The Moar Core Tour (Inactive)

Game Master BretI

Phinellippa's hand passes right through the horse's nose! Having seen that, you all realize that you can actually see through the horse to the back wall behind.

I rolled Will saves for each of you behind those 'GM Screen' spoilers, but it was a tough save DC for this level.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Phinellippa exhales sharply. "It was merely a deception! Come on, let's see what's down that trap door!"

With relieve, Iovo jumps down off the wall and through the horse.

Reaching for the door, she says "I suppose I should be the one to make sure it is an UNtrapped door!" I'm pretty sure that the ceiling isn't going to fall in, but I suppose with them having used magic they could have put in another level of trap!

"That was a pretty nifty illusion, worthy of Matthias! But Iovo, what would Mother say at hearing you use such spicy language?" Damiar jumps on to the wall once Iovo vacates it. "Do you need help?"

Laughing, Iovo replies “She would probably correct me on some minor point in pronunciation, or asked if I knew the origin of the phrase!”

Working together, Iovo and Damiar examine the trap-door, looking for something to justify the name, but finding nothing.

Iovo opens the Un-Trapped door.

A wooden ladder descends from the trap-door into a cluttered and dimly lit L-shaped room. Crates and bits of furniture are stacked against brick walls and oaken doors lie to the east and south.

"Excellent! You are the best sister!" Damiar looks over at the rest of the group. "Well, are you guys coming or not?"

Iovo quickly descends the stairs, and then checks at the south and then east doors. I think this first door would lead us under the inn...

Rees follows the rest, eying the "horse" suspiciously as he passes and checking his bow-string once he's down the ladder.

Garif joins Rees in eyeing the horse with a mix of suspicion and curiosity. The dwarf can't resist reaching out to touch the illusion, taking great delight in seeing his hand go right into the thing! He then moves over to the ladder and climbs slowly down, then waves to Nico to follow. The panther pauses a moment at the top of the ladder, then moves down it much more swiftly, seeming to only touch one or two rungs on the way.

Iovo, can you clarify what you mean by checking at the doors?

Added a door procedure to the botting section of my profile so you can just use that. Sorry, should have had that in before. This will allow you to just run with it when we hit something rather than have to wait for me to respond.

Let me know if it needs any clarification.

There are a lot of skills there, and I'm having a little trouble parsing what you want me to assume you do. Here's my best guess: (1) Perception for sounds from the other side, (2) Perception to check for traps, (3) Disable traps (if any), then if no traps and no sounds (4) Unlock if necessary. Does that sound like a good summary? Do you want me to assume you open the door, or wait for you to say that? And if you're checking both doors, are you getting one open then going to the other one?

I'll expand the explanation in the botting section to better explain it.

To get things going here though, the quick of it is at each door Take 10 and roll twice for active perception. My understanding is the perception covers both detecting sounds on the other side of the door, noticing things about the door, and detecting traps. If you are splitting those actions, then for each do the Take 10 once, roll twice.

Traps: Take 10 first. If no disaster or success, roll up to twice more. Give me a chance to react after that.

In this case, don't open either of the doors yet.

I'm trying to cut down on the back and forth that can happen with PbP on this sort of thing while maintaining decision points.

Got it, thanks. I'm still fairly new to PbP, and still getting used to some of the efficiency tricks.

Iovo goes from one end of the room to the other, hearing nothing behind either door and finding no traps. The eastern door appears to be locked, while the southern one does not.

"Shall we go through the South door since it seems to lead under the inn, or the currently locked Eastern door?"

If they choose eastern or request that I do so, unlock that door. Iovo doesn't care which direction.

"Well, I would say the locked door would be where someone would hide something," Garif offers, "though I suppose they've already hidden it behind an illusory horse and a trapped trap door. In any case, let's go east."

Cheerfully, Iovo skips over to the east door and starts unlocking it.

Once everyone is ready, she will open it.

Iovo skips over to the eastern door and easily unlocks it. Once everyone is in position, she quickly and quietly opens the door, revealing a room bare save for a rickety side table and chair set against the north wall. A set of keys lies on the table, alongside a browned, half-eaten apple, stale crust of bread, and dull paring knife. Ironbound oaken doors lie on the eastern and western walls, and a door lined corridor stretches to the south.

D'oh! Already forgot to do the door stuff.

Iovo checks the door to the east, then moves quietly down to the southern door, checking each cell as she goes. All of the doors save the one you came in are locked and appear untrapped, and no sound comes through any of them.

"Well, I would say the locked door would be where someone would hide something," Garif offers, "though I suppose they've already hidden it behind an illusory horse and a trapped trap door. In any case, let's go east."

The trapdoor with the trap is in the module with no stall-door.

Rees pauses his search of the room to more closely examine the table. "Look," he offers quietly, "this carving is rough and untrained, and here someone has carved 'Rosh'. Wasn't that the name of the stable hand we met earlier?"

Iovo nods her head. “That is what the women said his name was.”

Iovo looks at the ring of keys, and then takes the ring over to one of the cell doors and compares them to the locks there.

Selecting what looks to her like the right key, she holds it near the door and looks to the others to see if any object.

If anyone gives her the go ahead, she unlocks the door in front of her and opens it. After checking what is in there, she would go across the hall and open that door. Keep going down the row until she finds something of interest or reaches the door at the end.

"What is this place?" Garif wonders aloud as they discover an entire prison complex beneath the stable. "At least it's made of stone...what's this?" the dwarf wonders, reaching a thick-fingered hand up to poke at a loose block. Seeing that the small stone block is loose enough to move, Garif pulls on it, revealing a little hiding place behind, with a small box nestled in it. Opening the box, his eyes full of curiosity, Garif says, "Why, it seems to have several locks of hair in it. And this little vial which, unless I mistake myself, contains blood."

Go for it on the doors, Iovo!

Perplexed, Iovo goes over to look at the box. “Any idea who’s hair that might be?”

After that, she starts opening cell doors.

If someone objects before the GM gives results, she would stop and wait.

The door to the first cell opens with a loud, metallic screech as the door turns on rusted hinges. Inside, matted straw is strewn across the floor, and a set of manacles hangs affixed to the wall opposite the entrance. Two buckets sit at the center of this dank prison.

As you examine the cell, you hear the sound of a door swing violently open behind you and slam into the adjacent wall. Spinning around, you see a previously undiscovered door has opened in the eastern wall of the chamber, between the two cells on that side, and two roiling waves of flesh gush forward. Amid each fatty surge wriggles half-formed limbs and a dripping tumorous face.

Initiative, Round 1:

Iovo draw her bow and fires at the near one.

Target Red, assume they are flat footed since I won Initiative.

Attack w/bow, cold iron arrow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage w/bow: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 6

“Eww! Those look disgusting! Any idea what they are?”

Iovo reacts quickly, drawing and firing before anyone else has processed what they are seeing. The arrow strikes true, sinking into the folds of the creature, but does not seem to penetrate as far as it should.

Rees may act.

"Not the slightest," replies Rees, drawing his bow and pausing a moment before releasing the string smoothly. Moved 15' forward.

Pew! vs Red (PBS): 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 1 = 10

Following Iovo's lead Rees fires his own arrow. His aim is not as true, however, and the arrow sails wide.

One of the mounds of flesh spilling from the door gathers itself and wobbles forward toward Iovo, drooping arms outstretched and foul maw agape. Double move

Initiative, Round 1:

Sorry all, somehow didn't get or didn't see the notification of new posts!

Garif draws his sling again, then lays a hand on Nico's back and says, "Go!"

Move action to draw sling, standard to cast guidance on Nico.

Nico bounds forward, then bites at the gross rippling pile of ambulatory flesh!

Bite green!

Bite, Guidance: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Verrix moves past the blubbery thing, drawing an opportunity attack from it, before getting into a flanking position with Iovo... which provides no tactical advantage, as Iovo has a bow out.

Not knowing what this is, he doesn't smite it with holy power.

Holding his warhammer in two hands, he brings it down towards the blobmonster in two hands.

2H Warhammer Power Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Damage if hits: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Garif touches Nico, who bounds forward to attack the strange creature. His powerful jaws close around the creature's leg, but when he releases, no wound remains!

Verrix steps past the creature, drawing a swipe from it's claw, then swings his hammer, the head narrowly missing and leaving a large crack where it slams into the ground.

AoO, claw: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

The other creature moves toward Verrix and slashes at him as well.

AoO, claw: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Initiative, Round 1/2:

Rees fires another projectile at the red-tinted monster, but its ugliness throws off his aim completely!

Pew! (PBS, in melee): 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 11

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

♫ What in the planes is that?
Rolls of mud and icky fat?
I don't know,
I don't know...
But let's squish it flat! ♫

Inspire Courage

Seeing the Nico left no damage while her arrow did, she shouts out “Think we need cold iron!”

Seeing that neither her nor Nico’s attacks did as much damage as they should have, she shouts “Cold iron doesn’t seem to penetrate. Ideas?”

Ack! How did I forget a cold iron dagger! Grrr!

“Drat! I forgot to get mine back from the pawn broker!”

Having said that, she holds her bow in one hand and draws her rapier with her other hand. She then drives it into the creature!

Rapier, flank, Inspire: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 1 = 23
Damage, Inspire, Sneak attack: 1d6 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 1 + (4) = 8

confirm?: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 1 = 23
Crit damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

To be clear, your arrow also did not do full damage, you just had a higher total with your sneak attack.

Iovo's rapier sinks into the fleshy creature (green), right into an exposed spot. It sinks deep, but still the wound seems to less than expected.

Phinellippa's turn.

Drat! I didn’t read well enough. Should have drawn my mace then.

Editing my post to adjust for clarification.

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

"Lemures? But how did devils end up down here? Silver! You want to use silver! That or good!"

Phinellippa moves up, drawing her wand, targeting the green one. "Coquelicot, stay back!"

magic missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Phinellippa has no trouble identifying these creatures as lemures, the least of devil-kind. After educating her allies on the finer points of devil-killing, she demonstrates by drawing a wand of magic missile and destroying the green lemure!

Initiative, Round 2:

♫Gotta keep the devil way down in the hole♫

Tom Waits fan? Or fan of The Wire? Not mutually exclusive, granted.

"Silver? I don't have any silver sling stones!" Garif exclaims. "And what a waste that would be, tossing a precious metal at these blob beasts!" He moves closer to the fight, hoping that Nico can do some harm to the foe.

Nico is puzzled that his bite seemed to do nothing to the fleshy monstrosity, but that doesn't stop him from bounding forward to bite at the next one!

Move, then bite red.

Bite, Inspire: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 2 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

GM Dennis wrote:

♫Gotta keep the devil way down in the hole♫

Tom Waits fan? Or fan of The Wire? Not mutually exclusive, granted.

Both.

Once again Nico bites down hard on the lemure, and once again it seems to have no effect.

"What's a lemure?" Verrix shouts. "Silver? Is it a.... lycanthrope? What is this, a giant wereslug?"

He sounds perplexed.

Fairly badly wounded, he doesn't want to provoke another opportunity attack, so he just takes a five-foot step. Holding his warhammer in two hands, he again attempts to smash the creature.

2H Power Attack including Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Damage if hits including Inspire Courage: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Only after he swings does it register on him that Phinellippa used the word devil....

Verrix decides that the best defense is a good offense. This proves true as a mighty swing from his warhammer destroys the vile beast, crushing it against the wall!

Out of combat!

----

Now that its denizens have been destroyed, you can see into what was until recently a hidden room. A rank and fetid stench fills this large, unlit, and irregularly shaped chamber, and what is clearly the inside of another hidden door lies at the opposite end.

At first it seems there is no further response to the screeching cell door, but then you begin to hear muffled voices coming from the cells at the southern edge of the corridor. Opening them is as simple as selecting the proper key; once found the doors swing open easily, if just as loudly. Inside each of the southern cells is a dwarf, each bound to the wall with manacles and wearing nothing but underclothes. They appear bruised, dehydrated, and on the verge of collapse from exhaustion, but they are alive and very glad to see you.

"Oh, you've come to save us, and not a moment too soon! May the blessings of the Diamond Sage be upon you!" says the first dwarf, who introduces himself as Pechas Domri. "I do not know what they had planned for us, but I'm sure it was not good."

"When I heard your footsteps, I was sure it was that awful cleric back for more interrogation!" says another, who introduces herself as Rakuska Ingardam.

"I was hoping it was the mute, sneaking us some more food!" says the third, named Holfist Sendstrom

Iovo hands off the ring of keys to Rees, saying “Please open the other doors as I work on the manicles.”

She then goes over and starts releasing the first dwarf they found from his chains. “Here, I have some trail rations and a waterskin. Take some of it.”

Probably half a ration each? Let me know how many to deduct.

She will then move on to each of the others, offering them some food and water.

“Did anyone see any clothes laying around?”