GM Mikkel's homebrew Pathfinder campaign in a militarized magic setting [Completed] (Inactive)

Game Master Mikkel Madsenn

============= End of PC round =============
Map lighting updated from Dulae's move.

============= Begin enemy round =============

The zombie in front of Alaina throws himself in her direction, taking a vicious swipe at her.

Zombie 1 slam to Alaina: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 - 4 = 20
Zombie 1 slam damage: 1d6 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 2 - 4 = 4
50% miss chance from blindness: 1d100 ⇒ 81

The dead man attacks the air to Alaina's left, making it easy for her to avoid the blow.

Meanwhile, the zombie in front of Xizoh attempts to slam into him.

Zombie 2 slam to Xizoh: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 4 - 1 = 15
Zombie 2 slam damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

The dead woman just misses Xizoh, still looking a little dazed from the flare.

There is a conspicuous absence of spells.

============ End of enemy round ============
Zombies are no longer blinded or dazzled. I deleted the flare area of effect from the map.

============= Begin PC round =============

The Iron Wolf had a better idea. Using the jaggedness of the adjacent wall, she leaped up and pushed off of it to get around the zombie, allowing the Sergeant to move in.

Acrobatics to move through an Enemy's space. DC 5 + Enemy CMD.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Well that didn't work as well I hoped. Provoked an Attack of Opportunity.

Coming down on the other side, Alaina spun about while lifting a foot into a high kick aimed at the zombie's head.

Roundhouse Kick to the face: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Man do the dice hate me in this game.

Henri bites her lip, trying to see through the chaos. It looked like she had helped, the flare shot had worked, temporarily at least. She starts to move up, but gasps as a speedy Dulae breezes by her. The bottleneck was full. She couldn't do much else. Henri spins her pistol with a flourish and removes the old cartridge, while replacing it with a new bullet cartridge.

Move up, reload. Nothing interesting.

Cel steps up a little closer and lines up his hand. He breathes in deep, lines up his hand, and releases...

Attack zombie 2: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 7 - 4 = 8

...but the chaos is just too much to get a clean shot.

You know, I've never played a range-heavy character before for any length of time, and I can now see why it is so necessary to get precise shot. That -4 is extraordinarily annoying.

Cel has precise shot. I think that's meant to be the +4 to AC to the zombie from the soft cover of Cel's ally standing in between. (I won't count that twice.)

I moved Alaina's marker to where I think she meant to go from the description. It doesn't make a difference with that roll, but you would've had a pretty clean shot to zombie 1, Cel.

I also tweaked the map rules to specify that creatures provide soft cover (as opposed to full cover).

The zombie lunges at Alaina as she passes. (Yep.)

Zombie 1 attack of opportunity on Alaina: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Alaina sees him coming and she's able to dodge away, but she's a bit off balance and her kick comes up short.

Cel's blast flies high over the zombie's head.

Sorry I forgot to move my marker. Yes that's where I meant to end up. Still would have been awesome if I had hit the bastard. Don't forget, it gets an AoO against me.

Indeed. He gave it his best, but you are safe from zombie 1. For now...

Well they don't teach us that in basic... Dulae blinks at Alaina's sudden acrobatics before stepping up and slashing at the zombie in front of her.

Bastard sword attack on zombie 1: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 2 = 25
Damage if it hits: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Dulae's bastard sword cuts deeply into the zombie facing her. It lets out a harsh roar and braces itself to strike back.

Still to act: Xizoh, Anathema

======== Autobot protocol GM002 =========
Posted on behalf of Xizoh and Anathema

Xizoh swings his chain at the zombie in front of him.

Xizoh attack on zombie 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Damage if it hits: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 3) + 4 = 10

His heavy swing goes left of the dead woman. She gives Xizoh a steady look and readies herself to spring at him.

Still badly injured and conscious of hindering Cel, Anathema hangs back, hissing in frustration.

===========================
EDIT: I moved Anathema forward 20 feet on the map.

===== End of PC round =====

======== Begin enemy round =======

The dead man lashes out at Dulae, hurling his weight into his strike.

Zombie 1 attacks Dulae: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Zombie 1 slam damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Dulae deflects the zombie back toward Alaina with her shield.

The dead woman jumps toward Xizoh, teeth bared.

Zombie 2 attacks Xizoh: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Zombie 2 slam damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Xizoh sidesteps the zombie and her teeth snap closed over empty air.

====== End enemy round =======
Map lighting updated, lines reset.

====== Begin PC round ========

Flurry, Kick to the knee: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Flurry, Shield to the Head: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

*Throws hands in the air* I give up. Talk about the yips.

Alaina went to try lay the hurt on the zombie, but her frustration at her previous performance clouded her accuracy.

Seeing a zombie being distracted by the two women, Cel decides to try his luck and shooting it in hopes of connecting this time...

Attack - I HATE YOU DICE GODS!: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 7 - 4 = 11

...and still can't find purchase. He shakes his fist towards the heavens in frustration.

Henri moves forward and brings her gun up, looking at the melee full of misses in front of her. She mutters to herself, "If you want something done right..." she darts forward and holsters the gun - there's no way she could get a clean shot in this kind of chaos. She cracks her knuckles. It's not like she couldn't do something in a melee, though...

Move up and holster gun. Not even going to try.

Since she entered the cave Alaina has been steadily becoming a statistical anomaly.

Cel, in general it'd be probably good practice to not note the -4 as a penalty to attack; I can field enemy AC bonuses. (I can see myself reading this is in the future and thinking wait, what? Or worse, counting it twice. You are right though that Dulae gives zombie 1 soft cover.)

By the way, that was a nice flare shot Henri; stopped both zombies from doing pretty heavy damage.

Cel, in general it'd be probably good practice to not note the -4 as a penalty to attack; I can field enemy AC bonuses. (I can see myself reading this is in the future and thinking wait, what? Or worse, counting it twice. You are right though that Dulae gives zombie 1 soft cover.)

Oh right, good call. I routinely forget that it is an AC bonus, not a to-hit reduction! Will do. I also find it somewhat hilarious that we've successfully hurt ourselves more than we've hurt enemies in this cave. It truly is cursed!

"What is it with you and curses?"

Bastard Sword to Z1: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 2 = 29
your luck I steal it
Confirmation roll: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 2 = 13
Noooooo....pretty sure that doesn't make it. Wait, zombie 1 is blind, right? Just in case this confirms I'll add a damage line.

Normal damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Crit Damage if confirmed: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Dulae, sensing an opportunity, swings her sword at head height, attempting to kill the creature in one shot.

Alaina's rolls are the unluckiest I've seen in quite a while. :/

It's an embarrassment to the Fighter's Guild.

Acrobatics check to move through enemy square

Xizoh attempts to leap over the zombie, kicking of the wall at the apex of his jump.

Acrobatics-Time to jump!: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

He tries to slam his chain into the zombie's head as he leaps over it.

Attack-HAMMERTIME: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Well, I think I just borrowed your luck Alaina D:

Anathema slithers until it is coiled behind Dulae. Loudly the serpent says, "Ah, group huddle to discuss tea with zombies. Quite refreshing to see such excellent manners!

Peeking a head over Dulae's shoulder, he speaks between darts of his tongue. "You there sir. You seem like a connoisseur of red meat. Any tricks you'd like to share?

Anathema isn't itself without a sense of humor.

Dulae: nope, he regained his sight at the end of the last enemy round, so no confirmation. Nice hit though!

Dulae's sword slices deeply into the zombie's neck, but doesn't sever its head.

I moved Xizoh's marker to the other side of zombie 2. Given his acrobatics roll, his move provokes an attack of opportunity from zombie 2.

The dead woman swipes at Xizoh as he leaps over her head.
Zombie 2 attack of opportunity on Xizoh: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

She grabs only air and swivels to face him. Xizoh's swing goes wild as he recovers his balance from the jump and the zombie takes a slow step to the side to avoid the chain.

========= End of PC round ==========

In my sleepy stupor I very nearly went to bed just now without posting the enemy round. (Oh right, that's my job.)

======== Begin enemy round ========

The zombie in front of Dulae makes a horrible dry choking sound after Dulae slices into its neck. It scowls at her hatefully before rushing her.

Zombie 1 attack on Dulae: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Dulae easily repels the dead man with her shield again.

To Dulae's left, the zombie in front of Xizoh waits a beat for his chain to swing around behind him, then slams into him.

Zombie 2 attack on Xizoh: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Zombie 2 damage to Xizoh: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Zombie 2 is also stealing Alaina's luck. Ouch.

Already unsteady, Xizoh can't keep his footing to resist her and is thrown back into the jagged tunnel wall.

======== End enemy round ========

Lighting up-to-date. Lines reset.

====== Begin PC round =======

Henri takes a step up after Xizoh jumps over the zombie, grinning. "What a buncha circus folk we got in this here party!" She rolls up her sleeve and makes a claw with her hand. "I've got some tricks of my own." She scrapes her hand towards the second zombie's face, not hoping to damage, but to draw some blood into its eyes to blind it.

Blinding Dirty Trick - Normally I'd use a bag of glass here: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

5-Foot Step, use a dirty trick maneuver to attempt to blind zombie 2.

With growing frustration, the Wolf attempted to continue her 'assault'.

Zombie 1

Knee to the ribs: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Damage?: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Reverse Spin Kick to the Spine: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Crit?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Dulae takes yet another swing. I'm going to need to clean my sword after this...

Bastard Sword to zombie 1: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 2 = 16
Damage if it hits: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Btw Alaina-flanking bonus?

Oh, right. Still didn't help my crit.

Cel takes a step forward, then rinses and repeats his last Blast but focusing harder on zombie 1 this time.

Attack - I forgive you dice Gods!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Confirm?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Damage - No crit: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (2, 4) + 7 = 13
Damage - Plus crit?: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 2) + 7 = 14

Henri's nails dig into the zombie's flesh. She quickly notices it doesn't bleed, but she manages to rip the skin over its eyelid and the bridge of its nose so that it falls over the zombie's eyes.
Zombie 2 is blinded until it successfully takes an action to deal with this. (You're gonna want to wash before eating.)

Alaina hears a squelching crack as she knees the zombie in squarely in the ribs. She lands a perfectly placed kick to its spine. Its torso snaps forward, but then seems to bounce back up, unaffected by the kick.
The end of the statistically interesting roll streak!

Dulae's sword cuts a deep gouge into its torso. It staggers back a step, looking like it's about to keel over.

Cel's blast strikes the zombie near its neck, knocking its head back and causing the rest of its flesh to tear away until its head is only held on by its spine. The dead man collapses in a heap of grey flesh and brown cloth.
No crit, but it would've only made it more dead.

Still to act: Xizoh, Anathema

Added a +2 bonus to Henri's dirty trick for flanking.

Cel's frustration at his fingers finally turning into exuberance he immediately bursts out, "YEAH!!"

Rebounding off the wall, Xizoh snarls. Letting his flesh run like wax, he spins, his chain swinging behind him.

Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Damage: 2d4 + 7 ⇒ (3, 1) + 7 = 11

Xizoh's swing flies above it zombie. It whirls its head around, hearing the chain come close.
EDIT: Blind zombie.

Doesn't make much difference, but I think I figure Xizoh the fleshbeast should get +8 to attack: 1 BAB + 5 strength +2 flanking. Speaking of which, Xizoh the fleshbeast's strength should probably be 20 (+4 to strength, not strength mod).

I assume Anathema takes no action.

==== End of PC round ====

======= Begin enemy round ========

The zombie claws desperately at its eyes until a few pieces of flesh fall away from its face. It stares up at Xizoh, lidlessly, bracing itself to attack again.

Zombie 2 is no longer blind.

======= End enemy round ========

Lighting up-to-date, lines reset.

======= Begin PC round ========

Cel tries to sneak a peek between the flailing bodies to get a shot off at the remaining zombie.

Attack - Here goes nothing!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Whoa, no way!! I found your luck, Alaina, you dropped it at Cel's feet.

Confirm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Cel squints briefly and just as the zombie turns to look at Xizoh, he fires off a blast right at the back of the zombie's head.

Damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 4) + 7 = 14
Crit if confirmed: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 3) + 7 = 13

Good morning! (F*ck jet lag.)

Cel's blast shreds into the back of the zombie, tearing its uniform and splitting the flesh on its back and neck partly away.

The zombie takes an unsteady, staggering step, as though it is close to falling over.

Henri's head jolts back as the blast of air flies past it, involuntarily dodging the deadly blast. "By Produs's well-crafted curves! That was a nice shot, Little Rabbit!" With a flick of her wrist, Henri pulls her elvish blade from her back and brings it down, hard, on the head of the zombie before her.

Attack - I'm stealin' this kill. Maybe.: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 2 = 15

Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Henri's sword slices into the zombie's skull, making a wide crack. The zombie grunts and falls limply to the ground. It lies very still, its lidless eyes staring blankly up at her.

======== End of combat ==========

The cave is quiet. The party hears nothing apart from their own labored breath. They see no sign of motion in the blackness to either side.

You get the sense it's been more than 45 minutes since you entered the cave.

Falling to his knees, Xizoh releases his grip on his magic. As he caught his breath he pants out, "Go ahead. I'll just be a second."

Dulae scans the corridor, not really expecting to find anything. "I'd wager the necromancer is long gone. Seems I wasted a spell..."

"Mr. Shadelock, are you alright? I saw that creature strike you." She pulls out her wand of healing and uses it on Xizoh.

Wand of Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Alaina was breathing heavily, mostly from frustration rather than exhaustion. And in that frustration, she began kicking the zombie's corpse, hard and repeatedly. Getting all of her anger out of her system, the Wolf leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, a grim look on her face.

Cel grins at Henri, "Thanks! I'm glad you finished it off, though. I don't like those things," as his grin turns to a frown.

Cel tries to look past the group, "Where did that voice come from? What's over there to the right?"

Henri touches her nose, sticking it up in the air. "No, no... he's still here. He's gotta be. Unless he ran in another exit, which there might be. Or unless he teleported out of here. But that's definitely high-powered stuff. Why wouldn't he just kill us? He's probably hiding something. Protecting something back here." She takes a few steps forward. "What could that be, Retired Sergeant?" The elf speaks deliberately, her voice dropping to a serious tone, and she turns to give Dulae a cold and somewhat accusatory stare as she begins healing Xizoh.

Dulae, Cel, and the rest of the party do not percieve anything new ahead or behind them.

"I'll live, Appreciate the healing though. Serves me right for losing my focus." Xizoh rolls his arms, working out the kinks as his bruises lose their tenderness. As he prods himself to check for remaining injuries the gray skinned man finds himself standing beside Anathema, apart from the group.

"I find I have to argue in favor at least checking for the undead raising bastard. I owe him," Xizoh glances solemnly in the direction of the woman kill by her creator, "and her as much."

Restless from the fight, Anathema stifles it's laughs at Xizoh's motivation. "Good Doctor, if you want him that bad why not ask the resident expert on the undead? Surely she'll have something useful?"

Pointing his tail towards Dulae, the serpent's eyes, following the scheme of his body, hold a glint of something serious hidden behind the mocking and humorous tone of his speech.

===== Initiating autobot sequence GM001 =====

Dulae, I'll give it until the morning UK time (late evening Pacific time).

Damn, bluff called.

I won't be able to auto-bot until late evening local time (mid-afternoon Pacific). Here's hoping Dulae beats me to it. (Failing that, here's hoping my Dulae-bot is still accurate.)

Dulae blinks at Henri's question before crossing her arms. "I have no idea what could be in these tunnels. There shouldn't be anything at all. Abbhen has always secured its borders against magic and we certainly wouldn't leave anything powerful behind. At least not on purpose. As to the undead..." She gives a look of half pity, half disgust at the dead archeologists. "I know enough to kill them and those that make them. You could call it a specialty of mine."

She grows quiet, a distant look on her face. "More than anything I'm confused about how our encounter just went. Someone powerful enough to make these creatures... lets just say that if they get the drop on you they usually don't run away, and you usually can't either."

"But this necromancer did nothing more than a novice spell. I'm sure he's still in the caves, but..." Dulae growls in frustration. "Damn! I would bet gold that he knows exactly where to run to get away quickly. And we have to contend with the traps and anything he sends at us."

A grim smile appears on her face. "But if Fireball is right and he is going to protect something, I say we find it, lay an ambush, and make sure no one makes it out alive." She pauses, realizing that she has gotten quite a bit worked up and can feel a blush forming. "Necromancers, that is."

"Obviously I want us to make it out alive."