GM Rednal's Rise of the Runelords: AE (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Shalluk moved over, and glanced out the front door. If the Goblin had fled the building then they were safe - for now - but it would likely be back eventually with yet more of it's kind.

The goblin did look like it had escaped - though for what it was worth, the local goblins had been concentrated on this fort. Any tribes further away probably weren't very good allies of the fleeing goblin to begin with, and not very likely to help it. It was unlikely you'd have to watch your backs too closely (although that never hurt, of course).

Tyranius turns back around. Seems like he got away. At least he did not raise the alarm. He says as he shrugs his shoulders.

Realizing that he has gotten all turned around Tyranius looks to the others for advise on where to head.

I really have gotten all turned around chasing this goblin. What room number are we currently in? lol

"It would appear that way, but I wonder, why was the guard room empty?" Tanwen asks, looking out the open door.

"Goblins," Shalluk replied by way of explanation, following behind the others. "They may be raiding or napping or...other things. Shall we return to the throne room, check it out, and then head from there?"

It may be my laptop, but the map doesn't seem to be working.

You're around C15.

By this point - save for a few shut doors, heading to what were clearly small chambers - you'd explored the majority of the southeastern part of the fort. There didn't seem to be any immediate threats here, though there was no telling what was in the rest of this place...

Returning to the throne room Shalluk began to check, using his abilities to detect life, magic and the undead to see if there was anything or anyone worth note.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

There's no more life in the throne room, nor any magical signals of interest. While the goblins probably do have a stock of treasure somewhere (for a given definition of "treasure" - they're goblins, after all), it doesn't seem to be here.

"It seems they didn't leave anything behind, we should move on." Tanwen notes as Shalluk fails to find much of anything. "We should check these side rooms." she adds, opening the door to the east of the throne room.

Tyranius covers Tanwen from the side of the door. [b]His hands shake slightly. It has been a long day.

Shalluk nodded, taking up a position to cover the door.

The door to the room in the hallway to the east of the throne room is locked, but not impossibly so, and eventually you're able to crack it open. This foul-smelling butchery is a horrifying affront to all the senses. Haunches of poorly smoked meat hang from hooks along the ceiling or lie heaped in and atop crates. In some cases, the meat seems to be dog or horse, but in many other cases, the meat has all-too-recognizable features, like feet, hands, or grimacing faces.

Using his shortsword Tyranius begins to slowly sift therough all of the pieces. Goblins like to bury stuff like squirrels. There could be anything in here.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Shalluk glanced at Tyranius, thinking that there was probably more than nuts buried in this mess. But it was true, and so he started searching, first using his ability to detect the undead to make sure none of these things had any kind of life left.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Sighing Tyranius puts his sword away. Perhaps Nethys will show us more than the mortal eye can see.

Cast Detect Magic

Search as you might, there's nothing more than chunks of meat in this room - enough to have come from a number of different people. If nothing else, you appear to have uncovered the fate of the people who vanished in the recent goblin attacks.

Withdrawing from the room, Shalluk took one final glance inside. "When we leave this place," he announced, a harsh crackle to his voice, "It burns."

I know it's not called for, but I'm going to make a DC15 fort save or voluntarily take on the nauseated condition here.
Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

As Tyranius begins chopping at the 'meat' that the goblins left behind, Tanwen turns away, trying her best not to lose her lunch in the process. However she doesn't exactly find either the goblin's leftovers or the man's respect for the dead encouraging, and she can be heard coughing and vomiting from the hallway.

A few seconds later, Tanwen calls from outside, "If there's nothing worthwhile in there, perhaps we should burn it now, though I do not look forward to the smell of burning flesh."

Shalluk looked tempted but shook his head. "We need to be sure the threat is dead and gone, and a fire won't do that. But this place will go up with all the poorly treated wood the Goblins have used. Once we have confirmation the threat is ended we can give these people a decent rest. And never, ever mention this to there loved ones."

*Approves of taking the initiative this way* ^^

Of course, to get to that, you'll have to finish exploring this place... and are able to take a few moments to check out the other rooms. On the northeastern side of the throne room is what appears to be an armory - this room contains a small armory of crudely made weapons (mostly dogslicers and shortbows) and several small goblin-sized suits of studded leather armor and dented shields. To the south stand a pair of workbenches.

In all, there are 23 dogslicers, 11 shortbows, 80 arrows, 11 suits of studded leather, six light wooden shields, and two coiled whips. On the north wall hangs a single masterwork dogslicer. With the exception of this lone dogslicer, the gear stored here is of poor quality, bespeaking typical goblin crafting expertise. All of them are Small, clearly sized for Goblins.

The north door leads to a bedchamber of some kind. Several rugs made from dog or horse hide lie strewn over the dirt floor of this room. Against the north wall stands an impressive collection of horseshoes, each nailed to the wall. To the east sits a ragged padded chair next to a rickety desk that may have once been an expensive antique. In the northwest corner sits a canopied bed covered with silk sheets and sporting an elaborately carved headboard that features nymphs and satyrs cavorting in a forest. The bed's sheets are stained with dirt, while the headboard is bashed and battered. While valuables here are limited in number, there is a silver holy symbol of Lamashtu with tiny garnets for eyes, and a large iron key was hidden under one of the cushions.

In the southern hallway by the watchtower, there are two other doors. The one closer to the watchtower holds six poorly constructed bunk beds, little more than hammocks slung from rickety frames, standing along the walls of the room. Each is heaped with a vermin-infested blanket and a lump of straw that serves as a frustrating pillow.

The other door leads to a set of stairs heading down. By this point, you've rather thoroughly explored the eastern side of the fort - the west side remains largely untouched.

Tyranius grasps the holy symbol of Lamashtu and grimaces. The Mother of Monsters..... This is not a good sign.

Flipping the cushions over Tyranius grabs the key as he looks to the others. Well it is not breaking and entering if we have a key to the place right?

Grabbing the Mwk Dogslicer Tyranius packs it away. One of the goblins seems to have put a lot of soul and effort into this blade. It is actually not bad at all. May get a coin or two from it. Looking over he sees the stairs leading down. Should we see what is down there?

"Well, we knew she was involved, and her cleric the Goblin leader." Shalluk made a face of distaste at the holy symbol. "Goblin's are her children anyway. We will just have to deal with such things, I'm afraid."

Returning to the main entrance (C11), Shalluk pointed out the doors to the north in the corner and the double doors to the east that lead to another unexplored area. "Which way?"

Downstairs might be our best bet. Tyranius says nodding his head to the stairs leading down.

A single lantern hangs from a hook on the wall next to where the stairs enter this room from the north. Several rickety doors open into this room, and a few discarded dog pelt rugs lie forgotten in the northeast corner.

Looking around the room, Shalluk counted six doors in total. He nodded to the eastern most door. "Start there and work our way around?"

Tyranius nods his head as he quickly inspects the doors for any signs of traps before opening the eastern one.

Start at east door and work way around in clockwise order

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

You aren't able to hear anything through any of the doors you listen at. The eastern door leads to a very short hallway - beyond that is a rather larger chamber.

Crates, barrels, and mounds of miscellaneous refuse lie heaped against the walls here. To the north, the sound of crashing surf echoes. A glance through shows that there's nothing of value (except to a goblin, perhaps) in here.

Poking at the odds and ends, Shalluk quickly turned his attention to the small passage north and the smell of surf. "Another way in and out?" After a quick glance at the others, he moved over to take a peek, moving quietly and keeping out of sight.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Tyranius follows closely behind Shalluk, being as quiet as his training has taught him to be.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

The floor of this cavern seems strangely polished and smooth. To the east, a thick curtain of vines and nettles hangs down over a wide opening overlooking the Varisian Gulf.

Moving fowards, Shalluk took a moment to take a breath of the sea air after the smell of the Goblins kitchen. It was a pleasant change. And useful back passage, should they ever need to get in from a different direction.

"If we have to burn the place and run, this might be a decent escape path." Tanwen suggests, as she comes down behind the two men, less quiet then either.

Shalluk glanced over at her and nodded. "Or another way in if we do retreat. They can fill the fort above with what they wish if we can sneak in through here."

This is good. You should always have a second exit, especially when you waltz into a goblin fort..... on purpose.

Turning around Tyranius opens the next door.

Moving clockwise

Two large stone doors sit in the western wall here, their faces carved with images of horrific, deformed monsters clawing their way out of pregnant women of all races. There's another door to the north of this hallway.

Shalluk stared at the door, sickened, and pulled his hood further forwards to cover his face. He knew he had more in common with the things clawing there way into the world than a human child. With a snarl the Tiefling shoved the door out of the way and walked through them, arming his crossbow as he did.

Tanwen took little satisfaction that she wasn't one of the women on the door, it was quite common in her line of work that women would end up pregnant, and not know who the father was, luckily she hadn't heard of any pregnancies which turned out like these.

As Shalluk opened the door, Tanwen held her falcata, ready to rush into the room to confront any foe which may present itself.

Tyranius nods as he hides within the shadows as Shalluk opens the doors. Looking up he grimaces at the mural. What the hell....

Stone fonts containing frothy dark water sit to the north and south of the eastern entrance to the room, and twin banks of stone pillars run the length of the long chamber. At the western end, shallow stairs rise to a platform about two feet off the ground. The walls surrounding this platform are lit by hanging braziers that emit glowing red smoke, giving the place an unnerving crimson lighting that throws the bas-relief carvings of countless monsters feasting on fleeing humans into lurid display. A black marble altar stone, its surface heaped with ashes and bone fragments, squats before a ten-foot-tall statue. The sculpture depicts a very pregnant but otherwise shapely naked woman who wields a kukri in each taloned hand and has a long reptilian tail, birdlike taloned feet, and the snarling head of a three-eyed jackal with a forked tongue. The left kukri flickers with fiery orange light while the right one glows with a cold blue radiance.

Seconds after you opened the door, a deafening series of barks could be heard as two emaciated, hairless canine creatures dropped from near the ceiling and started forward.

Will DC 12 (Shalluk): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Will DC 12 (Tanwen): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Will DC 12 (Tyranius): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 You are Panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5 rounds.

With no hesitation at all, the canines prepared to dart forward at Shalluk and Tanwen.

Init (Canines): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Init (Shalluk): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Init (Tanwen): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Init (Tyranius): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

The two creatures shot forward, moving straight through the air in a single leap before landing right in front of their targets and biting out.

Bite vs FF (Shalluk): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Bite vs FF (Tanwen): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 for Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 1) + 4 = 11
+Trip?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
+Shaken? Will DC 14: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Shalluk and Tanwen, you're right in the doorway. Tyranius is behind you. The canines are just ahead.

Tanwen wasn't actually flat footed, due to her init roll, but that's still a hit unfortunately.

Foolhardy Rush: At 2nd level, the cavalier can charge across the battlefield at a moment's notice. Whenever the cavalier attempts an initiative check, as long as he rolls an 11 or higher on the die, he can move up to his base speed as an immediate action and he is not considered flat-footed.

It's a hard ability to emulate in this format, but oh well, it's not like moving during the init roll would've made a difference here (or if it had it'd mean both dogs would attack me).

Masterwork Falcata: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 101d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 3 + (4) = 9

Tanwen swings her sword at the canine that attacked her, but her attack is not very accurate.

"No." The statement was made with a coldness that Shalluk's voice usually lacked, even in the chilling Aklo tongue, but the Tiefling moved with grace as he wove away from the monsters attack and to one side to allow Tyranius to move forward and fight. At the same time he felt his usual yearning for the sun fade and a connection flicker to something deep below the earth. With a grunt Shalluk made a gesture, and...something rose behind the creature, like a small mountain. After a moment it exploding, raining fire and shrapnel on the two monsters.

Burst Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12

Shalluk used his Ultimate Versatility ability to shift his Mystery from Solar to Volcano, and use the Volcano Mystery Burst ability. The Damage is half fire, half piercing, and has a DC 16 Reflex save to half.

HOLY S!&$! Tyranius yells as his entire body begins to visibly shake all at once. Absolute fear enters his eyes as he drops his shortsword to the ground with a clatter. Not even thinking twice he turns around and begins running back to the stairs to the surface.

Erupt is a burst centered on your body.

Tanwen's sword cleanly missed, even as Shalluk called up flames - and they shot out at Tanwen and Tyranius (who hadn't yet fled) as well as the two beasts.

Reflex (Hound 1): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Reflex (Hound 2): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Reflex (Tanwen): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Reflex (Tyranius): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Aaaaaand everyone makes it! Six points to everyone who rolled but Tanwen, who's immune to the fire and only takes three points.

The two beasts snarled as Tyranius turned and ran away, then focused on Shalluk, who appeared to be a much bigger threat than Tanwen at the moment.

Bite (Shalluk): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Bite (Shalluk): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Neither of their bites quite managed to close on him, and the two hounds retreated five steps each, even as they continued to bark and howl.

Gah, sorry folks. I swear it wasn't like that last time I read that ability.

Hoping back again, Shalluk prepares to fire a crossbow bolt at one of the creatures. He shooks his head for a moment, unclear on what had just happened, but determined to destroy the creatures.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 7

Tyranius continues to run as far away as he can in fear.

What is happening to me...... I have never been this frightened in my life.

I would almost count me out of this fight guys hehe. 5 rounds of fleeing will be 4-5 running back :)

Masterwork Falcata: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 171d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 3 + (6) = 16

Though engulfed in flame, Tanwen seems unfased, attacking the creature the managed to land a hit on her earlier.

Yeaaaah... their ability has a stupidly huge range, too. DX *Shakes fist at powers that can take people out of a PbP game for days*

Shalluk's bolt struck his target, but did considerably less damage than it should have - these creatures were clearly resistant to ordinary damage, though it was almost definite that they had some kind of weakness. If their identities could be pinpointed, perhaps that would be revealed...

Tanwen was suffering from a similar problem, though her stronger attack meant that proportionately more damage was being done. Her foe could take one more attack like that - it definitely couldn't take two. One of the hounds followed Shalluk, the other focused its attention on Tanwen.

Bite (Shalluk): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Bite (Tanwen): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

For now, at least, nobody was having trouble keeping them at bay.

Crossbow reloads: 1d3 ⇒ 3

Shalluk shifted back, splitting the attention of the two monsters and reloading his crossbow as he did with Cold Iron crossbow bolts. He had no idea if they would work, and simply chose them of three kind he carried at random.

Masterwork Falcata: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 211d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 3 + (1) = 12

Although the creature seemed not to take all the force she applied, Tanwen had little concern, attacking the creature again.

Not sure if I'd notice, but did the creatures seem to take all the fire damage, only resisting the physical? The d6 is fire, in case I need to remind anyone.

Yes, they seem to take all the fire damage. I did not forget that. ^^

The creature fighting Shalluk continued to pursue him as he stepped back to reload, unwilling to give him too much time all by himself. Meanwhile, Tanwen was busy pounding her own target, and once again managed to land a blow on it. It was definitely looking weak now, and it wouldn't take much more to put it down for good.

Bite (Shalluk): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Bite (Tanwen): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Yay~