GM Helamans 'The Disappeared' (Inactive)

Game Master Helaman

Ok...well that sorts the AoO stuff then :). In any case, the critters are now invisible.

Back at you guys. Svetlana is ready to whack them

Ruar, also as ready as Svetlana to whack them, peeks into the next room...

In contrast to the large and lavish rooms that make up the rest of this side of the embassy, this secret study is cramped, utilitarian, and sparse. Almost all of the room is taken up by a long desk topped by a series of cubbies full of papers and curios. The desk itself is clear except for a piece of paper and a small, framed portrait of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin with a lipstick kiss-mark on it. The walls of the room are irregular and look as if the room was shoehorned into wasted space between other rooms. Like the rest of the personal chambers, this room is windowless, and is pierced only by the secret door and an air vent in the southern corner.

Kraang begins to pray to the denizens of the Malebolge. Purple flames begin to dance forth from his unholy symbol and begin to fill up the two room, illuminating any devils that maybe within.

Casting Faerie Fire within the purple square.

Flinders begins a monologue concerning the intricacies and minutiae of the lower planes while he draws another silver blanched arrow to his bow. He raises the now as he scans the room.

Activate one round Archaeologist's Luck, readied attack when an imp becomes visible.

Attack, Guidance, Luck: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 18
Damage, Luck: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7

Sorry for the delay all - I needed some weekend time...

Kraang seems to have nailed it - The two little buggers light up where Ruar can see them, glowing and outlined by purple fire. Both seem marginally healthier than before.

Not sure if Flinders could hit them from his current position but assuming they were small/medium, they'd at least have cover (-4 to hit). Flinders can either hold his shot or shoot.

New round unless I am mistaken.

Hildergrim, Ruar and Jaysin...

If I move up to the door as I have on the map would I be able to get shots off without cover penalties? Either way I'll stop there so a melee type can step inside if they wish.

Rapid Fire on #1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Rapid Fire on #2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Now they have popped into view, does the readied action go off?

Now they have popped into view, does the readied action go off?

There is an interposing wall directly between you and the critters. You can't see them but Ruar can. The action will not go off.

Jaysin shoots.

Both shots hit but with the arrows not being silvered, the small devils seems to shrug off the worst of it, though they yowl in pain.

Both are looking in bad shape.

Entryway is choked anyhow, will just have to hold until people move or the things advance :(

Still have a few ppl to post.

/poke poke.

Hildergrimm will stay in the back and lick his wounds. Shall the big folk take care of this.

Not sure if I can move into the space I have Ruar in. If not, well, I will take what I can get.

Flint moves into the room, hoping to give Svetlana space to enter as well. He takes a swing at creature #2:

attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Flinder's holds for a better shot.

We can just consider it a squeeze

Ruar misses.

Given that Hildergrim is out of the combat for the moment, we'll hold his action

Both critters attack Ruar.

#1 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 and 1d4 ⇒ 4 damage. Save DC13 Vs Poison. 1d2 ⇒ 2 Dex loss if failed.

#2 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 and 1d4 ⇒ 2 damage. Save DC13 Vs Poison. 1d2 ⇒ 1 Dex loss if failed.

Ok... everyone else can go. I believe Ruar gets an AoO as they leave their original square to enter his.

"Oi Jaysin, Move beside Flinders, no need for an Archer to be standing in the front of a fight"

Ruar takes a swing at #1 as the creatures move in to attack him.
AoO: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

He grunts as only the dwarven can grunt when the critters strikes hit home.
save 1: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
save 2: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Bam! Who needs that Hardy racial trait anyway?

Plenty of space in front of me in that room, be my guest. Jaysin will back up with a 5' step and take two more shots. If I understand correctly (or I missed a detail in the description of the room), you should be able to move thru me into the empty square inside the room.

vs #1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

vs #2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

If it matters I'm using cold iron arrows.

Kraang casts Guidance on Hellion in hopes she can end this farce.

Step away! Flinders yells to Flint. With a clear view, Flinders lets his arrow fly, then nocks another one to fire again.

Svetlana occupies Jaysins former spot and thrusts her weapon through the space at the creatures.

Attack 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 1 = 14
Damage 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Flinders lets fly with the shot he'd been holding soooo long. It strikes Imp #1 and it drops to the ground... only to have its body sucked back into the background of the woodcarving.

I moved Svetlana on the map.

Svetlana swings but with no avail as the tiny creature remaining swoops and jives.

Ok... believe its back around to Jaysin, Ruar and Hildergrim again

Jaysin fires a single arrow at the remaining creature.

Bow: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Arrow: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Miss

Ruar takes a 5' step out of the way of the remaining creature (moved NW on map) and strikes at it once more.

Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

LOL! What I didn't tell all of you is that Ruar is a real pacifist at heart.

Ruar, like myself, cannot catch a break

Why what happened?

On a side note, because of the funky angles and square occupancy, is it a flank if they are in his square and we both threaten?

Two car accidents - just minor fender benders in two days... cost in excess? 1400+ :(

Thats a tough question, for the moment, lets assume thats a no, that you need to follow the standard flanking rules, I'll add in 2 later iif anyone has something they can show how it would work that way.

The combat seems to have bogged...

The last imp attacks Ruar again.

Att 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11 Dmg 1d4 ⇒ 1 - save DC13 for point or lose 1d2 ⇒ 1 dex.

Hopefully now you can kill it... its been healing for 3 rounds so you'll need a decent hit

Svetlana swings again... the silvery blade slashing away.

Attack 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Crit? 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Additional Damage 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

AND THE QUARTER BACK IS TOAST.... The imp goes down much like the last and its smoky remains are drawn back into the wood paneling.

This gives you the leisure to look at the room properly.

In contrast to the large and lavish rooms that make up the rest of this side of the embassy, this secret study is cramped, utilitarian, and sparse. Almost all of the room is taken up by a long desk topped by a series of cubbies full of papers and curios. The desk itself is clear except for a piece of paper and a small, framed portrait of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin with a lipstick kiss-mark on it. The walls of the room are irregular and look as if the room was shoehorned into wasted space between other rooms. Like the rest of the personal chambers, this room is windowless, and is pierced only by the secret door and an air vent in the southern corner.

The vent, while covered with a light metal grill, is 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall.

The paper on the desk is here Player Handout 1.

Perception checks
Svetlana + 3 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Ruar + 7 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Jaysin + 4 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Flinders + 7 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Kraang + 7 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Hildergrim + 6 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Most of you spot the note tucked into the back of Ambrus' picture... here it is Player Handout 2.

Svetlanas brow furrows hard and her lips move as she reads.

"Something about capital letters? VLSKC?"

Linguistics anyone?

Imps are a real nuisance at low levels....

Why are some words marked on that letter? Vent, Lion, Scales, King and Centaur? Mh, we have a vent here in this room. Perhaps there is something else hidden. I have no diea what to make of that other paper though!

Would it be possible to reach the vent if we move a chair or the desk over?

Jaysin will look at the letters and see if he can make anything out.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Getting to the vent with a chair should prove no issue... though getting the grill off will take a decent strength roll or a relatively easy disable device roll.

Its definetely some sort of code... and perhaps a language in itself. Jaysin is confident is some sort of letter displacement code - substituting one letter for another letter would do the trick. He takes the scrawled note at the bottom of the 'letter' about Ambrus Valsin and gets that I would = an E and that W may well = a T.

Any other linguistics checks or other solutions?

Only if I meta-game like a mofo :)

Svetlana points at the grate "Anyone good at subtle?"

Why subtle is my middle name!. Flinders says as he gives the great a try.

T10 for 21 on Disable.

Whilst Flinders works on the grate, Svetlana pulls out her Wayfinder and checks for traces of evil.

Detect Evil

Flinders has absolutely no trouble at all with the grating.

No evil is detected.

Nah i´m sure the only advantage you got here Flinders is that humans build this to their monstrous height. Else i could have done this all the same, probably better. Ah there you see, if you push that screw a little to the left, it´s easier.

Aid Another Disable Device: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

OK, what was I trying to interpret, the gibberish at the bottom? I'm assuming that is what you meant.

all the gibberish. It seems consistent between the two. There are specific rules around the decoding so I am only supposed to give you a few letters (dependant on your roll) and I get the impression the writer wants the players to fart around with the code and crack it. If another character can make a 15+ DC roll on linguistics I will give more letters. If you guys want to try other solutions, let me know.

If I could print these out and spend a little time on it I'd like to see if I could do something with it. For now I'll take an assist.

Trust me you'd be better off with a fresh set of eyes and a new roll

Looking over the cypher, Kraang gives a vibrating hum that could be mistaken for a mental break through.

Cheliaxian Names:

Yeah its a substitution cipher of names and numbers, wasn't sure the numbers mean much to us, perhaps grid co-ords or catalogue/ledger entries if not guests. There's also script on the other piece of paper, might crack that too - but about to head out the door :(

pm me kraang. Not sure where I screwed up. That said? V. Glad u guys cracked it.

OK, when I sat down and got to look at this I see the cipher, the names above seem correct enough to me. Still do not know about the significance of the numbers,