Veviane is taken aback by the sudden strikes of the shadow lurker...
Reflex:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
... but she still manages to dodge most of the acid!
Yelling from the pain of the assassin's claws, she takes a step back, hiding behind Liam. She curses under her breath, then conjures a surge of enchantment magic to daze her opponent.
Casting daze, Will DC 15 negates.
First off, sorry for the delay - I had an absolutely crazy weekend, between lack of internet, lack of sleep, and excess of work, and am only now getting back to this stuff...
Will Save:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
The fetchling grunts as Gert's club slams into her, and screams maniacally as she steps back and bites and claws in response.
Not an action: 5' step, as indicated Full-round action: Attack Gert Attack (Bite):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 Damage (Bite):1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
The fetchling hears Veviane's incantation, then immediately becomes bewildered, unable to do more than fend off her attackers. Gert takes advantage of the distraction and swings her club to good effect - you hear an audible crack as her ribs break - and the fetchling is in entirely too much pain to notice Liam's distraction as a result. Unfortunately, Ic isn't able to take further advantage of her state, but Wulfren's shot more than makes up for it.
Round 3 Mazzel Gol (-25 HP) Veviane Gert Old Lace Liam Ic Wulfren
Veviane steps northwards so that she doesn't disrupt Wulfren's line of fire, then aims a ray of frost at the creatures.
RTA:1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 2 - 4 = 91d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
That was a very well-timed daze, by the way. If that hadn't happened, she would have withdrawn (using the spider climb extract she had previously drunk) and lobbed bombs at you guys for a while.
Veviane's ray misses, but Old Lace's teeth clamp onto the fetchling's arm, tearing at the skin beneath her armor. Immediately afterwards, the fetchling lets out a groan of pain as the raptor's talon penetrates her defenses as well, and she falls to the floor, blood pumping slowly from the wounds.
Veviane disregards the life of the fetchling completely, and starting searching for valuable items, her vision enhanced with detect magic.
Perception:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
As Veviane looks around the room, she notices magical auras emanating from the alchemist's corpse. Upon further examination, she finds that they are coming from two potions and her cloak. Other items on the corpse include:
- two uses of alchemical grease,
- an adamantine weapon blanch,
- a set of masterwork studded leather armor,
- an ordinary dagger, and
- an alchemist's lab.
In addition, she finds various records of recent acquisitions by the Blakros museum (including the Tian exhibit, which was apparently gifted by Amara Li) and a finely bound copy of a book called Umbral Leaves, which might fetch a good price if sold to the right person.
Human Magus 3 |HP 24/24 | AC 17, T 14, FF 13, CMD 16| FRT +5, RFX +5, WLL + 2 | Init +4, Perc -1 |
Ic takes some time to browse through the recent acquisitions, to see if anything is there that the party should be aware of. Let's see: wooden idol, dinosaur skeleton, leather masks, kellid mummy...
Investigator 3 (HP 13/24 | AC 19 T 12 FF 17 | F 3 R 5 W 3 | Init 2 | Percep 10)
Liam makes sure to take all of the fetchling's things away. He then tries to stabilize her. "Not worth a spell, but she might be able ta tell a bit about what we have hereabouts." He half mutters to himself.
"Thanks Liam, you always know how to give me that warm tingle." Gert says playfully, trying to distract him. "To the east show room then? We'll come back for these poor souls after we've figured out this shadow device.
Liam isn't able to turn up anything of interest (mostly because nothing was mentioned...).
The orphans make their way back to the hallway, and notice a large placard above the entryway to the eastern exhibit hall that reads “The Evolution of Dragonkind” in bright, elaborate script. In addition, a shadowy sign next to the door describes the room as “Pain Laboratory—Tests in Progress.”
As you enter the room, you first notice ancient tapestries of chromatic dragons besieging castles and battles between Dahak and Apsu at the dawn of time. An alabaster obelisk covered in Draconic runes occupies the far corner, surrounded by a spread of various dragonhides of all colors and thickness, and a taxidermied wyvern hangs from the ceiling above, its stinger flexed above its head. Umbral chains drop from the same ceiling on the Shadow Plane; gruesome hooks at the chains’ ends hold long-dead skeletons. The southern wall sports a massive wheel with shackles along its edge, apparently for holding writhing subjects in place during tests.
Unfortunately, your reverie is interrupted as two fetchling guards show themselves and prepare to charge your positions!
Investigator 3 (HP 13/24 | AC 19 T 12 FF 17 | F 3 R 5 W 3 | Init 2 | Percep 10)
Hoping that Gert can manage that guard herself (with the help of Old Lace), Liam moves to the other side of the second guard. This provokes 2 AoO from him.
I don't think I can aid ranged attacks, so this is a normal attack. To Hit:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12+2 if Ic is armed. But since he normally does acid splash, I'm not sure if he is? Damage:1d4 ⇒ 3
FWIW, that's only 1 AoO - single action (movement) => single AoO. Also, I'll grant that Ic was probably holding his rapier and just choosing not to use it - if he wasn't, he should've played a wizard. :-P
Gert swings her club at the guard, knocking the wind out of him. Meanwhile, Liam moves around the guard nearest him, provoking an attack, but avoiding any consequences.
Liam follows up with an attack of his own, and his blade strikes true. The guards continue their assault on the party, with one guard retaliating against Gert and the other sidestepping and attacking Liam. Neither guard, however, is able to penetrate their target's defenses.
In case it wasn't evident, waiting on Veviane's action to carry things forward. While I don't mind people posting in whatever order, I will be resolving in initiative order.
Sorry, Ic - flank will have to wait until next round, since you didn't specifically delay your action.
Will Save:1d20 ⇒ 14
Veviane incants a quick phrase, and the northernmost guard's gaze becomes unfocused; unfortunately, Ic's blade still can't find its way past the man's defenses. Wulfren circles around the guard, hoping to aid the magus as the fight continues.
Gert swings her club and misses spectacularly, but Old Lace jumps on the guard, latching her jaws onto the man's shoulder and raking her long claws along the man's torso, bringing him to the ground, unmoving.
The remaining guard, affected by Veviane's spell, can't focus enough to mount an offense.
Round 2 Liam Guard 1 (-15 HP, down/bleeding) Guard 2 (-3 HP) Veviane Ic Wulfren Gert Old Lace --- Round 3 Liam
Veviane's spell hits the remaining guard just as Ic's rapier pierces his torso. The fetchling's eyes roll to the back of his head, and he falls to the ground.
Combat over!
On the first guard, Gert finds two vials of alchemist's fire, a longsword, a sling with 10 bullets, a set of manacles, and 15 gp. In addition, the fetchling is wearing masterwork studded leather armor, dyed black. The second guard is similarly equipped, but with a key hanging from a leather cord tied to his belt.
Human Magus 3 |HP 24/24 | AC 17, T 14, FF 13, CMD 16| FRT +5, RFX +5, WLL + 2 | Init +4, Perc -1 |
What force and strength cannot get through,
I with a gentle touch can do.
and many in these twisted halls would stand
were I not, as a friend, at hand...
Ic bends over and picks up the key from the guard.
Investigator 3 (HP 13/24 | AC 19 T 12 FF 17 | F 3 R 5 W 3 | Init 2 | Percep 10)
Liam nods his agreement. "I must say, I wasn't expectin' ta find so many guards just yet. But then, I also wasn't expecting this ta be some hybrid with tha shadow plane."
However, trying the key you retrieved from the dead guard, you hear a satisfying *click* as it unlocks. As you enter the room, you notice that several stalls stand against the east wall of a dank, stone room. A large grate in the floor collects a steady stream of water coming from one of the stalls. The rattle of chains echoes through the chamber and the stench of frightened, unwashed bodies fills the air.
There are five slaves in the room, two of whom have the same light-absorbing tattoo upon their forehead as did the eviscerated specimen from the other room. Unlike that one, however, all five slaves are conscious.
