Well, that was thoroughly unconvincing...
Sighing ruefully as he considers Iolana's thoroughly lukewarm attempt at intimidation, Byron nonetheless attempts to demonstrate his willingness to end things without murder, adjusts his grip on the hilt of his sword, and attempts to knock one of the tieflings out.
Dario draws his rapier and stabs down at the nearest tiefling sitting at the table.
Stanley knows his goal is a bit of a pipe dream, but he is heartened to see at least some of the group at least embracing the attempt. He talks his way into the goal, "Choose your actions wisely, Bastards. Some of our group are unwilling to accept a peacful resolution. It behooves you to recognize how quickly we have dispatched some of your own. Some with just a wave of the hand." He indicates the one he put to sleep with just a word. At the same time trying to affect another.
Taking his alley-piece Barnabas fires another shot at the tieflings.
The tiefling that leeka flings the wine mug into their face does have time to react and the beer mug glances off of their face, but without the intended effect.
Colgrim, Iolana and Stanley attempt a peaceful resolution, whjile Byron and Dario both take a bastard down each. Byron's tiefling falls to the ground, unconscioous but not brained, while Dario strikes true, stabbing through the tielfing's chest and leaving a bit of a mess on the floor.
The remaining combatants, one with nobody next to him, and another next to the stairs, take action after being caught flat-footed! The one that Stanley attempted to cast his hex upon stands up and the entirety of the space that the PC's are standing in goes dark, minus Colgrim's darkvision, which notes that the Tiefling stands up in an otherwise defensive position.
The tiefling by the stairs, with much of the party blinded at this point by the sudden darkness, fires into the party with his light crossbow . The tiefling then races down the stairs, where the party soon hears unearthly barking!
Current Advantages:
High Ground:
Byron & Dario
Cover:
Leeka, Stanley, and Barnabus
Neutral:
Iolana & Colgrim.
Vitality notes:
Tiefling 1 Dead (Iolana)
Tiefling 2 1/5 (Colgrim)
Tiefling 3 Unconscious (Stanley's slumber hex, one round remaining) 5/5
Tiefling 4 Unconcious (-8, 5 nonlethal) (Byron)
Tiefling 5 Dead (Dario)
Tiefling 6 5/5 Resisted Hex, cast Darkness.
Tiefling 7 Down, Barnabus (-1)
Tiefling 8 5/5 Fired and an away.
Combatants remaining upstairs:
Tiefling 2 and Tiefling 6.
Area G2 alerted next round.
"Now would be a great time to have that Continual Flame out!"
Byron delays until the light level is restored, then dramatically leaps off the table, and charges one of the remaining Tieflings...
HP 24/24
AC 19/T12/FF17
Current BaB: +2
Saves: F6(8)R2(4)W3(5 spells)4/6
In Hands:Dwarf axe,Shield
Current effects:
Colgrim lets his darksight guide him to the tiefling who covered the area in darkness and runs up and thwacks him!
His strong blow however, is spoiled when he slips on some blood his more violent allies have shed. ;)
Leeka unveils the flaming shuriken, grabs another mug of wine, and makes her way to some sort of cover near the stairs.
Dario ducks in the darkness and is rewarded with the sound of a crossbow bolt flying over his head. As Leeka brings out the shuriken, Dario leaps over to the tiefling and slashes at him.
Stanley sees that there will be more violence, and he only has one target that already resisted his attempt to slumber. He moves instead to make his earlier success at knocking one out hopefully last a little longer. Taking his quarterstaff in a swing above his head, he bashes the head of the currently slumbered Bastard, hoping to concuss it at least temporarily.
Well, we tried. Good enough, Iolana thinks, with a mental shrug. Striding forward, she swings her morningstar--hard--at the closest tiefling still standing.
The party quickly wipes out the remaining combatants, knocking them senseless and realizing that ther is the problem of the one bandit that ran away... The sudden quiet of the room is punctuated by the sounds of barking from down the stairs. The sudden swing from Stanley, knocking the slumbered Tiefling clean out, shocks the room as much as the silence.
The group stands in the room. Realizing that the light flickers a bit in the darkness... as if the spells are trying to cancel each other out...
The party realizes the alarm has likely been raised. Back into the darkness outside, or further into the darkness within?
Downstairs, the bastards are mortal as we have seen, not like those shadowbeasts that roam the night. We would never make shelter in time.
Colgrim is ready to lead the way with axe and shield.
Following with loaded x-bow ready Barnabas follows him
Dario nods. "Nasty business, but let's finish this." He follows Colgrim with his rapier ready.
Iolana works her way toward the front, following eagerly and wordlessly.
With a grim line set to his face, Stanley also follows the others down the stairs after the one escapee. After all, he couldn't imagine anyone of the ones still here suddenly waking up from some of their injuries, for another hour at the very least.
Leeka keeps the continual flame shuriken uncovered as she follows, since stealth is now no longer an option.
Byron heads down the stairs, sword at the ready...
The group hits the bottom of the stairs, the door at the bottom closed. From behind, the sounds of barking are closer, but otherwise, there are no other sounds.
Iolana tests the door, and discovers that it's holding fast. "Why would the Bastards rouse their dogs, and then lock the door?" she mutters, confused. "Well, regardless...shall we push through and on?"
Anyone good with locks? If not, we can bash it down.
Dario rushes up to the door. He examines it for a locking mechanism.
It is barred from the other side, but looks to simply be a chair under the handle. You could bash the door in with a proper strength check (DC 18).
Colgrim will aid another the big, beefy Byron
Or maybe Byron will lend a hand instead. :)
Byron thuds into the door, attempting to burst it open.
"I am quite decent somehow with locks, but the good Byron has found a more direct method!"
The duo of Colgrim and Byron bash their way into the room, directly into a hail of crossbow fire! a dog rushes into Byron biting into him maliciously!
The tiefling you chased, along with four others, are in the room waiting for you to burst in. As soon as they loose their bolts, a ravenous dog rushes into Byron biting into him maliciously. A shambling, mummified-looking creature glares at Colgrim and points his direction, and a missile of Magical Force slams into him!
Attacking poor Colgrim and Byron!
Colgrim took 2 points of damage, Byron took 4 points of damage.
New Initiatives!
DC 22 Perception:
Party is up!
Byron winces at bolt that sprouts from his side, but concentrates on taking care of the dog attempting to chew his leg off.
HP 22/24
AC 19/T12/FF17
Current BaB: +2
Saves: F6(8)R2(4)W3(5 spells)4/6
In Hands:Dwarf axe,Shield
Current effects:
Arrr! That is no walking dead! No doubt some wizzard who is zapping us with magic.
Colgrim charges the crossbow wielding thugs, taking advantage of their lack of hand to hand weapons. Iolana! Leeka! To me!
As the doors open and the crossbow bolts fly, Dario pulls out a piece of butter and tosses it down. Suddenly, the area under the tieflings' feet is slick, forcing them to try and keep their balance.
Iolana strides forward, head held high, heedless of the crossbow bolts around her, and joins Colgrim . As she walks, her voice rings out into the room, chanting a prayer to the Everbloom.
"O Patient Watcher, O Author of Justice, O Comforter of the Oppressed, we come to thee. In the Name of Milani, I rebuke the spirits of fear and command them to leave us now. We have not been granted spirits of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. I ask you, Everbloom, to fill the swept and garnished places of this house with courage, strength, and wisdom that I may now walk in trust and confidence, and bring upon the authors of ill the justice of the people."
On her shield, the rose under the wrappings flares into life...
Leeka moves to where she can see Mr. Mummy, draws a non-enchanted shuriken, holding it behind her to hide it, and waits for him to start casting another spell.
Uncertain what the mummified thing is, or if it is susceptible to his hexing words, Stanley decides to put one of the enemy outside Dario's effect to sleep. "It is late, and the night does not look to hold anything good for you. Just close your eyes, and let your dreams comfort you."
Unfortunately, Byron's swing goes wide, and, as Colgrim swings into the thugs, he swings wide, despite them being very poorly.
Dario's grease spell catches three Tieflings, but not the mummified creature. As Iolana strides by Byron, the dog nips at her heels, missing.
GM Rolls:
The outside two tieflings (we'll call him #5) defends against Stanley's Slumber spell poorly, and falls to the ground asleep just as the Tiefling Colgrim attacked falls to the ground with the greased ground!
Leeka's throw Strikes the mummy solidly, giving it pause as it attempts to cast another spell, unfortunately, the spell is not ruined.
The front two tieflings each take a moment to align with the idea of a melee, draw their rapiers after dropping their crossbows, with the back tiefling remaining safely out of reach of both Iolana and Colgrim, he takes another shot!
Damage track: Stanley: 5 Damage
The Tieflings both stab wide of their intended targets, while two tieflings miss Stanley with their ranged attack while and the Dog cannot seem to stop harrying Byron.
HP 22/24
AC 19/T12/FF17
Current BaB: +2
Saves: F6(8)R2(4)W3(5 spells)4/6
In Hands:Dwarf axe,Shield
Current effects:Bless(+1 Hit/Saves vs. Fear)
Colgrim strikes at the downed tiefling near him(-4 AC on the tiefling due to being prone I believe)
Dario attacks the dog, trying to help Byron.
Using his alleypiece Barnabas lets loose a bolt at the tieflings.
Byron nods his thanks to Dario for taking care of the dog, and moves to attack the nearest Tiefling!
Leeka tries the same tactic again.
Smiling grimly when she sees that Colgrim seems to have the downed tiefling well in hand, Iolana takes a swing at one if the ones wielding a rapier!
For the moment Stanley ignores his own injuries, and instead tries to put down the tieflings he knows his words work against. He hopes that the sooner they are out of the way, the sooner the more physical ones can harry the spellcaster.
Colgrim's strike ends the Tiefling's threat, while Dario's slice into the half-rabid dog nearly cuts it in twain!
Barnabus's attack leads him to shoot at the not-sleeping tiefling, while Byron moves in to attack, slipping on some of the dog's blood, as he attempts to strike the Tiefling, missing with a wide swing.
Iolana's swing into the tiefling standing on the grease finds the creature happy to dodge her swings, mocking her as he dodges her swing. The tiefling with the crossbow, however, goes down in a heap as Stanley puts him to sleep. As the mummified creature casts, Leeka throws her shuriken, but the creature both remains standing and completes its spell, slamming another magic missile into Stanley before running into the next room and slamming the door behind him!
The Tiefling fighting Iolana stabs inward, nearly stabbing into her heart, if not for a deft defense she had prepared just for this. The Tiefling Byron ran in to face drops his crossbow and stabs at him as well, opening a gash on his upper arm.
GM Rolls:
Critical Confirmations:
Bless 19/20 rounds remaining
Party HP:
Stanley: 3/12
Colgrim: 22/24
Byron: 13/15
Iolana: 13/15
HP 22/24
AC 19/T12/FF17
Current BaB: +2
Saves: F6(8)R2(4)W3(5 spells)4/6
In Hands:Dwarf axe,Shield
Current effects:Bless(+1 Hit/Saves vs. Fear)
Colgrim whacks at Tiefling 2. Fee Fie Foe Fum! I smell the blood of a hell-spawn son!
Byron surges forward, and takes a swing at the remaining Tiefling.
"That one's getting away!" Iolana bellows, and carefully sets out across the slippery floor.
Moving slowly, she manages to make it across the grease without incident.