PbP Gameday IV - GM Alias Our Lady of Silver (Inactive)

Game Master Jon A

The elephant runs away from the lions, knocking over several tables full of food.

Round 1
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

The rest of the party is up!

"Oh dear, this will simply not do at all." Balon searches the panicking crowd for his teammates, and upon seeing them, moves closer to them so as to strategize before acting. He runs toward Dailung and shouts "Are we better off calming the beasts, or trying to knock them out? I do not want to do anything brash, you see!"

Basically, Balon doesn't wanna start hurling negative energy at the creatures if you all are gonna try to Handle Animal them, so just let me know. :)

Milo watches the chaos begin with a scowl, muttering under his breath about the idiocy of bringing dangerous wild animals to a wedding.

Seeing the lion nearby, however, he slowly fades back behind the nearest table in an attempt to not get noticed and seen as food.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

He then casts a spell, the quiet sounds of arcane words in gnomish coming from behind one of the gift tables.

Cast slow on the Lions. Will save DC 18 to negate. If the guy who opened the cage is still visible, he'll target him too if he can.

So, the elephant is gone, right?

Trask just moves up, drawing The Executioner. Note it has reach, and he has combat reflexes.

"Tharkan move back next to me. Let's use the fountain as a choke point, and the long reach of our weapons to our advantage."

Seeing that his friends are looking to fight the creatures, Balon moves behind the two melee fighters and readies to use a channeled ray at one of the lions as soon as it gets within 30 feet.

readied ranged touch: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
negative energy: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 6) = 15 /2 => 7 damage and it must make a Will DC 16 or be sickened for 3 rounds. Saving does not further reduce the damage.

Guys, remember we're not alone here... this whole place is filled with bystanders. Standing in one place and expecting them to come to you might not work out so well... they'll just pounce on some guests instead.

And the elephant is still there stomping on folks... its over on the right on the map =)

Sure, but you have to be able to GET there. I double moved to where I am.

In his loudest voice, Trask bellows out, "Everyone not combat trained! Move to the back behind us. NOW!!
intimidate: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

And one must be able to take on an elefant. A lion maybe, an elefant hell no!"

Tharkan is facing a conundrum, but finally decides that there is more glory in felling an elephant than lions. Still in his loincloth (I guess?), he charges the gigantic beast, raging like a madman.

Activating arcane bloodrage, picking the blur effect (20% miss chance). I think the elephant has an AoO against me as I close in on it.

"For lusty Zarta!"

+1 Adamantine Nodachi, bloodrage, PA: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 311d10 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23
Confirmation: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 221d10 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

Balon readies himself to unleash a bolt of unholy power at the nearest attacker. I will resolve this once the lions move.

Tharkan, fresh off his win in the battle on the hot coals, has not had time to re-don his armor. Regardless, he charges the elephant, landing a massive blow in the pachyderm's belly.

Milo ducks behind a table, and casts a spell. Suddenly, the lions are moving in slow motion, as if they were swimming through molasses. There is no sign of the thug who opened the cage.

Hamilton moves towards the commotion, tripping over several guests on his way. He bellows out a command for the guests to leave the area, and he suddenly has a much clearer path to the lions.

A wagon filled with peacocks bursts open, releasing dozens of shrieking birds into the courtyard.

Round 1
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Rufus is up!

I knew those peacock's were a bad idea!

Rufus fires an arrow at one of the lions and moves to the back of the group to reposition himself.

Attacks green lion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Rufus fires off an arrow at one of the lions. He hits it squarely in the flank, injuring the great beast.

The lions move forward, moving in slow motion the entire time. They are only able to cover a portion of the distance to the party.

Balon fires off a ray of negative energy. Unfortunately, the ray hits the fountain in the center of the courtyard, sending a spray of water into the air, but missing his intended target.

Round 2
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Dailung is up!

Moving forward Dailung attacks the first lion.
AttackNonlethal: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 331d6 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19
ConfNonlethal: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 301d6 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
If Ac30 hits 33 Nonlethal damage
If charged upon Dailung will Dodge aside +4 ac and moving a 5foot step away

Dailung moves forward and in a flurry of blows, manages to knock one of the lions unconscious.

The elephant changes course, running back to where it started. Unfortunately for Tharkan, it runs right over him.

Tharkan is trampled for 2d8 + 15 ⇒ (2, 6) + 15 = 23 hp damage. You can either take an attack of opportunity at -4 to hit, or make a Reflex save, DC25, for half damage.

Round 2
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Rest of the party is up!

Aw, you moved the elephant, boo! =)
They were all lined up, I was going to (fiery) lightning bolt all 4 of them with a 120' line! No such luck now =)

Does blur's miss chance apply to trample as well? If so, here goes. If not, please disregard the following roll. In any case, let me know what you decide.
Miss chance (trample), 1-20 misses: 1d100 ⇒ 10

Tharkan takes his chance and smites the elephant as it moves over him!
AoO, penalty: 1d20 + 11 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 4 = 161d10 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

The half-orc once again follows the elephant and strikes him with glee.
+1 Adamantine Nodachi, bloodrage, PA: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 171d10 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Balon steps forward and tosses another ray of negative energy at the [red] lion.

Ranged touch: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
neg. energy: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 5) = 9 /2 => 4 damage and it must make a Will DC 16 or be sickened for 3 rounds. Saving does not further reduce the damage.

@Tharkan: I see nothing that says blur won't work against a trample attack. So your roll is valid, the elephant misses you completely, and you take no damage. Sorry for the oversight.

No worries, I wasn't sure if it worked against it or not. Thanks!

Milo starts to mutter to himself in draconic, shaking one hand absently, as if it has fallen asleep. Suddenly a flame bursts into existence in that hand.

He lobs the flame over the table at the nearest lion.

Casting produce flame and flinging a ball of the same at the blue lion.

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25, for 1d6 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 14 fire damage.

As soon as it leaves his hand, a new flame reforms there.

He seems to forget how close the lion actually is or the danger it represents, and despite having the time, does not even bother to duck back under cover. Instead he just stands there entranced by the one flame as it soars across the intervening space and the second one in his hand.

edit: Oh ... that's a first... Confirmation: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24, for an additional 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 more fire damage

Trask moves up and around the fountain, to get himself in front the the fragile looking Balon, within charging range of the elephant, and within striking range of the red lion. He then swings The Executioner at the red lion. The blade cuts in deeply, trailing blood and gore as he resets the weapon, preparing for his next strike.
Adamantine bardiche, PA: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 PA bardiche: 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Rufus steps forward and shoots two arrows.
Atk1: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 - 2 = 8
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Atk2: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 2 = 12
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

If there are any lions still standing Rufus is targeting them, otherwise the elephant.

Balon blasts one of the lions with a ray of negative energy. It flinches from the blow, and visibly appears to wither.

Tharkan nimbly dodges the charging elephant. He swings as it goes by, just barely missing the huge beast. He chases after it, this time landing a blow on the creatures flank, opening up a huge gash.

Milo lobs a ball of fire at one of the lions. Its fur must have been full of sawdust from its cage, as the poor creature goes up in a huge gout of flame.

Hamilton moves up and engages one of the lions. His swing lands true, as a splash of feline blood decorates the floor of the courtyard.

Rufus fires off a couple of arrows, but in the confusion, they both go wide.

The flaming lion moves up and engages Dailung, but is unable to attack due to its slowed movement. The other lion lunges at Hamilton, attempting to claw him to small pieces.

Bite@Hamilton, AC22: 1d20 + 7 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 7 - 2 - 1 = 9

Claw1@Hamilton, AC22: 1d20 + 7 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 - 2 - 1 = 22
Damage: 1d4 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 - 2 = 4

Claw2@Hamilton, AC22: 1d20 + 7 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 7 - 2 - 1 = 13

It catches him in the arm with a claw, raking a trail of blood down the slayer's forearm.

Breaking their lead ropes, dromedaries gallop wildly around the courtyard, overrunning those in their path and knocking over tables and benches.

Round 3
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Dailung is up!

The lion can't full attack if its staggered (via the slow)
Well, unless it partial charges, then it might still get to use pounce I suppose... not sure about that bit

Yeah if it uses pounce, it still gets to full-attack at the end of the charge even though it normally could not full-attack, because broken. :-P

Moving a step closer Dailung attacks the red lion.
AttackNL: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 241d6 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
AttackNL: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 241d6 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21
Another Lion starts to sleep.

@Milo: You are correct. Sorry for the mix up.

@Hamilton: Only the first attack occurs, which missed. The ignore the other two, and take no damage.

@Dailung: You are currently engaged with the blue lion. If you move to attack the red one, blue gets an AoO on you. I will assume you finish off the blue one, unless you strenuously object to that plan.

Dailung swings and lands a solid blow on the lion she is engaged with. It joins its brother, dropping unconscious.

The elephant is out of its mind with panic, trying to run through the wall of the courtyard. Cracks appear in the stucco covering the wall, but the structure holds for now.

Round 3
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Rest of the party is up!

Hoping to finish off the last lion and show his allies how useful he can be in battle, Balon draws his scythe as he moves forward, and slashes at the [red] lion.

Scythe: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
damage: 2d4 + 1 ⇒ (2, 1) + 1 = 4

Unfortunately he bungles the slice and makes a fool of himself.

Hamilton shakes his head at the dhampir priest. Moving in front of him while he was attacking? If he wasn't as well trained as he would this could cause the large kellid man an issue, but he was trained in attacking through his allies. He takes a careful look at the lion, in order to better strike it.

The Executioner PA, Studied: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 2 = 16 slashing,magic,adamantine, studied, PA: 1d10 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 12 + 2 = 19

Balon moves up, attempting to finish off the lion. As he swings, his foot slips in the spreading pool of blood, causing him to miss the beast.

Hamilton's footing is much more solid. He swings, connecting solidly, finishing off the last lion.

Meanwhile, the elephant continues rampaging, knocking over a pavilion which then catches fire.

Round 3
1st: Dailung
2nd: Elephant
3rd: Balon, Tharkan, Milo, Hamilton, Rufus
4th: Lions

Tharkan, Milo, and Rufus are up!

Tharkan slashes and gnaws fiercely at the elephant, eager to bring it down quickly.

... and eat it!

+1 Adamantine Nodachi, bloodrage, PA: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 211d10 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21
Iterative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 191d10 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18
Bite, bloodrage, PA: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 211d4 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Milo seems ready to throw more fire at the lions, but they all seem to have been subdued.

He turns to target the elephant, and sees the pavilion starting on fire, and laughs.

"Butter on bacon!" he cries, with a grin.

Hmm... the elephant still going? How bad is the fire, could put it out if neccessary. Though this wedding's already a disaster, so I suppose a little fire can't make it worse =)

In a frenzy of blades and blood, Tharkan tears into the terrified elephant. His combat mania is so complete, he finishes off the creature by biting into its neck and tearing its throat out with his fangs.

Out of combat!

The party is quickly able to put out any remaining fires, and help round up the stray animals that are still alive. As the group finishes chasing the last of the peacocks back into a cage, Farendir and his bride come running up to the party.

"The artifacts! They've been stolen! Apparently this whole thing was a diversion. You've got to get them back. The relics were included in the marriage contract; without them, our marriage could be invalidated by Master Bashir. Please, you've got to help us."

"Of course. A diversion to distract us while the real treasures were stolen. We should have known."

Balon walks over to one of the lion corpses. "It may be beneficial to us to make use of one of these. Give me a moment."

Balon pulls five small black gems from his pouch, and places them in the lion's mouth and eyes. He then chants an incantation, and the lion's skeleton arises, its flesh sloughing off its bones all at once.

Casting animate dead, so that we have a pet for the scenario.

Two of the lions were just unconscious (Dailung used non-lethal) ... and the 3rd possibly still alive as well. (They were wedding gifts after all =))
Not sure about trying to march a skeleton through town however...

"Granny I put lamps on the git what screwed the kitty drum." Milo says scowling thoughtfully, hitching one thumb back towards the cages.

He does his best to describe the suspicious-looking 'guard' he saw lurking by the lion cage.

Unfortunately, after a moment of everyone staring at him futilely, not understanding his descriptive phrases, he swears colorfully in orcish, then casts silent image to create a quick illusion spell to show what the fellow looked like... though this one makes a rude gesture at whoever looks at it.

Ah, yes if they were all still alive then Balon would not actively kill one to make it undead. But if any of them were dead, he would do so. A skeleton may make people uncomfortable, but the skelly will be under our protection.

Two of the lions are still alive, but the third is dead, and Balon is free to animate it. It will take me a day or two to gin up stats for a skeletal lion. Not exactly something I anticipated.

As Milo casts his spell to visualize the suspicious guard he noticed, one of the camel drovers comes over to the group.

"I know that man. His name is Hakir Half-Ear. He's a pox-addled idiot who's worked as a caravan guard for me a couple of times. Rumor has it he belongs to a group of faithless mercenary dervishes called the Fraternity of the Unforgiving Fire."

The man explains further that the grim band meets at a location known as the Hall of Purifying Flame. He is able to provide directions to the hall.

Already put the stats on my profile, assuming that the lion was a standard 5 hit dice lion. :)

After animating the lion skeleton, Balon puts his hand on its skull. "This creature will help us find and punish the thieves. Shall we be off to this 'Hall of Purifying Flame'?"

Already put the stats on my profile, assuming that the lion was a standard 5 hit dice lion. :)

Note: it loses the grab ability, Balon.

Trask looks at what Balon is doing, and merely shakes his head. "The paladins would never abide by this, but if it protects us, I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing I have seen. But, Balon, if you try and do such a thing to any of your companions, or me, we will have words."

"Oh my friend, I would never give my lady's gifts to those who would not wish to have them. A beast such as this would not know enough to have an opinion. I respect all religions, and only ask that others give my lady the chance to prove that she is no more "evil" than that poor elephant or the man who just ripped out it's throat... It's in her nature to spread her gifts."

thanks, I'll fix the grab ability, just missed that one. :)

-Posted with Wayfinder

Errrr... After some hesitation Rufus decides to remain silent and keep a good distance from Balon and his pet.

Since we are already here lets check quickly the place from where the relics were stolen first. We may find more clues there.

Carefully stroking the sleeping lion the kitsune shudders.
You made a mistake mister. Staying as far away as possible she looks at Balon with utter contempt. "I hope your pet protects you. Cause I will not!"

Recovering from the exhaustion of his rage, Tharkan finds himself chewing on one of the elephant's bones. When he finally understand that the fuss is all about the animated lion, he merely asks Balon:

"You used lots of good bones for this. Hope 'tis worth it. Can I chew on them when you're finished with them?"

Of course he'll also don his armor.

"Just as I would expect from a worshipper of the sun goddess. No matter, you keep to yourself, and I will as well, and we will finish the mission, yes?"

To Tharkan: "The bones are yours when the creature is destroyed, my friend." Balon bows to him and sweeps a hand toward the skeleton, sitting perfectly still next to him.

Honestly, the skeletal lion probably won't even be that terribly useful in combat at this level, but I was just happy to see something that has the exactly 5 hit dice that I am able to raise. :)

A quick search of the room where the gifts were held does not turn up any additional clues to the perpetrators. Farendir is able to compose a list of the gifts that Master Bashir was planning to give to the Society.

See link at the top of the thread.

The Hall of Purifying Flame is found on the outskirts of Katheer, among the stench of slaughterhouses and tanneries. Nothing about the Hall of Purifying Flame suggests purity. Poorly patched cracks meander among the decaying brickwork, running up from the structure’s uneven foundation. The hall’s many windows have been bricked up or boarded over. Above the hall’s iron-shod door sags an illegible, weather-beaten sign.

Milo examines the list of missing gifts, and scowls.

"Had to be a bunch a the gits to vamp all this." He offers.

He makes the trip across town, mostly trying to stick to shadows, his goggles pulled up over his eyes. He does his best to stay well away from both Balon and the skeletal lion.

"Flashy." He mutters, sarcastically, looking at the boarded up building that apparently houses their target, once they reach it.

"If the prigs in there, like to be a crow." He adds, looking around to see if there's some sort of lookout they need to identify and avoid.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 - 4 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 4 - 1 = 15

He mutters a few words and casts a spell.

Casting mage armor on myself. Will also use his wand to restore his spell-like ability

"All right, we should make a plan here." says the former crusader. "Are we going to just burst in, cracking skulls, or do we want to be a little more... diplomatic?" Trask looks at the lion skeleton, and continues, "Ok, I think I know the answer to that question. So, I believe we'll want Balon and Milo to the rear, with me guarding them. Dailung and Tharken at point?"

"Tharkan go first, earn bones by fighting tough!" enthusiastically says the half-orc while glancing at the skeleton.

"You sure Tharkan can't take one bone now? Lion won't miss it too much, I promise."

Before entering, Tharkan will use his gloves of reconnaissance (for 1 round) to see what's beyond the main door.