ROUND ONE, FIGHT!
Claeledar:
Adarion:
Fiavia:
Kethelis:
Amual:
Daelynn:
Assassin Vine:
I cast Shocking Grasp to my weapon as a free action. From there, I move up and attack with my Luathalann.
You hit. Chance for critical with your super keen blade, AC 15.
Ouch. That's is Claeledar's second consecutive critical hit; one with bow and one with sword. Now comes the real fun part: sword damage, skirmish damage, shock damage, Song of Arcane Triumph damage, and bonuses.
When the Bladesinger runs up, he sings an old and powerful verse and attacks. His blade beautifully carves the tangled mess with such a clean and devastating cut, the rest of you see chopped limbs and vines fly in multiple pieces while witnessing discharges of electricity emulate from the severed parts as well. It happened so fast, the rest of you almost didn't see it. The plant creature is dead. Dead! DEAD!!!
Drops jaw...
"By the Green, did that creature just piss you off? Or was that just a bit of overkill?" I ask in a clear tone of sarcasm. Looking around to see if there's anything I can do besides gawking at such wicked Elven swordsmanship.
Nods approvingly.
I scan the rest of the wall to ensure there is only one of those things. Once I am secure with the surroundings, I look over to Claeledar and ask him what I already knew.
"The Song of Triumph, eh?"
"Correct," I reply to our leader while quickly cleaning my blade from vine goo. "It puts a foe down in a hurry. The interesting part is that the ability gets stronger as I do. Awesome stuff."
Inspecting the dead parts and pieces, I inform the squad of useful knowledge they probably already know, but it makes me feel better doing it.
"This is what is known as an Assassin Vine," I explain to the gawkers. "It is a living plant that is an ambush predator, lying in wait in trees or vegetation to strike without warning." I look at Claeledar with a smile. "You were lucky not to get hit, they entangle with more vines and suffocates you until you die. They are very adaptive, but slow and unthinking."
"Claeledar, Fiavia, Amual, and myself will inspect this tower, while Daelynn and Kethelis post watch here. Fiavia, have your defoliate spell ready in case we run into another one of those creatures."
The door seems barred from the inside, as the only tracks you see are your own. You suspect that the grimstalker used this place, as the tracks tell it climbed in and out from the top somewhere. The door itself looks original: beautiful carvings decorate this wooden door behind the moss covering. You could break it down...
Hoping this will be easy.
@Amual
You feel the energy of your simple spell surge through you. The door shimmers in a pale light, then fades out quickly, indicating that the spell FAILED.
Shaking my head slightly in disgust.
I give it a moment's thought, then...
"I got this, back in a moment or three. Daelynn, come with me." I retrieve my masterwork climbing kit, and scale up to where I can find a way to enter the tower; be it from a window hidden by the vines or up on top. Not looking to see if Daelynn follows up, having full faith in her ability to follow orders. Also knowing she is the best climber in the group, remembering all too well how Amual fell on his head just recently.
Adarion:
Daelynn:
DC 15.
Ok. Both of you manage to find arrow slits that you can fit through with some difficulty due to your armor and gear. Looking inside the tower, you notice the place is equally intact as it is on the outside. There isn't much inside, as the flooring that would have led to the top of the tower is gone. But the roof itself is intact; most of it. You do see a bed, a chest, more skulls, and a table. There is also a crude campfire in one corner. Nothing else is inside this somewhat clean tower.
Good. We climb down to the floor of the tower. Once we find the door, we remove whatever is barring it closed. From there, we check for traps. I bring in Amual and Claeledar inside to help, while Kethelis and Fiavia post watch outside with bows ready.
We spend 10 minutes in our tasks.
The door was barred for what looks like a very long time. There are no traps inside the tower. The chest is locked, but not trapped.
I peek inside the tower once the door is opened. "Find anything useful like hot baths, good food, and a portal to a warmer place?" I ask with a wink. Without waiting for any reactions, I turn to our fearless leader. "Ok, now what?"
Frowns, keeping very close eye on the central tower.
"Listen up everyone. I think the real challenge is waiting for us in the main tower," I glance up to the central structure. "It's a sure bet that whatever is up there is the toughest creature. We really need to be on our best. We move slowly and try to spot any traps and surprises. Once we get close to the top and don't run into anything we shall pause to get powered up with whatever spells we need. Once that's done, we summon some help and allow that monster or so to charge in and take the brunt of the melee combat. Perhaps the summoning will distract the big boss from us. We have the rest of the day to finish this so there's no rush. Let's do this."
I chime in almost immediately after our battle plan.
"I can cast a spell to detect traps now," I suggest to the squad. "The spell will last for almost an hour."
Now wanting to be insignificant, I also give my opinion.
"I have a similar spell that's better, but won't last as long compared to Amual's spell," I add. "In addition, I can summon a giant spider that will scurry along the walls and act as our meat shield." I give it a thought, remember how much I hate spiders, but it will do for now.
Thankful for having competent squad members with me. This would never be possible with humans. Or dwarves. Or just about anyone else for that matter.
"Ok, that's good. We will approach the central tower with those spells active. Once we find things are clear, we will move in and climb up with the spider in the lead, then Claeledar, myself, Daelynn, Amual, Fiavia, and Kethelis. If we do run into something that cannot be bypassed, we'll deal with it immediately." Giving each person a nod of confidence, I give the order to move out.
Amual:
Daelynn:
So, once you reach the tower and look inside, it looks a wide chamber with a high vaulted ceiling. There are patches of undergrowth growing on the floor that looks like smooth stone tiles. The tiles look multicolored. The walls are decorated with faded murals and frescoes of sylvan life: scenes of hunting, feasting, partying...that kind of stuff. On the west side is a graceful, filigreen stone staircase that is overrun with flowing vines. The stairs climbs up to the next level which is about 50 feet up.
Amual:
Daelynn:
Adarion:
Claeledar:
Fiavia:
Kethelis:
Against DC 15, those of you who made the roll notice a simple looking trap nearby. It does not look as it has been triggered.
I inform the squad to stay back. I retrieve my thieves tools kit, SLOWLY approach the trap. I use the spell to identify it for next three rounds. Once that's done, I disarm if possible.
In a few moments, you determine this to be a simple trap that is mechanical in nature. When activated, it releases a poison gas that appears to be something that causes temporary insanity.
Without much effort, you have successfully disabled the trap. The spell indicates that there are no other traps inside the tower.
I give the 'all clear' signal, then strike a spectacular pose that says to the world to "acknowledge my greatness!"
Facepalm.
Ok. I assume that the squad shall presume as planned.
It takes you a good five minutes of cautious advance to within about 15 feet from the top of the stairs. You do not see or hear anything from the shallow opening at the top, but you are certain without any doubt something is waiting for you up there. Your giant spider halts as ordered.
What will you do now?
We will blitz the spider up to attack anything inside it for this round, whether or not it has any advantage or not. While the spider charges in, we will casts our spells and other preparations necessary. We will creep up five feet closer as we do this. On the next round, we charge in the same order as before.
This is what we will do on Round 1:
Amual will infuse the squad with the Clobbering Strike aspect from his Elemental infusion ability.
Kethelis will cast Bless.
The rest of us will cast Shield and have either spell or sword ready.
Good. The spider rushes up into the circular room, and a high pitched shriek shatters the silence. As you casts your spells and conduct your 5-foot step, an intense battle happens above you.
From where you are at, the stairway ends on your left, which means you will have open space to your right and rear when you reach the end.
On your turn, Claeledar, you are the first one in. You witness the spider wrapped up in weeds, vines, and flowers in the middle of the circular room. Next to the spider is what looks like a female elf with pale skin and green eyes. 'She' wears a white flowing gown with elven archiac features and a blood-red scarf tied to her waist. This woman is attacking the helpless spider with what your recognize as Shocking Grasp.
The rest of you fill the room up and watch electricity surge all over the spider. She looks at you in rage.
Round 3, FIGHT!!!
Daelynn:
Claeledar:
Adarion:
Amual:
Fiavia:
Kethelis:
Pissed off woman:
Me first! I shall attempt to move 10 feet to the far left side of the tower wall to within 15 feet range to her, and attack.
vs SR 17.
When you cast the spell, the energy fizzles out and is lost.
"I think we are in trouble,' I think to myself, seeing how much of our attack spells will fail and our spider companion is held down. Without wasting time, I move up and attack in melee combat.
CRITICAL HIT!
CONFIRMED!
You hit the angry woman, realizing that Clobbering Strike does not work on edged weapons for the extra size category. Because you moved up 20 feet, you get skirmish damage added.
She shrieks in pain from that gash you cut into her torso, but remains standing and is really furious.
I move back, sheath my sword and draw my bow. Realizing that I can do more damage with arrow than with spell or sword. With the quick ability on both weapons, I should be able to do this.
I sing and attack, simple and to the point. Moving into melee range.
CHANCE FOR CRIT
CONFIRMED!
With the hit, I activate a Power Point for Song of Arcane Triumph.
Solid hit. The woman is clearly having a very bad day, but still manages to remain standing.
"I'm not going to let this creature have a chance to harm us," I think with determination for the lives of my men.
Move up and attack.
Crit Chance!
Missed.
With the last hit, she falls to the ground and is dying.
I don't hesitate. I move up to finish her off.
With that, the creature utters something out to all of you in Elven.
"Curse Be On You Forever!"
Adarion:
Fiavia:
Claeledar:
All of you recognize it as a Bestow Curse! DC 19
Adarion:
Amual:
Daelynn: Bonus vs Fey powers.
Claeledar:
Kethelis:
Fiavia:
Somehow, none of you seem to feel any effects of the curse.
The woman falls silent for good.
@Kethelis:
She tried to cures you all. But somehow, your superior Elven abilities, experience (and a good bit of luck) saved you all.
Once the spider disappears, I take a knee to breathe for the first time since we entered the chamber. "Damn, that could have been bloody on all of us!" I exhale in relief. "That fey could have given us a hard time."
I examine the dead body to determine what exactly we killed here.
@Amual:
You believe she is what is known as a Baobhan Sith. They are a very rare evil fey that enjoys sucking blood from victims like vampires. Their REAL danger is how they perform a dance that captures opponents who cannot resist their charm. If you like women, you are vulnerable to their dance. Very dangerous. What makes this one different is that she knew spells and seemed to...
You detect poison on her claws. They are NOT known for having that ability. From what you have learned about fey, this was not a typical Baobhan Sith.