GM Giuseppe's Council of Thieves

Game Master Giuseppe Capriati

Despite Catina’s blessing, Faustinia’s last acid dart is inaccurate and fails to hit the target. Behind her, Sev tries to hide, taking advantage of the cover given by the tunnel’s walls. In the meantime, Lorenzo tries to hit the Hellknight on the floor, but the armiger parries the blow with his longsword and tries to get back on his feet (thus provoking an attack of opportunity from Lorenzo). When he stands up, the Hellknight tries to hit Lorenzo in turn. “Take this, heretic!” he shouts as he strikes. Lorenzo, however, was expecting that kind of attack and easily parries it with his shield.

The Hellknight behind the first one, already on his feet, draws a crossbow and charges it. The last one, in the rear of the group, fires at Faustinia instead. “You’re dead, old witch!” he yells at the noble woman as he recharges his crossbow after missing her, a grin of disdain on his young face.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Lorenzo
③ Faustinia
④ Hellknights
⑤ Catina
____________________________

Lorenzo doesn't know what to think. Witch. Heretic.

He responds by taking advantage of the hellknight trying to get up and then following up his attack to put him down for good.

_________________
AoO attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
to hit light spiked shield, TWF: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 4 = 13
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
I swear I have rolled over 10 before. :)

"Watch your tongue!" Faustinia scolds, loading her own weapon and returning fire at the distant hellknight. It's not a great shot, and she makes a 'hmph' of discontent as the bolt goes wide. She looks behind her to see if Sev's archery will fare better, only to see him gone. Where did that blasted halfling go? If he was a spy, I swear...

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Round 3

Light crossbow: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Round 2

With Lorenzo and the front Hellknight locked in combat, swinging swords to kill each other, Catina finds it hard to concentrate. Her high hopes for Faustinia's magic to provide them a way out were also crushed, when she sees the woman fling yet another missile. Worse, the noblewoman only narrowly managed to dodge the crossbow bolt.

Catina does what she can and steps in front of Faustinia to protect her from harm. Looking at the sneering Hellknights she acts in desperation, weaving her magic. "Please, blessed Shelyn," she pleads, "just make them see that we're not the enemy..." She concentrates on the one in the back in particular, who had attacked Faustinia. "Please, this is all just a misunderstanding. We didn't do anything wrong."

Move up to provide cover for Faustinia, then cast Charm person on the one in the back. Will save DC 13 to avoid. I know it's a long shot, and Charm Person cast in combat will probably do little good. If it can just delay or stop one of them, that's probably the most I can expect.

Catina tries to calm the Hellknight down with her words, and she meets some success. The Hellknight stops charging his crossbow and looks around himself quizzically, before Sev pops up behind the group and fires an arrow at the most distant Hellknight, who was not expecting to be reached by a ranged attack from such an angle. This was the one Catina had just calmed down with her spell. The Hellknight is caught by surprise, and Sev aims reveals itself to be perfect, allowing his arrow to pierce the armiger’s chest, just below his heart, breaking his breath immediately. “Bastard!” says the armiger as he reaches for a something in his belt.

In the meantime, Lorenzo doesn’t manage to get past the armiger’s defense, and is forced to continue trading blows with him as Faustinia unsuccessfully tries to hit the Hellknight Sev has just wounded.

A few seconds after, the Hellknight counterattack. The wounded one drinks a potion, while the other two attack with their weapons: they’re both inaccurate though, since the first one fails to hit Lorenzo, who parries his longsword just before it could impact with his chest, and the second one aims terribly and his bolt flies over Faustinia’s head.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Lorenzo
③ Faustinia
④ Hellknights
⑤ Catina
____________________________

Lorenzo continued to trade blows with the armiger in front of him.

"You still have a chance to leave! So go already!"

"Don't make us hurt you."

That last bit was more of a plea to his Goddess than anything else.
_________________
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
to hit light spiked shield, TWF: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 4 = 8
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

"You should listen to these young ones," Faustinia advises as she shoots off another crossbow bolt. She aims for the one hammering on Lorenzo's shield, hoping to give him some breathing room and to knock out the armiger before her new young friend gets hurt. She fumbles the shot, though, as her sleeve gets caught in the firing mechanism and the bolt plinks against the ceiling uselessly. She shoots a venom-filled look at her torn sleeve before turning her attention back to the battle.

She takes a deep breath and focuses intently on the enemy that keeps firing at her. So far her luck had held up, and her armor spell would help. But one lucky shot would be all it took. She shakes the thought from her mind, trying to distract herself with thoughts of how to find a tailor with hellknights looking for her...

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Round 4

Light crossbow at #1: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Round 3

Catina winces as she sees Sev's arrow strike the Hellknight in the chest, only moments after she had tried to invoke Shelyn's power. Oh, everything's going wrong! She looks over her shoulder to see if fleeing is still an option, but finds herself pressed between Lorenzo and Faustinia. Half-stumbling, she puts a hand on Lorenzo's back for support. "I know you're trying to do the right thing, Lorenzo. I'm sorry for what I said earlier..."

Bit of Luck on Lorenzo.

This time, Catina tries to bestow her goddess’ luck on Lorenzo…and apparently she gets the effect she had hoped for. Lorenzo hits the Hellknight in front of him twice, once with his longsword and once with his spiked shield. The two, quick consecutive assaults are almost enough to knock the armiger down; the young man in black armor, however, even though severely wounded and bleeding, stays on his feet, as though some mysterious force was providing him with the strength to carry on.

In the meantime, Sev hides again taking advantage of the fact the the Hellknight’s torch does not lighten up the area where he is with more than dim light. The halfling stealthily steps back, and with the shadows’ favor, fires another arrow at the farthest Hellknight. The arrows pierces through the armiger’s armor, but this time it lodges right in his neck. The Hellknight falls down immediately, his crossbow tumbling down in the sludge.

Faustinia tries to follow with another ranged attack, but she’s not as lucky as Sev (and not nearly as skilled at making ranged attacks with weapons) and she misses her target.

A few seconds after, the Hellknights counterattack. The one in front of Lorenzo desperately gathers all of his strength in order to deliver a last, powerful blow before collapsing to the ground unconscious. The armiger is holding his longsword with both hands, but his wounds betray him during a most unsuccessful moment, just when he was preparing to bring down his sword. The armiger lets out a scream of pain before collapsing to the floor, badly bleeding.

The last Hellknight standing takes a deep breath, drops his crossbow and draws his longsword, preparing to launch himself at Lorenzo. When he feels he has gathered the right amount of resolve to launch the attack, the armiger steps forward, without bothering not to step on his peer’s unconscious body but trying to avoid the greasy areas created by Faustinia’s spell. Once he’s on top of his peer’s body, he screams furiously and attacks Lorenzo holding his longsword in both hands. “Die, enemies of Cheliax!” That is not enough to scare off Lorenzo: the young paladin manages to hold to his nerves and calmly parries the predictable attack.
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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Lorenzo
③ Faustinia
④ Hellknights
⑤ Catina
____________________________

Lorenzo counts his blessings and meets the remaining armiger face on.

He yells out to his companions,"Stay behind me. I won't let him get at you."

He grunts as his sword slashes and his spiked shield slams into the man's armor.

_______________________
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
confirm critical?
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
to hit light spiked shield, TWF: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 4 = 11
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Faustinia brightens with confidence as their attackers fall, quickly loading and firing her crossbow again. She peeks back into the darkness, squinting in search of Sev's small form. She picks a point where she thinks she sees some movement, and nods in thanks toward that vague area.

___________________________________________________
Round 5

Light crossbow, firing into melee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (18) - 4 = 14
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Round 4

Doing as Lorenzo says is easy to Catina. She stays low and crouches behind him, yelping when the first man goes down and again when the second one dies. "'They would rather perish in a useless last assault, than turn to get help?" she asks rhetorically. Seeing how two of the man are now down and probably bleeding to them, she beseeches Lorenzo once more. "Oh, if it has to be this way, then please end it quickly so I can check on the others..."

Bit of Luck on Lorenzo again. It's the last one for today, so I hope that ends the fight.

Sev tries to use the same trick again, encourage by the success of his previous attempts. He steps forward in the shadows, and as soon as the last armiger standing loses sight of him, he quickly but silently darts in the darkness, another arrow already nocked. Although his trick is successful, this time Sev’s aim is not so accurate, and he fails to hit his target in a vulnerable spot: his small arrow lodges into the armiger’s armor, without harming him.

In the meantime, Lorenzo tries to defeat for good his opponent also thanks to Catina’s blessing. The first attack succeeds, as Lorenzo swings his longsword in time and surprises his opponent with a clever feint: the Cheliaxian steels cuts through the lower part of the armiger’s right arm. The young Hellknight clenches his teeth in pain but does not let out even a single shout of sufferance. A stalwart resolve is still painted in his eyes, and he manages to parry Lorenzo’s second attack, a shield bash, with his sword. He’s slightly pushed back, but soon closes the distance again, putting himself in front of Lorenzo, his right arm badly wounded. “You’re a worthy opponent”, he whispers through clenched teeth, “Falling against you won’t hurt my honor, at least”. For a few moments, these words appear to be almost a sign of surrender. But it’s only a few seconds before the armiger dissolves that chance. “En Garde!”

The armiger dodges Faustinia’s well aimed bolt lowering his head just at the right time, makes a feint, a counter-feint, steps back, parries an attack, makes another feint and then, finally, attacks. The armiger uses his sword's pommel to trap Lorenzo's sword. He then follows by slamming forward his left hand, ramming the sword edge into Lorenzo's head.

Lorenzo takes 6 points of damage.

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⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Lorenzo
③ Faustinia
④ Hellknights
⑤ Catina
____________________________

Lorenzo barely moved his head at the lunge of the man's sword. Perhaps his mutterings about honor distracted him. Did he have honor? Are we all that different?

These were questions he would never find out. Not now. He knew he couldn't take another shot like that so he redoubled his efforts to bring the armiger down.

But his mind was addled with thoughts other than battle and his clumsy blows fall wide of the mark.

______________
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
to hit light spiked shield, TWF: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 4 = 11
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Faustinia watches the clashing of steel before her, almost enthralled by the display. Their previous fights had been gritty scrambles, but Lorenzo and this hellknight were exchanging blows like a well choreographed scene in a play, two sides of a kind of Chelish honor. She snaps out of her reverie, though, as Lorenzo takes a cut to the head.

"Lorenzo!" escapes as a cry of concern from her lips, her eyes wide with worry. Gritting her teeth, she raises and loads her crossbow again, and shoots off a bolt that skitters into the dark sewers thanks to her shaking hands.

___________________________________________________
Round 6

Light crossbow, firing into melee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (5) - 4 = 1

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Round 5
========

"NO!" Catina cries out when the Hellknight finds a gap in Lorenzo's defenses and hits him in the head. With trembling hands, she tries to perform the flowing hand gestures that accompany Shelyn's prayer of healing. "Blessed Lady. It may not look like it from what we've done, but this man can do so much good for this city. I really believe that. And he needs your help. Please mend his wounds."

Lose my prepared Sanctuary to cast Cure Light wounds on Lorenzo.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Lorenzo’s wounds are partially healed by Catina’s healing. In the meantime, Sev moves in the shadows and fires another arrow, but not hitting Lorenzo in the process proves particularly hard for the halfling, whose shot goes wide and misses its intended target. Lorenzo tries to respond to the armiger’s attack, but his opponent is very focused and skilled, and manages to parry both of the paladin’s attacks using his longsword. Faustinia misses again with her crossbow, with the armiger’s armor deflecting her bolt. Then it’s the Hellknight aspirant’s turn: he spins in a circle, parrying one of Lorenzo’s attacks as he spins, and at the end of his circular movement he delivers a strong sweep aiming for Lorenzo’s head. Fortunately, Lorenzo is able to predict the kind of attack his opponent is planning and lowers his head at the right time.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Lorenzo
③ Faustinia
④ Hellknights
⑤ Catina
____________________________

Lorenzo momentarily panicked. This man was not playing around. He was putting everything into his swings. And while that made them easier to dodge, getting caught with one of them could be deadly.

So Lorenzo wanted to end this quickly. "For the Heart!"
______________
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
critical confirmation?
longsword attack, TWF: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
to hit light spiked shield, TWF: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 4 = 13
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

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Round 6
========

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 (So close...)

Catina feels drained, having to watch Lorenzo and the Hellknight locked in their deadly dance without being able to help. Her fingers are trembling, from the stress and the amount of magic she has had to work. She's jumping at shadows. What? Did I see something? No... "Please be careful, Lorenzo," is that she can add.

No action this round. I hope those rolls by Lorenzo mean combat is over.

Faustinia breathes a sigh of relief when she sees Lorenzo duck another attack and his wounds heal under Catina's care. Despite the clatter of battle, Faustinia's ears perk up when she hears something coming from the tunnels. "There's something behind us! Something rattling. Finish him off, Lorenzo!" she calls out as the sound approaches.

Not wanting to slow their little team's retreat once powering through the armiger, Faustinia speaks a magical syllable and the oily substance she had conjured under the hellknights evaporates into nothingness.

___________________________________________________
Round 7

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Standard action to dismiss my grease spell.

Lorenzo parries another attack from the armiger, performs a shield bash to break his defense and swings his longsword with great power. The attack finishes the armiger off, with Lorenzo's sword delivering a painful, slashing strike to his opponent. The armiger goes down, his eyes widened.

As soon as the last opponent falls, everyone turns back and now each of you is able to see two creatures slowly coming your way. These walking corpses wear only a few soiled rags, their flesh rotting off their bones as they stumble forward, arms outstretched.

The creatures are 20 feet behind Sev. The group has a tough choice: flee and doom the defeated Hellknights to certain death, without having the chance to strip them off of their valuable equipment; or stay and face the creatures.
____________________________
You gain 100 XP each!

Knowledge Religion, Take 10: 10 + 5 = 15

"Oh no!" Catina utters when she sees what had been coming up behind the, "The living dead... Zombies, I think. They mindlessly slaughter anyone they comes across."

She looks back at the Hellknights, defeated but perhaps still to be saved. "We can't just let those three to a gruesome fate like that," Catina says, determined as she hasn't sounded before. She looks about in the short time that they have, trying to think of something to do. "Maybe the power of Shelyn can help us here. Stand behind me and I will try to stop them. Lorenzo, if you'll stand by me. Sev, Faustinia, would you please see if any of those three are still alive."

Catina takes a deep breath, turning over the bracelet on her wrist again and again. "I'm not sure whether this will really work," she whispers to no one in particular. "Let's hope it does." She glances to the man by her side. "Lorenzo, if it doesn't work, we'll have to hack them down. Your shield will do little damage to their rotting flesh, if what I can recall about them is true."

Faustinia looks at Catina, confused. Her brow creases, and she opens her mouth to speak, but closes it again without saying anything. This shy girl, cursed and orphaned, had just given Lady Faustinia Xerysis a command (preceded by a "please," but still). Normally Faustinia would scold this grotesque youngling, but these were strange times. Seeing the zombies coming, as Catina identified, Faustinia does as the girl says, checking on the bleeding armigers to make sure they survived the skirmish.

What a bizarre day this has been. Who knew that creature had so much backbone? she thinks as she checks for pulses and listens for breathing among their fallen foes. "Quickly, move into the narrow part of the tunnels, everyone," Faustinia advises, as much for tactics as to try to snatch back some feeling of control. "If they can only approach one at a time, we should have an easier time of it."

Startled by the change in opponents, the paladin nods as both Catina and Faustinia offer advice. "Sev, quickly get back here. Someone make sure the armigers are indeed down and won't surprise us. Remember the last one wanted to feign death last time."

He then stepped forth with Catina, "Stay behind me. I won't let them touch you."

______________
I basically want to form facing the zombies. On the current map and from west to east: Lorenzo in Faustinia's spot, Catina, Faustinia, and Sev.

The group decides for the hardest way. As the party members take their positions, the zombies stumble forward, arriving right in front of Lorenzo.

Sev is the first one to act: he nocks an arrow and fires it at the zombie in front of Lorenzo. The arrow hits the zombie right in his head, but the undead apparently has no reaction, as though Sev’s arrow didn’t cause it any damage.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Faustinia
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Zombies
____________________________

Lorenzo heeds Catina's advice and concentrates on his sword. he still keeps his shield up but only to defend.

When the walking dead get near him, he slashes with his blade.

"Catina, can't you hurt them with your goddess' blessings?"

________________
longsword attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

GM, can both attack? If so, I suggest we all move back further east.

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Round 1
========

Catina braces for the arrival of the undead, nervously fidgeting with her bracelet. Right. This should work. I hope... They were talking this one time about the positive energy of life not being able to just heal, but to deal with the living dead as well. Could it be just the same? She nods at Lorenzo's question, absentmindedly. "Yes, I can. I think I can... But I've never actually done it, of course..." How would it work? We can't well hold hands with them, like we would do in a sharing circle of life...

The proximity of the zombies puts a stop to Catina's thoughts. She raises her right arm in front of her, the bracelet dangling from her wrist. she pulls down the sleeve of her shrug so that the bracelet is clearly visible, its beauty and simple craftsmanship a sharp contrast to the scars on her arm that are concealed no longer.

"Foul creatures, destroyers of life. No good will come of your existence... ever." As she speaks the words, Catina tries to put strength in her words, but the doubt is clear in her words. "I call forth the power of Shelyn, of all that is... beautiful... and all that has the promise of life." She hesitates, feeling that something is still missing. "Err... Be gone!" With that, she thrusts forward her wrist, hoping that her prayer will indeed invoke the power of Shelyn and that it will harm the undead.

Channel positive energy to harm: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Will save DC 9 for half damage

Faustinia shivers with disgust as the corpses draw nearer, wrinkling her nose at the rot in the air. Remembering what Catina said about Lorenzo's sword, she looks doubtfully at the crossbow still in her hands. She pats her pockets, finding and drawing her dagger, and when the first zombie gets close enough, she throws it as hard as she can. It thuds into the first one approaching, cut by the blade's edge. The old woman's arm isn't exactly rippling with muscle, though, and she nurses her shoulder, wincing at the exertion. "Ow," is all she manages to get out, watching to see what havoc Catina can visit upon these undead.

___________________________________________________
Round 1

Thrown dagger: 1d20 ⇒ 20
Thrown dagger confirm: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Slashing Damage: 1d4 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1
Crit Damage: 1d4 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1

Sev, who had darted in the rear of the group, fires an arrow at the zombie in front of Lorenzo, in the hope to at least deal minor damage to the undead creature. Taking care not to hit Lorenzo in the process proves particularly hard to manage, however, and the halfling misses his target widely. Faustinia is luckier, and despite she never knew she had a secret skill as a knife juggler, she manages to hit the zombie in front of Lorenzo with deadly precision, her dagger lodging in the zombie’s right eye.

In the meantime, Lorenzo performs an appel, stamping the front foot to the ground, to produce a sound to distract his opponent as he advances. Then he swings his longsword with accuracy, causing a deep wound in the zombie’s chest.

Finally, Catina channels the energy of her goddess: a beam of shining light emanates from her as she does so, and both the zombies’ skins start to burn. Although the zombies prove able to resist to most of the damage caused by the positive energy, the one who was facing Lorenzo was already wounded, and as soon as it’s reached by Catina’s holy energy starts to burn as a sheet of paper would if exposed to direct fire. The zombie rattles terribly before turning to dust. There’s only one zombie left now!

The last zombie steps to his right, occupying the space previously occupied by the destroyed zombie. As soon as it reaches that position, the zombie tries to lunge forward, using his bare, blackened hands to crush Lorenzo’s neck. Fortunately, Lorenzo is ready and parries his attack with his sword while stepping backward.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Faustinia
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Zombies
____________________________

Amazed at Catina's power, he spoke to her while looking for an opening to strike, "That was... impressive. Can you do it again?"

Lorenzo presses the attack on the remaining zombie. Once more, he favors his blade over his spiked shield.

_______________
longsword attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Here goes nothing. Sev says as he drops his bow and moves through the legs of his companions. Seeing how useless his arrows had been against the zombies, he tries to roll passed the remaining zombie, using his small stature to avoid it. Once on the other side, he prepares for melee combat.

__________________________________________________

Double move to get next to zombie
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

As the zombies burn away from Catina's holy light, Faustinia opens her eyes wide in surprise. That was quite impressive--it seems this girl might be more powerful than she looks...

Recovering from her skillful dagger throw, Faustinia hefts up her crossbow again and aims it at the remaining corpse. She's distracted somewhat when she sees Sev scurry underfoot and get behind the creature. It's not so much the maneuver itself as it is that the little halfling decides to put himself in danger to fight this threat. These people are just full of surprises, aren't they? she muses, as she aims at the zombie and fires another wild miss.

___________________________________________________
Round 2

Light crossbow, firing into meleee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (1) - 4 = -3
I'm getting pretty good at this whole negative attack total thing. ;D

=========
Round 2
=========

Catina trembles, from the effort and from the feeling of the light that she directed to flay the zombies. "It worked," she exclaims, surprise in her voice. "It really worked!" She looks at her bracelet and at the zombie on the ground, now truly lifeless. Still slightly trembling, she blushes as she answers Lorenzo. "I'm sorry, I don't think I can. It's... It's not like I'm tired, I actually feel wide awake and full of... energy. But I don't think I could summon that power again. Not so soon... I'm sorry."

She leans against the wall, relishing the sensations that she feels. She looks at Faustinia as she draws the dagger from her belt. "You seemed to be really good with throwing these. Do you need mine?" She holds the dagger out for Faustinia to take.

Sev manages to bravely move past the zombie, but his companions do not manage to hit the zombie: Faustinia’s bolt flies high over the zombie’s head while Lorenzo’s swing proves unusually inaccurate.

The zombie retaliates almost immediately: a subtler foe would have focused on Sev, but the mindless undead cannot but keep attacking its previous target with blind fury. This time, Lorenzo is caught unaware, not expecting such a violent and quick assault. The zombie closes its darkened hands around Lorenzo’s neck. Everyone can hear a distinct crack as Lorenzo’s neck gets almost broken by the zombie’s strong grasp.

Lorenzo takes 8 points of damage!

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Faustinia
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Zombies
____________________________

Lorenzo is barely able to keep his eyes focused on the undead monster in front of him. Darkness seems about to envelop his vision. He knows that he cannot last another onslaught with the zombie.

With a whispered prayer to conserve strength, he slashes at the arms and torso of the zombie hoping to either break its grip or destroy it. Hopefully both.

____________
longsword to hit: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

"Eek!" Catina shrieks when she sees the zombie crush Lorenzo's neck. "Oh no, oh no..." Out of spells, she fumbles for the scroll that she had kept for emergencies. "Hang in there, Lorenzo." She reads the scroll and touches Lorenzo on the shoulder, using the energy contained in the scroll to heal his wounds.

Scroll of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

With one hand clasped on her shoulder, Faustinia raises a skeptical eyebrow at Catina. Coming from anyone else, 'You seemed to be really good with throwing these' would certainly have been sarcastic. Her attention snaps back to Lorenzo and the zombie as the corpse's dirty fingers nearly break the young man's head off. "Lorenzo!" Her eyes wide at the danger, Faustinia instinctively plucks the proffered dagger from Catina's hand and chucks it at the zombie.

___________________________________________________
Round 3

Thrown dagger, firing into meleee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (8) - 4 = 4

Seeing Lorenzo's ragged breathing, Sev prays to every god he knows the name of and swings his weapon. Unfortunately it seems divine favor is not with him and his swing misses.

"Hang in there Sir Lorenzo!" He shouts, worried about the human, but also worried he may have just called attention to himself.

___________________________________________________

Attack: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 81d6 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

The fight becomes more and more a duel between Lorenzo and the zombie, as the remaining party members prove unable to harm the undead or take on a passive role of support. That support is precisely the edge that so far has proven decisive for the outcome of the battle: while the zombie cannot hope to see its wounds restored or healed, Lorenzo’s allies keep supporting him with healing magic.

In the last few seconds, Lorenzo managed to break the zombie’s grapple and swing his longsword at the undead with great accuracy, delving a deep wound in its dead flesh as Catina healed him. The zombie’s counterattack is slow and inaccurate, and Lorenzo parries it easily.

▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁▁
⁞⁞⁞⁞ INITIATIVE ⁞⁞⁞⁞
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
① Sev
② Faustinia
③ Lorenzo
④ Catina
⑤ Zombies
____________________________

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

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Catina is about to cheer when Lorenzo's sword slashes at the zombie, but her heart sinks when she realizes that it's not vanquished yet. Feeling that she has to do something, the tiefling summons divine strength from within, feeble as it is. "You're doing well, Lorenzo, you've got this."

Cast Guidance on Lorenzo, +1 on next attack.

Oblivious to anything but the undead monster trying to snuff out his life, Lorenzo redoubles his attacks.

His longsword slashes once more; his voice doesn't quite reflect what he is saying, "I've got this. I've got this."

__________
perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
longsword to hit: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Sighing with relief as Lorenzo's wounds heal, Faustinia focuses on the creature in front of them. She takes aim and fires off another bolt.

___________________________________________________
Round 4

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Light crossbow into melee: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (19) - 4 = 15
confirm crit?: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (7) - 4 = 3

Piercing Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

The fight continues as Lorenzo and the zombie trade blows. Lorenzo seems to be in control of the fight, his slashing strikes managing to actually wound the zombie, but...the zombie is proving very tough and resilient. Before another series of blows happens, however, you hear some steps coming your way from the tunnel in front of you, the one you came from. You see a light flickering in the dark, held by someone short: a child, maybe, or perhaps a sewer goblin. Anyway, it soon becomes clear that in fact Morosino is holding the torch. Just a few instants pass from the time you realize that before Janiven wades into the fray wielding a short sword. The woman darts through the tunnel, circumvents the pool of sludge and stabs the zombie in the back as Lorenzo keeps it busy. The zombie rants for the last time before turning into ashes.

---

When it is all over and the zombie collapses, you're able to see Janiven's face. He has a small, bleeding cut on her right cheekbone, her forehead is sweaty and dirty, and she's short of breath. "We finally meet again..." she manages to say. "I see you all managed to survive. Good," she says with a broad smile. "You've taken a wrong turn. The right path is right behind us".

Morosino also chimes in and gives you an impressed look. "Wow! Did you manage to disable those Hellknights?"

Actually, the unconscious Hellknights are a problem to solve before you can leave the area. You could have just fleed the zombies, but you chose to stay in order to avoid their certain death, so now it's time to decide how to deal with them. They're all unconscious, and only one of them has stabilized on his own.
___________________________________
The fight with the zombies earns you 100 XP each!

Catina's heart skips a bit when she becomes aware of the light up ahead, and instinctively assumes the worst. She's ready to run away when it becomes clear that It's Janiven and Morosino. She breathes out, relieved, and takes Janiven's hand. "I'm so glad to see you. Did we really get lost? We thought this was the right way, but those marks are sometimes hard to see. And I never realized there were so many things down here..." Morosino's words cut her short, and she looks quite unhappy under his attention. "Well, we didn't mean to, but we stumbled upon them before we knew it. And they wouldn't back down, just like the other group..."

With that, Catina turns away from Janiven and the boy to check up on the Hellknights, seeing to their wounds.

Take 10 on Heal for 16, to stabilize both. Catina will also remember to collect her dagger before they leave. I'll put that in-character later, depending on the pace of the roleplay.

Lorenzo feels more relived than he thought he would. He makes sure the zombie is no longer moving before sheathing his sword.

"Yes, glad to see you. Are you still being chased?"

He then brings up the subject of the armigers and hellknights, "There are some that are still alive. We could not bring ourselves to kill them once we had defeated them. What is to be done with them?"

Sev's eyes go wide as Janiven and Morosino appear and assist them. FOr a moment, he slides back against the wall, breathing slowly, relaxing his tiny beating heart. While Lorenzo and Catina address the newcomers, Sev scurries back a few feet and retrieves his bow. He watches with an eyebrow raised as Catina checks on the Hellknights and looks at Morosino.

"I-it wasn't easy, but we had to fight to survive! H-how did you find us? Especially if we're off the path?"

Faustinia prepares herself for the worst as another light rounds the corner, but she's relieved when the small moving shape turns out to be Morosino, Janiven right behind him with a sword to plant in the last remaining zombie. "A pleasure to see you again," Faustinia greets with a joking smile, as if they had just bumped into each other at a formal party.

As Lorenzo asks what to do, Faustinia chimes in: "Same as the last ones we ran into, I suppose. Search them for anything useful and then leave them. I'm sure some other patrol will find them soon."

Janiven smiles kindly at Catina. "Don't worry little one, now we're here. Westcrown sewers are rife with life, you're right. Fortunately, many of the creatures living down here usually are content to stay underground. The others were brought down here by us, like those Hellknights."

Morosino seems impressed by Catina's words. "Wow! That's just amazing!"

In the meantime, Janiven takes her time to clean some filth off her clothes as she speaks to Lorenzo. "We managed to lose them. We stumbled into some sewer goblins, and they slowed us down further. But finally here we are," she confesses with a sigh of relief. "I believe that it should be you to decide their fate," concludes the woman giving a brief look at the unconscious Hellknights while Catina stabilizes them.

Morosino smiles at Sev as well. "We heard the sound of a fight and Janiven insisted to come and check. She was right, indeed."

After listening to Faustinia's proposal, Janiven nods as she adjusts the weapon on her body. "A good choice. They'll likely get rescued by their peers. Catina has tended to them, so is she know what she's doing, well, they're going to get better soon. As for us, we should keep moving. The sun is setting."

---

The group strips the Hellknights of everything useful before getting back on track, guided by Janiven. The woman leads the group back into the tunnel where they came from and once they reach an intersection, she turns west. "This way," she says, her voice echoing in the tunnel, "We're close now".

As the group follows Janiven, the tunnels pass quick before them as they move silently, their eyes open and ready to catch any sign of danger. No light comes from above now, and a sense of danger fills the air. Darkness means shadows, and shadows mean certain death.

Suddenly, Morosino stops, yanking Janiven's pants. "What is it, Morosino?," she asks, a tad nervous from being stopped as she orders the entire group to stop. "I-I've seen something in the dark...It's moving. LOOK! LOOK! It's down there!" screams the child as he points to a side branch of the tunnel the group is into. Everyone, thanks to Morosino's indication, can see what the child is pointing at: an amorphous creature loosely resembling a cross between a large snake and an insect prowls in the dark [Picture]. It has black oily skin, and parts of its very flesh blend seamlessly into the shadows. Its constantly moving, writhing form makes it difficult to identify from a distance.

---

---

"A SHADOW!"

Janiven's scream fills the air as the woman draws her shortsword and uses it to point you to the tunnel's prosecution. "QUICK! QUICK! Morosino, keep that torch high above your head and follow the others. You know the nearest exit. Lead them there, I'll be joining you as soon as possibile. Now GO!"

"Follow me!," hesitantly says Morosino as he lead the way.

here comes trouble... :)

His feet and mind urged him to follow the light, to follow it to safety, to abandon his companion.

Then his heart warmed and he felt his face flush. All that he had read about Iomedae flooded his mind.

He simply said, "No."

When the others looked at him, he replied, "You all follow Morosito but I can't leave Janiven by herself fighting off... whatever this is. It just doesn't... feel right."

He regripped his blade and pounded a fist over his heart.

"Iomedae, I hope I am ready."

____________________
Lorenzo will stay and fight this thing with Janiven. Doing otherwise would directly violate his code.

Faustinia is ready to run after Morosino, her heart beat accelerating from normal to pounding in seconds at the sight of the shadow wriggling toward them. But then Lorenzo, that sweet, foolish boy, refuses.

She turns to face him, bewildered. As he pounds his fist on his heart and delivers his prayer, Faustinia palms her face, eyes screwed tight in obvious frustration. As she looks up again she scolds, "Lorenzo! Stop this foolishness and let's go. If you stay, then who will protect the rest of us?" Faustinia looks to Sev and Catina, disbelief and frustration written across her face, looking to them to confirm Lorenzo's mistake so they can all run, stealing glances down the sewer as the shadow draws ever nearer.

It seems to be better for me, but it was logging me out constantly. I'm here though!

It has been slow lately, but even with my wife's surgery I would never call this a burden. A very pleasant distraction from laundry and dishes, all the things being a mostly single parent hates that never ends. :)

I don't want it to end, but ultimately this is your game sir. If you are not having fun anymore then that should always be the deciding factor. You've done a great job Giuseppe, no matter how we decide.

It's a sad conclusion, Giuseppe, but I was having trouble keeping up and feeling like I'm 'failing' to give this game the energy it deserves. My situation doesn't seem like it will change in the near future, so it would stay like this for a while, for me at least. I don't think the game deserves to sputter out like that, so I stand by Giuseppe's decision. It is saddening, but I don't see any good alternative. Sorry...

Ah well, I guess that is it then. I understand completely though, real life gets us all in the end. Thank you all for excepting me midway through. You are all great writers, made me laugh out loud on several occasions, made me smile a thousand times more.

:( As a note this past week has been dead for every game I'm involved in, but I get there are more extenuating factors with this game. If it ends here, it's been a fantastic ride everyone and a pleasure to play with you.

Hey everyone, I'm so sorry for disappearing for so long. I've been recovering from an illness and I was unable to post.

I'm really sad to see this game go. As Giuseppe says, we've invested quite a lot into it and it's been one of my favorite Pathfinder games to date, PbP or face to face.

Giuseppe, you've been a masterful PbP GM, thank you for your devotion, organization, and obvious care you've put into this game.

Fellow players, it's been lovely playing with you. Catina, it's been a joy sticking with it from the beginning with you, and Varius and Petals, I'm glad you could jump in so smoothly and that our group worked together so well.

Hopefully this is just a hiatus rather than goodbye. If the former, I look forward to us continuing; if the latter, then I look forward to playing with you all in other PbP's some time. <3

Oof, I hope you're doing okay now! :(

That said, I'll make a pitch to keep the game alive. APs on these baords are multi-year commitments and it is an inevitability that we'll hit dead patches. I've been running 3-5 games for the last four years and have hit more than a few roadblocks I (mostly) overcame through sheer bloody-mindedess.

Playing in your game is a privilege Giuseppe - you put so much care and craft into your games it's a real joy to see what's awaiting me the next day. You're the best GM I've ever dealt with. This group is also astonishingly good and I'm loathe to see the game close down. If we have to take a break, even for months, I'm game for that rather than to call it a day.

I'm very sad myself guys, the idea was born after a chat with Iff (Catina). I believe the game was agonizing, and we only used it mercy not to ruin it when three, perhaps four out of five people involved have clearly no time for the game anymore...So sorry to see this go this way, I still can't accept the idea not to play with you anymore after what...Two full years? More?

Very glad you are doing better Faustinia!

Giuseppe, you've managed to keep a game moving faster than any other I've been through. All the while making it live and breathe. It has been lovely.

If you ever want to bring it back (with Catina, when her real life settles, cause without our tielfling it would not be the same)... well I agree with Varius, I'd be more than happy to start up again.

bye, bye. Hopefully only for now.

You know where I am if you ever need a player or if the game gets going again. Take care everyone, it's been a pleasure. :)