Aldren is still invisible and enters the dusty ruins of the church, lost from sight from everyone.
Talvek waits as ordered.
The first(blue) thug keeps watching Talvek and the second(red) seems to have reached the church roof.
Above the church, on the roof, a third(teal) thug appears and looks down but is not able to see small Lubella pressed against the wall.
So you see anything? Blue scarf calls.
Teal belt thug calls back. Nah! How about you?
Just this newbie waiting down here. He ain't doing nothing.
Waiting for Zed to fetch Scarplume and see what she wants to do with him.
=== Round 1 ===
Aldren(invis), Talvek()
Thug1(roof) Thug2(roof) Thug3(roof)
Lubella(), Arcos()
Lubella whispered, "We're in! Where are you Arcos? Talvek, I may lose you; spell range is 130 ft from me."
She moved across the gloomy, abandoned church to the opposite side, and started climbing the ladder. I hope I'm not climbing into an ambush.
Arcos follows Lubella into the church, though he is not able to reach the ladder all the way.
Lubella uses her enhanced speed to dash to the ladder and makes it most of the way to the 20' ceiling.
Arcos, not wanting to be left behind, enters the church, but is likely spotted by the guards in his haste.
Wait! Who are you? Stop! you all hear a cry from the thug looking down from atop the church. This is followed by what can only be described as a loud, nails on chalkboard screech from somewhere above the church.
STOP HIM!
=== Round 2 ===
Aldren(invis), Talvek()
Thug1(roof) Thug2(roof) Thug3(roof)
Lubella(expeditious), Arcos()
"Aaaah! It's the guards! We've been made! Run for your lives, lads! Help!"
hoping his acting is convincing enough, Talvek runs full tilt at the door in front of him. It was a little scary to be separated from his companions with no idea of what was happening, but perhaps he can provide a sufficient distraction for at least one of the thugs. A shame that their infiltration couldn't be more conspicuous, but it was what it was.
Aldren curses quietly to himself, not at all happy with the tactical layout. And, without his crossbow drawn and loaded, there isn't much he can do directly that wouldn't reveal himself. So...
He holds aloft his holy symbol and prays to Calistria to bless their efforts.
In the event the Red Jills try to fire their weapons at where he was standing, he then continues to move south along the wall to get closer to the ladder leading up.
Talvek tries to continue the ruse, but is not overly convincing. And runs for it. (I was not sure if you wanted to try to open the door, but you have another move remaining if you do)
Aldren curses and blesses himself, Lubella and Arcos within the church. (Talvek is outside of LoS/LoE).
From above both buildings, you can hear the guards calling out.
HALT! You idiot. I told you to stay! from blue
Another just entered the church. replies teal.
Lubella hears footsteps on the roof above her, closing to the trapdoor.
All three within the church hear additional footsteps moving from the front to the center of the roof.
=== Round 2+3 === (*BLESS)
Thug1(roof) Thug2(roof) Thug3(roof)
Lubella*(expeditious), Arcos*()
Aldren*(invis), Talvek()
Fighting while standing on a flimsy ladder seemed a very poor idea, so she retreated back to the floor, and took cover, pulling out her crossbow. "Someone's coming to the trapdoor!", she whispered urgently.
Crouching behind a pew, Lubella whispered, "Talvek, can you hear me? I'm back on the ground floor of the church; someone's coming!"
"I ain't standin' in the middle of the road for a stray bolt to catch me in me neck, you idiot!" Talvek retorts angrily as he shoves the door open to take cover inside the building.
He takes stock of the situation before deciding what to do.
Aldren heads over to the base of the ladder that he suspects the guards will have to descend and keeps his mace at the ready.
Arcos runs to hide behind the pew across from Lubella.
Lubella calls out to Talvek via the spell as the tiefling enters the lower floor of the orphanage. Unfortunately, it looks like a dead-end. The single door appears to be the only entrance and exit.
Aldren, Arcos and Lubella hide in the church. The trap door opens and you briefly see the face of a thug. But then all goes dark around the ladder. (Aldren and Lubella are effectively blind unless you have a strong light)
You hear footsteps starting down the ladder and then a shadow passes over the front door of the church.
Kill them!!!! you hear shrieked outside.
=== Round 3+4 === (*BLESS)
Thug1(roof) Thug2(roof) Thug3(roof)
Lubella*(expeditious), Arcos*()
Aldren*(invis), Talvek()
When everything went dark, Lubella whispered, "Argh, more darkness! How far does it extend? I'm in the first row of pews."
"Oops, wrong building." Talvek mutters as he rushes outside again and into the dilapidated church to reunite with his friends. A cloud of darkness greets them as he enters, and he sighs at the familiar tactics.
"A step to your left and you should be out of it, Lubella!"
He can see Arcos and Lubella in front of him, but Aldren is nowhere to be found. The tiefling hopes that is because the Calistrian is still invisible.
Aldren curses as the darkness enshrouds them. He grabs the ioun torch they had purchased and...
(A) ... if it purges the darkness, tosses it to either Lubella or Arcos (whoever has a free hand), calling as he does, ”Catch!” and takes a brief step away from where he had been standing.
(B) ... if it does not remove the darkness, he will back up until he is against the wall and then move back towards the direction of the doors.
Following Talvek's instruction, Lubella took a step to her left out of the darkness. She loaded her crossbow, uttered a word of arcane power, and looked around for an enemy target.
Arcos waited, ready to sling a bolt of electricity at an enemy.
Talvek dodges into the church, avoiding the passing shadow. He directs Lubella out of darkness, which the halfling woman heeds.
The invisible Aldren tosses a ioun torch to Arcos. The Wizard prepares to sling electric bolt if a target presents.
The ioun torch illuminates the supernaturally darkened church, exposing a thug at the foot of the stairs.
Lubella fires her crossbow as the light appears, scoring a hit and a yelp.
Blast! They are in here!
Arcos immediately follows by casting a bolt of electricity. The thug drops at Aldren's feet with a gurgle.
High from behind him, Talvek hears an incantation as a ray of scorching flame streaks towards him.
but the ray scorches the church door behind him, sizzling with heat as smoke pours off the rotted wood.
More yells from outside on the roof of the buildings.
They are in the church! Kill them quickly! the female voice calls out from above.
Aye, we are on it, boss.
=== Round 4+5 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(*,)
Thug1() Thug2(prone, bleeding) Thug3()
Lubella*(xbow), Arcos*(ioun)
Aldren*(invis), Talvek()
Lubella could hear a voice outside that must surely be that of the gang leader. "I think Scarplume's outside!", she whispered; she loaded another bolt into her crossbow and moved towards the doors.
"That she is! Almost roasted me with some fire spell!"
Talvek takes cover deeper inside the church, hoping to lure Scarplume in the constricted space that would somewhat nullify her flying advantage. Crouching back-to-back with Arcos, he prepares to loose an arrow at the first thug poking their head through the church door, or at Scarplume herself.
”Hey now, I had an invitation...” the invisible bastard says. ”I was promised eggs!” He moves so that he can take cover behind some pews then readies himself to cast Charm Person on the next face to appear through the trapdoor to the roof.
Lubella loads and advances back towards the smoking church door.
Talvek crouches and prepares to shoot the first chance of a target flying into the church.
Aldren impatiently waits for a chance to charm another of the thugs to enter from above and become his new friend.
Lubella's heart was pounding as she crept towards the open door. Should she try for a shot at Scarplume? Had other gang members had time to move around to the outside of the church entrance? On one hand, there was the risk of exposing herself to too many enemies at once; on the other, she hated letting the enemy dictate the pace of the battle.
Arcos delays to see what happens next in the church.
As Talvek predicted, one of the thugs rounds the corner and enters the front door - running face-to-face with Lubella and her crossbow. Unfortunately, he is too winded from his dash to have any time to strike the halfling.
Talvek looses his readied arrow, but the cover and close proximity of the halfling make the shot more difficult than would normally be needed. The arrow goes high, and embeds into the open door.
Aldren watches upwards to the trapdoor, and another face appears, triggering the spell from the now-visible Calistrian priest.
He calls down, he gets a very confused and strained look upon his face as if wrestling with inner emotions.
After a few contorted seconds he shakes his head and shoots his crossbow down at Aldren.
hitting for
From outside and above, you hear the shrill woman call.
Get the ^#*$# out of the doorway or open the other door!
=== Round 5+6 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(*,)
Thug1(doorway) Thug2(prone, bleeding) Thug3(roof)
Lubella*(xbow), Arcos*(ioun)
Aldren*(-8), Talvek(bow)
Lubella backed up, spoke an arcane word of power (to give the crossbow bolt a momentary enchantment), and shot at the gang member in the doorway. "You really should find a different line of work, don't you think?", she suggested.
"Drat." Talvek pops up from behind the pew, nocking another arrow and letting it fly at the thug in the doorway, then ducking back down to take cover from attacks coming from the front of the building. Nothing he could do about the ones coming from the rooftop, so hopefully Arcos and Aldren could handle those. Just as he thinks that, he hears the twang of the crossbow and the impact of the bolt, and he turns to assess the situation?
"Anyone hurt? Aldren, are you alright?"
Aldren gasps as the bolt finds a gap in his armor. "Aaah!! I... Oh my. I, yes, I think so. That went a little deeper than I expected." He moves for a bit of better cover but, with his mace still in hand, isn't equipped to deal with the sniper on the roof.
He then prepares to cast Hold Person.
1. If I can still see the guy on the roof, then I'm not going to ready. I'm just going to cast it on him now.
2. If I can no longer see the guy on the roof (which is kind of what I'm hoping) but I could see him if he starts to come down the ladder, then there are two conditions:
a. The guy on the roof starts to come down the ladder, or
b. The guy in the door starts to move out of the doorway (whichever comes first).
Save DC is 17.
Arcos runs forward and slings another bolt of electricity, this time at the thug in the doorway.
Lubella steps back and levels her crossbow at the thug entering the church. She shoots, but he is just slightly faster, and dodges the close shot by a fraction of an inch.
Talvek arrow is not as close and embeds itself into the door jam above the pair.
Arcos also tries to sling more electric bolts at the doorway. However, the aim is even further off, and the spark hits the other, closed door. The thug lets out a yelp and decides three near misses is maybe more than his luck will allow.
Yikes! As you wish, boss. They are all yours!
He withdraws from the Church, back into the street.
Aldren, still smarting from the crossbow bolt, waits as the rooftop thug appears again for another shot.
Hold sti.... but the words seem to stick on his lips as his mouth never closes and the man is frozen halfway into the trap door looking down.
Incompetents idiots! the female voice calls as Lubella sees the winged creature swoop down, as arcane flames form in her hand and a ray strikes out at the halfling.
but the scorching beam of fire burns the floor at Lubella's feet, leaving a scorched patch of dust and wood.
=== Round 6+7 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(*,)
Thug1(street) Thug2(prone, bleeding) Thug3(held, roof)
Lubella*(xbow), Arcos*(ioun)
Aldren*(-7), Talvek(bow)
Lubella reloaded her crossbow as she called out, "Scarplume, your hour of redemption is at hand! Will you abandon your evil ways, and turn towards the light? Or do you choose redemption by the blade of my scimitar?"
She fired an arcane infused bolt at the Red Jills leader, then stepped to the side to make herself a more difficult target. She wasn't keen to find out how hot that ray of fire was!
Aldren cursed his impetuousness. Too soon. Visions of the thug falling from the ladder and cracking his neck on the floor ran through his mind, but he had more pressing issues at hand. He secured his mace, then readied another spell. ”Really, ‘Bella, let’s just go with the blade, ‘k? The freak is trying to turn us into meat kabobs.”
"Well, I sure showed that door!" quips Talvek, trying to hide his disappointment at his missed shots. Moving closer to Lubella, he fires one more arrow through the door at Scarplume, hoping that from up closer the missile will strike true.
Lubella looses an enchanted arrow at the flying Scarplume, striking true.
Ouch! You will pay for that, trixie!
Aldren readies a command, but only sees the mook clinging to the roof trapdoor and his crossbow high above.
Talvek's arrow hits the door frame without coming close to the winged woman.
Scarplume glides to the doorway, and fans her gauntlet covered hands as she chants a spell of fire with broader effect.
You will BURN for your intrusion! You...you have no idea what this will cost you.
DC12 Reflex for half (Lubella, Talvek).
=== Round 7+8 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(-7, 5' up)
Thug1(street) Thug2(prone, bleeding) Thug3(held, roof)
Lubella*(xbow), Arcos*(ioun)
Aldren*(-7), Talvek(bow)
Lubella was caught momentarily flat-footed, and caught the full force of the flames. "The scimitar it is!", she cried, drawing her blade and striking at the unrepentant bird woman.
Aldren mimics the flame-throwing winged-beastie, "You you you you... Cat got your tongue, little bird?" He draws his crossbow then holds aloft his holy symbol and prays to Calistria to heal him and his allies.
The Calistrian can't help a wicked grin as his Mistress's energy flows through him. "Aw, all the ouchies went bye bye. Now it's your turn."
Lubella's burns faded as Aldren's channel washed over her. She advised Scarplume, "Repent while you still can — I'm feeling extra vengeful all of a sudden!"
Talvek dodges some of the flames and Aldren's divine healing removes most of any remaining burns from the party near him.
Lubella drops her xbow and drawing her blade in a smooth action, she lunges upward and draws a nasty wound on the legs of the flying woman.
=== Round 7+8 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(-14, 5' up)
Thug1(street) Thug2(prone, bleeding) Thug3(held, roof)
Lubella*(),Aldren*()
Arcos*(ioun) Talvek(bow)
Looks like it was time to get close and personal! Abandoning the useless bow, Talvek draws his rapier and runs to engage Scarplume, grinning at his companions' bold words.
"You won't be terrorizing this neighbourhood for much longer!"
Talvek, dropping his bow, dashes forward with a thrust. The perfect strike pierces the woman through the chest, driving his blade through her lung.
With a gurgle, she falls from the air. But...but... and flops to the ground, bleeding out...
You hear a yell Oh crap! from out in the alley as the remaining thug runs away to the east.
the other thug is still gripping the ladder and his crossbow in the trapdoor above.
=== Round 9 === (*BLESS)
Scarplume(-30, bleeding, prone)
Thug1(fleeing) Thug2(dead) Thug3(held, roof)
Lubella*(),Aldren*()
Arcos*(ioun) Talvek()
There wasn't much Aldren could do about the thug that was running, but the one on the rooftop presented an interesting choice. Detain and question, or climb and push? Let fate decide. As he walks towards the ladder, he says to the others, "I'm heading up the ladder. If he runs, one of you might want to see if you can get outside and stop him. And, for the sake of the gods, let the flaming harpy die. We're not done yet."
Once he was at the ladder, he began to climb, looking up into the eyes of the paralyzed thug that only seconds before had shot him with a bolt. A wound that still stung despite having been healed. "We're going to have a talk. You can decide how well it goes."
Lubella stood over the fallen gang leader. She could heal the woman, but to what end? Scarplume was obviously guilty of numerous crimes. She had been given the chance to repent, albeit briefly, and had refused. To Lubella, the merciful course of action was clear.
"Scarplume, with the blade of my scimitar, I redeem thee," she declared solemnly, and sent the strix to the Great Beyond.
Aldren makes it up the ladder while spouting commands.
Lubella dispatches the unconscious leader of the Red Jills once and for all.
The last thug remains clinging to the ladder, helpless as he watches in horror of his liege slain in her own lair.
Arcos runs for the ladder, waiting at the bottom for Aldren to get the thug down.