The zombie horde shambles forth, surrounding Guiness in the process and getting close to Ziva. (Two of em provoke from Guiness) The closest giant-sized zombie moves to smash Guiness with its spiked club, but the dwarf blocks the swing handily. The Headless Lord, moving much more swiftly and with greater surety in its steps, reaches Guiness as well. However at the last moment before it can swing down its axe, one of the smaller zombies stumbles into it and throws its swing completely awry.
The smaller zombies look unusually vile, with putrid liquid dripping from their open mouths.
|||| INIT ||||
Astrid
Colvyn (reduced)
Kellek
Ziva (10 dmg)
Guiness
Headless Lord
Blue Giant Zombie
Pink Giant Zombie
Yellow Giant Zombie
Orange Giant Zombie
9x Human Zombies
(No AOO’s from Guiness—total defense doesn’t allow it. Also, since it has only been one round in-between battles, Guiness is still fatigued from his previous Defensive Stance.)
Realizing he has entered too far into the room and disappointed that something hasn’t gone *BOOM* in the middle of the enemy mass, Guiness says, ”Falling back a bit.” Too winded to enter his Defensive Stance right away, he takes advantage of the haste and starts rapidly crushing the Zombie to his north, planning to step up into its place if it falls.
Full attack, fatigued and Hasted, starting on the medium zombie above him. 5 foot step into its place if/when it falls, then any leftover attacks at the next one above him.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
"Ah, a large mob of unliving foes," Ziva observes drolly. "I don't suppose you have something for this, wizard?"
Really wishing Ziva had anything for crowd control right now! Vital Strike:1d20 + 19 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 19 - 1 = 25Damage:2d10 + 13 + 2d6 ⇒ (4, 10) + 13 + (4, 4) = 35
Just as a heads up: I'm treating the lesser zombies as 'minions' - a single solid enough hit takes them out, but lesser damage isn't tracked.
GM Screen:
1d6 ⇒ 3 1d6 ⇒ 6 1d6 ⇒ 3
Guiness smashes clear through two of the zombies with Dragonfist, stepping up as he does so. Ziva holds her ground and cleaves through a zombie of her own, though there seems to be plenty more where those have come from. The three zombies that have been felled collapse to the ground with wet thuds before bursting into localized explosions of putrid acidic slime.
(Guiness takes a total of 9 damage from the acidic burst and Ziva takes 4) Showered in the slime, Guiness inadvertently inhales a small portion before coughing it up.
|||| INIT |||| Astrid
Colvyn (reduced)
Kellek
Ziva (14 dmg)
Guiness (9 dmg, latent disease(2))
Headless Lord
Blue Giant Zombie
Pink Giant Zombie
Yellow Giant Zombie
Orange Giant Zombie
9x Human Zombies
One by one, Colvyn's arrows puncture the chests of the pustulent zombies. He brings four down, each bursting with slime as they fall. This time, only one is close enough to catch Guiness in the burst. The acid splashes mostly against his armor (Dealing 2 acid dmg)
Guiness Fort:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
The remaining two pustulent zombies shamble in (One provoking from Guiness), followed by two of the giant zombies. The Headless Lord begins rubbing his two axes against one another, scraping and screeching and forming some uncanny magic by the looks of the hazy symbols glowing across his bloody stump. A wave of magical terror washes over the group, all except Astrid.
Primal fear washes over you, but you stay stalwart! (All four are shaken for 1 rd) The orange and pink giant zombies swing in with their spiked clubs, but Guiness is ready for the attacks and guards against both.
|||| INIT ||||
Astrid x2
Colvyn (reduced)
Kellek x2
Ziva (14 dmg)
Guiness (11 dmg, latent disease(2))
Headless Lord
Blue Giant Zombie
Pink Giant Zombie
Yellow Giant Zombie
Orange Giant Zombie
2x Human Zombies
Fatigued, diseased, and shaken, Guiness coughs wetly and says resolutely, "Time for the big guys!"
Swatting aside the remaining human-sized zombie, Guiness takes a step to get into range with the giant zombies and keeps swinging! At the end of the round as his fear starts to subside, so does his fatigue, so he enters his Defensive Stance once again.
CG Changeling Cleric (Herald Caller) of Pulura 5; Stargazer 6 | 30/63HP | AC23 T14 FF20 | CMD20 | F +9 R +9 W +15 (+2 vs MA) | SR 17 | Spd 40 | Init +3 | Perc +24 | Bluff +21, Diplomacy +27, Fly +6, Geography +14, Handle Animal +10, Lore (Blood Hags) +12, Perception +24, Planes +8, Sense Motive +24, Survival +12 | Elysium's Call 9/9 | Holy Lance 1/1 | Channel 1/6 | Active Conditions: HB (Giants, Mountains), FoM
Astrid darts forward, releasing a wave of positive energy over the undead, followed by a flash of holy radiance that lights up the biggest monster and two of his comrades. Before they can retaliate, she ducks back behind Ziva and Colvyn.
Channel Energy vs Undead, DC 17 Will for half:5d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 6, 1) = 15I think this should hit all of them. Burst of Radiance vs Headless Lord, Pink, and Blue:5d4 ⇒ (4, 3, 3, 2, 4) = 16 Blinded for 1d4 ⇒ 2 rounds, DC 18 Reflex reduces this to dazzled instead.
Ziva and Guiness both get showered, with Guiness taking the worst of it. (Ziva takes 1 dmg, Guiness 7 dmg) Guiness' following attacks are mostly easily deflected by the Headless Lord, but he does manage to get one good solid blow in.
Astrid's channeled energy is met by an unholy aura that seems to be emanating from the Headless Lord. The unholy energies partly protect several of the lesser zombies, but aren't enough to completely block her channel. Her burst of radiance engulfs three of the foes, burning them with light, and blinding two of the large zombies in the process.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
As Astrid's magic flares and injures the larger zombies, Ziva decides to close in and finish them off if she can. Her burning golden blade leaves a lingering afterimage in the air as she carves through the putrid corpse.
Moving in which probably provokes but she has AC38 with the natural armor. Vital Strike with Crane Style & sneak attack included since the zombie is blind. Vital Strike vs Pink:1d20 + 19 + 2 - 3 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 19 + 2 - 3 - 1 = 32Damage:2d10 + 15 + 3d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (9, 2) + 15 + (5, 6, 4) + (4, 1) = 46
Ziva ducks into the blinded pink zombie's personal space and delivers a brutal wound. A blast of putrid (but harmless) gases escape as the zombie collapses under the weight of its armor.
The blue giant zombie stumbles forwards, wildly swinging its spiked club without hitting anything more than air. The orange zombie is more focused, aiming an overhead swing at Guiness that catches the dwarf while's he's attempting to defend against the Headless Lord (18 dmg after DR). Yellow simply mills about groaning, unable to find a way in to attack the heroes. The Headless Lord raises both axes and holds them high in the air for a moment, then unleashes a furious flurry of strikes. Guiness blocks or deflects most of the massive swings, but one gets in, slicing him (17 dmg after DR)
Blocking blow after blow and gritting his teeth as several break through his defenses, Guiness continues to pull power from the solid stone beneath him and focuses his attacks on stumpy once more!
The hurricane of arrows from down the hall turns orange into a puncushion. After four successful hits, the massive giant zombie loses one wet arm, while a fifth arrow takes off its head. It falls a moment later. Colvyn's last two arrows hit the yellow zombie as well. Meanwhile, the Headless Lord fends off Guiness with swings of its own axes. Guiness only manages to get one swing in past its guard, smashing a kneecap.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
Unwilling to waste to opportunity to eliminate one of the large zombies while it was vulnerable, Ziva steps in close to it--and the Headless Lord--and delivers a flurry of murderous strikes.
Not including any bonuses/maluses from the blindness here. AC38 Attack #1:1d20 + 22 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 22 - 4 = 35Damage:1d10 + 15 + 2d6 + 3d6 ⇒ (6) + 15 + (4, 6) + (4, 3, 5) = 43
While Astrid heals Guiness, Ziva lays one giant zombie low with two slashes before turning with perfect precision to strike a telling blow upon the Headless Lord. The heavily armored undead figure barely keeps it's footing as Ziva's hit almost takes off a leg.
The yellow giant zombie staggers foward and slams its spiked club down on Guiness. He blocks the blow thanks to his solid defensive stance. The Headless Lord seems to reassess its foes and switches targets. Four swings sweep in against Ziva, with two hitting home despite her best defensive techniques. (Dealing 20 and 23 slashing dmg)
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
@GM I think Mr. Headless should get back 10hp since I wouldn't have gotten the sneak attack damage.
Gritting her teeth against her injuries, Ziva attempts to counterattack but keeping one hand pressed against the slash to her ribs throws off her forms.
The Headless Lord deflects blow after blow, but with Ziva and Guiness working in tandem, they sneak two heavy hits past the whirling axes and into necrotic flesh. As they pull their hammer and blade free, a fireball erupts ahead of them, incinerating the remaining zombie giant and reducing it to a blackened husk.
Combat Over! You can hold onto that lightning bolt!
The Headless Lord decays with alarming and clearly supernatural quickness, and in moments all that's left is a mound of pungent dirt where it's body once once fell. (Though its armor and axes remain)
CG Changeling Cleric (Herald Caller) of Pulura 5; Stargazer 6 | 30/63HP | AC23 T14 FF20 | CMD20 | F +9 R +9 W +15 (+2 vs MA) | SR 17 | Spd 40 | Init +3 | Perc +24 | Bluff +21, Diplomacy +27, Fly +6, Geography +14, Handle Animal +10, Lore (Blood Hags) +12, Perception +24, Planes +8, Sense Motive +24, Survival +12 | Elysium's Call 9/9 | Holy Lance 1/1 | Channel 1/6 | Active Conditions: HB (Giants, Mountains), FoM
In the immediate aftermath, Astrid carries on with patching up Ziva and Guinness. The dwarf's cough draws a look of concern from her, but she says nothing for now.
Guiness surveys the metalwork on the scene while Astrid restores everyone's wounds. The lesser giant zombies were housed in six total suits of large masterwork half-plate, and were wielding large morningstars. Far more interesting is the equipment belonging to the Headless Lord. His armor seems finely made masterwork full plate (+1 full plate after Kellek's inspection), while his two axes hold razor-sharp edges and are inscribed with ancient runes (two runechill hatchets after Kellek inspects them)
Colvyn makes his way over to the smaller corridor and takes a look down it. The corridor itself is cramped, dark, and badly scorched. The room beyond looks to be barren of furniture or objects beyond piles of cooled black metal slag. He doesn't spot any traps in the corridor, nor does he spot any movement in the room beyond.
Guiness picks up the hatchets and is pleased when they resize to fit his grip. He puts them in his Handy Haversack for easy transport. The giant-sized full plate seems to be too big for him to carry, however.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
15dmg remaining, HP on my quick reference bar adjusted to reflect that.
Nodding her gratitude to Astrid, Ziva approaches the statue with cautious curiosity, blade bared in hand but kept low and--hopefully--nonthreatening.
Perception:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (14) + 16 = 30Looking for any writings, oddities, symbolic clues, secret passages etc. She doesn't know what to expect!
Stifling another cough, Guiness moves to the northern hallway while Colvyn looks into the narrow southern hallway. He holds position and keeps an eye out for any threats while the stealthy among them investigate.
The "statue" is not so much a statue as it is the sole remaining suit of armor that had not housed an undead abomination. This suit of half-plate is masterwork and sized for a giant, but otherwise unremarkable. Ziva doesn't otherwise notice anything unusual about the room beyond what you've already seen, nor does Astrid or Kellek. Down the wider northern hallway, Guiness sees plenty of rubble scattered across the ground, but nothing that looks hazardous - other than as a tripping hazard of course. The wider northern passage continues in a north-easterly direction. A dim but steady glow of cool light emits from the passage beyond.
After a reasonable pause while Colvyn and perhaps others search the smaller, burned-out room, Guiness moves forwards to the next opening that appears to lead down into that same room from the north. He stops shy of the passage, but continues to keep watch and perhaps gets a glimpse of that light source ahead...
Guiness bypasses the burned-out room. Peeking down the north-easterly passage, Guiness sees that it opens to a larger, grander hall beyond that appears to be lit by the steady light of some kind of magical light source. From a distance, he can see the grand hall has a tall ceiling and intricate carved pillars. He can't see much else without getting closer.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
"The architecture is certainly grand--it's a shame so many giants choose violence and destruction. They are talented builders." Ziva comes up behind Guiness to survey the chamber.
"This Mokmurian fellow doesn't make it easy to find him, does he?"
Perception:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
If there's no apparent traps in this hallway Ziva is ready to advance; we could let Colvyn scout it out though if he likes.
CG Changeling Cleric (Herald Caller) of Pulura 5; Stargazer 6 | 30/63HP | AC23 T14 FF20 | CMD20 | F +9 R +9 W +15 (+2 vs MA) | SR 17 | Spd 40 | Init +3 | Perc +24 | Bluff +21, Diplomacy +27, Fly +6, Geography +14, Handle Animal +10, Lore (Blood Hags) +12, Perception +24, Planes +8, Sense Motive +24, Survival +12 | Elysium's Call 9/9 | Holy Lance 1/1 | Channel 1/6 | Active Conditions: HB (Giants, Mountains), FoM
Perception:1d20 + 24 ⇒ (5) + 24 = 29
"Why would he do something sensible like that, when he can just send wave after wave of his kin to die?" Astrid mutters, her eyes scanning the floor, walls, and ceiling for more deadly traps.
Neither Ziva nor Astrid spot any traps or hazards in the north-easterly leading hall, so you all proceed onward. (Moved you all up)
This long, grand hallway has a looming ceiling forty feet above and is decorated with an intricate display of carved stone supports and arching beams. The walls are finely inscribed with long swatch of dense runes - ones you now recognize as Thassilonian. The seven pointed start symbol is repeated throughout, serving as a focal point for the intricate scripts. Sconces along the hall hold pale gems that shine with a pale blue-white light.
To the east, the hallway has caved in entirely - a battered door protrudes from the rubble but the hallway beyond is entirely filled. To the west, the hall ends at an immense set of bronze doors that bear a mirrorlike silver inlay of the ubiquitous seven-pointed star. This set of doors has no obvious hinges, handles or locks, save for a single tiny star-shaped indentation at the center of the larger mirrored star.
Further doors, these a more conventional iron (and with more conventional handles) stand on the northern and southern sides of the hall at the midpoint and at the eastern end.
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
After carefully panning left and right, Ziva turns towards the double doors on the right first. "We've got to start somewhere. Guiness & Colvyn, on me."
Perception:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
If no traps present themselves, the knight gives her companions a nod and throws open the doors.
The first door on the right proves a proper struggle to open. It seems the stone walls have shifted enough to jam the door closed. After some serious heaving from both Guiness and Ziva, you manage to crack it open, only to see that nothing more than a cave-in lies beyond. A bony forearm extends from the collapsed rocks, evidence of an unlucky occupant from ages long past.
"Shall we work our way around on this wall, then?" asks Guiness as he heads to the next door on the right wall--the one at the end of the hallway with a decent amount of rubble surrounding it, "Or do you think these on this end of the hallway were all subjected to a bad cave-in?"
Perception at the end of the hallway and on the door:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18 Dungeoneering on the likelihood of further cave-ins:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Guiness keenly notices that the vestiges of the door and doorframe here are all that keeps a pack of loose rock from tumbling into the hall. Other than that small risk however, the likelihood of further serious cave-ins seems low. Still, opening the far eastern door probably won't do you any good.
”This door at the end of the hallway is primed to collapse under the weight of the loose rock on it. Let us skip this one and try the next one,” says Guiness. He repositions away from the far east door and prepares to open the nearby one on the north wall, though he invites others to check it for traps first if they desire.
After a brief look over the iron door, Guiness heaves it open. It moves much more smoothly than the one to the south, and opens to a clear room rather than another cave-in.
This strange, empty room has been smoothed over to an even greater extent than the other chambers in this complex—every angle of the walls has been modified into a gentle arc, removing any element of harsh regular lines entirely from view. Patches of what appear to be scorch marks stain the walls and floors here and there, especially to the south, where part of the wall has begun to crumble. A sound like crinkling paper begins to echo throughout the room, and a moment later three gaunt, dog-like creatures slink their way out of the shadows of the room. They turn their heads to regard Guiness with huge, grey, soulless eyes. (See handouts!) One of them spits out the mangled, thoroughly chewed head of Enga the kobold.
Although his first instinct is to just shut the door and not deal with these (potentially fire-breathing) hounds, Guiness has a brief flash of insight and considers how much harder the fight with Mokmurian would be if these creatures entered through a side door in the middle of it.
So instead, moving into the room, Guiness finds a defensible spot and waves his flaming hammer about threateningly as he waits for his companions to join him...And indeed, the opening to the left in this chamber appears to have doors that lead deeper into the complex.
"One problem at a time" he thinks, his hammer poised to smack the first hound who gets close...
LG fm human Deliverer7/Crimson-Templar3 l hp 110/125 l AC25 (T15, FF22) l F +14, R +10, W +7, Ini +2 l CMB +17 CMD30 l Perc +16, SM +16 l Active Buffs/Conditions: (none)
Oh lovely, mutant wolves with a piranha face!
Grimacing, Ziva takes up a ready stance. "A grim fate, but at least we know our charges are safe from Enga." Igniting her blazing wings, the knight of Lastwall lets them carry her forward into range of the nearest monster.
Shield of Wings, move forward 40ft, Vital Strike using Crane Wing; AC38 if the natural armor is still active. Attack:1d20 + 19 - 3 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 19 - 3 - 1 = 28Damage:2d10 + 13 + 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) + 13 + (6, 1) = 26
