GM Lamplighter's "The Frostfur Captives" (Inactive)

Game Master Scott Young

Map up, "DOLLHOUSE MAP" at the top of the page.

Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Startled by the birds, Eryndir jumps and falls sideways from his crouch into a bush. He thrashes about a bit before righting himself.

He turns beet red and holds his breath, waiting for a reaction from the dollhouse.

Skaarr continues to stare as well, totally freaked out by all the tales of Baba Yaga he's heard from various northerners over the years. Irrisen no good place. Cold and creepy. Skaarr should stay south of Varisia in future times....

Kyras curses under his breath, draws his longsword and watches for anything out of the ordinary.
Stealth check again for me?

Despite the racket your group is making, there is no reaction from the dollhouse or anywhere else in the clearing.

Why don't you all describe your actions for the next few minutes assuming nothing happens. If something does happen I'll break and we'll go from there.

Kyras slowly heads towards the dollhouse.
Kyras wants to get inside of it to search it and see if he can find anything that he or they can use.

Rhaz puts his hands on his hips and shrugs his shoulders.

Guess nobody is home. Maybe I should knock on the door like a friendly neighbor and make sure.

He walks up to the house. His demeanor has become one of curiosity at this point.

As he gets closer, perhaps his gut instincts will tell him something (see sense motive roll below).

How long until nightfall and how far until we reach Hagraeach?

Sense Motive - hunch: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Stealth: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (18) - 2 = 16
Sochi tries to creep across the path to the bushes on the other side.

Skaarr will maintain his cowering in the snow bank until he's absolutely certain there are no dolls about.

Beromir looks around him to see if there is something strange and then walks up to the house. He then crouch down and tries to find tracks.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

Eryndir stays back in the bushes, knocking an arrow and training it on the trees at the edge of the clearing, looking for signs of life.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Rha'ziz approaches the house, and spots a small open doorway on the western side. The house stands about 5' above the ground, with windows facing in all directions. Inside the house, in the center of the single room, is a tiny carved rocking chair with a porcelain doll sitting in it. The doll is about a foot in height, and the house seems to be scaled for that size. There is a tiny fireplace on one wall, and the house is richly detailed, with wallpaper, paintings on the walls, and tiny hand-carved wooden furniture.

Beromir approaches as well, searching the ground for tracks, but finds no evidence of any creatures' passage in the last few days.

Rha'ziz: It's about noon, and the border is only a couple more hours' travel.

I am assuming that Rha'ziz is inside the house now. If not, he will hoist himself up the 5' and enter the building.

Captivated by the scene, Rha'ziz slowly approaches the doll and lightly touches it with his right hand.

Hello? He asks the doll in an awed voice.

Kyras follows Ziz to the house, but when he goes inside towards the doll, Kyras hangs right outside the door, watching Ziz and the doll.
Kyras is now starting to feel like the proverbial curious cat, hoping his curiosity will not kill him and his party.

Call me silly, but how can you fit in the dollhouse?

I think he's talking about inside the house with regard to scaling.

If Ziz, isn't actually inside, then Kyras will be about 15 ft behind him.

It'd be cramped, but I think a small man like Ziz could fit into a house scaled for people a foot tall. Especially if it has "high" ceilings.

While it is a dollhouse in terms of scale for furniture, etc., it is 10'x10' and does have very high ceilings, so Rha'ziz could squeeze inside.

Rha'ziz examines the exterior of the house carefully, looking for a way to gain access to the inside. Suddenly, the doll launches forward out of its chair as if propelled by a spring!

Initiative - Beromir: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Initiative - Eryndir: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Initiative - Kyras: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Initiative - Rha'ziz: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Initiative - Skaar: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Initiative - Sochi: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Initiative - Kella: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Initiative - Big Mouth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Initiative - Durp: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Initiative - Chompt: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Initiative - Grabble: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Initiative - Kroog: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Initiative - doll: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Initiative order:
Eryndir 28
Chompt 26
Big Mouth 21
Durp 21
Doll 21
Rha'ziz 21
GRabble 20
Sochi 19
Kyras 17
Kroog 15
Kella 12
Beromir 8
Skaar 4

Round 1 (surprise)

The doll leaps forward, its head spinning to lock its eyes on Rha'ziz. Melee touch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 Rha'ziz manages to avoid the doll's grasping hands, and notices that the doll's left hand seethes with a pulsing aura of darkness.

Only Rha'ziz can act in the surprise round, but the rest of you can go ahead and declare your full round of actions for the next one.

Can you update the map?

Yep, wait one...

Map updated.

Can Eryndir see the doll from where he is, or is the doll still inside the house?

Assuming he can see it, even if it has cover, he fires a pair of arrows. He has Precise Shot, so no penalty for firing into melee. He uses Perfect Strike for his first arrow.

Arrow 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Arrow 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2
Arrow 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Waiting for more information... a lot of people go before me and it's a small dollhouse.

Yeah, between me being last in the round and having a phobia of dolls, I'm going to hold off on posting for now.

Rhaz snarls and brings his flail around in a sideways angle to swat at the doll.

Melee Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Flail Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

After he strikes, he readies his shield and enters a defensive posture.

Drawing his flail was included in the attack on the surprise round and readying his shield is included in the attack during his turn.

Then the spiked mass of black steel comes around overhead to smash on the doll from above.

Melee Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

My move action will be used to pursue the doll into the house if it retreats.

The door is on the left side of the house, so only Rha'ziz can see the doll right now. Rha'ziz, drawing your flail is a move action, so that will be your surprise round, and we'll use the first dice rolls for the attack which will occur in the second round (regular non-surprise round).

If that's the case I want to ready my shield during the surprise round and then draw my weapon and attack in the regular round. I would like to chase it into the house in the second regular round if it retreats (depending on what happens during the first round).

Round 1 (Surprise Round)

As Rha'ziz is investigating the doorway of the dollhouse, he suddenly;recoils back in surprise, readying his shield.

Round 2 (Partial)

Eryndir can just see a tiny doll standing in the doorway of the house, one hand outstretched towards Rha'ziz. He fires a pair of arrows at it, but both strike the wall of the dollhouse and fail to get through the doorway.

All of the goblins cower in the bushes, wailing about how Baba Yaga will find them and pluck out their eyes and eat their souls.

The doll again reaches out with grasping hands to caress Rha'ziz's face. Melee touch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 Rha'ziz feels a wave of nausea wash over him as the doll's touch drains his lifeforce. The rest of you see Rha'ziz crumple to the ground, lifeless.

Declarations for the rest of the round, please.
Sochi 19
Kyras 17
Beromir 8
Skaar 4

"Rhaz!" Fearing that he was right about everyone dying, he runs while holding his longsword to stand over Rhaz to protect him and do what he can to fend off the evil.
Kyras takes the long way around, only taking his 30 ft to not draw an aoo.
Longsword attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 91d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

I wish there was a way to get new dice. I always seem to roll badly when it counts.

Sochi runs forward 20 ft and transforms into a hobgoblin.

move plus SLA Alter Self

Skaarr cowers with the goblins, wailing.

Meh, guess its time for PC #2 to come out of the dugout (next adventure). :)

Meh, guess its time for PC #2 to come out of the dugout (next adventure). :)

Roll a fort save to stabilize.

You're not 'dead' dead yet. You are when your life is in the negatives an equal amount of your Constitution score.

Rha'ziz wrote:

Meh, guess its time for PC #2 to come out of the dugout (next adventure). :)

Roll a fort save to stabilize.

I thought it was 1d20 + Con modifier - amount of health in negatives.

Asatsuyu Sochi wrote:

Rha'ziz wrote:

Meh, guess its time for PC #2 to come out of the dugout (next adventure). :)

Roll a fort save to stabilize.

I thought it was 1d20 + Con modifier - amount of health in negatives.

No idea anymore... I either don't get knocked negative, get CDGed, or have to save against massive damage and fail to do so.

Edit: Found it!

On the character’s next turn, after being reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), and on all subsequent turns, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become stable. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. A character that is stable does not need to make this check. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. If the character fails this check, he loses 1 hit point. An unconscious or dying character cannot use any special action that changes the initiative count on which his action occurs.

Dying: A dying creature is unconscious and near death. Creatures that have negative hit points and have not stabilized are dying. A dying creature can take no actions. On the character's next turn, after being reduced to negative hit points (but not dead), and on all subsequent turns, the character must make a DC 10 Constitution check to become stable. The character takes a penalty on this roll equal to his negative hit point total. A character that is stable does not need to make this check. A natural 20 on this check is an automatic success. If the character fails this check, he loses 1 hit point. If a dying creature has an amount of negative hit points equal to its Constitution score, it dies.

Constitution Check: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 2 = 3

The distinction between himself and his environment began to blur.

Were he able to, he would let out a cynical laugh, for his belief in the prevailing views of death during his lifetime were also unraveling. He had a nagging sense that his soul, the emergent amalgam of his physiological processes, would not live on without the support of his body.

Just as well. It would be the same as it was before he was born - nothing.

Were it possible, he would have conveyed a startling revelation as the process of breakdown and re-absorption into the universe proceeded. He was just a microscopic jelly thingy on a microscopic dust particle whose existence spanned an imperceptible blip. Not even noticeable.

And there it was. The significance of his life and the world in which he lived put into perspective.

That laugh again...Rha'ziz finally got the Great Joke.

Beromir lets out a curse when he sees Rha'ziz crumple to the ground. "I knew that we should have stayed out of this weirdness" he mutters. Without taking his eyes from the doll, he comes near Rha'ziz, utters some magical words and lays his hand upon the Varisian.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

For clarity, the doll is actually Tiny sized, so it actually entered Rha'ziz space to attack, and is still there, suspended in midair at about 5' altitude. This slightly modifies the effect of Eryndir's actions (see below for corrections). Rha'ziz lies on the ground underneath the doll. Tiny creatuers don't threaten so there are no AOs to worry about.

Round 2 (Complete)

Eryndir can see a tiny doll floating in front of the doorway of the house right in Rha'ziz's face, one hand outstretched. He fires a pair of arrows at it, but both miss and strike the wall of the dollhouse.

All of the goblins cower in the bushes, wailing about how Baba Yaga will find them and pluck out their eyes and eat their souls.

The doll again reaches out with grasping hands to caress Rha'ziz's face. Melee touch: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 Rha'ziz feels a wave of nausea wash over him as the doll's touch drains his lifeforce. The rest of you see Rha'ziz crumple to the ground, lifeless.

Rha'ziz lies motionless on the forest floor. The only sign of life is a slight smile gracing the corner of his lips.

Sochi charges forward, her form melting and reforming into a large hunched goblin!

Kyras charges forward to engage the doll, standing protectively over Rha'sis's body.

Beromir steps forward and breathes life back into Rha'ziz. The Varisian's eyes flutter open, and some of his color returns.

Skaar stays with the goblins, cowering in fear.

[ooc]Map updated - Eryndir and Rha'ziz, declarations for Round 3 please!

Eryndir takes a five foot step to his right and fires another couple arrows while the way is clear.

Arrow 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

Arrow 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

The laughing gets more intense in a steady crescendo until it is like a wave of rushing water. In a flash, Rha'ziz's consciousness returns and he finds himself in an alien world. Initially panicked, his memories and instincts begin to kick in and put things together.

Strange doll fluttering overhead. Other creatures making a commotion. A large, bearded man with a kind demeanor attending to him.

It takes him a moment to remember where he is, who he is, when he is, but the details eventually come flooding back in another rushing wave. What seemed to the Varisian an eternity was only a moment or two from the perspective of his companions.

Unfortunately, Rha'ziz has no time to contemplate his near death experience because immediate survival matters have taken center stage.

Rhaz will grab his shield and spend the rest of the round in total defense, fending his attacker off as best he can while prone.