Luke's Crimson Throne Campaign

Game Master GM Crimson

Knowledge (Arcana: House Drake): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

Unfortunately, Tassira doesn't seem to remember much about house drakes.

Probably because Mother and Father wouldn't let me have one for a pet.

Nevertheless, she tries to calm the little creature, speaking softly to it in Draconic.

Diplomacy?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

"That looks like one of those little drakes that helped us out when we got in over our heads with that swarm of imps a while back," Kayleigh reflects aloud. Hearing Tassira speaking with the tiny dragon in its own language, the priestess whispers, "Ask it if it knows where Barvasi kept the key to the cage."

Examining the wounds of her friends and the poor captive drake, Kayleigh asks the others if they'd like her to channel healing energy again now before they explore belowdecks.

"...oh. How'd that slip my mind?" Tassira blinks.

She shakes her head and speaks in Draconic once again.

Regeris looks at the key he's trying to open the footlocker with. "Uh, maybe this is it?"

Emi goes to see if the door leading outside locks. If it does she secures it, then takes a peek and listen down the stairs.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

The drake is kind of cute she supposes, if she thinks about it and squints just right. Maybe they grow on you over time.

She's also burying her anxiety over STILL not having the letters, tamping that down as far back in her mind as she can.

Emi walks back over close to the others, and keeps her voice low so it won't travel.

"Some of this really needs to wait until later. This is a pause in the fight, not the end. The longer we idle here, the more time they have to sort themselves out downstairs and ready for us. We have them on their heels, we need to keep them there and finish this quickly."

The drake stammers a reply, its eyes still darting around the room in nervous agitation. Its frustration makes its voice sound like sandpaper rubbed vigorously over wood.

"The key is there on the top shelf, in a cup. Probably covered in webbing. Please let me out!" it pleads, in common speech.

Tassira is quite surprised when the little dragon speaks Common.

She moves to fetch the cup from the shelf and retrieve the key.

"Found the letters," says Regeris as he quickly starts stuffing everything into his pack. He nods over to Emi. "Rest is done. We need to get out of here."

Nebbin nods, but looks nervous.

"Shouldn't we do something about everyone else? Are they just going to keep trying to kill us? Maybe we should tell them we don't want to fight them or hurt them if they won't try to hurt us."

Nebbin's not a murder hobo, but *I* totally think we should murder hobo the rest of the people in here, or our problem's not going away.

Kayleigh gives Emi a grim nod before casting light upon the blade of Nebbin's greatsword.

"Care to lead us into the belly of the beast...or boat, in this case?" she asks the big fighter.

Kayleigh will follow behind Nebbin when we head down the stairs, unless someone talks her out of it.

@DM Luke: Does belowdecks count as a continuation of the encounter in terms of the Harrow Points or will we have to use another if we so choose?

Perhaps rudely, Emi snatches the bundle of letters from Regeris and stuffs them away on herself. She been chasing them for too long to allow for any kind of chance they won't wind up in her hands.

"Well done!" she exclaims.

Emi catches Kayleigh by the arm.

"Best let me follow Nebbin down. We'll probably need to force them back to make enough space to get everyone down the stairs."

Emi's not exactly a murder hobo, really! But yes, she agrees. Leave nobody to even contemplate contesting us on Eel's End, and also send a message to Pilts.

Kayleigh nods at Emi's words and whispers, "Be careful." Then she adds, "Keep an eye on Nebbin--keep him safe."

Remembering how an Eel's End thug had burst in behind the party, wounding and threatening Tassira earlier, the armored cleric takes rearguard as the friends prepare to see what awaits in the ship's hold.

Kayleigh's heart has darkened since this campaign's beginning, but she's not a murder hobo yet, either. More like a mama bear protecting her cubs, and not the least bit pleased that a pack of jackals is lurking just outside the cave/temple looking for a chance to cause mayhem.

Ah...Pilts Swastel. Don't leave Kayleigh alone in the same room with that swine. What he and his crew did to the priests of Aroden is what started Kayleigh's transformation from sweetheart to Milani's Avenger. And though it didn't affect her strongly at the time, Kayleigh's holding a burning grudge against him for the break-in at Emi's old place and (especially) the burning down of Nebbin's flat after the incident at Exemplary Excrables. She has neither forgotten nor forgiven.

Oops--meant to have Kayleigh channel positive energy to top everyone off before we head belowdecks. Here ya go! (That includes you, little house drake!)

Channel Positive Energy #3 of 7: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 5) = 7

Nebbin nods and, once the others are ready, descends down the stairs, sword at the ready.

Perception (+1 to avoid being surprised by foes): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Sigh. Well, I guess at least we got that roll out of the way.

Regeris throws a light spell down in to the basement as Nebbin descends, waiting at the rear of the group with his bow drawn.

Once Tassira's retrieved the key, she opens the house drake's cage.

"Do you have a name, little guy?"

Sorry to be slow.

The little key fits perfectly into the lock on the cage door. Tassira has barely turned the lock when the door explodes open in her hand. It's not a trap, but the drake itself, hitting the door with all its force the moment all the tumblers fall into place. It blows through the door and hovers in Tassira's face for the briefest of seconds, then dives headlong into the books on the shelf. Items fly in every direction, and more than one of those items is a big hairy spider. The face of the drake peeks back out of the wreckage of the shelf, a severed spider leg dangling from its jaw. Its stare follows another of the skittering vermin as it flees under the desk.

And at this moment a glass missile comes lobbed up the stairs out of the darkness. It smashes on Nebbin as he holds his sword out to receive Kayleigh's light blessing. The contents splash all over his clothes and armor leaving scorch marks and raising a terrible stink. Where it touches his skin, it burns like fire. 9 hp acid damage.

Combat! The new initiative sequence means the last encounter is over for the purposes of Harrow points. On the mechanical side, the bomb thrower is the only participant who acted in the surprise round of this combat. So first round you take is a full round, and only the thrower is not flatfooted.

Initiative order is:

Nebbin 25
Tassira 21
Bomb thrower 20
Regeris 14
Kayleigh 12 (+4)
House drake 12 (+2)
Emi 9

straight 20 for Tassira's initiative. The red fireball d20 giveth, and she taketh away. I'm going to try to post 2 side-by-side combat maps for the two levels. we'll see if that works. The two grids line up, so (x,y) on level 1 is directly above (x,y) on level 2. The group is currently on level 1.

@DM LUKE: I can tell you right now that Kayleigh will delay until after Emi to allow her to get down the stairs and into battle before her. Might still be time to edit the post and Init Order. :)

"OW!" Nebbin hisses as the acid splashes over him.

He rushes down the stairs, pushing into the room with a swing of his blade.

Move to 7-2 or 6-3, which may provoke from the thing at 7-3 if it has a weapon in hand; then attack that person.
Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 8 - 2 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 12 ⇒ (1, 1) + 12 = 14

Nebbin's quick reaction combined with his reckless charge seems to catch the ambushers by surprise. A heavily cloaked man at Nebbin's elbow is late with his attack, and his curious-shaped sickle only catches its tip in Nebbin's shirt. A second attacker hidden under the stairs peeks out and shoots at the warrior with a hand crossbow, but the shot is way behind the speeding target.

The man Nebbin rushes down to attack wears a protective lab apron and green spectacles. In his hands and at his belt he has all kinds of bottles and potions. He looks like a soft target, and Nebbin almost feels sorry for the man as he swings the blade, but the target turns out to be packing his own surprise. He's preternaturally quick and he nearly escapes the big man's attack entirely. Instead his stupid grin turns to a grimace of pain and he spins away, wounded and angry.

The deck Nebbin has stormed down to is lit by a lamp that's nailed to the mast. The whole port side of the vessel is one long gallery filled with dust, crates of cargo and webs. Everywhere webs. Little doors lead into private compartments or rooms along the starboard side of the ship. There are three of these doors (to Nebbin's right), all of them shut. Nebbin's fighting instincts inform him there's something else, further down the chamber. The shadows deepen and the cobwebs grow thick down in the stem of the Eel. There's also a door behind the ambushers behind Nebbin.

Tassira is up. Modified Initiative is:

Enemy with Hand Crossbow 25(+7)
Enemy with Sickle 25(+2)
Nebbin 25
Tassira 21
Bomb thrower 20
Regeris 14
House drake 12 (+2)
Emi 9
Kayleigh 9-

The shadows thrown by moving webs and crawling bodies play nightmarish strange, cast on the bulkhead of the old Eel. A memory swims up from the recesses of Nebbin's mind. The motherly voice - ghostly voice of Zelara, the Harrower who told his fortune on the day he met his new friends.

The card he chose was the dancer, and the whole thing does suddenly seem like some kind of dance of the macabre. Spiders crawl over everything down here, small and large. The dancer lives down here too, somewhere. And Nebbin's certainty crystalyizes on the belief that he's here to end the dance.

+2 to all Dex-based checks and +1 extra dodge bonus to AC for Nebbin for this encounter.

I was hoping to go one square farther (to 7-3), since I figured I'd already potentially be provoking an AoO, since I wanted to leave room for Emileva to come down.

Sorry Nebbin, adjusting. The bomb thrower has no weapon, so he can't take advantage of the chance. The sickle-wielder behind you, however is a different story. He took the attack that he'd prepared against the first person down the stairs. He takes the AoO here.

The silver bladed sickle comes around again as Nebbin passes, piercing through the side of his armor and slicing his back. The wound's pain is accompanied by an unfamiliar itching sensation and he throws a passing glance back at the man who's wounded him. It looks like there's two copies of the man, each of them pulling back the weapon that cut him.

Nebbin takes 5 hp of damage and needs to make a fort save vs poison.

Fort save: 1d20 + 7 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 5 = 20

Does Regeris have any line of sight to the baddies from his position or will he need to head down to join the fight?

Tassira carefully makes her way around the trapdoor to the top of the stairs. Her feet are primed and ready to move out of the way of incoming attacks.

Move to (2,4). Standard to take the Total Defence action.

I moved Regeris to a starting spot more consistent with the thread. From his perch to the side of the stairway, Regeris can see nothing of the fight. Just the port bulkhead next to the steps.

Tassira steps lightly past the hole in the floor and makes her way to the head of the steps. As she does so, a soft crunching at her feet makes her look down. She stops in horror as she realizes she's walking all over a blanket of tiny spiders who are pouring out of holes in the decking and covering the floor of the cabin. They're descending by thread from the ceiling above, coming out of the walls. The nascent swarm is coalescing around the top of the steps where the group is clustered.

Below, the bomb-thrower backpedals away from Nebbin. He retreats far enough to put the crates on his flank. He provokes an AoO, two if Nebbin has that combat reflexes feat. Assuming he survives that... He drains the sparkling potion in his hand and vanishes.

Regeris, Emi & Kayleigh may act. The swarm is not a thing yet that attacks or can be attacked.

Kayleigh's anger at the coward who hurled acid out of the darkness at Nebbin morphs into fearful concern when the spiders of the ship start to swarm.

"Did you get some acid or that icy stuff?" she asks Emileva, trying not to sound panicky. Then a sudden inspiration strikes her and she turns to the spider-munching drake, pointing at the top of the stairs, and asks, "I don't suppose you can breathe fire, can you? Lots of tasty spiders over there!"

This isn't right! How can the spiders know their master is dead and feel obligated to avenge him??!!

Just free actions for now 'til I see what develops.

Oh, good, here's that swarm we worried about.

Nebbin swings wildly as the man backs off.

Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 2 = 10
Damage: 2d6 + 12 ⇒ (5, 5) + 12 = 22

And I could've used a better roll there, dice bot. Now he's going to be invisible and sneak attack me and that's going to hurt.

Regeris mutters a prayer and heads down the latter before repositioning himself.

Climb down, 5' step to 6,3.

Emi moves down the stairs into the jostle forming below. She makes her way up to beside Nebbin as she looks around to take stock of the situation.

"What's the state of things Nebbin?"

Move to 7,3 beside Nebbin. Readying an attack for any non-ally moving into a square in front of them: 8,2 or 8,3

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Damage: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 = 9

@Kayleigh: Emi gave each person an acid flask back at the cathedral along with the antitoxin.

When Emi merely throws a glare in her direction in answer to her question, Kayleigh remembers Emi handing her a second glass flask when she handed out the antitoxin earlier--the one she wasn't supposed to drink!

Taking a step to her left {H3,V1}, the cleric digs the acid flask from her pack in anticipation of a full-out spider swarm.

Regeris vaults down the stairs and steps in to protect Nebbin's flank in the cramped fighting space.

The house drake bursts out of the wreckage of the shelf and hurtles into the space below the table, near the head of the stairs. The spider swarm is thickest there and spiders fly everywhere as the crazed drake snaps, claws and whips its tail around. If it heard the cleric's question, it's too busy fighting with its mouth to answer. The spiders swarm all over Tassira and the house drake, biting anyplace they can find purchase. Tassira takes 4 hp damage and needs to make saves vs nausea and poison (consecutive fort saves, the latter modified by antitoxin). The spider swarm is mustered at this point. Its footprint is the black shaded square on the map.

Emi shoulders her way down the steps and into the combat only to spot no sign of the bomb thrower. But just as she's convinced herself that the fight is in the rear of the ship, the webs that cover everything down here suddenly quake with motion and she's only just able to wheel around in time to attack a huge spider as it comes barreling through the darkness at Nebbin. The girl's heavy blade slices into the monster as it comes on, spraying its black blood. Nebbin gets bit by the spider for 1 hp damage and the need to save again vs poison.

The villain wielding the hand crossbow reloads as he backs his way toward the stern door. When he fires, it's at Regeris. The little quarrel pierces through his armor, drawing blood. 2 hp damage to Regeris, and he too must save vs poison. The sickle wielder tries to take Regeris's head off with his weapon, but the swing is wild and easy to duck under.

Giant Spider
Emi
Spider Swarm
Enemy with Hand Crossbow
Enemy with Sickle
Nebbin
Tassira
Bomb thrower
Regeris
House drake
Kayleigh

I think Tassira and I are up?

Fort save: 1d20 + 7 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 5 = 13 Damn; I was planning to write about how this antitoxin was one of the best uses of a disposable I've had and then I roll my 1.

Wincing slightly at the bite, even though it barely hurt, Nebbin brings his blade to bear, hoping to cut the stupid giant horrible spider down as quickly as possible.

"Spider!" he calls out in warning.

Might be at minuses if there's Strength damage involved.
Greatsword, power attack: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 8 - 2 = 16
Damage: 2d6 + 12 ⇒ (6, 1) + 12 = 19

Fortitude Save vs. Nausea: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Fortitude Save vs. Poison *Antitoxin*: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Revolted by the sudden influx of spiders, Tassira starts running for the door out of the ship.

Nebbin is down 2 points of strength.

The barbarian drives his weapon through the hapless vermin, killing it and slinging its carcass back among the webs and shadows. More spiders swarm over the webbed cargo and floor around Nebbin and Emi. They crawl over their arms and drop in their hair.

Another swarm forming in that part of the combat.

Tassira throws the lock and makes her way back out into the night air. Outside, no one remains on the deck of the Eel. The revelry out on the pier has come to a stop, and all eyes are fixed on Tassira as she comes out of the cabin suppressing a retch.

The bomb thrower suddenly reappears as a grinning shadow, standing back among some of the webbing. He tosses a bubbling green flask into the combat at Emileva and as it strikes her shoulder it explodes in caustic acid. Emileva takes 13 hp damage from an acid bomb. Nebbin and Regeris each take 3 hp acid damage as collateral.

Regeris, Kayleigh and Emi are up.

No Reflex save on the splash damage? Also did it hit the swarm too?

Kayleigh can't hold in a very nervous laugh when she hears Nebbin declare that he sees a spider belowdecks. Milani bless him--he's going to be hoarse if he keeps that up. ('Another spider! And another! And another...!')

Any frivolity leaves the cleric when Tassira gets swarmed by spiders and has to escape out onto the ship's deck. "Be careful!" Kayleigh shouts to the panicked mage. "We don't know who's lurking where!"

Milani guide my hand! she thinks as she lobs the vial of acid into the heart of the spider swarm.

acid flash splash weapon ranged touch: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 for acid damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2 x 1.5 = 3 acid damage.

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Regeris' day turns worse as the poison starts to work through his system. He passes his bow to his off hand before yanking out his longsword and slicing at the man adjacent to him, his eyes wild as spiders drop from all around.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23 Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

@Nebbin - Yep, they do and I missed typing it. We'll err on the side of the players and lower the acid damage to 2 for Nebbin and Regeris. The swarm would gather at the top of the round - the text was warning of the coming of the swarm, in case it affected your action. Emi's action will be the first that can harm it, but it does make sense that the splashed acid would inhibit the formation of the swarm there.

Regeris wounds the sickle-wielder. In the effort of melee the heavy amulet around his neck slips free and lies bare on his tunic. The spider, on its back and curled in a ball like a fist, rendered in tarnished silver.

Regeris's save is aided by the antitoxin that I presume he took before the encounter.

The house drake continues to romp through the swarm, smashing and eating arachnids. It looks up when it sees Tassira bolt from the cabin, then vaults onto the table and looks reproachfully at Kayleigh when the acid splashes over the blanket of vermin.

The new swarm coalesces around Nebbin's feet. They are streaming through the grate from down below and avoiding the fuming mess on Emi. Nebbin takes 4 hp damage after DR (which I assume applies), and needs to save v nausea and poison separately (like Tassira above).

"Move away Nebbin!" Emi winces from the pain of the acid, and draws out her own. She throws the flask down on the floor in front of her where the spiders are emerging from the grate.

Without anywhere to move herself, Emi decides she'll just have to take the splash and suck it up.[/b]

Attack Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

The target of the the flask is square 8,3, the grate immediately in front of her. If I understand correctly that's where the spiders are coming from.

Fort save (vs. nausea): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Fort save (vs. poison): 1d20 + 7 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 5 = 27

Nebbin winces as his wounds begin taking a toll, but then shudders as the spiders begin crawling up his legs, creeping him out. I assume that fails vs. the distraction, but don't think my action's up yet.

@Regeris - Reading back, I neglected to say you couldn't just pack all the coin you found in that footlocker in a bag. It's alot of coins - several heavy sacks. You could take everything else you found in the chest in your bag, but there's still a stout chest of coin upstairs that someone has to cart out of here. Or that maybe Tassira would need to transfer the contents of into the magical sack.

The swarm mostly came up through the grate, but has coalesced at the beginning of the turn and moved by Emi's turn to the squares marked in black on the map. The acid has no real residual effect, so no harm redirecting to target the swarm square (6,2) to maximize damage done. It does splash alot more folk though. Nebbin, Regeris, Emi and Sickle-boy take 1 hp, while the swarm takes 6.

Nebbin's head swims and he struggles to keep calm as his stomach turns over on him.

In the cabin above, the swarm refocuses on Kayleigh standing in the back of the room. The spiders crawl up her legs, biting anything they can find to bite. 4 hp damage, and Kayleigh must run the save gauntlet (Fort v nausea, fort v poison).

The man with the hand crossbow reloads and fires again. This little bolt skips off the inquisitor's sword and embeds itself in the ceiling.
The priest with the sickle takes another swing at Regeris and misses, then steps back a step.

Regeris needs to make a (pretty important) new save v poison.

modified init:
Spider Swarm below
Emi
Spider Swarm above
Enemy with Hand Crossbow
Enemy with Sickle
Nebbin
Tassira
Bomb thrower
Regeris
House drake
Kayleigh

Nebbin and Tassira are up.

"Gyaah!" Nebbin cries as the spiders swarm over him, pushing to get away from them. Move to 9-3, right below the bomb-thrower, who I'm hoping has nowhere to 5-ft. step.

At least Kayleigh's safe upstairs (and Tassira), he thinks.

Kayleigh feels a scream building up deep inside her as the carpet of spiders begins climbing up her legs, biting as it comes. The pain of the tiny mandibles is intense but superficial. The cleric clamps her mouth shut, knowing that the group can ill afford Nebbin thundering to her rescue at this moment.

Fort Save (nausea): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Fort Save (poison; antitoxin): 1d20 + 6 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 5 = 21

Ha! You know me too well.

Eep.

Save vs Poison: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

All those saves pass. Regeris took 1 point of CON.

Tassira gives the onlookers a sheepish grin before turning on her heel and heading back inside, taking out her flask of acid as she moves.

She gets two steps in before throwing it at the spider swarm!

Move to (3,4) while drawing acid flask, throw flask at spiders.

Ranged Touch Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Damage?: 1d6 ⇒ 1

...so, that'd work out to 2 damage. Grrrr.

Of course the bomb thrower keeps backpedaling and tossing the hateful acid bombs. This one sails right over Nebbin's shoulder and explodes behind him, splattering Emi, Nebbin and the swarm with acid. Both are entitled to a reflex save to take half of the splash damage, which is 3 hp.

Between the alchemist's bombs and Emi's bomb, the lower-deck spider swarm dissipates. Their smoking bodies litter the burnt floor. Behind the retreating alchemist there's an angry chittering, clicking sound that fills the shadows. He looks back nervously over his shoulder, giggling and reaching for another flask.

Regeris, Kayleigh and Emi are up.