Navior's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master Navior

Round 8: HP = 22/22 :: AC = 18 :: Touch = 14 :: Flatfooted = 14; Active Effects: Greased Armor, Bless

Tevyn grits his teeth as their luck turns against them. "Desna, a little help, please."

He takes a deep breath and holds it as he lifts his readied bow, studies the target and releases.

Blessed, Point Blank Shot: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 1 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 1 = 10

As the spider-humanoid tries to hit Melon, the young woman manages to get a surprise attack in on it. Meanwhile, Corinna opens the gate to find that there is nothing waiting outside to attack her. Malan fires off another arrow, which goes much too far to the left and narrowly misses Melon.

The string of bad luck comes to an end, however, as Tevyn sends and arrow straight into the spider-humanoid's back. With a yell, it falls forward, landing face first in the dirt. It twitches for a moment, then lies still.

COMBAT OVER
Except...

You barely have time to breathe after your last opponent falls when you hear sounds from on top of a building to the north. You hear the sound of something heavy moving over stone and then a large, rather ratty-looking catapult appears at the edge of the roof of the northern building (in squares V-W 28-29). A couple more dire corbies are manning it and setting it to fire.

It will take them a full round to ready the catapult, which is enough time for you all to get into the gatehouse and into safety if you choose. Or you can choose to attack them, in which case, we'll roll initiative and start combat anew!

Lower Level Map Updated

"More of them?" Melon's voice is exasperated. "I think Corinna is where it is at." She is about to follow after Corinna when she realizes that not everybody is as mobile - she hurries over and tries to help Gilfroy out of his webbing.

Not sure what to roll, just add appropriate modifiers 1d20 ⇒ 11

"More of them?" Melon's voice is exasperated. "I think Corinna is where it is at." She is about to follow after Corinna when she realizes that not everybody is as mobile - she hurries over and tries to help Gilfroy out of his webbing.

Not sure what to roll, just add appropriate modifiers 1d20

It would be an aid another, either Strength check or Escape Artist. I would allow Melon to use either one, regardless of which one Gilfroy uses. I will point out though that, even with the movement penalty from being entangled, Gilfroy can still make it into the gatehouse in a single round with a double move.

Are there murder holes or arrow slits in the gatehouse where Tevyn could shoot at the catapult?

Yes, AM25 has a murder hole where you could aim effectively at the catapult.

LOL!! I completely missed that Gilfroy wasn't anchored!!

Seeing the catapult being readied, Gilfroy shouts out, "Oh, s&@$!!!!!!" and starts hopping frantically into the gate house, tripping a few feet short and tumbling head over heels into the relative safety of cover.

Tevyn pauses, uncertain of the best choice. He had little more desire to be in a building under attack by a catapult than out in the open but it would not be easy to get a clear shot at his attackers from out here either.

Quickly scanning the guardhouse, he spies a reasonable place to attack from and moves into the tower toward the nearest murder hole, pulling an arrow free and readying it in the process.

Double-move to AM25.

Can we see the doors into the castle itself from here? It's not going to do us any good to get pinned down in the gatehouse.

The main doors of the castle go diagonally from AE32 to AF33.

"We can't get trapped in here!" Corinna insists to the first of her allies to duck into the gatehouse. "We have to get inside the main building! If we go that way, we'll have cover from the catapult and may be able to climb to the roof! If they can get up there, then we know there's a way down into the castle!"

Corinna's assumption is that the doors to the castle are barred from the inside as they were in the gatehouse, but if we go east, we can use the building itself as cover; they'll at least have to move the catapult to re-target us, which should take some time.

"This seems a prime opportunity to exercise a strategic withdrawal." Malan says to Corinna as he trudges his way out of the webs.

"We can't leave now!" Corinna protests in alarm. "We'll never get back in here again now they know about us! They'll have the catapult set up to bombard the road before we ever get to the gate! Worse, they'll come out after us and attack the caravan, and you know it can't move! We can't leave them in a position of strength! It's like stirring up an anthill." She looks to Tevyn for support.

"Corinna's right. We must stay and finish this now. I can shoot at the corbies manning the catapult from here. Can anyone make it to the roof?"

"So we are going to make a brave stand against an onrushing horde of bird-men. You humans know how to show an elf a good time."

You rush into the gatehouse. Just as the last of you gets in, you hear a tremendous CRACK! as the corbies release the catapult. You also hear startled yells from the corbies as the throwing arm of the catapult breaks and flies off with the rock in a separate direction. The rock they were trying to throw lands with a thud some distance in front of the gatehouse. The arm lands on top of the stables.

The corbies yell and screech and pull back away from the edge of the building roof, out of sight. (If you wish, you can get in one round of actions against them before they pull back out of sight.)

"They are running?" Melon blinks, then charges out into the courtyard where they can see her and gives them the ancient come hither salute of martial artists everywhere: powerful stance, one arm behind the back, one arm towards, palm up, beckoning.

Corinna's relief at seeing the catapult break is overcome by the practical consideration that this is a brief respite to be made the most of. "Melon," she scolds, "stop striking a pose, and try the doors to see if they're barred. Malan," she turns to the cobwebbed elf, "did you see any part of the castle wall that might be easier to climb than another?"

Assuming Malan and Gilfroy are still webbed, since they used their round to move into the gatehouse rather than attempt an escape.

With a slight smile of pleasure at the way the catapult fails their attackers Tevyn takes a single shot as they flee.

Blessed Shot: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Tevyn catches one of the corbies in the behind as it flees. It yelps as it disappears behind the cover of the edge.

Malan and Gilfroy are still webbed, yes.

Then Malan will try to escape.
CMB 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Escape Artist check: 1d20 ⇒ 19

Whew! He finally pulls free of enough of the webbing that he can move unobstructed. He scrapes it off, throws it to the ground (pausing to shake his hand a few times as the stuff sticks to it), then shudders. "Disgusting stuff!"

"So we have to worry about the whole place being on alert now. Do we stay here and face them all? Or do we return to the caravan and have them face all of us?"

"We finish our task," Tevyn says, his expression grave. "If they continue to fight us, we'll kill them. We don't want to involve the caravan in this. Remember, Ameiko is in no position to defend herself."

Gilfroy manages to finally extract himself from the annoying webs. A few strands still cling to his hair, but he can move freely again. As if to show him up, Malan casually wipes away the sticky webs on his first try, almost as if they were never there.

You seem to be leaning towards pushing on and trying to get into the main castle. As such, your options are as follows:

1. You can try the main doors. Now that the catapult has fallen apart, you're less of a target there (although the corbies could still jump down at you). Of course, that assumes they don't have another catapult that they could wheel out to attack you with.

2. There was another, smaller door back in the east courtyard (in square AF48). You could move to there and try that.

3. You could make your way to the top of the wall (either through one of the towers or through the trap doors here in the gatehouse) and try to find a way into the main building from up there.

4. You could try to find another option in one of the side buildings, such as the stables or the building the catapult was on top of (since that building is right against the main building, it's conceivably possible there's a door to the main building inside it). You're not entirely sure where the door to the catapult building is, but it's probably in one of squares U, V, or W 26.

My vote is to try the main doors then - if we can get the corbies to come for us before they can alert others (or at least before they get reinforcements), then we are a step ahead in the game.

As nobody else has voiced an opinion, Melon's vote wins unanimously! :)

You move quickly from the gatehouse to the main doors. The corbies on the roof of the side building continue to stay back, but you can hear a few squawks coming from that direction. The main door, perhaps surprisingly, is unlocked and swings open easily to reveal a huge room with rotting, faded banners hanging from the walls. They depict a stylized castle sitting on a seaside cliff. Thick stone pillars support the ceiling, while at the far end of the hall sits an old wooden throne, its back carved to resemble the towers of a castle wrapped in the coils of a serpentine dragon. A strange looking man sits in the throne. He looks Tien, except that he has deep red skin and an incredibly prodigious nose. His hair is wild an unkempt. Four dire corbies are also in the room, divided into two pairs, and you apparently interrupted them in the middle of a dance (although there's no music).

"Oh goody!" the man exclaims. "You're just in time for the big death scene! Kill them!" The corbies turn to attack.

Corinna Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Gilfroy Initiative: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15
Malan Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Melon Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Tevyn Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Dire Corbies Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Strange Man Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Order: Strange Man, Tevyn, Corinna, Dire Corbies, Melon, Gilfroy, Malan.

ROUND 1

The big-nosed man jumps up and begins to dance a little jig. "Ooh, my favourite part!" he says. Suddenly, corby #7 seems to speak without moving its mouth: "You took my wings, you flying things!"

Next Up: Tevyn, Corinna, Dire Corbies, Melon, Gilfroy, Malan, Strange Man.

Lower Level Map Updated

Oh, just for a laugh, I thought I'd let you know that there's a humorous misprint in the book, which results in it listing the man as having 1600 hp. :)

Honestly, he doesn't have that many. :)

Can I assume that Melon's styles are still active?

"Anybody have some healing to go around?"

"Of course!"

Gilfroy touches her with a spell.
1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

And for himself..1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Can I assume that Melon's styles are still active?

It's only been a couple of rounds, during which the party has been "on alert" as it were, so I see no problem with saying that Melon has kept her styles active.

Gilfroy touches her with a spell.

And for himself..

Given the brief passage of time, Gilfroy could get off one of these spells while the party gathers at the door, but the second will have to wait until his action in round 1.

Actually, some healing would be much appreciated by Malan at this moment. He took quite a beating while in those webs.

There are actually several effects that should still be in place.

CURRENT EFFECTS:
Bless (whole party) -- +1 morale to hit and saves versus fear
Mage armour (Corinna)
Crane style & snake style (Melon)
Shield (Malan)
Grease (Tevyn's armour)

Barring unforeseen circumstances, these will be Melon's actions: step out of reach of foes, take out a potion of mage armor and drink it.

"Thanks Fezzy -" Melon eyes the long-nosed man. "WHO ARE YOU!? BY THE ORDER OF SHE WHO KNOWS NO SHAME, I COMMAND YOU TO DESIST!" She says this, oddly, while stepping out of harms way and chugging down a potion.

Round 1:HP = 22/22 :: AC = 18 :: Touch = 14 :: Flatfooted = 14 Active Effects: Bless, Greased Armor.

Tevyn, who'd been uncertain that rushing for the front doors was such a bright idea, nevertheless snaps his bow up and fires at one of the corbies.

Blessed shot at Corbie #9: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Tevyn's arrow pierces #9's thigh. The corby yelps with rage.

Next Up: Corinna, Dire Corbies, Melon, Gilfroy, Malan, Strange Man, Tevyn.

"Does anybody have any oil?" Gilfroy asks, pointing at the rug.

"Scatter!" Corinna advises. "If that strange man is an arcanist, we're all clustered up nicely to be caught in a single spell effect. Try to draw him out -- or at least the corbies, where they'll leave a clear path to him." Taking her own advice, Corinna steps away to get out of the direct line of sight of the red man, and begins to chant the words of her summoning spell.

5-foot-step to AI 33; begin casting summon monster I

Which Knowledge to identify the red man?

Glancing at the rotting banners hanging from the walls, he adds, "On second thought...bad idea."

His contemplation of taking up arson as a hobby leaves him standing in the doorway, too slow to heed Corinna's suggestion.

Which Knowledge to identify the red man?

He actually doesn't look like anything the party can recognize from this distance (other than a human with a very strange skin colour). Getting closer might help give a better look, however.

"Where's she going?" the strange man cries. "You can't leave!"

Corby #9 charges forward, leaping into the air and down to attack Melon. The other three corbies move up more cautiously, spreading out a little.

Dire Corby #9 Acrobatics to use leap attack DC 20: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11 --fail; can only make a single attack
Dire Corby #9 claw at Melon, charge: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 2 = 14 -- miss

#9 trips up slightly in its leap, landing awkwardly in front of Melon and clawing at empty air.

From the side building to the north, the corbies that attempted to use the catapult jump the 10 feet down to the ground.

Dire Corby #10 Acrobatics to avoid falling damage DC 15: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28 -- success
Dire Corby #11 Acrobatics to avoid falling damage DC 15: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18 -- success
Dire Corby #12 Acrobatics to avoid falling damage DC 15: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22 -- success

All three land successfully and uninjured (although #12 is the one injured from Tevyn's arrow earlier and that one still bears that wound) and hurry across the courtyard, trying to cut off the party's escape.

Next Up: Melon, Gilfroy, Malan, Strange Man, Tevyn, Corinna, Dire Corbies.

Lower Level Map Updated

Gilfroy will take a 5-foot step to AH32, taking cover behind the body and fling a glob of acid at the injured corbie.

Touch attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3

The bit of acid sizzles as it hits flesh.

Attack of Opportunity, snake style vs missing corby 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 1 = 15 damage 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

AC 19; HP 19/19

After a quick opportunistic swipe at the birdman when he misses her, Melon steps to an unthreatened space and quickly takes out and downs a potion. "Come at me! You got nothing!"

Melon 5ft steps to AF31, takes out and drinks a potion of mage armor.

Melon's opportunistic swipe may be quick, but it hits hard, leaving #9 looking very hurt.

Gilfroy positions himself by the body of the spider-humanoid and sends a glob of acid spiralling into #12's chest.

Next Up: Malan, Strange Man, Tevyn, Corinna, Dire Corbies, Melon, Gilfroy.

Lower Level Map Updated

Note for the next map update: Melon should be in AF 31.

AC 20, FF 13, T 13; HP 6/17
Arcane Pool 2/4; +1 enhancement
Malan takes a firing stance and looses an arrow imbued with arcane power at a Corbie (#11)

Shortbow: arcane pool (+1)
to hit 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 1 = 24 damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Note for the next map update: Melon should be in AF 31.

Oops! Corrected.

Malan sends an arrow into #11's arm. The corby screeches in irritation.

ROUND 2

CURRENT EFFECTS:
Bless (whole party) -- +1 morale to hit and saves versus fear
Mage armour (Corinna and Melon)
Crane style & snake style (Melon)
Shield (Malan)
Grease (Tevyn's armour)

The strange man continues to chortle and dance about in front of the throne. "Too far! Too far!" he cries. "I can't see the play from over there. Come closer!"

Next Up: Tevyn, Corinna, Dire Corbies, Melon, Gilfroy, Malan, Strange Man.

Lower Level Map Updated

"Go play with yourself!"

Round 2: HP = 22/22 :: AC = 18 :: Touch = 14 :: Flatfooted = 14 Active Effects: Bless, Greased Armor.

"He seems more a madman than a wizard," Tevyn remarks as he lines up another shot and fires.

Blessed, Point Blank Shot at 09: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 1 = 8

He makes a disgusted sound at the poor aim so close up. Tevyn silently rebukes himself for talking in combat.

Despite Tevyn's best attempts to distract her, Corinna finishes her chant, and the celestial dog that looks like Lady shimmers into existence in the open doorway. "Afraid you won't be around for the victory this time, dear," she murmurs, "but do your best."

Dog (round 1/3) is in AD 33; attack corby 9 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 damage 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 automatic trip attempt if a hit 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

"Well, you wouldn't notice much difference if you'd spent much time at the Academae," Corinna replies to Tevyn when her spell is done. "We have our ... eccentrics. I think the more powerful wizards become, the less they feel they have to conform to the rules of society." She steps up next to him and, with a twist of her fingers, points at one of the approaching corbies. However, used to the simplicity of the elf's magic missile spell, she is careless with her aim and misses entirely. "Mr. Fezziwig, Mr. Malan is looking very unhale."

Move to AI 31; Acid Dart on corby 12: ranged touch attack 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5 damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5