[Outpost] GM Bearington's Echoes of the Overwatched (Inactive)

Game Master Gummy Bear

The little guys are on the map, they were hiding on your tokens ;) Arrius, your casting will provoke from the hand in the space you are casting from. Just making sure you are aware!

Ah, okay—I didn’t see them either. If I can 5’ step out of that square I will—I can’t move my token because I’m away from my computer.

and if Arrius can do that, then I'll do burning hands (from lower left corner of my square, three squares ahead, and then two to the right and then one to the right of that, if that makes sense. So the angled shape as opposed to the straight ahead 1-3-3 shape. Hope that's clear

Callah utters a yelp of disgust as the hands come scuttling down and she attempts to strike at the one in front of her with her silver mace!

Attack vs. Blue (Silver Mace): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Kn. Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"Ew! That's the wrong sort of touch," she exclaims as the two remaining hands continue to menace her companions.

Callah reflexively tries to smash the decaying hand before her, but it manages to scurry out of the way. With tactical precision, Arrius steps to the side, Etienne unleashes a fiery blast down the staircase, and completing the maneuver is Arrius's barrage of rocks! The purplish hand manages to press itself against a step to avoid most of the inferno and is quickly struck by a stone as it attempts to close, but the blueish hand was too distracted by Callah's strike to avoid it. The putrid stench of burning, rotten flesh adds to the already repugnant aroma.

In a disturbing display, the hands climb up the stairs towards Arrius. At the top step, they both leap higher than any hand should and, with chilling accuracy and determination, reach out for his throat! The Undine manages to swat away the first hand with some of his swirling rocks, but the second hand it too quick for him. The mangled nails dig into his throat, yet are unable to remain there for too long.

ROUND 1

-------- 

Callah
Etienne

Arrius
Yellow Crawling Hand (Dead)
Blue Crawling Hand (Diminutive, 8 damage)
Purple Crawling Hand (Diminutive, 7 damage, MQ vs Arrius)
Erhun (6 damage)
Atronia

ROUND 2

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Callah (AoO vs Blue)
Etienne

Arrius (Fatigued, 2 damage)
Yellow Crawling Hand (Dead)
Blue Crawling Hand (Diminutive, 8 damage)
Purple Crawling Hand (Diminutive, 7 damage, MQ vs Arrius)
Erhun (6 damage)
Atronia
BOLD MAY GO!
________

Do they have a special defense? trying to hit Blue hand

Not daring to bring his massive axe too close from Arrius's throat, Erhun tries to dispatch the other undead hand.. but only hit the ground, as it scutters away quickly

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Dmg: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Arrius watches with disgust as the hand squirms on the ground. He right leg raises in an arc until it's right over his head, and then slams it down hard on the abomination like an axe!

Making an unarmed attack on the one adjacent to me. I think I might get a +1 for being on higher ground, and because it's probably too small to have any reach, I shouldn't provoke an AoO. Fatigued condition is factored into the rolls below.

Unarmed Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Atronia has a sneer of disgust as she finally notices the hands attacking them. She steps forward toward the closest and simply lets her sword's blade drop on it, striking downward in an almost careless looking manner, but which is in fact quite calculated.

attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 6 = 12

5-foot step and attack on the purple hand, but if it is already down, I'll just make my way to the blue one.

If any are left standing, Etienne will try to cut one down with a card
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Callah swats at the Blue hand as it goes leaping away from her...

AoO vs. Blue (Silver Mace): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

...and then continues after it, determined to crush it with her mace!

Attack vs. Blue (Silver Mace): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

"Hold still, little twerps!"
_______

Callah will move to the remaining hand should Blue be dead by the time it goes to her turn :)

Combining your offensives, you easily manage to cudgel the mangled hands into oblivion. As the tension fades, you are all left with an eerie silence punctuated by the occasional drip of water from below to explore the room.

"Hey...there's the last piece we need," Callah remarks once they investigate the body. She looks around a bit nervously; Erhun had a point about the missing ghoul - was it lurking around somewhere close?

"We should hurry up and finish the reassembly...this place is beginning to make me nervous..."

I want to be sure the ghoul isnt here. If it's here, I want to destroy it. If it's elsewhere, I want to track it, and destroy it.

There is a certain stubborness-you can even call that an obsession- in the way Erhun speaks of the undead.

Etienne hands Callah the amulet.

Atronia approaches the seated body warily. "Whatever's going on here, it's leaving a trail of bodies," she says as she inspects the body further, looking for something that might identify the poor person. "I wonder how this one ended up here. And who he thought he was. It doesn't look like he'd always been a cleric of Nethys or... whatever these robes are supposed to symbolize."

"If, perchance, educated speculation finds favour in the ears of my listeners, a hypothesis I shall venture based upon accepted propositions, to wit: a staircase, crumbled to ruin, in the chamber where this amulet was first found; a chamber, inaccessible, on the northernmost stretch of the level below our feet; a niche in the wall, sized perfectly to fit yonder amulet, depicting in parallel the All-Seeing Eye. A conclusion, should you be receptive: a doorway, hidden to plain sight, obscures a repository of mystery within this ancient ruin."

"That would make the most sense," Callah agrees with Arrius as she adjusts the last piece into the amulet. "Let's go see what happens when we place the amulet. If it works like Arrius suspects, we might even find the missing ghoul," she adds, with a glance at Erhun.

Do what you have to do. I'm willing to try anything, as long as something works. We must rid the world of this undead threat. Keep your eyes open.

Erhun stays vigilant, in case the ghoul attacks, and he inspects the worshipper of Nethys cadaver

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

"Perhaps we should see what is beyond those doors on this level before we head back downstairs?"

Completed, it is clear that the amulet was made in the vision of the one on the mural. After the rest of your inspections on this level, including the other side of the room and the corpse, you head back down to the room filled with adventurer's bones. Eager to find that ghoul and plumb the secrets from this tower, you place the amulet in the slot on the statue.

Swirling arcane energies gather around the statue, causing the right arm to silently extend towards the door. At the command of its extended index finger, the western walls holding back the rubble begin to shake and groan as they attempt to slide away from each other. Sparks accompany a screeching sound as, with a start, the walls slide away and the calamitous roar of rocks and debris tumbling into the room ends the magical display.
________

"Cough . . . cough." Etienne pulls out a handkerchief and puts it over his nose and mouth due to all the dust swirling about from the displaced debris. "I presume, Erhun, you don't mind being the first into the breach?"

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Never complaining. It is my duty. Nevertheless, some Healing could do me some good. I don't want to fall prey to the ghoul's claws. Is everyone knowledgeable about a ghoul's powers and weaknesses?

Some taps from my wand of CLW
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"Only one way to go but up...and there isn't much other place to go once we get there," Callah remarks solemnly, staring up the stairs. "Keep your eyes open...who knows what lurks up there, ghoul or maybe even worse," she advises as the group falls into formation and begins to head up the stairs.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Arrius follows up after the others.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Expecting someone to help out Erhun, who managed to take most of the hits since the beginning of this mission, Atronia gets closer to the rubble, leaning on some of the more stable pieces to attempt to look up and see what lies ahead. As she looks up there, she replies to Erhun, "Mmh... Let's see what I can remember."

Perception: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (8) - 2 = 6
K religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 For any information I might know pertaining to ghouls. I don't know if that bad roll back then that didn't let me know the claw and bite marks on the first corpse to be from a ghoul counted.

Edit because I'm obviously not getting anything with these rolls anyways.

After a few seconds of squinting, she straightens up again to look at the others and make sure they are ready to go. At the same time, she sighs. "No, I really can't remember anything more than it seriously mangled that poor Pathfinder back in the museum. Sorry."

Know Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Erhun gives to his team mates every information he knows about ghouls

GM : Don't know how much Erhun knows about ghouls with this roll

Just before your ascent, you wisely rack your brain for any bits of information you can about ghouls...
________
Erhun, due to your training, ghouls would likely count as a common creature for you. In addition to knowing what a ghoul is (intelligent undead with a ceaseless hunger for flesh) and the undead traits, you can ask two questions. I'll give you all a chance to respond to the information Erhun learns before moving us forward.

"The cards sometimes speak of the undead." Etienne is shuffling his harrow deck and pulling cards out, to see if they can tell him anything.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18Kn(religion)

Etienne, same basic information and one question!

GM's preference, please

Ghouls special Attack and défenses should be a good choice

You might know htat ghouls can paralyze you with their claws or bite, only elves are immune to that, I believe. So beware, don't get too close from them. If you can shoot them from a distance, do it. Holy water works on undead, remember. It harms them, as would fire. They can resist the power a faithfull priest can channel from his or her god too. And that ghoul might be unusual, it seems even more intelligent, so it can have a few dirty tricks up its sleeve, maybe it's a magician too. Better to overestimate the power of our foe than underestimate it.

"And their bite is . . . dirty. You are likely to get a disease from its slavering. You are right Erhun, this does not seem your everyday ghoul."

"Well...I'm afraid that I don't have any holy water or alchemist's fire with me," Callah sighs. "But I do have my sling and I also have this if it gets too uppity," she continues grimly, drawing out and indicating her healing wand. "The wand would do more damage but would also require I close distance with the ghoul. On the other hand, I'm not that great of a shot...and I can still attack from a distance with my spear, so I think I'll stick with that."
________

Alas, no useful buffs or anything to offer before we head upstairs. So Callah's ready when everyone else is.

As prepared as you can be, you make your way into the ruined stairwell. While you trudge ever upwards through the debris, Callah hears something. When you decide to continue your climb, you surmise that you've made it to the next floor up before it opens into another room. The ravages of time have plucked the door from its hinges, but the opening it barred still remains. Peering within, it appears as though the entire room is overflowing with thick spider webbing.
________

Atronia sighs when she sees the spider webs. "That can't be practical. Let's see what those webs are hiding." She extends a hand and starts uttering a word, but stops herself. "Fire can make quick work of webs, but it could damage other things. Maybe we should just tear them. How much of a hurry are we in?"

“By all means, burn away the obstruction. I believe Erhun’s big swings need plenty of unhindered space. This is no ordinary ghoul.”

Stay there... I have a flask of alchemic fire that will be handy, to get rid of thèses webs, or at least part of them. We'll have to wait until the fire dies out., of course

Erhun throw a flask in the middle of the webs...The flask seems entangled in the thread, then rolls and finally falls on the floor, exploding with fire

DC 5: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Fire dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Round 2 fire: 1d6 ⇒ 5

The flask quickly ignites a large swath of the webs with a flash and they just as rapidly turn to ash. Getting a better look of the room, it appears for all intents and purposes to be a vault, containing various crates and shelves stocked with countless papers, scrolls, tomes, and other wizardly items.
________
Just about half of the web has been incinerated, as indicated on the map.

Erhun enters, cautiously, his massive axe at the ready. He seems tense, and stays silent

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Atronia follows Erhun in the fire's wake, sword drawn. When the fire putters out, she extends a hand toward the webs in the middle of the room and casts Spark.

I'll leave it up to you to decide if that cantrip actually manages to do anything. I'm not trying to burn everything, but at least clear a path toward the other end of the room. I can, of course, cast spark multiple times if it only burns one square of web in one round or something like that.

Etienne remains in the rubble, waiting for the more stout members of the party to clear the way or find the ghoul, whichever comes first.

As Erhun proceeds to burn away part of the webbing, Callah leans in close to the party. "We aren't alone. I'm positive that I heard someone casting a webbing spell as we were on our way up. Watch yourselves!" she whispers, cautiously moving to follow Atronia.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

With Atronia's spell, Erhun is able to move unhindered into the next part of the room as Callah brings up the rear. Still unable to find any sign of the ghoul, the pair moves to return. Just as they do so, a thick tongue curls around Erhun's forearm and a set of wretched teeth sink into it. Now in full view, the ghoul's emaciated form resembles a withered, blackened corpse with long, razor-sharp claws and jagged, yellow teeth.

ROUND 1

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Etienne
Callah
Erhun (4 damage, 2 Fort Saves)
Atronia

Arrius
The Devourer

BOLD MAY GO!
________

One square per casting seems reasonable for a cantrip! The ghoul is the picture on slide one btw!

Fort save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Fort save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Arrius enters the room and, seeing Erhun paralyzed, tries a desperate gamble to distract the ghoul and draw its attention. "Foolish abomination. Know you not whom you face? It is I, Arrius Vext, Thaumaturge Supreme--the very same whom others call . . . Ghoulbane!"

A move action to get into the room and then a standard action to do total defense. I'm likely going to regret this :)

I will gladly donate my folio reroll to Erhun, if GM will allow

Etienne moves into room, and tries a desperate shot with a card.
not sure what the webs will do from where he is

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Also, he tries to see if he knows anything about this unusual ghoul
Kn(religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

"Hey! Get away from him!" Callah cries as she conjures a wave of water to knock the ghoul back.

Hydraulic Push (Bull Rush): 1d20 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 1 + 3 = 22
________

Callah casts Hydraulic Push on the ghoulie!