Mummy's Mask

Game Master Samy

Deseri takes her place in order near Aleris. Switching from her short spear to a morning star.

Harmose has no idea of the prices of the items found. Kito appraises the onyx and silver holy symbol to be worth approximately 100gp.

You open the secret door on the eastern wall, and proceed into a dim, dark passage of solid stonework, the deepest you've been under the Half-Dead City, and you can easily feel the masses of earth above your heads. At one point, the ceiling feels noticeably damp, and there's a slick of water on the floor. This hallway is so narrow as to only allow for traversing single file, and it ends in a door that is unlocked, untrapped, but closed.

Please give me a single file marching order, and then we'll open the door and see what happens.

Turel had been silent as the party traveled deeper under the city. He ran his hand over the stone wall, feeling a strange sense of deja vu flooding his mind...

I HAVE been here before! Nooo, not the same place...or could it be...I...I know not?

As the group arrives at the door and seeing it is not trapped, he turns to Ra-Khefer. "I shall be right behind you."

My suggested marching order here is (in order): Ra-Khefer, Turel, Polux, Qari, Aleris, Harmose, Deseri, and Kito.

As they proceed onward and the narrowness of the hallway forces them to walk single file, Aleris feels a tightening in her chest as she contemplates just how far below ground they must be. No sun, no cool breezes, just untold feet of earth above their heads.

She glances upward nervously. Did the ceiling suddenly...lower? No, no of course not. Just her imagination. Right?

But what if it wasn't? What if it was about to come down and crush them all?

No, don't think about it. We'll be done and out of here before you know it. Don't think about it. Why is it so warm down here???

Palms slick with sweat, she grips her morningstar as they come to a halt and prepare themselves for whatever lies beyond the door ahead.

Proposed marching order works for me.

At one point, the ceiling feels noticeably damp, and there's a slick of water on the floor.

Concerned, Ra inspected the tunnel stonework and foundations here for stability.

"I shall be right behind you."

At this point, Ra simply nodded his agreement. Angling his shield so as to pass through the narrow tunnel, he advanced when the party was ready to move forward.

I would prefer to be between Qari and Aleris. That puts me in position to help the two ranged people via Guidance. Assuming this is acceptable, she casts Guidance on Qari, Aleris and herself before giving the Thumbs Up to go through the door.

New suggested marching order is (in order): Ra-Khefer, Turel, Polux, Qari, Kito, Aleris, Harmose, Deseri.

Deep under the Necropolis, Harmose contemplates the heavy stone passage, and tries to think like Akhentepi. Would Ahkentepi set a trap to send hundreds of tons of rubble descending upon their heads?

No. It would potentially wreck his grave goods, and impede his access to all the little luxuries he accumulated for himself here. This isn't the trap.

Harmose breathes easier. At the sight of the door though, he's disappointed. "No hieroglyphs, and this door seems otherwise far too unadorned to be a final resting place. Still, with a false tomb above, maybe Akhentepi wanted the anonymity?" He pauses and then shakes his head at himself. "Guess we'll find out soon enough. We're funneled here. If there's a trap, we can disable it. If there's a guardian still active, it's likely another construct like the others we've seen. Hit it hard, hit it fast, and move into the room so that everyone can get a shot. If there's undead... same rules apply. We've got numbers on our side. It's our only advantage."

Marching order modified by Kito is fine with me. Samy, let's go.

Qari was not a fan of feeling squished as the environment had began doing to the group. She tried to extend her arms to the side and more or less push the walls apart, of course to no avail. She swallowed hard, trying to keep her focus as they continued walking down their shrinking path.

the rear works I guess

Deseri doesn't comment on being shuffled to the back. Quietly following the others she mostly keeps her eye behind her.

Ra-Khefer feels fairly confident that there is no stability problems despite the slight water trickle.

You open the door to the final room of Akhentepi's tomb.

---A18---
A sarcophagus covered in gold leaf rests on a raised stone platform in the center of this chamber. The casket’s cover is carved the likeness of an adult man with his arms crossed over his chest, and covered in thick coat of dust. Two ornate chests sit beyond the dais in the northeast and southeast corners, and between them stand two large funerary urns. The sole exit is a door to the west.
---A18---

The room is three squares north-south and four squares east-west, with the sacrophagus taking up the two squares in the center.

As soon as Ra-Khefer sets foot inside the room, there is a hissing noise, and in a blur of motion, he is set upon by a gleaming snakelike figure. Everyone else is still in the hallway leading up to the final chamber.

Enemy Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

If your Perception beats that, you may take action in the surprise round.

Enemy Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

The creature attacks Ra-Khefer on the surprise round.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 plus poison
Black Adder Venom: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 11; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con damage; cure 1 save.

Identify creature is Knowledge Arcana.

Before Ra can bow his head in respect, he is set upon!
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4 Nope, no surprise action.
Fort save vs poison: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Save!
Initiative: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

Round 1____________
Ra lashed out with his greathammer, then steps to one side to open up the passageway.
greathammer attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 for a possible 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 bludgeoning damage.

Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 Alertness from Thera on shoulder

Kito only detects that there is a battle ahead after hearing the creature strike.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 Close but no cigar!
Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Even though a part of her knows she should have expected more resistance than what they'd encountered, Aleris still manages to be caught off-guard as Ra-Khefer suddenly bellows in pain from up ahead. Cursing the tight confines of the corridor, she calls upon Shelyn to grant her favor in battle as the others also leap into action.

Casting Divine Favor; +1 luck bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls for 1 minute.

Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Qari holds her action, reading a blast, if the enemy should pass in front of her.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Initiative: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

Damn, that snake was fast and quiet... Even though he was expecting something like this, Harmose was surprised by the attack. By Horus, what is that thing?

'Gleaming' sounds like construct to me... Is it another construct?

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Harmose grabs another scoop of wet gloppy flour from his backpack, preparing to move up and take a shot as soon as the hallway clears a little.

Free Action: Identify?
Delay for the hallway to clear and at least some of the others to move more fully into the room

Imitative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Perception: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (18) - 2 = 16

Paying more attention to looking behind than in front Deseri is rather surprised when Ra-Khefer is attacked. Quickly waving her hands and mumbling to herself.

Casting Deathwatch.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Turel pulls himself back from his reverie as Ra-Khefer opens the door and reacts quickly as the snake-like creature lashes out at the oread. He slips under Ra-Khefers guard and dodges to the other side of the creature, trying to draw its attention away from the others. Once in position he lashes out with his foot targeting the nerve centers which control body movement trying to cripple it briefly.

Move: Tumble into room 15' next to the creature. Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Standard: Unarmed attack Scorpion Style: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 and if this unarmed attack hits, you deal damage normally, and the target's base land speed is reduced to 5 feet for 3 rounds unless it makes a DC 14 Fort save.

Pretty much everybody is surprised, so on the surprise round only the enemy acts. Then on the first normal round, the enemy's initiative is the lowest, so everybody takes the above actions before the enemy's second attack.

Harmose knows that the enemy is an iron cobra, a metal-forged construct in the image of said snake. Highlights of its skill set include Damage Reduction 5/-, Spell Resistance 13 and construct traits.

Ra-Khefer's greathammer strike manages to injure the iron cobra, although not as much as he may have hoped.

Turel tumbles successfully into the room, but his scorpion style strike just barely misses the iron cobra.

Polux is the next in line to the room. He may post his round 1 action retroactively.

The iron cobra attacks again at the end of round 1, trying to hit Ra-Khefer again.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Critical?: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15 I believe that's a crit.
Damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 3) + 2 = 11 plus poison again
Black Adder Venom: Bite—injury; save Fort DC 11; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Con damage; cure 1 save

On taking the critical hit, Ra is flung backward into a wall and slides down to a sitting position.
Fort save vs poison: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Doh! Ra takes 1d2 ⇒ 1 Con damage.

Round 2________
Incredibly, Ra put his hand against the wall and levered himself back onto his feet using his greathammer. (Move act.)
His face a mask of blood, and with venom burning through his veins, he glared at the Iron Cobra with one amethyst eye.
"An excellent blow. Well struck! But I am of the PAH-MET!" He gritted out, spitting blood.
Fort save vs poison: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15 Save!

"Ra-Khefer, get back!"

I desperately need a map to figure out tactics, ranged effects and spells. Lacking a graphical map, here's a rough and ready alphabetic one. I'm dyslexic, so I drew it East to West rather than West to East, but it should give us all our relative positions and where the empty spaces are.

____________________________________

C x x T
U S S I P Q A K H D
C x x R

And then Hmm notices that she has to leave for work...
Another post with actions will come later, but let's assume for now that Harmose shares the results of his knowledge checks. I will always share them.

Assuming that Hermosa's map is mostly correct...although I had thought that Kito was between Q and A.

"Polux, move up! If you move up to it, I can get just behind you and heal Ra!"

Delay for Polux to move up. After that move up just behind him and use the Wand of CLW on Ra.

Qari delays for Polux to move, if possible, giving her line of sight on the iron beast.

Deseri delays until she has a chance to attack.

Okay, let's take another stab at the map.

Kito pointed out that she is between Aleris and Qari. (I've also been told, privately, that my map is confusing with the Map Key spoilered. So I am un-spoilering it. )

I've also come to realize that Ra-Khefer stepped into the room before he was attacked. That means that the Iron Cobra must be sitting on the sarcophagus. And since Turel also moved into the room, that means that there are two spaces up front... One was vacated by Turel in the line. One was where Ra-Khefer got attacked when he came into the room.

Does this make sense, GM?

____________________________________

C x x T
U S $ x x P Q K A H D
C x x R

Map Key:

x = Empty Space
C = Chest
U = Urns
$ = Iron Cobra on Sarcophagus
S = Sarcophagus
I = Iron Cobra
T = Turel
P = Polux
Q = Qari
A = Aleris
K = Kito
H = Harmose
D = Deseri

____________________________________________

Harmose's Actions, Round Two

Harmose, in an effort to free up everyone else and get a clear shot, does something a little insane. If he can blind it, he can slow its attacks and make it easier for the rest of the team.

He tumbles somewhat clumsily past the cobra, and then hits the cobra square in its nasty glowing eyes.

Acrobatics Tumble into room: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Flour Goop Dirty Trick vs Touch AC: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Aaargh! I may have just killed myself here. Why couldn't those rolls have been reversed? Here's hoping its CMD is lower than its armor class.

NEW MAP -- After Harmose moves

C x x T
U S $ x x P Q K A x D
C x H R

Map Key:

x = Empty Space
C = Chest
U = Urns
$ = Iron Cobra on Sarcophagus
S = Sarcophagus
I = Iron Cobra
T = Turel
P = Polux
Q = Qari
A = Aleris
K = Kito
H = Harmose
D = Deseri

With the corridor so narrow and the room ahead so small, Aleris has little choice but to wait for the choke point to clear before she can move up to help the others.

Aleris will delay until some of the people ahead of her can move.

I was going to do the same thing that Harmose did but the notes under Acrobatics says you move at half speed when you attempt to move through a threatened area. Is that half speed for the whole movement or half for the actual threatened square only?

I've always run it as half speed for the area you tumble through, which in this case is the threatened area.

I actually did a rough map in the Google Drive map that we've been using, in the upper left corner. That might be more helpful. Can't link it now since I'm on work computer and Google doesn't let my browser access since it's outdated... I was only halfway done with it but if you need a graphical aid, editing it might be easier?

That would be easier... We didn't know there was a map! I looked at the tomb of Akhentepi, and at the other maps in the drive. None of them seem to describe the part of the tomb where we are.

It also sounds like I need to retcon, since apparently Harmose could not move forward that far and tumble. Sigh.

_________________________________

Ye Olde Retcon -- Round 2

Harmose runs up in front of Polux, and throws gloop. He hopes that this will blind the cobra so that others can position without triggering attacks of opportunity.

Dirty trick to blind vs. Touch Ac: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

I liked my other roll better!

New Map until Samy's one arrives.

C x x T
U S $ x H P Q K A x D
C x x R

Map Key:

x = Empty Space
C = Chest
U = Urns
$ = Iron Cobra on Sarcophagus
S = Sarcophagus
I = Iron Cobra
T = Turel
P = Polux
Q = Qari
A = Aleris
K = Kito
H = Harmose
D = Deseri

If this actually works, Samy, let us know? It would help a lot of positioning this round.

Sure, let's roll with that.

Are you saying the cobra has a face full of flour? :D

Oh, I thought you were talking about the mapping instead of the dirty trick... Lemme dig up the monster's CMD... yeah, 14 should be enough. So yes it does.

Seeing that the snake's face was full of flour, Kito quickly rushes forward with the wand in one hand and her dagger in the other. She runs past the snake so she can get next to Ra-Khefer. She quickly activates the wand to heal him.

"Boo-Boo, Be Gone!"

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Blind, so Kito assumes the snake can't take an attack of opportunity.

--- New Map ---

C x x T
U S $ x H P Q x A x D
C x K R

Can blind creatures still take AoO's? If so, the only open spot is next to the creature and I'm not moving up to provoke as I used my ranged attack...

You can't execute an attack of opportunity against an opponent with total concealment, even if you know what square or squares the opponent occupies.

In that case, move me up next to T in our map, please.

Qari quickly sneaks past the snake, taking advantage of his temporary blindness. Once out of range of his fangs, she blasts away with her beam of cold, as the rest of the group seems to feel it get just a bit colder in the room for a second.

RTA with PBS into melee 1d20 + 2 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 2 + 1 - 4 = 14

Damage 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 1 = 8

New Map

C Q x T
U S $ x H P x x A x D
C x K R

Round 2 Action

Seeing Qari suddenly dart into the room from up ahead, Aleris realizes that whatever Harmose did must have worked and follows suit. Nimbly stepping around the flour-covered cobra into the space between the tiefling and Turel, she strikes at the iron snake with her morningstar.

Attack (Morningstar; Divine Favor, Flanking w/Kito): 1d20 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 1 + 2 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

Aleris moves to the space between Q & T on the map.

New Map

C Q A T
U S $ x H P x x x x D
C x K R

Round 2:

Seeing the iron cobra blinded and realizing he is unable to cripple it Turel switches tactics here, lashing out at it with his spear.

Attack, Spear: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14; damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Map unchanged.

Guys, apologies for this long period without posting - it was all family time ;)

Now, let's see if I'm not lost. I would have tried to tumble past the snake, and then attack with reach, but I'm not fully sure of what the positions were during round 1. Also, I don't think there are any free flanking spots, unless I am on top of an urn or chest (since I don't think Qari threatens?), so:

Should I even roll this?

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

No action on Surprise round.

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

--Round 1--

Polux drops his longspear and moves toward the snake and past Harmose, first veering right, but pivoting to his left at the last moment, trying to elude their opponent to gain an advantageous position, drawing his morning star as he goes, and swinging with both hands.

Morningstar, 2h: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Damage if it hit: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Morningstar CRIT?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Additional damage if it crits: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

--Round 2--

Again Polux hammers against the snakelike creature as hard as he can - "Stand fast Master Khefer. Back up to safety! Let it munch on some flour and steel for now"

Morningstar, 2h: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Damage if it hit: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Directly across from Turel would give flank to Polux

Welcome back!

Polux, you can't go into Ra-Khefer's spot, so let's say you went across from Turel, giving you both flank.

___________________________________

New Map:

C Q A T
U S $ x H x x x x x D
C P K R

___________________________________
Also, Samy, Deseri is still very ill. She PMed me last night about something else and said so. Do we want to just bot her?

Since Turel would have then flanked the iron cobra with Polux his initial attack would have hit, but seeing as it is immune to the Scorpion strike and has DR he would have done no damage to it anyway.

New map
C Q A T
U S $ x H D
C P K R

Sorry for the meager posting. I am still rather ill. So a Double move to get behind Harmose. And she can attack next round or heal if that is more desired.

A little overwhelmed by all the discussion, let's see if I have everyone's actions down...if I missed anyone, don't hesitate to ping.

Round 1 Retroactive
Polux hits iron cobra for 5hp dmg. (7 total)

Round 2
Ra-Khefer just a move action.
Harmose dirty tricks iron cobra for blinded.
Kito heals Ra-Khefer for 5hp.
Qari hits iron cobra for ???hp dmg (is SR applicable?)
Aleris hits iron cobra for 1hp dmg. (8)
Turel misses iron cobra.
Polux hits iron cobra for 4hp dmg. (12)
Deseri double move.

That looks about right to me!

Correct for my character. I see no errors for the others.

Caster level check 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2