[PFS] GM Alias 0-26: Lost at Bitter End (Inactive)

Game Master Jon A

Know. Arcana 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22

"These soldiers are alive, being held in some sort of magical stasis. We must keep them from being woken up!"

Zhis is a sight you do not see everyday, zhat is for certain." Roland hangs back and readies his bow should the army come to life.

This demi-plane is the fabled Geb’s Accord, a series of linked but separated pocket dimensions that Geb long ago used to store equipment and soldiers for battles against Nex. Its save to suppose we will bump into a lot of the walking dead here. The priest answers Gerdur.

Looking at the new bodies Fredrik shakes his head saddly. Geb was an heretic and a betrayer of all that is holy. That he would inflict such abomination on the living to serve his purposes is beyond redemption. The cleric walks around his enemie's sleeping soldiers looking insulted.

Magna grimaces at the sight of the platoon of frozen bodies. "That's unnatural as all get-out," she grumbles. "Best to leave them alone, I'd say. I don't care to walk through that mess, in case we trigger them all awake-- can we climb up the banks and go around 'em?"

I assume the trail we're following leads through the middle on the path. Do the 10' rises on either side look terribly hard to climb?

All to hell! This is beyond f**ked up. I am not the best climber, but I can try. I usually go straight through, not around.

Gerdur wanders forward, his eyes sweeping the soldiers. "This. I cannot determine if this is a poor way to die or if such a wait for the next battle is the most honorable way for a soldier to live."

Sorry for the slow down. The weekend got away from me. The good news is that my Gameday game is done, so you guys get my full attention.

As the group is examining the frozen soldiers and deciding what to do, they hear the sound of chanting from deeper in the canyon. Suddenly, what appears to be a large wolf with fiery red eyes comes charging up the path at the party.

Initiative:
Magna: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Roland: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Ruprecht: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Gerdur: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Friedel: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Fredrik: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Bash: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Hellhound: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Cleric: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Warriors: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

Round 1
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors, Hellhound
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Ruprecht is up!

Notes: I tweaked initiative groupings slightly, just so this doesn't turn into a nightmare. Also, any square with an X is counted as difficult terrain, as you have to duck and weave between the soldiers still in stasis.

Ru readies an action to toss an acidic bomb at the first for to come within 30'.

Readied RTA with PBS 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Damage 4d4 + 6 ⇒ (3, 1, 3, 1) + 6 = 14

Ruprecht hits the hound with a well aimed toss, coating the thing in acid.

The hound comes charging in at Gerdur, but in its haste, overruns him, missing the gnome.

Bite@Gerdur, AC16: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

The group sees several of the soldiers moving in the distance, apparently awakened from their stasis.

Round 1
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors, Hellhound
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, and Magna are up!

Roland sees the charging hound and fires arrows at the dog as it attacks the gnome.

I hope zhe remainder of zhese soldiers are not planning on animating as well

Roland-1 +1 Ad darkwood comp fav, Rapid: 1d20 + 13 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 4 = 21
for dmg: 1d8 + 5 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 1 + 4 = 12
manyshot: 1d8 + 5 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 4 = 12

Roland-2 +1 Ad darkwood comp fav, Rapid: 1d20 + 13 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 13 + 4 = 26
for dmg: 1d8 + 5 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 1 + 4 = 12

Roland-3 +1 Ad darkwood comp fav, Rapid: 1d20 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 4 = 14
for dmg: 1d8 + 5 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 + 4 = 15

GM: you mentioned we heard chanting; can we detect the source of that chanting? I can see the figure on that map that I assume is creating the chanting, but I'm not sure I'm supposed to be able to see him/know he's there, in-character. If a perception check is needed to pinpoint the chanter:

Active perception check, presumed distance penalty: 1d20 + 31 - 8 ⇒ (11) + 31 - 8 = 34

Kn Planes vs hound: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Do the un-stasised warriors appear to be living humanoids, or do they look like more undead?

Kn Religion?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

If I can detect the enemy caster as per my initial query, then I will cast Flame Strike on him. It will also get a bunch of the X-s near him, if those are still stasis-frozen warriors, and the animated red warrior.

Reflex save DC 22 for half damage: 11d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 1, 4, 4, 4, 2, 1, 4, 2, 3) = 29

Magna growls. "I can hear someone up there mutterin' mumbo jumbo," she says, peering ahead to try and see the source. "Maybe I can shut 'em up!"

Conditional on being able to see the bad guy, as mentioned: A column of flame erupts in the otherworldly plane, blazing bright and brief.

Gerdur slips back, as the jaws close on air. "Bad dog. No biscuit!" He turns the last word into a howl as he RAGES!

EARTHBREAKIN' w/rage and PA: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31 for 1d10 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 20 = 24 plus 1d6 ⇒ 4 if it's an evil outsider!
EARTHBREAKIN' 2: Eclectic Buggaboo w/rage and PA: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 for 1d10 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 20 = 24 plus 1d6 ⇒ 6 if it's an evil outsider!

Sure, Magna, I will allow it. He's hard to see, but with the noise he's making, you can get close enough for the spell.

Gerdur swings at the hound, hitting it twice, sending it back to the hell it came from.

Magna casts a spell bringing down a column of fire upon her foes.

Relfex, cleric, DC22: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Relfex, warrior, DC22: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

One of the warriors screams in pain as the fire consumes him. The man chanting seems to have come out of the blast only mildly scathed.

Round 1
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors, Hellhound
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik and Friedel are up!

Friedel casts a spell to bolster her strength, then leads Benzyl into battle.

Divine Power. Can someone move me and Benzyl up to the front line somewhere?

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Did Roland's arrows also hit the hound or if it dropped, can he redirect those?.

@Roland: Gerdur managed to drop the hound before your attacks went off. I will redirect to appropriate targets when you come up in the order.

Friedel and Benzyl move up, but are slowed by the tight spacing of the frozen army.

Round 1
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors, Hellhound
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik is up!

@gm - k sounds good - sorry I posted too early .

Fredrik will go on hold for now. If you post before my next update, I will work that in to Round 1.

The sound of the chanting changes tone, as it seems the cleric is trying to cast a spell.

Roland lets loose with a hail of arrows. He is able to take down the lead soldier, and plants an arrow firmly in the thigh of the man behind him.

Round 1/Round 2
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik, Bash, and Ruprecht are up!

If someone would move Ru 30' straight south that would be appreciated.

Ru moves toward the soldiers, and tosses an acidic bomb at the closest soldier to him.

RTA 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Damage 4d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 3, 3, 4) + 6 = 18

Possible crit on RTA 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Damage 4d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 4) + 6 = 20

Sorry, got swallowed by the holiday preparations and then really bad stuff happened in my Rl just before christmas.

Fredrik starts a chanting of his own and casts bless on the group.

Starts sermonic performance, works like inspire courage: +2 to attks and dmg rolls and then casts bless on the party. Both together= +3 to attk rolls and +2 to dmg.

Chasik, thanks to all his training while wearing his heavy cumbersome armor, has learned how to move more efficiently in it. He moves past his comrades, ready to take on all comers. He readies to bash the first enemy that steps up to combat him.

readied vital strike, power attack, bless: 1d20 + 14 - 3 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 14 - 3 + 2 = 16
damage: 2d8 + 3 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 3 + 6 + 2 = 16

Fredrik calls down a blessing upon the party, boosting their performance in battle.

Bash readies himself to face the first enemy that comes into range.

Ruprecht tosses another bomb at the nearest soldier. He dies, melted into a puddle of acid and blood.

Unfortunately for Bash, the closest soldier stops just out of reach and stabs at him with his longspear.

Longspear@Bash, AC27: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

He is unable to penetrate the man's armor.

The rest of the soldiers move up, and start firing arrows at the party.

Longbow, green@Bash, AC27: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Longbow, blue@Ruprecht, AC25: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Longbow, yellow@Ruprecht, AC25: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Longbow, cyan@Friedel, AC29: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Longbow, purple@Friedel, AC29: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

All of the arrows are diverted by the frozen soldiers, or clank harmlessly off the party's armor.

Round 2
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna are up!

Spellcraft vs DC 19: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

"The fellow over there is summoning something!" Magna snaps. "Hurt him before he finishes that spell!"

She tries to do just that, summoning a ball of water out of the parched other-worldly landscape to congeal atop the caster. Then she directs the sphere to roll forward over some of the other enemy soldiers.

(5-ft step for better line of sight, and then Aqueous Orb, starting on the caster. Then Magna will use her move action to roll it forward over Yellow and Blue.

DC is 21, so a Reflex save from Cleric, Blue, and Yellow, and if they fail that, another save vs the entangled. Note that if caster fails both saves, aside from the concentration check he'd need for the damage, he's also now holding his breath as per aqueous orb, so he isn't casting anything with a verbal component (I don't think).

NL damage if failed first save: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9

Spell Pen for Bless: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Benzyl tramples over the light blue creature, bringing Friedel to engage with the orange one.

Overrun+SP+Bless: 1d20 + 22 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 22 + 2 + 1 = 27

Assuming that meets CMD, but may not beat it by 5. If it does, we get AoOs. No Power Attack on the AoO, just to avoid any confusion about which attack gets Furious Focus.

Once she reaches her target, Friedel lashes out against the orange creature.

Attack+PA+FF+SP+DP+Bless: 1d20 + 15 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 15 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 11 + 9 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1, 4) + 11 + 9 + 4 + 2 = 31

Oy. Crap rolls, but I'm practically drowning in buffs, so it may be good enough for mooks.

FYI: I forgot to take Barkskin out of my stat line after the 5 hours of travel. It hasn't made a difference yet, but my AC is now updated.

Gerdur howls and moves up toward the pale blue opponent, stepping in front of Bash to do so and taking the AoO. (AC 14)

He howls and swings his mighty earthbreaker at the warrior! Earthbreaker GO! PA: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29 for 1d10 + 20 ⇒ (4) + 20 = 24 damage!

Friedel and her mount manage to trample one of the warriors on their way to attacking another. Her swing cleaves the man's head from his shoulders in one blow.

Gerdur charges to the front, smashing in to his enemy. The man is severely wounded, but not quite down. Unfortunately, in the process, he manages to impale himself on the warrior's spear.

AoO, longspear@Gerdur, AC14: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Magna summons a giant globe of water, dropping it right on top of the cleric. She manages to snare the cleric and two of the warriors with the sphere.

Reflex1, Cleric, DC21: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Reflex2, Cleric, DC21: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Reflex1, Yellow, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Reflex2, Yellow, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Reflex1, Blue, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Reflex2, Blue, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Round 2
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik is up!

Fredrik double moves forward to Gerdur's side to engage in the front line.

Fredrik moves forward to engage the enemy.

Reflex. DC21: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 5) = 11

The cleric struggles to free himself from the orb, but is unable to break free.

Round 2/Round 3
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Roland, Bash and Ruprecht are up!

Roland moves up and fires an arrow at the green warrior.

Well done with zhe water. How long will it hold zhem captive?
Does it block arrows and zhe like?

Roland-1 +1 Ad darkwood comp, PB, Rapid,bard: 1d20 + 15 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 15 + 3 + 1 = 20
for dmg,bard,PB: 1d8 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 16

The arrow ricochets off a rock.

lol - I lost the post due to some goof shining a laser into our hotel window. Then to retype it all for a nat-1

If someone would move Ru 5 more feet straight south that would be appreciated.

Ru moves 5' south toward the soldiers, and tosses an acidic bomb at the green soldier.

RTA 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19

Damage 4d4 + 6 ⇒ (1, 1, 4, 3) + 6 = 15

Moved you 5' south, Ru

Chasik, moves forward and takes two swings at the enemy before him. He focuses on simply hitting the guy, rather than trying take him out in a single shot. He trips over his own feet, and nearly takes his own foot out. He gathers himself and connects square with the enemy's jaw.

swing 1: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 2 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 = 12

swing 2: 1d20 + 14 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (19) + 14 + 2 - 5 = 30
damage: 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 = 11

Magna nods to herself in satisfaction at seeing the spellcaster sucked in-- the others are just a bonus, but a nice one. " 'Bout a minute," she answers Roland. "If he don't worm his way out first. But he'll get good and bruised up as long as he's in there. You can pop arrows at him if you please-- he'll be a touch harder to hit, but not impossible."

(Anyone in the orb has cover (+4 ac) from attacks from outside it, but they're also entangled, so -2 AC, for a net of +2 AC. So not that much harder to hit, if anyone wants to try)

Roland fires off an arrow, but it strikes a rock and clatters harmlessly off into the crowd.

Bash moves forward and swings twice at the enemy in front of him. In his rush forward, he slips on a loose rock, almost falling, but recovers and lands a solid blow on the soldier, taking it out of the fight.

Ruprecht steps forward and tosses an acid bomb at the un-entangled soldier, scoring a direct hit.

Reflex yellow, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Reflex blue, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Damage yellow: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8
Damage blue: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10

The two soldiers captured by the orb of water struggle to free themselves, but are unable to do so.

The green soldier steps forward and attacks Fredrik with his longspear.

Longspear@Fredrik, AC24: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

The solider misses, apparently affected by the long years in stasis.

The other man steps forward and stabs at Friedel, but Benzyl lashes out with one of his hooves, knocking the blow aside.

Longspear@Friedel, AC25: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Round 3
1st: Ruprecht
2nd: Warriors
3rd: Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, Magna
4th: Cleric
5th: Roland, Bash

Fredrik, Friedel, Gerdur, and Magna are up!

Friedel and Benzyl take swings at the purple creature.

Greatsword+PA+FF+SP+Bless+DP: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 15 + 2 + 1 + 4 = 24
Damage: 1d20 + 11 + 9 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 11 + 9 + 2 + 4 = 32

Gore+PA+SP+Bless: 1d20 + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 11 - 2 + 2 + 1 = 22
Damage: 3d6 + 9 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4, 6) + 9 + 4 + 2 = 27

Assuming that takes it out...

They then move around the rocks to join the rest of the fight.

Magna cracks her knuckles and beckons with one hand. The sphere rolls closer, putting its inhabitants nearer to the front line, still caught in the whirling waters. (Move action to move orb; I moved the affected tokens)

"Looks like we're cleaning up the dregs," she says. "Won't spend more spells right now, then. I'll bring the caster your way, lads. Now so far I've bruised and seared him-- do we want to take him alive and try and figure out what this mess is about, or just dispense field justice?"

Move action forward, end turn.

Fredrik repays the soldier the favor and attacks him.

Attk: 1d20 + 9 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 3 = 20
damage: 2d6 + 4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (5, 1) + 4 + 6 + 2 = 18

Attk: 1d20 + 4 - 4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 4 - 4 + 3 = 6
damage: 2d6 + 4 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3, 6) + 4 + 6 + 2 = 21

Fredrik attacks, and manages to finish off the soldier in front of him.

Friedel and Benzyl overrun the remaining free solider, and circle around behind the tall rocks on the west.

Magna moves the orb into a more advantageous position. The trapped enemies struggle to free themselves from the ball of water, but do not succeed. The two soldiers drop unconscious, but the cleric still struggles within the orb.

Reflex cleric, DC21: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Reflex blue, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Reflex yellow, DC21: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Damage cleric: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) = 7

At this point, the cleric is stuck in the orb, two of the soldiers are unconscious, and the rest are dead. I don't see him getting free any time soon, and even if he does, the party can surround him and finish him off pretty easy. So I'm going to call the combat here. Do you want to leave anyone alive, or finish them all off?

The suggestion was to at least try to question the cleric I believe

Can we identify which god does this cleric workship? Does he have a holy symbol or other religious objects?

K. Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Gerdur comes back to himself with a deep sigh, then leans heavily on his hammer. "Try to... ask him some questions... if he lives..." he huffs as he recovers from the fit of rage.

I had to rules-check, but the only slight issue is that I can't actually dismiss the orb, heh. IDK the cleric's max HP, but hopefully a total of 22d6 NL plus the lethal I did from the flamestrike won't actually kill him. This assumes the cleric can't get out with a roll beforehand, I suppose, as he only needs a 16 or higher, and/or that we can't do something to pull said cleric out, which would be at GM discretion, I imagine. But yes, I'm more than willing to try and get the cleric out alive in order to question him.

"Out with yeh, yeh drowned rat," Magna growls at the cleric. "What was the big idea, you nutter? Who sees a crowd of people ridin' a big bloody mammoth and goes, you know what, I'm gonna animate some warriors to try and attack those folk? Not exactly much wisdom you're displaying there, mister."

I will allow you to pull them out of the orb once they drop unconscious.

The group pulls the three figures from the orb of water, and is able to tie their hands before waking them. The priest sputters slightly, then stares you down once he's recovered.

"سوف الابن الكلاب خنزير أبدا هزيمة جيوش Geb. الزحف إلى سيد نيكس الخاص بك، وأقول له أيامه في السلطة ويقترب من نهايته!"

The cleric has a holy symbol, but it's not one you recognize. (He's been in stasis for thousands of years.) It may be a god from the pantheon of the ancient Osirians.

I cant understand a word he is saying. I do have a spell that could translate it but I would not be able to talk back to him.

The elf spoke up. "I understand his tongue actually. He is accusing us of being soldiers of Nex. He says they are troops of Geb. I don't know much about their religion, but don't those two have a lot of hatred built up. They have hated each other longer Han even I have been alive."

Friedel hears his words now that the fog of battle has retreated from her mind, and she addresses the priest.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

Gerdur leans on his earthbreaker, staring at the back and forth. "I seem to recall there being something of the sort, yes. Lots of hatred and war, wasn't it?"

"انت تكذب! سوف سيدنا تقودنا الى النصر المجيد على حثالة حقيرة من نيكس! سوف الخداع الخاص بك لا يقنعني عن الطريق الذهبي للانتصار!

He then spits at you several times.

Ru fills the group in on the cleric's unwillingness to discuss anything with them rationally. "Want to konk him on the head and leave him here? I don't have any other ideas, than maybe, you know, neutralizing the cleric," the elf says, wondering if the group was ready to take this next step or not.

"I tried being nice. Anyone have any more... coercive methods?"

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