GMTrex's 3-25 Storming the Diamond Gate (Inactive)

Game Master Andrew Trexler

Trifle will take a moment to stand up before swinging again with the crackling sword.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

12 = 3 BAB + 2 STR + 1 Weapon Focus + 2 Enchant + 1 Bard + 4 Attacking Prone - 1 PA... woo!

Confirm Critical Threat: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Dang, bro.

Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Electricity Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

I think "Dang, bro" is my new favorite thing you've said!

Round III

Trifle's hit seems to have nearly dismantled it, but it fights on!

It stands up, drawing an AoO from everybody except Khakil (do not include the +4 for prone).

Trifle resists simply kicking the creature down with her booted foot and instead swings at it again.

Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Trifle spits at it instead.

It was staggered by my spell, should it be able to both stand and attack this round?

Cott and Jenny both attack add the statue rises.

Club: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 Damage, B: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Talon: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15 Damage, Magic Slashing: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

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Ah, thanks for reminding me. It just stands. Will correct above. So far only Cott has hit it, with no effect whatsoever.

Ivy uses the AOO to slash at the statue with Faerahrn.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 1 = 14
And misses :(

Okay, if everybody missed then we're still going... Khakil is up.

Round III Update
Cott: frigid touch
Ivy: miss with acid
Trifle: hits for a little
Baddies: stands up
Khakil: CURRENT

Khakil halts his performance and dashes forward to attempt a desperate strike, though he is in disbelief that it will have an effect.

Rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

The statue easily avoids.

2 more rounds of performance buff.

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Indeed, Khakil's rapier misses its mark.

Round IV: Cott, Ivy, and Trifle are up!

Round IV

Cott moves ten feet east to flank the statue with Khakil, again hoping to draw an attack from the statue so that the magi can capitalize on the opening. He and Jenny continue their, at best, marginally effective efforts at physical destruction, hoping to be able to wear the crumbling statue down enough magi to finish the job.

Cott is attacked and tripped by the statue, and then stumbles to his feet, unable to get a swing in.

Talon: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27Damage, magic, S: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Talon: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15Damage, magic, S: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22Damage, B, S, P: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

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Although the statue has heretofore ignored the druid, this time it does not. A sickle catches Cott in the legs as he wanders past...

Sickle: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28 HIT
Free Trip Attempt: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18 SUCCESS
DMG: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 DMG 7 to Cott

...and he goes tumbling unceremoniously to the floor. I'm assuming you spend your attack action to stand up instead, but you could attack from the floor. If so, you still hit, but it doesn't appear to be effective.

Despite the statue's disastrous state, Jenny's onslaught is still either deflected or simply ignored.

Ivy and Trifle!

Round IV Update
Cott: absorbs an AoO, falls, gets back up
Ivy: CURRENT
Trifle:
Baddies:
Khakil:

Yes, Cott stands and does not attack.

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"Hold your attacks for but a moment, Ivy! " Khakil barks desperately.

He thrusts his rapier just in front the monster's face in distraction.

Aid Ivy: Rapier: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 SUCCESS

Ivy gets a +2 on her next attack.

"NOW! "

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Khakil, that's a standard action. You'd have to do that on your turn. Which is after the bad guy. Ivy can wait til then if she wants...

Ivy uses her wand of CLW, taking 5, and delays her turn until after the statue and Khakil

Apologies, I read the turn order wrong. That post will be what I do for the current round after the baddie goes. Ivy doesn't have to delay since she will be right up next anyway, unless she wants to.

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You can delay in the middle of your turn, but you've used up your whole turn already anyway. Move action to pick up the wand (which you would have had to drop in order to cast your acid spell) and then a standard to cast the CLW. You cannot take a five-foot step in this area due to the grease. In any case, Cott has already eaten its AoO for this round.

You can delay in the middle of your turn, but you've used up your whole turn already anyway. Move action to pick up the wand (which you would have had to drop in order to cast acid spell) and then a standard to cast the CLW. You cannot take a five-foot step in this area due to the grease.

Ah. Apologies

Cott, having just struggled to his feet, and still bleeding from the attack he intentionally exposed himself to mere moments ago in order to give Ivy a free opening to attack, mutters angrily under his breath.

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Er, hang on, now your post disappeared? And no worries! It's a learning process.

Trifle is up!

Well I took the 5 before I thought I needed to step back so I figured the earlier post could stand. They both had errors anyway lol

Ivy smiles at Cott's selflessness and says, "Hang on, I'm gonna get him good!"

Ah okay, by "taking 5" I thought you meant "five-foot step." As before, you need to roll for your healing in combat; I'll only allow taking 5 out of combat. CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 In this case that's a good thing!

Round IV Update
Cott: eats an AoO
Ivy: heals (current hp is 20/21 unless I counted wrong)
Trifle: CURRENT
Baddies:
Khakil: aid another on Ivy

counted wrong, I already added it in. But thank you :)

You sure? Even with the 9 I just rolled for you instead of the 5 (because you can't take 5 in combat)?

Should be 20 then. I'll change it.

Trifle watches the Ivy-Khakil chaos in amusement and chuckles a little when Cott strikes the ground. "He swings like a demon, this one!" she says, "But fortunately, so do I!"

Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Electricity Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Trifle rolled exactly what she needed hits just hard enough to shatter the statue. Out of initiative.

Okay, so, this guy had an AC of 21 (with haste), DR 5/adamantine, SR 16, fast healing 2, 53 hit points, and three attacks per round dealing 1d6+5 (plus an extra 1d6 to good-aligned targets). This fight is supposed to be really difficult... because you didn't actually have to fight it. I gave several hints that nobody seemed to pick up on: the statue more or less ignored Cott (except for that one time he did a lot of damage) and only activated once Ivy stepped into the room after him. That's because Cott was the only one who actually donned one of the amulets. Had you all done that, the statue would never have moved.

Some advice based on this battle: take a look at weapon blanches, especially for people with bows. Adamantine (or cold iron or silver) weapon blanches are pretty cheap and make situations like this much easier. Secondly, and this is probably more important, healing in the middle of combat is generally a bad idea. If you waste time healing yourself when you could have been killing the baddie(s), it's usually a losing proposition -- you'll just take more damage and have to heal again. The exception to this is channeling for clerics and the like (and life-link oracles like Cyka), who can usually outpace damage received by targeting the whole party with the healing.

With the statue finally demolished, you are free to explore the room. A rich, if worn, tapestry hangs to the east and all of the statues look identical to the one you destroyed.

Trifle will spit on the statue and then take a look around ( Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20) with careful attention to the tapestry. What does it depict?

Thanks for the feedback!

The statues are similar to the ones you encountered at the statue's entrance. On each of the disks is written the same Abyssal phrase as appears on the amulets: "Above me is the mother, below me impure blood."

The worn curtain portrays an epic battle between a giant scorpion on the north half and a blue, viper-tailed sphinx on the south. Between the two, a pregnant jackal-headed woman with three eyes hovers above the fray. Each of the three figures bears a different demonic rune on its body -- the scorpion on its massive pincers, the sphinx on its forehead, and the jackal-headed woman as intricate scars and gaping wounds carved into her pregnant belly.

Around the edges of the tapestry is a repeating Abyssal phrase that reads:

The matriarch with stolen seeds,
Monstrous sisters blasphemy breeds,
Born of the same womb, yet different stud,
Above me is the mother, below me impure blood.

Cott uses his wand again, (taking five, putting him at 27/30 hp) then press around in the crumbled remains of the statue for anything of potential value.

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The masterwork sickle is probably the only thing worth anything. There's some broken sandstone...

Trifle checks out the figures. Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

"The pregnant goddess is Lamashtu, a major deity, also known as the Mother of Beasts. The two battling demon lords are Areshkagal and her half-sister Aldinach. Both are the progeny of Lamashtu."

Trifle speaks Abyssal and Infernal. Can she read the runes?

"Lamashtu and her offspring..."

K Planes: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
K Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

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"Glad we're dealing with Areshkagal; She is the weakest of the three."

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Trifle speaks Abyssal and Infernal. Can she read the runes?

Yes -- hat's why I actually wrote them out for you, rather than just mentioning their existence.

She is the weakest of the three.

What makes you say that?

I thought it was due to his blessing that Cott was being ignored. Oh well.

Khakil walks up to the tapestry to peek behind it, being sure to be light of foot.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

I thought it was due to his blessing that Cott was being ignored. Oh well.

Nah, everybody but Trifle and Jenny has a blessing active.

Khakil pulls back a corner of the curtain and...

A great three-ringed iron portal stands in a position of prominence on a raised dais at the front of the chamber, as though venerated by the rows of statues on the other side of the curtain. A series of runes runs along the circumference of each of the portal’s rings, creating three distinct bands of writing. A large, sparkling crimson gemstone is embedded at the portal’s apex, the only marking on the portal’s exterior frame. In front of the portal, a strange podium with a circular depression covered with several small, square raised areas offers an alien interface. A metallic smell and the cling of static electricity permeate the noticeably dry air here.

Khakil pulls out one of the amulets that he has pocketed to compare it with the raised squares on the podium.

Is there more than one configuration that the amulet lines up, if at all?

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"Can any of you read the writing on this portal? "

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Yes, Trifle can read the writing, and at this point you probably can too.

The portal's three massive, concentric wheels contain three demonic runes (one each at Noon, 4:00, and 8:00 on each wheel): the rune of Areshkagal, the rune of Aldinach, and the rune of Lamashtu. Three additional, smaller rings lie directly below the diamond atop the portal and encircle the single rune located at the top (Noon) of each of the larger wheels. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

The raised squares on the podium before the portal are perfectly identical to the holes on the amulets.

Trifle Nik Baru wrote: Trifle speaks Abyssal and Infernal. Can she read the runes? Yes -- hat's why I actually wrote them out for you, rather than just mentioning their existence. Khakil wrote: She is the weakest of the three. What makes you say that?

When u was looking up gods she was one of the ones I looked coat at. She lost a fight with the scorpion, and went I'd into hiding. That's the inky reason why I drew that conclusion.

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Khakil walks up to the rings and tries to rotate the center one.

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It's nigh impossible to get a grip on the polished metal, and the rings don't budge one bit.

Can Trifle let us know what runes are currently in the noon rings and in what order?

Khakil pera behind the contraption to see what lies beyond.

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The current order is (top to bottom) Areshkagal, Aldinach, Lamashtu.

You cannot see beyond. The portal extends wall to wall (the map is a little off in that regard).

Khakil lines up one of the amulets on the podium and places it down. He yells back to the others:

"I hope you're all ready! Here goes something! "

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The amulet settles into place with a little "*thunk.*"

Make an intelligence check.

Cott peers over Khakil's shoulder and ponders the orientation of the amulet.

Intelligence: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

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