; Status: 15/27 hp)
⑥ Catina (Conditions: none; Status: 28/31 hp)
______________________________________________________

==========
Round 6
==========

With Varius bleeding out and one howler left, Faustinia decides not to take any chances on putting the creature down. She steps back and reaches into a pouch on her newly acquired haversack, and finds the scroll she needs having magically leapt to the top. Reading it off, a bolt of force jumps from her hand, arcs over her allies and strikes the howler between the eyes.

---

Faustinia casts from her magic missiles (CL 1st) scroll.
Magic Missiles scroll: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

==========
Round 6
==========

Trusting Catina to take care of Varius, Petals swings with all her might at the spiny devil in front of them

perform, countersong: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 - 2 = 27
attack blue, sickened, blessed: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 - 2 = 9
damage if hit: 2d6 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (5, 5) + 3 - 2 = 11

While her song remained strong and pure, her arms are not up to the task. Sparing a look, she ends up whispering the last words of the song in horror. Thorns spearing her fingers, driven into her forearms, and the blood dripping from the shaft of her lovely hammer. She also sees Varius ashen on the ground, blood gushing from his neck.

"Shelyn help us" Petals says to no one in particular, raising her blue eyes to the devil coming for her.

==========
Round 6
==========

Longbow: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 1 - 2 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 1 - 2 = 4

Seeing Varius go down spurs Alessandro to fight past his pain and attacks the howler with gritted teeth.

"These creatures are savage. Finish off this last one before it can tear any more of us apart."

=========
Round 6
=========

Catina looks sheepishly at her companions when her touch failed to stun or soothe the beast. "It was worth a try, wasn't it?" she asks weakly, nursing the pricks in her hand from the quills. I guess I'm lucky I pulled back in time.

She takes a quick look back and sees that Varius is indeed hurt very badly. Not wanting to try her luck again in casting a spell so close to the Howler, Catina turns her back and steps away, next to Faustinia. She then channels a very small amount of magic to heal Varius; this way, she won't have to be so close to him. "This will stabilize him, but we need to deal with that Howler so I can heal properly."

--

Reflex save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
I don't see Varius on the map any more, but I'm going to assume that he's still next to Petals and Alessandro. Catina moves away (drawing an attack of opportunity), then casts Stabilize on Varius. It seems like the combat is almost over, and I'd rather use channels to heal everyone post-combat.
Also, Giuseppe, could you please verifiy the quill damage to Catina? Dice roll shows 2, your recap shows three. In any case, this would be reduced be Catina's DR, I think

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 6 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

Alessandro hits the howler with his bow, but the creature immediately retaliates, attacking Catina. Fortunately, the tiefling girl is able to dodge both of the howler’s attack, giving the party another chance to put the beast down before it can attack again. Lady Faustinia chooses the reliability of a magic missile, and contributes to make the howler even weaker. The howler is now about to collapse, but still fights, and Petals is not able to deliver the killing blow to the beast, allowing it to attack Catina while she retreats in order to be able to stabilize Varius. This time, Catina can’t do anything to avoid the attack, and she gets bitten on the leg as she moves away!

Catina takes 11 points of damage!

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Active effects: none

① Varius (Conditions: dying, sickened; Status: -5/32 hp)
② Alessandro (Conditions: sickened; Status: 21/38 hp)
③ Blue Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -47 hp)
③ Green Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -44 hp)
③ Red Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -35 hp)
④ Lady Faustinia (Conditions: none; Status: 22/22 hp)
⑤ Petals (Conditions: sickened; Status: 15/27 hp)
⑥ Catina (Conditions: none; Status: 17/31 hp)
______________________________________________________

=========
Round 7
=========

attack, blessed, sickened: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 1 - 2 = 17
damage: 2d6 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (1, 1) + 3 - 2 = 3 lol, well it's fitting with the arms and hands all sliced up

No longer singing the bard throws all she has into another swing at the devilish porcupine. Unfortunately there isn't that much left in her, elves aren't known for their endurance, or at least she isn't. Panting and bleeding she does really well though.

==========
Round 7
==========

Faustinia nods at Catina as the tiefling retreats. Despite her warnings and Catina’s ineffective magic, Faustinia looks more concerned for the girl's injuries than scolding her. ”Are you alright?” she asks, worriedly looking over the bleeding wounds.

Desire her worry, Faustinia keeps her mind to the task at hand and fires off another dart of acid at the howler.

---

Acid dart, bless, into melee: 1d20 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 - 4 = 16
Acid damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

=========
Round 7
=========

"I"m fine," Catina states as she watches blood dripping down from her leg. "We just have to deal with that last Howler, and I'll heal. We just can't keep up like this much longer. And we have to keep moving..." She grits her teeth and limps forward. Again she aims her glaive, over Alessandro's shoulder this time.

--

Assuming Alessandro moves forward, I'll step into his square and attack.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 15
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

(Giuseppe, my health count is off from your recap, due to Catina's DR.)

Apologies guys, thought I'd have time to post but finale and return home of a conference killed my access.

Looking an absolute mess of blood from multiple puncture wounds, Varius gets sloppy, dizzy, and bitten. He collapses to the ground, bleeding out, thankfully just saved by Catina.

Longbow: 1d20 + 7 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 - 2 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 1 - 2 = 6

Sorry I have a bad cold and can't put together a proper post tonight. One attack and move me if need be. I'll get a better post together when I feel better.

⁞⁞⁞⁞ ROUND 7 ⁞⁞⁞⁞

Alessandro misses, thus allowing the howler to make a last, desperate attack. Bleeding and furious, the beast pounces on Petals! There’s nothing the elf can do in order to avoid the impact. The howler puts its massive, clawed pawns on her hammer’s haft and bites into Petals’ neck with ravenous gluttony. Gushes of blood start to spray out of the elf’s delicate neck, covering her in the distinctive red tint of blood. Despite her conditions, Petals manages to maintain her consciousness, and when the howler tries to end her with a tail swipe, the elf jumps and avoids the attack. When she lands, though, the world start to spin around her as though she had indulged in too much wine.

Petals takes 14 points of damage!

Anyway, the howler’s fate is sealed. Lady Faustinia’s acid dart is accurate, and centers the beast on the head, causing it to slowly sag and eventually to collapse. The group has won, and the howler have been defeated, but at what cost!

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Active effects: none

① Varius (Conditions: sickened; Status: -5/32 hp)
② Alessandro (Conditions: sickened; Status: 21/38 hp)
③ Blue Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -47 hp)
③ Green Howler (Conditions: dying; Status: -44 hp)
③ Red Howler (Conditions: none; Status: -40 hp)
④ Lady Faustinia (Conditions: none; Status: 22/22 hp)
⑤ Petals (Conditions: sickened; Status: 1/27 hp)
⑥ Catina (Conditions: none; Status: 21/31 hp)
______________________________________________________

I... need to sit down... Petals plops on the floor ungracefully. Pale and bleeding, her thoughts are few, though she starts humming as she stares off into shock.

The howlers dead, Faustinia steps carefully into the next room, trying to avoid soaking her shoes in the mixed red and black blood on the floor. After stepping into a puddle of the stuff with a shiver of disgust, she casts prestidigitation and begins magically cleaning a path through the gore - starting with her wet slipper. Eyeing Varius and thinking about the healing potions in her pack, she asks, ”You said you took care of him, right, Catina? He does look like he's breathing…”

Once everyone is patched up from the fight and feeling a bit better, Faustinia immediately takes to the bookshelf lining the hall here, sparse as it is. Her feet glide through the shadowy fog rolling along the polished black floor as she scans up and down the shelf for anything interesting. ”Think this is where that late necromancer fellow got his hands on that accursed page? Perhaps he didn't have time for more thorough research before those spiky beasts got to him…” Faustinia says aloud, half to her allies and half talking to herself. She pulls a book at random and starts to flip through its pages.

---

Faustinia will happily provide her potion of cure moderate wounds and/or her potion of cure serious wounds - they're available depending on how much Catina wants to use up her channels and spells.

Varius twitches.

Also Petals has her own cure light wounds and a wand she can use up, probably after the initial healing gets her back to her senses. She is incapable of hitting the heal check, even without the sickened condition.

Alessandro sits down next to Petals to catch his breath and gingerly pokes at the quill stuck in him. "Ouch! Varius needs your attention first, Catina, but when you get a chance, I'd trust your skilled hands at removing this quill over my own."

Alessandro looks at Varius with concern but is confident in Catina's ability to heal him.

While he waits, he continues talking with his allies. "That was quite a welcoming committee. If this is any indication of what's to come down here, brute strength might not be enough. We'll have to rely on our wits as well."

Alessandro looks at Varius with concern but is confident in Catina's ability to heal him.

Once recovered, Alessandro stands and starts looking around the room and inspects the few books on the shelf.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

"Yes, he's fine. Or as fine as can be, with so many quills sticking out of him." Her voice is full of empathy, which turns what could be a sour joke into an honest assessment. "Take it easy, Petals. You've done great in letting us listen to something other than that terrible howling. Just sit down and take a breath."

Catina then steps up to Varius and kneels down next to him. She prays to Shelyn, filling herself with all the love that her deity is capable of and letting it radiate out from her to include all of her companions - her friends. Her prayer does down eventually, as does the flow of positive energy radiating out from her. "Blessed be the Rose Eternal. Here love is endless, but I'm afraid my understanding of it isn't. I think we might face more challenges yet, so I'll hold something back. Petals, I'll see to those quills of yours first. Once those are out, could you tend to the rest of Varius's wounds with your healing wand?"

Catina then tries to remove the quills from the elven woman. She's very scared of inflicting more damage in the process and take her time, approaching the task with the utmost caution. Once she finally removes them, Catina calls Alessandro. Surprisingly, his quills don't seem stuck so deep and she has them out in a minimum of time. After that, she thinks she has the hang of the job until she turns to Varius again, this time to remove the quills. "Dear Lords, it's like you tried to wrestle the beast!" It seems to take forever to get all of the quills out of the man, who's only recently back to consciousness from his mortal wounds.

--

Channel: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5
Channel: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) = 7
Channel: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11 (23 points of healing for everyone)
Heal, Petals: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Heal, Petals: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Heal, Petals: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Heal, Petals: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Heal, Petals: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Heal, Alessandro: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Heal, Alessandro: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Heal, Varius: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Petals humming mixes with Catina's prayer mixing her love of Shelyn with the clerics. Her eyes leave the dreary gray back to her bright blue as the wounds knit together and those evil little quills are out of her flesh.

Thank you she whispers, then pulls herself up to the still prickely Varius, laying her hand on the warrior You were very brave, rest another second and let me do this. her own prayer is different more of a request, Blessed mother, please see this man as I do, his unending courage and his beautiful heart, I believe is worthy of your protection.

cure light wounds: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Then to preserve her spells in case of need, she slips her wand out of her bag and lays it against a wound.
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

There you go. All healed up. Now up, no more being lazy... she stands, brushes off her skirt and following Faustinia's lead, casts her own cleaning spell to clear always the blood from her and him Back to saving this city

There is only one set of double doors leading out of this room. Would you like to open it?

Faustinia, book open in her hands, frowns at the pages. Clearly disturbed, she puts it back and chooses another. Finding no title on the spine, she carefully opens it just a crack before snapping it shut again. ”Ugh. Take care if you were already squeamish from that little bloodbath. It looks like Aberian keeps these books back here away from the public for good reason. The illustrations are as gory as they are pornographic,” she warns. Under her breath she mutters, ”Wouldn't even cause that much of a scandal… pre-Thrune he would be tossed out for this sort of thing… now he'd just get invited to different parties…”

Scanning the bookshelf again, Faustinia spots a book that appears much thicker and in better shape than the others. Taking it down carefully, the title Drowned Jabe and His Miserable Brothers and Sisters doesn't sound as bad as some of the other ones available. She scans through the pages, appreciating the lavish illustrations and the absence of self-inflicted torture instructions. She waves Alessandro over to take a look as well while Catina carefully removes quills from Varius. ”Now this seems inauspicious, doesn't it?” Elaborating on her concern to the group she explains, ”It says here that some poor thief infiltrated the Asmodean Knot, only to drown. ‘Drowned Jabe’ is said to linger here after death - perhaps only a ghost story, or perhaps he does in fact reside here waiting to eat our bones. Hopefully we can find the key and get out before we have to find out.”

Tucking the book under her arm, she gives it a little pat. ”While we're thieving anyway, we may as well grab this. The illustrations alone would fetch a nice price, and the information seems useful. Those other books, well…” Faustinia trails off, gesturing to the bookshelf. ”They are quite old, and could be worth a lot to the right buyer. And the right buyer for these would be disappointingly easy to find in Westcrown these days.” Faustinia shrugs. ”It depends on how much we feel like the load is worth it. Otherwise let's move on,” she says with a nod to the double doors leading out of the room.

---

Per Giuseppe’s spoiler, the books are worth 2400 gold in total - the Drowned Jabe one worth 400 and the other 119 books worth the remaining 2000, presumably.

It's worth noting that the Drowned Jabe book also gives a +2 competence bonus to Knowledge (religion) checks related to the undead.

Varius slowly blinks his eyes open, and smiles weakly up at Catina as she exults the love of her goddess.

"Well that wasn't so---AUUUGHH!!"

The process of removing Varius' extremely embedded quills is not an easy one - his short blades ensuring that his arms are absolutely covered in the things. After what feels like several hours (but was more likely a few minutes), the poor man is finally de-quilled. Very, very gingerly he gets to his feet.

"Gods those things were awful. Thank you. Still better than the rot grubs."

Woozy, but still in relatively good spirits, he accepts Petals' healing with a smile. His wounds have now completely closed. Varius still looks a horror show - dressed in a blood-soaked clown outfit. He looks down at himself.

"Well, hopefully I can scare something down here." He pads over to look at the books.

"I imagine we leave by the way we came in. Perhaps we can see what mood we're in after we've solved this place."

Varius heads over to the double doors, waiting for someone cleverer than him to check for traps before he opens them.

Catina is intrigued by Faustinia's story, not so much by the books. "If they're all like that, I'd rather just leave them. We're not thieves, are we? We should take that book, though. It might haven't clues. " The story has her wondering. "Maybe this Jabe is still there, or his spirit. Perhaps we could talk to him? Learn what he knows, and put his spirit to rest?" It sounds optimistic, but she's hopeful like that. She follows Varius to the double doors. "Yes, we've spent too much time her already. We should keep moving.",She looks over her shoulder, skittish for a moment. "I thought I heard something, but it was probably nothing. We should still go, though.. ."

Ready to move on.

"Oh my... that's just not right!" Petals says glancing at the first open book Faustinia has. "Why would we want anyone to have any of them? If they are all like that, I mean." she asks the wizard and fighter as she moves to the double doors and starts helping Alessandro in trap hunting. "I don't like the idea of burning books, but that gets my vote on the way out. Might create a distraction for anything chasing us too."

perception aid another for trap hunting: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
disable devices aid another: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Alessandro flips through Drowned Jabe. "This is very interesting. The detailed descriptions of the undead are uncanny. I'm sure this will be useful. As for the other books, I have no qualms about stealing from the mayor, but I'm not interested in going through the trouble of collecting and selling them all. However, let's stick a couple in that magic haversack; they shouldn't weigh much in there and I can think of a few used that may come up."

Perception for traps: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28

If there are no traps, Alessandro opens the door.

The doors are untrapped and unlocked, and Alessandro opens them.

This boggling chamber is a square shaft, the walls featuring a spiraling stone stairway that winds up to the left and down to the right. Yet following the stairs with the eye as they wind up to the left, impossibly, brings one right back to the initial landing. There is no floor below or ceiling above, only an endless shaft dropping away into a dimly lit infinity. A second flight of stairs leads up to one side of the room into another hallway, while a third flight descends down in the wall opposite into yet another hall.
_____________________________
Map updated!

Petals continues to prattle on about the books, her tone obvious that she finds the idea of selling the books abhorrent. If you want to save the city, the morality of those of means has to be... silencing her own arguments looking at the insanity of the room they are in. Her eyes follow the spiral staircase over and over getting her nothing but a spike of headache instead of understanding Do you think it has a purpose or is it just decoration?

knowledge planes: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Petals herself is confused at why it would be there at all.

By the way, while Petals really dislikes the idea of the books, I have no problem with it, and am not including her comments to try and convince anyone either way. She unfortunately won't accept any money in relation to the sale. She's not the best at being lawful good, but she's trying.

Varius stares at the stares for a moment, tilting his head from side to side.

"This is... uh. Confusing."

Varius fishes out an old wine cork from his pack and drops it down the shaft, trying to see how far down it goes.

Faustinia nods along with Petals’ protestations of the books, adding in little noises of agreement. ”Yes, I suppose I’d rather not have to meet the people who would… is there an end to that sentence, dear?” Faustinia asks when Petals cuts herself off, then follows her gaze to the puzzling hallway. Faustinia blinks a few times and mutters something under her breath.

Speculating, she starts to think out loud. ”I doubt that this serves any particular purpose other than traversal. Its… strange spacial nature may just be characteristic of this plane, which although confusing is hopefully harmless enough. As we've seen, there are more obvious dangers in this place than stairs. I would still recommend that we don't -” Before Faustinia can finish her sentence, she sees Varius drop a wine cork into the center shaft. She sighs before completing her thought, ”- touch anything. Anyway, I suppose we now know why it's called ‘the Asmodean Knot.’ Shall we?” Faustinia gestures to the left stairs going up (or whatever passes for that direction here) and carefully starts to head for the hallway in that direction.

---

Shall we head down the hallway to the west?

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Alessandro gets vertigo tracking the stairs up with his eyes and impossibly winding back where he started.

"Let's take things carefully. I'm sure this place is full of surprises."

Alessandro slowly walks around the loop searching for anything unusual.

"So how does this work exactly?" Alessandro watches Varius drop the cork down the hole to see where it goes.

Catina is skittish already, and she leaves the discussion on the books to the others as she follows, occasionally looking over her shoulder. She comes to a sudden halt when she takes in the vertigo-inducing nature of the room they're in. "This is... unsettling," she says as she steadies herself against a wall, backing away from the stairs. "Stairs are not supposed to work like that." She's glad for Faustinia's direction and follows the path leading up.