Actually, taking 10 while wearing armor with guidance and expeditious retreat up would give me a 17 on each check. Given that no gap is wider than 5 ft that is an easy task...
Kerastes feels around under the water and comes up with a nice-looking (and not too slimy) suit of chainmail. There's something under it, though, and as he pulls it up a goblin body floats to the surface. It's hard to tell, but it might be the archer who ran off.
|AC 20, T 13, FF 17|HP: 39/39*|F +6*, R +4, W +5 (+2 vs Necr/curses/TNLs, +1 vs fear/conf)|Init +2, Perc +8|CMB +6 CMD 18|Deadspeaker 3/3, Ghostly Horde 1/1, Focus: ?? Gloaming, ?? Azrael, ?? Guidingstar, ?? Perun
Nectanebo walks to the edge of the pit, looking across, then downward. "High road, or low road? Not an easy choice. Perhaps if I split the difference...?"
The shadow Nectanebo casts over the pit seems to creep further downward despite there being no change in the ambient light. At the bottom, what had looked like a stone protruding out of the earth suddenly thrusts upward, revealing it to be a cranium, the rest of the skeleton dragging its way up after it.
"Catch whoever falls!" Nectanebo calls down to it.
Muusa has just cast guidance on Aeilin when three small creatures drop swiftly onto Kerastes from the ceiling. They are pink, faintly fleshy things with two pairs of batlike wings and a tangle of slender legs. All three grab onto the oread and plunge their probosci into him.
DC 6 Knowledge (Arcana):
These are stirges, blood-drinking magical creatures that swarm their prey and drain it dry before moving on. They also can carry diseases.
Round 1:
Initiative order
Creatures
Kerastes
Simon
Aeilin
Muusa
Nectanebo & skeleton
Before Kerastes can react, all three begin to drain his blood. Take 3 points CON damage.
Kerastes takes out his mace and swats at the stirge to his right (the one flanked by the skeleton). Unfortunately his aim is off due to the disgusting noises the things make while sucking his blood.
Nectanebo, did you include flank bonus for skeleton?
Nectanebo's skeleton claws one of the stirges into bloody shreds, and Simon's spell finishes off a second. Aeilin, you're still up top--you've just gotten the guidance spell. You can double-move down to the bottom of the rope with two DC 5 Climb checks.
HP 12/12 | AC 13 | CMD 14 | Fort +2 Reflex +4 Will +3 | Initiative +7 Perception +7
Simon shakes his hands as if they tingle, and some of the brilliance of his tattoos seem to have been drained. He continues watching the tiny stirge bodies, "That was exciting. You alright, Kerastes?"
He looks around the room, then shrugs. "I'm down to wands and my devastating wit."
No, since Aeilin was down before you. The Climb DC for a knotted rope with a wall to brace against is 0, so as long as you're not in a fight you can take 10 and make it.
HP 12/12 | AC 13 | CMD 14 | Fort +2 Reflex +4 Will +3 | Initiative +7 Perception +7
"Wands and devastating wit it is,” Simon mutters as he watches the team drop down into the pit. ”I’ll stay here until you guys secure a way up.” He shrugs, ”I won’t be of much use if something happens down there. At least up here I can pepper any attackers with magic.”
Aeilin's player is still out of town (through Friday), so I'd suggest we stick to the plan and have her go try to climb the other side to secure it.
So Kerastes is down 4 con. Is that the extent of his injuries? Or do we want to hit him with some more HP healing?
"That hurt a bit, but nothing that some good nights of sleep won't heal. Annoying creatures" the oread kicks one of the stirges for good measure and then moves on to the other side of the pit.
You make your way up the other side with no further interruptions. The barrel on the other side is half-full of pitch, and the torches on the floor have pitch on them. The goblins (presumably) have removed all of the yellow crystals from the walls around this end of the room (at least, you figure that they're all gone from roughly a goblin's reach).
There's a short hall to the north, opening up into a larger room. The lower portion of the chamber is a pool of still, green water. Large rectangular columns support a series of shallow stone steps and landings, climbing from where you are in the southern part of the chamber towards a rough tunnel to the north. The rubble around the tunnel mouth suggests that this was a recent excavation. All of you can hear clattering and goblin squealing from the topmost ledge.
I will probably be kind of scarce again today; I'm having to deal with a situation at work that's been taking up a lot of my attention. We're still in good shape to finish well before the end of the game day, though there are a few decent fights yet and some problem-solving.
HP 12/12 | AC 13 | CMD 14 | Fort +2 Reflex +4 Will +3 | Initiative +7 Perception +7
Still checking for magics in the room and water, Simon takes a moment to pull a scroll from his case. Finding the missing key phrase, he completes the incantation, then feels the tell-tale tingle of magic encasing his body.
HP 22/22 | AC 14 11T 13FF | F+3/+5/v cold R+4 W+8, all +1 v. cold | Init +1 Perc +12 | CMD 11
Human Tien Unsworn Shaman/2
Muusa wiggles her cestus'd hand, casting her own spell and holding it. Something appears to glimmer weakly around the spiked glove. She nods to Simon and Kerastes. Touch of Fatigue, charge held.
|AC 20, T 13, FF 17|HP: 39/39*|F +6*, R +4, W +5 (+2 vs Necr/curses/TNLs, +1 vs fear/conf)|Init +2, Perc +8|CMB +6 CMD 18|Deadspeaker 3/3, Ghostly Horde 1/1, Focus: ?? Gloaming, ?? Azrael, ?? Guidingstar, ?? Perun
"I say we get the drop on them while we still can - if we move any closer, they'll probably notice us. We don't move particularly silently."
Despite the fact that surprise rounds only permit one action, will we at least be allowed to move forward from our current mostly-inconvenient positions enough that we CAN make attacks?
