Shackled City (Pathfinder) - GM_Chris

Game Master Chris Shannon 719

Round 12 Init 17+

"Atol, hold these two off with your cudgel."

Finneas steps over to the door and swings through it at Triel.

5' step to X25 and swing at Triel, taking -4 for cover.
Greatsword Power Attack Bless Strength Surge Cover +6
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 152d6 + 9 ⇒ (3, 1) + 9 = 13

If this attack isn't allowed add 4 and I'll use it against the Thug instead.

Round 12, Init 3

Dyrant moves to W29 while drawing an alchemist fire.

I just feel 'right' standing here...as if I'm supposed to. Weird.

"Oh Lady, you're going to burn." Dyrant says, holding up the fire, shaking the woman's confidence with a glare.

(7 rounds/1round on Will save DC 16) Inflict penalties (-2 to AC, attacks, saves, or skills). Choosing -2 on all her AC.

Finneas steps over to the door and swings through it at Triel.

Yes. You can attack through the door.

(7 rounds/1round on Will save DC 16) Inflict penalties (-2 to AC, attacks, saves, or skills). Choosing -2 on all her AC.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

"It's a good thing you're a priest, the women would never go for those looks."

I will await Toffitt's action before posting my own, unsure if I should attempt to absorb another AoO. I'd likely defer to Atol as well to see if he channels since my round would involve a Lay Hands if he does not.

He already posted.

And that is why I also included Atol in the deferral, as a possible source in pending further healing! :)

Basically, I believe Glimmil would attack and then move in such a way to invoke an AoO if Toffitt wanted that (although Toffitt's AC may be higher, and he may have just as many HP as Glimmil at that point, so maybe not...) So it's not too "metagamey" it would be ideal if Toffitt used a free action to encourage Glimmil to "distract her".

Again, I apologize for the meta-gaming... but it's crunch time here, I'm sweating!

Round 12, Initiative 4, Location W25->Y25

Atol, seing Dyr...Glimmil's fresh injuries, moves to the door and then Channels energy for 2d6 ⇒ (2, 6) = 8 worth of healing. He is careful to exclude Triel and the non-burning thug.

I need a buckler. Yes, a buckler would be good to have. I'm hungry... I wonder what chalk tastes like? I imagine it'd be, er, chalky. Focus Atol!!

Atol looks around guiltily for a moment and tries to hold the door firmly shut.

If Finneas is still at the door, Atol moves just as far as X25 - squeezing with Cog.

Round 12

His injuries mending again thanks to Atol's divine spark, Glimmil's face turns worried as he realizes the doctor still does not stir.

"Dammit doctor! Come back!" he cries to the broken form of a man under Triel's feet.

"Well I guess you did it then, you killed him!" Glimmil blurts at the woman, tears welling up in his bright gnomish eyes.

Attack (2H axe, power, smite, bless, challenge) 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16 for 1d10 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

Last Lay Hands: 1d6 ⇒ 3

... the gnome's emotions apparently greatly influencing his ability to connect with a swing.

5ft step back away, forcing Triel to move.

HP 33/42 (+11)
AC 26 (prot f/evil, no shield)
Lay Hands Left Today: 0/4

Cog Status:
HP 28/28

Got my latte. Should make a few less mistakes now.

Round 12 Recap
Others = 24
Toffitt = 23 - breath mastery
Finneas = 17+ - moves & misses
Glimmil = 17 - misses & moves (didn't specify so I chose Y27)
Atol = 4 - channels & moves
Dyrant = 3 - hexes

Triel takes a 5' step and attempts to finish off Glimmil, but fails to connect even once. The thugs stab and shoot through the door at Atol, but also have no luck.

1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 12 + 2 = 18
1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 7 + 2 = 21

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
1d20 + 4 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 - 4 - 4 = 5

Party is up for Round 13 Unlucky for Triel.

New Map

Round 13, Initiative 4, Location Y25

Atol takes a rare swing at an enemy. I wonder if this is anything like cudgelling Dyrant?

Cudgel 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9 for 1d8 ⇒ 6 points of damage.

Hey no fair, he moved!

Atol then, following Finneas' wise lead, closes the door.

Round 13

Glimmil 5ft steps to Y,28 if Toffit gets up to get in some flanking action. Or to Y,26 after Dyrant (he deferred to him last round) for flanking action .. presuming Dyrant steps forward and goes 'Emperor' on her.

Tears finally rolling down his cheeks, Glimmil continues to back away from Triel while swinging his axe wildly at the evil cleric woman.

Attack (2H axe, power, smite, challenge, bless, flank): 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 2 = 25 for 1d10 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

Glimmil Status:
HP 33/42
AC 26 (prot f/evil, no shield)
Lay Hands Left Today: 0/4

Cog Status:
HP 28/28

Round 13, Init Before Glim

"Now Glim!"

Dyrant casts the spellprayer of ShockingGrasp that Angel had taught him.

He steps up to flank with the gnome.

"By Cuthbert's hand, I strike you down, heathen!"

1d20 + 0 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 0 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 25 touch attack;
4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 1, 3) = 9 electrical damage.

And now Dyrant dies.

Glimmil, nose red and sniffling, watches as the lightning discharges from Dyrant's outstretched hands and washes over Triel.

Even though his mouth is agape in wonder at the display, he still can't help wonder if the lightning couldn't have just been slightly more crackly and impressive, given all the risks recently taken.

While Glimmil is disappointed with the lack of fireworks, he is impressed with the results as is shakes up Triel just enough that he is able to land an impressive blow that knocks her down and out.

Had to go back a page, but I believe she had taken 28 plus the current 19 & 9 puts her at 56 damage taken. I'm going to consider the other two thugs dead or knocked out also and take this out of combat.

I had no doubt there was a mechanism to disable it, otherwise Triel would be very unhappy at bath-time... I just suspected it was far beyond Glimmil's skills of observation.

And, wow! I thought Triel was going to be rolling around with 75+ HP, so was quite worried.

As Triel drops to the ground, Glimmil snorts, and paws away his runny nose. His eyes then meet Dyrant's for the briefest moment before he nods and runs to check on his poor, battered, best-est friend.

(Cog)

When she drops, Atol quickly casts Stabilize... Or rather he tries to, and then realizes he forgot to change out Purify Food & Drink for it last night after Dyrant's dinner.

He rushes into the room and tries a healing check to prevent Triel from dying.

Heal 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 vs DC 15 to stabilize her the old fashioned way.

He looks to the others, "She should be brought back and tried publicly for what she did to the high priest of the church and the city as a whole. Her death should be public after a fair trial."

He stands up and looks his friends over. "Now, who still needs healing?"

Channel energy for 2d6 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5 worth of healing. (still avoiding Triel however)

Dyrant, still burning with thoughts of St. Cuthbert's divine retribution, will unload his crossbow directly into the skull of Triel.

"From the angels of justice, I deliver this to you."

Coupe d'crossbow, full round action:

3d8 ⇒ (1, 7, 5) = 13 damage and possible save vs. death

"Let's go help Atol and Dr. Toffitt," Dyrant says as he crosses the room to Dr. Toffitt and lays his hand upon him.

1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 healing

"Arise, St. Cuthbert is not done with you yet."

* * *

Cast Detect Magic, looking for wands.

Atol looks down at the bloody mess that is now Triel.

Ahh well.

He shrugs contentedly and looks to any remaining injuries of his friends.

And, wow! I thought Triel was going to be rolling around with 75+ HP, so was quite worried.

Actually she only started with 46, but I swapped out craft weapon for toughness.

Glimmil's closes his eyes and winces as Dyrant's bolt impales Triel in the head. He keeps himself busy tugging on Cog while avoiding the sharp blades of the door.

Take 20 on the Strength check with Finn and Cog assisting?

Once Cog is free, Glimmil runs his hands down along his friend's fur, checking for any serious injuries.

"You were such a good boy! You held that door open so good! Yes, yes you did!" the gnome coos in a voice not unlike the one that the others fear may have been heard by Skie the night prior.

Still rubbing his eyes, Glimmil gives Atol and Dyrant a questioning look.

"So... the wands?"

3d8 damage and possible save vs. death

Triel does not survive the damage.

Sorry, was AWK for the afternoon. Well done, everyone!

A little too long after Dyrant's healing touch and Atol's surge of divine energy, Toffitt takes a deep breath. He produces from below his body the wand. "Ah, I thought I heard her last cry. Well done, friends! Excellent well done!"

He unfolds himself from the uncomfortable position in which he fell and hands the wand to Dyrant. "I failed to mention that, as part of my regimen to resist my... condition... I studied some of the Eastern writings about breath, which also includes the practice of slowing down the metabolism to the point of death. Atol, Dyrant, thank you for your prayers. They most certainly saved me from death. I only wish I could have contributed more to this one's defeat." He nudges Triel's still body with his toe, then retrieves his blade.

Cast Detect Magic, looking for wands.

Triel's spike full plate and silver heavy flail are both magical. She has two potions on her as well as a scroll, a magical torch, and a silver holy symbol of Hextor. She has 30 gp, 4 pp, and some keys.

Ooops. Almost forgot. Triel also has three more wands.

GM Chris: "Three MORE wands?" Did we already find wand(s)? How many wands do we seek?

1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19 Spellcraft on Toffitt's healy wand
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28 Spellcraft on full plate
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27 Spellcraft on silver flail
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14 Spellcraft on potion #1
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13 Spellcraft on potion #2
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21 Spellcraft on magical torch
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17 Spellcraft on Wand #1
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19 Spellcraft on Wand #2
1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29 Spellcraft on Wand #3

Toffitt will also examine the potions.

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 potion #1
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 potion #2

Wand of Cure Serious Wounds (5 charges left)
+1 Silver Flail
+1 spiked full plate
3 wands of Control Water (since 1 & 2 match #3)
2 potions of cure light wounds
scroll of cure moderate wounds
everburning torch

The party does find an impressive collection of items, but is still missing five of the wands.

"I hope she didn't break them, or sell them. They must still be around here somewhere. Let's us find them before we depart. And watch for more traps!"

Atol, eager to get moving, gathers up the materials and begins stuffing things into his pack. While he can carry everything thanks to the muleback chords, the mass is such that he might be unable to carry everything.

"Does someone want to wear this armor? It looks very fine indeed, but hard to carry. I might wear it, though I'm not sure about those spikes..."

Dyrant goes to ask Triel where she put the wands. He stops as he sees her.

Oh yeah, crossbow bolt. Vengeance. Retribution. Ooops.

LOL

"How odd that Dyrant was able to shoot Triel through the head. Hm. By the contusion and angle of the entry point I suspect it happened after she was already on her back. Well, no matter, though sad that she can't tell us where the rest of the wands are..."

edit... "Perhaps we should take her body to the temple. They may be able to question her, though I'm not sure I'd trust her ghost."

Dyrant counts the wands and counts them again.

Three. One. Two. Three.

"We need more wands. They're not all here." Dyrant snaps his focus to Finneas.

"Finneas, I don't suppose you 'less-killed' any of those bow-thugs, did you?"

Dyrant goes out to check on the bodies, touching each to see if his healing touch works.

I doubt it.

* * *

Dyrant thinks as he puts the three wands of Control Water into his Haversack, along with the scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds.

"I suppose we need to keep looking. How are we doing? Do we need to try to find a place to hole up and rest?"

While waiting for a response, Dyrant will recall Shocking Grasp with his Pearl of Power 1.

"I think we should proceed. I still have some healing left and a spell or two. We need to find those wands quickly - or at least a clue to their where-abouts."

I'll post some info on possible paths to explore in the morning.

Sorry, had a hell of a week so I needed to get away from the computer for a while.

Finneas begins by killing the thugs on Atol. After that is finished, he sheathes his sword and helps Glimmil pry open the door.

"Cog, are you ok?"

Male voice: He's a dog.

"Sorry Dyrant, I just hit them as hard as I could, they're probably dead. They kept trying to kill me so I don't think they were that smart anyway."

There are thugs that are alive. In a meeting most of today.

Toffitt ponders. "We should certainly continue to search the complex for the remaining wands. Perhaps we could take some time to consolidate ourselves and create a defensible fallback. We will want to make sure no remaining thugs can escape via the cage."

Dyrant ponders.

"I think we could take the cage back up to the top and sleep there if we wanted. With a guard watching the cave entry and another watching the lake, we could be somewhat safe and prevent others from escaping."

"That's a good plan Dyrant but do we have time for that? Cauldron was already starting to flood when we left. If we do go back to the top we should send a runner with the three wands we have back to the city and...owwww. Owww my head."

Finneas holds his hand to his head as sweat starts to drip down his face.

"Good thinking, Finneas. Perhaps it would be prudent to quickly get them the first three..."

When did Finneas start making so much sense? He's a man possessed...

"Finneas, what's wrong with your head? Are you okay?"

Dyrant moves closer to Finneas, concerned.

"It's fine Dyrant, it's fine. Thinking just hurts sometimes."

Female voice: You should leave the thinking to us dear.

Fast fowarding exploration of the rest of the northern half of the complex. Give me a general idea of how fast/slow you'll proceed and if you'll be searching, detecting magic, etc. GM call, the thugs have all abandoned this half of the complex to regroup elsewhere so we don't have a bunch of slow time-consuming cake walk fights.

New Map

Hallway to 42, 43, 44, 45, 47 = Empty

Thanks muchly for the fast forward!!

Ignoring the tunnels for now, Atol suggests we continue to search the complex. That means checking the southern expanse as we have the northern. He suggests we begin with the door leading out of area 17.

"I think we should continue our search a little while longer before returning to the surface to rest and return the wands we've recovered so far. A few hours shouldn't make too much difference, and we may find the rest of the wands in our search!"

Atol leafs through his scrolls disappointed that he doesn't have more of a selection. Shrugging he's none the less prepared to continue on.

"Does anyone need any healing? Now's the time to top off before we proceed." He takes out the wand of Cure Light Wounds and prepares to use it on any in need.

Dyrant follows Atol, more interested in where the simpleton's wanderings lead (Dyrant is guessing the kitchen), than following any specific pattern.

Dyrant follows Atol to area 17.

"It should be noted that we are seeing more than a fair number of militant supplies here. We should expect other members of this cult to be heavily armed. We are lucky that they don't seem to be at full strength."

"How many people do you think this place could house Dyrant?"

Finneas moves carefully at the rear of the party, his sword out and his eyes wary for ambush.

"I still suspect that there must be something worth securing at the end of the hall with murder holes. I propose we make it our next area of exploration. Resting overnight, however, seems a luxury. I also propose we return to the top, and send two of our number to deliver the three wands. Perhaps Glimmil and Atol. The rest of us can wait for an hour or two and prepare to delve further."

"Seems like they could hold quite a few, Finneas. We still haven't uncovered all there is here either...there might be levels below this one with many more cells and cots. No matter, if they are filled we will give them a chance to submit to the Cudgel or face the same as the others." Dyrant says determinedly.

Dyrant looks at Cog and offers the puppy a bit of food from his pouch.

"I'm glad to see you are well, Cog. Please again accept the Blessing of St. Cuthbert. I shall see you tail wag more this day."

+2 to AC/Saves to Cog.

Story isn't going to move on until tomorrow. Sorry.

Maybe by then the rest of us can agree on a course of action...

As I see it, here are the options that have been shared:

• a. Keep exploring the complex without rest
  
• b. Return to the top and take an extended rest while some of us take the 3 wands into town
  
• c. Return to the top and take a shorter rest while some of us take the 3 wands into town

Further nominations and voting are open!