Rise of a Regent Campaign Thread

Game Master Illydth

Sorry for the miss last night, something came up. I'll have something up probably later this evening but you can be assured by late tonight/tomorrow morning I'll move us forward.

Ok, Current Inventory:

Pooled, you have 7 Healing Potions left.
You have the Staff of Healing which has an Unknown number of charges left on it. (You have yet to identify any real properties of it, other than Thantos' Arcane Knowledge and Historical Knowledge of staves like it identifying that it is, in fact, a staff of healing and that it can be used by anyone.)

Current Hit Points:
Armand: 14 (Additional -2 To Hit and Damage Penalty till Fully Rested)
Dirk: 3 HP
Selena: 12 HP
Lash: 8 HP
Mird: 12 HP
Thantos: 14
Sarala: -3

Spells Left:
Thantos:
Acid Splash (Unlimited)
Daze (Unlimited)
Ghost Sound (Unlimited)
Obscuring Mist (1)
Sleep (1)
Hideous Laughter (1)
Acid Dart (Ability - 7 Left)
Bonded Object (Any one Spell in SpellBook - 1 Use)

Selena:
Dancing Lights, Detect Magic, Flare, Read Magic, Resistance (Unlimited)
Bless, Burning Hands, Mage Armor, Protection From Evil (1 Use of 1 of these left).
Heavenly Fire (2 Uses Left)

Armand:
Create Water, Detect Magic, Light, Purify Food/Drink (Unlimited)
Bless (1)
Cure Light Wounds (1)
Inflict Light Wounds (1)
Magic Weapon (1)
< All 1 use spells above can be converted into Cure Light Wounds >
Fire Bolt (3 Uses)
Rebuke Death (6 Uses)
Channel Energy (4 Uses)

Let me know how you want things distributed. 7 healing Potions, Up to 4 Cure Light Wounds Spells, and an unknown number of charges on the healing staff.

FYI Selena: You do not need to make a roll on the Staff of Healing nor a Use Magical Device check, this staff is usable by anyone.

Dirk uncorks one of the healing potions and slams it down in a single gulp.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Dirk is now 10/35. 6 Healing pots left.

Blinking as the pain subsides and his wounds slightly close, Dirk begins a verbal recap.

"If my memory serves, we are still facing 4 zombies, Blackmaer, Bernal and the mad Queen."

"I hit the Queen with several blows that would have dropped most... she's a tough one. However, I do feel like she doesn't have much left. I'm guessing she'll hang back and let her fodder soften us up."

"As for the zombies and the rest of them, I think they are largely untouched."

"Mird, you are a clever one, but I do not like the idea of splitting up or attempting to leave the keep. As long as she holds the staff she controls the forces above, and she will use them to rout us out. I think we need to make a stand here."

Gents: I am still waiting on posts describing how you all want to split up the healing at this point.

I know you guys don't like logistics but I really need someone to start determining who/how spells/potions/staff charges are going to get used among the 7 of you.

I intended to use a staff charge on Dirk. I will use another charge on Sarala, and then my last two heavenly fire abilities on Lash and Sarala, respectively.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2? not sure what the caster level of the healing staff is.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Another staff charge on Dirk.

Lash reaches for one of the potions, swiftly swallowing the healing draught.

1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Dirk, potion maker has to be at least 3rd

...

Dirk, potion maker has to be at least 3rd

Lash, not sure what you are saying here. I was only counting the number of potions we had left in the "pool". Now that your character has used another, we have 5.

Dirk gives a grateful nod to Selena as the healing from the staff closes more of his wounds.

If I read Selena's post correctly, Dirk received 4 additional points of healing. So Dirk is at 14/35.

...

Lash, not sure what you are saying here...

Ah! I think I figured out what you meant. I only added +1 to the potions dice. Gotcha. So... adding the two missing points, that puts Dirk at 16/35. Thanks Lash, good catch.

Armand: Cure Light Wounds (Mird): 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Armand: Cure Light Wounds (Lash)- Spontaneous (Magic Weapon): 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The staff is casting a 5th level Cure Light Wounds spell. The staff doesn't seem to have any additional powers. This puts the spell at 1d8+5, I'll go ahead and add the extra points in to those for which the staff has been used.

Current HP Status:

Armand: 14/33
Dirk: 22/32
Selena: 12/14
Lash: 20/27
Mird: 21/28
Thantos: 14/21
Sarala: 12/30

Healing Left:
5 Healing Potions Left
2 more Spontaneous Castings of Cure Light.
Healing Staff: Charges Left (unknown)

As Selena's touches the staff to Sarala's prone form more of her wounds disappear and she groans and stirs. Her eyes go wide for a second and she tries to sit bolt upright head swinging wildly side to side, obviously searching for danger. A pained expression crosses her face, which goes sheet white, and she almost faints back to the floor, the effort of so quickly trying to move after her ill treatment taking its toll on her frame.

"You...you didn't kill me while I was unconscious..." she ponders. "That is...surprising. Most people would immediately kill me as soon as they knew what I was."

Realizing what she's just said she quickly adds "I promise I am no danger to any of you!"

By this point we're assuming you've spent about 5 minutes of time. The web spell on the doors, which by the way are periodically rattling denoting something inside trying to pull them open, should last around another 25 minutes.

I'm also assuming that the Mage Armor spell is still effective on Sarala.

As color returns to his face, Dirk scoops up two potions and presses them into Armand's hands. "Drink these. You're the whole reason we are here, it won't do to have you fall in battle."

Then scarcely suppressing a grin, "Especially considering how soft you've become in your old age."

Turning toward the stirring Sarala, "Be at ease, we have no intention of harming you. You've shown us a kindness and we intend to keep our promise of helping you escape."

I'm feeling like we should get everyone as close to full health as possible, but saving 'at least' the 2 spells for battle. Thoughts?

Sounds like a good plan Dirk

As long as it doesn't take up too much time. I can get in there and cast another burning hands before the web spell goes out.

I wouldn't recommend rushing the healing portion of this to try for an improvised fireball 60' from a door that's likely being prepped against your re-entry...and getting back into the room prior to the web spells disintegrating will require you to get through the web currently holding the door to the queen's chambers shut.

Mage Armor is in effect on Sarala, You and Thantos still at this point...I'm not tracking time on it but since both of you are casting this at 3 hours / cast we're going to make the assumption that all 3 of you are armored for the rest of this particular scenario.

HP Totals are posted and should be accurate. Let me know what more you folks are looking to add to them.

Armand reluctantly takes the first healing potion and unstoppers it, wincing as he moves his arms. You note his shoulders are still showing a deep purple color.

"I am unlikely to be of much use to any of you in combat other than the link to my diety. I can support you, and I will fight if needed, but I am still very stiff and unable to move well. I fear this is a waste of our precious resources...besides I have other protections."

Armand - Quaff Healing Potion - 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Armand hands you back the other Potion.

"Put this to better use. Do not argue with me Dirk, I will be fine."

Ok, so it looks like we have 4 pots left and an unknown number of charges on the staff. I suggest using the remaining pots on Mird, Lash and Dirk to get them close to full-health - these three will be upfront and 'hopefully' taking most of the damage. Then finish with the staff where necessary.

Dirk tenses for a disagreement with Armand, but then recognizes the look on his old friends face. Accepting the healing potion from Armand, Dirk says, "You always were a stubborn one. I'll take it so that I may protect you better."

Healing Potion: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Dirk is at 30/32. 3 pots left.

Do you think we will need to be at full health. The queen is already seriously injured. If she dies, do you think the others will continue to fight?

Without further objection by tonight's post (5:00 pm) I'll make rolls for Lash, Mird and Dirk for the last three potions and carry us forward. Dirk pointed out to me my mistake: The healing pots should be 1d8+3 I believe since, as Lash points out, the creator would need to be at least 3rd level to make the potion in the first place...I've added an additional 2 points to Armand's HP total bringing him to 16.

There's a difference in cost. A potion maker can make a potion at any caster level he wishes, up to his actual caster level. Most healing potions with cure light wounds are made at 1st level, keeping them at a value of 50 gp. I'm not entirely certain, but I think a potion of cure light wounds at 3rd level would have a value of 150 gp.

Do you think we will need to be at full health. The queen is already seriously injured. If she dies, do you think the others will continue to fight?

Perhaps not, I was considering the possibility that the Queen may be receiving some healing, so I was suggesting 'close' to full. We are looking at 4 zombies, Blackmaer, Bernal and Ilyana. Will the zombies stop if the Queen goes down? I think they "stay animated until destroyed" - hungering to nibble our innards. Not sure of the motivations of the other two.

Without further objection by tonight's post (5:00 pm) I'll make rolls for Lash, Mird and Dirk for the last three potions and carry us forward. Dirk pointed out to me my mistake: The healing pots should be 1d8+3 I believe since, as Lash points out, the creator would need to be at least 3rd level to make the potion in the first place...I've added an additional 2 points to Armand's HP total bringing him to 16.

DM: Dirk is at 30/32. That's close enough. Don't use another pot on him.

Lash quickly downs another potion.

1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Lash is up to full

Mird takes one more of the healing draughts, unstoppers it and downs it at a gulp. Wincing at the taste but looking much more energized.

Quaff Healing Potion: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Sarala, still looking a bit worse for wear, asks if she can have one of the last two potions...and quaffs it.

Sarala Quaff healing Potion 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

This leaves you with a single healing potion left plus the staff and spells.

Looking MUCH more a healthy woman than she has since you first met her, Sarala addresses the 6 of you and says:

"I will be little use or help to any of you against Blackmaer, while I would love to tear his throat out with my own teeth for his treatment of me over these last several months, his sword is specifically tuned against me. It hurts me much more than it should and it obviously hungers for my blood more than any other ill-magiced weapon I have ever encountered. Once Blackmaer is down, however, I can help you fight for our survival."

She stops and looks at each of you, starting to edge away from the group a little.

"However, I must know what you plan on doing with me once this ordeal is over? I am a were-tigress as you obviously know. I am no danger to the human population. I was a shepherdess, and at the full moon I slake my hunger on my own flock. I live in a self imposed exile so I will not hurt that which I once was."

"You have been kind to me so far, but I wish not to be handed over to authorities to be executed or to be hunted like an animal and slaughtered in the end. If you cannot allow me to leave of my own free will, I ask that you let me go now, through the dungeon and out into the courtyard above to survive or die on my own...better that than to be hunted and killed in ridicule by those I once called kin."

And as a last set of questions to get answered: How do you want to re-approach the room?

The healing and conversation takes approximately 10 minutes of time, so you have 20 minutes left on the webs.

* Do you want to wait till the webs go away on their own, unblocking the doors and allowing whatever wants to come out of the room to come?

* Do you want to remove the webs yourself? If so how?

* Do you want to be positioned at the doorway to the queen's room? Back in the hall you're in? Somewhere else in the dungeon?

Assuming no other plan in the next 24 hours I am assuming you are lighting a torch, burning the webs away from the door, and rushing the room as soon as humanly possible. If you would like another plan, fill me in.

Lash looks at Sarala in puzzlement for a moment.

"Hon you literally saved our lives. If it wasn't for you we'd be chained up until they decided to kill us, and when he was done with you Lena and I would probably be his new playthings. Armand might be dead by now and we'd be without hope instead of fighting for our lives."

She steps forward, closing the distance while maintaining eye contact.

"I can only imagine the things that sick bastard did to you but I promise you we'll make him pay for it, and I swear to you that none of us is going to turn you in, attack you or harm you in any way. Those people behind that door are the real monsters, not you....no matter what anyone else says."

Selena nods, offering her silent support to Lash's words.

Dirk realizes that his 6'3" form can seem imposing, so he keeps his distance from Sarala, but nods to indicated his agreement of Lash's words.

"We need to quickly organize ourselves for our encounter with the Queen. She was obviously furious at losing Armand, and by the sounds of it, they are very interested in pursuit."

Dirk pauses to look up and down the hallway allowing the memories and lessons of past battles to guide his thoughts.

"This hallway should allow us to first, attack with our ranged weapons and then, control their movement through our ranks. It also provides an easy route to fall back if necessary."

Pointing down the hallway (away from the doors), "Let's position ourselves near this turn. Lash and I can kneel and use our ranged weapons. Mird and Thantos standing behind us, and Selena, Armand and Sarala in the rear to provide healing and support."

Turning to Thantos, Dirk says, "If you have another trick up your sleeve to slow them down once they are in the hall, it may give us time to take several shots at them while they are immobilized. I'll be using incendiary bolts and can light the webs if they begin to break free."

"Lash, are you carrying any caltrops? We could use them just outside the door."

"This is not going to be an easy fight. I feel certain the Queen will have received at least some healing. Our opponents are formidable. Unless anyone has additional thoughts, I'd suggest we get into position."

After laying out the battle plan, Dirk sheathes his Elven blade and readies his crossbow with an incendiary bolt.

DM: Dirk is at 30/35, or possibly 32/35? (i.e. not 30/32)

As a final Dirk, we're going to track this as 32/35 due to the inconsistency between Beta and Production rules sets.

You can assume a "reduction" in max hp once we move to prod rules, but for the moment, 35 is your proper number.

No one I see on the equipment list has tanglefoot bags, caltrops or anything of that nature so unfortunately I won't use that as part of the plan.

The seven of you setup at the end of the hallway, back by the bend. In three ranks, Dirk and Lash get down on one knee, crossbows loaded and braced, ready to fire. Above them, Sarala stands ready, already transformed into her Were-tigress form and Mird stands with longbow cocked and ready.

Behind them, Selena, Thantos and Armand squeeze into the last row, ready to throw spells and support at whoever needs. After a quick check, all party members identify they are ready.

Armand takes one of Dirk's Tindertwigs from his backpack and strikes it against the floor, immediately a bright light and heat springs up around you as he hands the twig to Sarala.

Nodding her assent she draws back the twig and hucks it as hard as she can down the hall. End over end the stick flies through the air to embed, hot end first, into the middle of the webs. Immediately the front-most section of webbing starts to catch aflame, burning backwards into the midst of the thick, gooey substance covering the hallway no more than 20' in front of you.

The hallway lights up in an orange glow as the majority of the webbing catches flame and starts burning to ashes, floating particles of web turned ash, some still alight like mini embers, float down the hallway toward you, pushed aloft by the heatwave coming off of the now flaming ball of substance. A chemically/charcoal smell wafts back toward the party and a wave of pure heat washes over each of you, warming the damp underground air and your slightly chilled bodies.

Moments pass as the flames continue to burn backwards down the hall, burning inch by inch, foot by foot of webbing away in seconds. Squinting against the ambient light as your eyes adjust, you can begin to see the wooden doorway into the queen's chamber again, becoming uncovered by the blaze.

A cry from inside the Queen's room alerts you to action as the last of the webbing holding the doorway burns away, singeing the evilly carved doors, but otherwise doing little damage. A half second later one, then the other, door is pulled open wide into the queen's room, and like some foul resurrection in a graveyard a wave of zombies comes shuffling out of the Queen's room and down the hall, hands raised, moaning in the cold embrace of undeath.

Peaking around the corner of the doorway, you see Blackmaer's head emerge quickly to assess the situation and almost as quickly, duck back inside. An obviously heated conversation arises from within the room, but you cannot make out any of it over the moans, creaks, and shuffling of the undead hoard as the zombies continue their treck down the hallway toward your position.

Realizing the final battle is on, each of you raises your weapons just a little higher, strengthening your resolve just a little more, and opens fire on the oncoming threat.

The updated battle map is up at Queen Battle Map.

Each of you make another initiative roll and I need everyone with any kind of ranged attack you want to use to identify the action, pick a target, and make a To Hit/Damage roll. This is, in essence, a free round for all of you. The zombies will be engaged in Melee in the next round.

Initiative Rolls:

Party:
Armand Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Sarala Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Enemy:
Ilyana Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Bernal Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Blackmaer Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Zombie 1 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 15
Zombie 2 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 4
Zombie 3 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Zombie 4 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 20
Zombie 5 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Zombie 6 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 6
Zombie 7 Initiative: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Round 1 (Free Round)
Initiative
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

A beautiful chanting in Celestial can be heard as heavenly flame shoots forth from Selena's fingers, this time taking on the semblance of an orb of light around Dirk. Protection From Evil.

"My last spell for today. Use it well, Captain."

Init1d20 ⇒ 7

Lash quickly fires off a shot at the zombie right before her, the bolt streaking perfectly down the hallway.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
1d8 ⇒ 4

confirmation
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
2d8 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2

She quickly drops the crossbow, drawing her sword as she crouched ready to meet them head on.

Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Having had so much success in the past, Thantos again decides to use his web spell to hopefully ensnare or at least slow the approaching horde of zombies. This time he must use his magically bound ring which will limit his options later, but he believes it will be worth it.

Thantos does his best to aim the webs to start a few feet in front of the nearest zombie and back toward the door to catch as many as he can.

As soon as he is done murmuring the incantation he draws his crossbow and readies a bolt.

Never completely comfortable with magic, Dirk blinks as Selena's spell settles over him. Then, skin humming with magic, he raises his crossbow and fires.

Init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Heavy Crossbow Attack (Z3): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 5
Added Fire Bolt Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Initiative 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Rapid Shot attack

Attack Z4: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 - 2 = 13
Attack Z4: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 2 = 21

Damage Z4: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Damage Z4: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Initiative Order for New Combat:
==================================
Lash
Ilyana
Mird
Sarala
Zombie 4
Dirk
Zombie 1
Zombie 7
Blackmaer
Armand
Selena
Zombie 5
Zombie 6
Zombie 3
Bernal
Thantos
Zombie 2

(No Attacks this round from any of the enemy).

Spell Effects:
Protection from Evil - Dirk (18 Rounds Left).
Web (30 Minutes)
- Z3 In Web
- Z5 In Web (Cover)
- Z6 In Web (Cover)
- Z7 In Web (Cover)

Lash takes careful aim with her crossbow and fires, the hit piercing the Zombie's head to stick awkwardly and quivering out of the zombie's forhead. If it notices (other than stumbling back a second from the force of the shot) you cannot tell. (Zombie takes 4 Damage from the Crossbow hit, you missed the confirm roll.)

Over Lash's head, two more arrows zip in close succession to each other as Mird gets his own shots in on the zombie. One more arrow closely follows Lash's into the Zombie's head, and the last strikes the creature in the chest, causing it to fall over backwards and not move. (Z4 takes another 11 damage for a total of 15 and falls over "dead".)

Behind you Sarala growls menacingly, but with no way to attack at range and not stupid enough to charge her enemy she dances from foot to foot, anxiously awaiting her chance to get back into combat.

A click and wiz signals Dirk's own, heavier crossbow unloading on the zombie shuffling down the hallway next to it's fallen friend. The bolt solidly strikes it's target clear in the chest and practically puches it's way out the rotting flesh at the back, entangling itself on the creature's backbone. A sizzle and flare signal the bolt igniting into flame but since the tip has already punctured the zombie's back it does little more than singe the already rotting skin of it's back. (Z3 takes 6 total points of damage from Dirk's bolt, but continues shuffling down the hallway)

Armand stands silently at the back of the group, observing the situation and holding his pressious few attacks till they can be most needed.

Selena gathers the slivery fire in her hand and reaches out to touch Dirk on the shoulder. Immediately a purple field of light flares all along Dirk's form, from head to feet about a foot away from his body and then fades. Observers, out of the corner of their eye, can still see a purple shimmer surrounding Dirk.

(You are affected by Protection from Evil. Note, as I read the spell if you attack any of the zombies you are breaking the effect of the "they can't touch you" portion of the spell. As I am not generally a part of the dicussions of the community, I'm more than open to someone correcting me on how this part of the spell actually works. I believe what it's saying is that you are completely protected from the natural attacks (touch/claw/bite/etc.) of any evil creature but once you attack that creature you are doing away with that protection...obviously the +2 bonus still applies. Correct? Incorrect? If there's more than just "yep, that's it" go ahead and post it up to the dicussion thread which is linked at the top. This should be a 3 minute effect, each round of combat being 10 seconds, this makes the spell last 18 rounds.)

Thantos finishes chanting shortly after Selena and the now familiar white ball of goo flies from his hands and over the heads of most of the zombies. Silently the ball of goo explodes outward into tendrils of silken weblike material to attach itself to the walls in several places, immediately the zombies disappear into the mass of substance, only the first two zombies can be seen the rest can only be glimpsed through holes and strands of the webbing fiber.

Z3 Reflex vs. Web: 1d20 ⇒ 19 (Free to Move)
Z5 Reflex vs. Web: 1d20 ⇒ 7 (Entangled)
Z6 Reflex vs. Web: 1d20 ⇒ 2 (Free to Move)
Z7 Reflex vs. Web: 1d20 ⇒ 18 (Entangled)

Z3 has 5 feet of web in front of them,
Z6, Z7 have 10 feet of web in front of them,
Z5 has 15 feet of web in front of it.

Next Round In folks.

As I understand Protection from Evil, I believe the complete physical protection only applies to evil outsiders, not just evil creatures. However, you could potentially rule that undead are animated by evil spirits (lol). In either case, Dirk's attack cancelled that out, but I just wanted to give him the +2 anyway. :)

Seeing two of the zombies continue to lumber toward them out of the web causes Thantos' hands to shake and stomach to twist, the painful blows he received from them still too fresh in his mind. Unable to steady his hand enough to load a bolt into his crossbow, he throws it aside. Fortunately, though his body betrays him, his intense training allows his mind to remain clear and focused. He decides to watch the battle unfold and readies himself to assist any in the group that get in trouble.

Thantos holds action to move up in the order

Ahem, as one of our players is a "web developer" he seems to have caught a bit of a mistake in my web physics logic...a 19 and a 2 do not both manage to escape the webs...it should be Z3 and Z7 that are not entangled instead of Z3 and Z6. I guess it takes an expert developing for "the web" to catch the mistake in my "logic web". :)

Don't blame me folks, it's Dirk's bad humor...I just thought I'd pass along the pain to everyone. :)

Re: Protection from Evil: Ah, I missed the word "Summoned" in there. Evil summoned creatures can't touch you...these are not summoned as such they can pass the shield. And according to what I'm reading, yes, attacking does break the "can't touch this" protection.

Damn I missed my cue. I should have said "I guess it takes an expert developing for "the web" to catch the mistake in my "weblogic" instead of "Logic Web"...

...

Don't blame me folks, it's Dirk's bad humor...I just thought I'd pass along the pain to everyone. :)
...

Ouch!

Damn I missed my cue. I should have said "I guess it takes an expert developing for "the web" to catch the mistake in my "weblogic" instead of "Logic Web"...

So close...

"Target the close one!", Dirk shouts as he engages the internal mechanism that allows him to steady his actions in battle. Breath slowing, eyes focused, he fires...

Heavy Crossbow Attack (Z3): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10
Added Fire Bolt Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

So here's an interesting question. You can make a ranged sneak attack, and you can sneak attack with a spell, essendially if you roll dice it can be a sneak attack if the opponent is flat footed, entangled , grappled etc. Does this mean that if I fastball a flask of alchemist fire at one of the trapped zombies it's sneak attack? thoughts

"You're going to backstab...with a siege weapon? ... There's nothing in the rules that says you can't...roll it." (The Gamers - 2002)

A bit more seriously. This is where description in rules doesn't match logic. According to the sneak attack rules it says that sneak attack applies "if a target would be denied a Dexterity bonus to AC or when the rogue flanks the target." Obviously in this situation any of the Zombies that do not make their entanglement roll would, in effect, be sneak attackable according to that rule.

That said there is one piece that concerns me: "The rogue must be able to see the target well enough to pick out a vital spot and must be able to reach such a spot." Back in 2ond Edition when this ability was called "backstab" and not "sneak attack" there used to be a restriction that it was usable on humanoids only...the reason for this was that the rogue would not have knowledge of, say, an Ooze's bodily makeup to understand where a "vital spot" would be. The intent of this damage has always been that the rogue understands the physical makeup of the creature he is attacking and understands both what the vital organs are and where those organs are within his target. Back in 1st edition they required the rogue to be using basically a dagger or shortsword to backstab...backstab was not possible with crossbows, longswords, etc. The reason for this was control: It's pretty hard to slip a 5' long 2" wide blade into a chink in a piece of armor and twist it just right to pierce someone's lung...slipping it past/through the rib cage.

Problem is that caused way too many arguments between way to many players and DMs who preferred to "win" over telling a story. The DM would simply rule that a backstab wasn't possible situationally any time he didn't want the extra damage to happen...too many restrictions = easy to abuse. So in 3rd edition (and now Pathfinder) they took away pretty much all the restrictions except "Dex bonus to AC" to alleviate arguments. The "pick out a vital spot" is still there within the description but I think that is intended to speak more to concealment than protection. That said I, personally, was always a proponent of the rogue having to be up close and personal with the target to "find a vital spot"...anyone who's shot archery knows that putting an arrow or crossbow bolt EXACTLY where you want it (and I don't mean within a bulseye area) at the EXACT mark you would have to hit to get through a "chink" in the armor while both you and the target are moving, and you, yourself, are under fire and the target is engaged in actively avoiding you would be impossible, even for the BEST of archers.

Still, in Pathfinder, there are only 2 restrictions I can apply according to the rules: 1) Is the target denied his Dex bonus to AC...Yes, 2) Can you see a vital spot on the target?...Yes...technically...

I think throwing a potion bottle for sneak attack damage is a massive bend in the rules, but I cannot deny that there really is nothing in the rules that says that doesn't count. I don't like it, but I can't argue it. :)

The way I look at it for ranged combat is that Id rathe be hit by alchemist fire in the arm than the face, hence the extra precision based damage. I'll go with your ruling on it though.

Just got the proper ruling on this one: In the combat chapter under splash damage, splash weapons are explicitly denied precision damage, with a specific example of rogue sneak attack. Figured I was right, I just didn't know where to look to prove it! :)

Selena summons a bright ball of heavenly light and flings it towards the closest approaching zombie. flare

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13