The Storm in Isger: The Devil's Hole

Game Master Sigil

Roll an attack to confirm, and if successful, roll whatever the crit modifier is on your weapon for damage. If X2, then just roll your Damage again and add it to the total.

Swiping at of course anything that is close

Attack 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Narnel - Sorry, I wasn't exactly clear as I know the pen & paper rule, just not how it's handled here. I'm assuming I should just role a second confirmation and if it hits (Sigil would know) he would use the modifier I note?

Here is my confirmation

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Bryndyn, I am not sure that we have set up any official way to handle a crit, but the way Narnel and yourself describe works great for me. It is nice to see your luck turning!

While Harlynn may have been startled to see an arrow fly so close, Narnels dead eye delivers again. Another notch in his belt.

And then Bryndyn delivers a crushing blow to the foe before him. It ceases to move and a foul ooze emerges from the blunt contusion he created.

Larayn braces herself for they unstopping rush of these things, ready to swing at the first one to get close enough.

Harlynn, Elinor and then you foes.

That probably puts Larayn at O8 with the grub in P7 just scimitared. Harlynn will be able to get off an acid bolt (not wanting to pre-empt actions) at Q7 before Elinor moves.

With a bloodthirsty (but melodic) howl, Elinor again leaps forwards placing herself between the grubs and her companions. Moving to P8. The shadows cast by the sunrod held behind her shield dance eerily in the narrow tunnel. Her blade cuts down, the edges flashing in the light. Striking at an unwounded grub, Q7 in preference if both unwounded.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 231d10 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Edit (roll to confirm) 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

HP11/11 AC19

Ninjad by the ref - I suppose he's allowed. I was thinking Larayn had moved up to strike. If she didn't, I'll have gone to O8 and sliced up the grub in P7 (unless Harlynn kills it). If I'm in O8 with three grubs left that happily means an AoO on one of the grubs if they're all to attack me.

I was thinking make those bad Larry's come to us, we got an unstoppable line :D

If Harlynn is close enough and the thing isn't dead Harlynn will attempt another acid splash
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
1d3 ⇒ 2

Sorry Elinor! :)

Harlynn launches acid at the slugs and burns one. Elinor, is impetuous, or perhaps just has enough battle training to know when to press an advantage.

With a cry she races forward leaving Larayn and Harlynn looking at each other confused. I thought the plan was... etched on their faces. Her idea works though and the lead grub is felled with one blow, but still they push forward. The heroes register as one thing; food! and they are hungry.

Elinor an AoO please, if you pass an Reflex DC 11 save. If you do not drop the one you are rolling against, the last attack roll is for it, not that it matters. You do take 3 points of tentacle damage.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 21d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 201d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 171d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

assuming battle continues... AC 16; HP 20/18

Bryndyn is pleased. His Lizardman soul, called Sillith by the brethern who have accepted him among the people, relishes the success they have had against this enemy. There is no ambiguity here. This isn't a misunderstanding - this is a situation where these things want to eat and it's kill or be killed. Around him, the group is working well and finally starting to understand one another's fighting habits. Perhaps, by the time they face the darkest secrets of the Devil's hole, they will have worked out some of the kinks that have come forward in these first few combat opportunities.

Suddenly, Elinor is hit by some of the tenticles. Bryndyn growls and steps forward to the next grub that still lives. Swinging away, he is intent on continuing this slaughter until all of these worm like creatures have returned to the soil from which they came.

Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Round 4, AC: 17, HP: 9/9, Point Blank Range

Narnel moves to a position 20 feet behind the melee, directly behind his companions so that he can fire down the hallway. He will fire at any grub not currently engaged in melee, if there are any...not sure. If not, then please add -4 to my roll for firing into melee.

LB ATT: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 = 15
LB DAM: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Reflex Save 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

OK so far:

Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 231d10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

More than OK except for the damage but:

Confirm 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 201d10 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Elinor notices as soon as she enters the narrower tunnel part of this expanse that these things exude some sort of slick ooze. Not to worry. This one grew up in the north, and for certain the ice there is every bit as slick. Sure footedly she savagely dispatches another of the creatures as it tries to push past her.

2 left.

Narnel fires down the hallway but his concern for his companions makes his arrow go wide.

Bryndyn follows Elinor and narrowly misses his mark.

Harlynn, Elinor and Larayn. Also, anyone who enters the tunnel needs to make a reflex save like Elinor did, for each round they move in the tunnel. Bryndyn please make one for your last turn.

Larayn moves behind Bryndyn and Elinor to back up their attack, there isn't much room to move into the tunnel, but she stands prepared to enter if needed.

Bryndyn's reflex save.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Worried about her balance, Elinor plants her feet firmly and strikes across Bryndyn at the grub in front of him (P8), then backs off out of the slippery tunnel to N6 so that there will at least be a shot for Narnel/Harlynn.

Attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 141d10 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
AC19 HP 8/11 (damn)

Harlynn enters the tunnel behind the others

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

He tries to get a clear line of site at one of the remaining creatures to throw some more acid at

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
1d3 ⇒ 2

away from desk most of the day today. This is in case I have another attack with only 2 remaining.

Attack : 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Damage : 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Larayn waits for opening to help, she feels impatient and just wants these creatures out of the way!

Harlynn uses his arcane talent, and Elinor her martial one and both to no avail. Elinor steps back, and in that moment the foul slugs, lash at her with tentacles. One of them hits and hits hard.

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 201d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 111d3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Elinor takes 4 points of damage.

Larayn sees that Elinor needs her, and moves towards her saying, "Goddess see the warriors bravery, Goddess help your instrument for good, Goddess heal the strong and the just." Larayn feels her hands warming and place them on Elinor's wounds.

That's cure light wounds for anybody who is wondering.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Seranrae's hand is most efficacious!

The slugs decide that Bryndyn should rest in this old place of his people... Fitting no? Actually all they see is a scaly snack and they seek to make him such! They shall have to try again later. Assuming you give them a later.

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 81d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Narnel, and then Bryndyn (thanks for posting ahead!), Harlynn, Elinor and Larayn.

Round 5, AC: 17, HP: 9/9, Point Blank Range

Narnel, seeing Elinor injured, fires at the slug engaged with her.

LB ATT: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 10
LB DAM: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

It is such a precise thing to kill the right thing when creatures are engaged in combat. Better to err in caution, and that is what Narnel does. Bryndyn swings at one of the 2 remaining creatures but cannot connect.

Harlynn, Elinor and Larayn

Curse those things and their foul dice luck! And now the dice have turned I'm hugely anxious about stepping back into the tunnel and risking slipping.

Torn by a new awareness of the threat these worms present and her mistrust of the lizard man Elinor hesitates at the mouth of the tunnel. She shakes her head, for now, he is a comrade in arms and she will not let him fight alone. Her teeth clack and she growls out sounds that a human voice is not supposed to be able to make before stepping forwards again.

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 171d10 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Reflex save if necessary: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

AC19 HP10/11

That doesn't look too good. Knew I should have left him there.

Bryndyn's head snaps around, causing his raised ridgeline to fan out briefly. "Lizard!?" He sees her concern, howeever and will take a final swing and then step back when it is appropriate.

attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Reflex save 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

rut roe

Amusingly, it was the Grand National horse race over here this afternoon. Viking Blond fell at the first fence...

Oops...

gonna be a hit and miss week. On Biz Travel to Headquarters this week... Will post each evening for sure...checking during day will be a challenge

No worries Bryndyn. I will be out until late tonight (and not posting now to give Harlynn and Larayn some time.) Actually part of the days plan has me going to photograph a mid level adventure location. :)

@Sigil: How are we doing arrow recovery? Roll a percentage dice at the end of the encounter?

At home, I got tired of players religiously rolling dice and counting arrows, buying every arrow in every village that they passed through... I ruled that unless players were way out in the middle of nowhere they were assumed to have 'enough' arrows. If WOITMON then 3/4 of arrows fired were lost and whether they hit or missed was irrelevant. I've always felt that if you shoot an arrow at an enemy and miss, it's going to take so long to find it ("it went that way...") that 50% recovery of misses was too many, but that many arrows which hit would be re-usable, especially after a few minutes work with the right tools. Obviously, I'm not an archer so I have no idea of this is actually a reasonable perception but it works for me.

sorry for the absence. Had to do some yravelling this weekend. Doesn't make it any easier with an 8 month pregnant wife. Will have to do the same the next two weekends as well.

Seeing the threat is still poised at them. Harlynn will once again cast acid splash in order to conserve the last bit of arcane energy he had until he can rest again.

ranged touch 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
damage 1d3 ⇒ 2

Larayn finds herself in a bad spot for attacking or moving. She readies herself to help her companions with healing or in the fighting of the grubs as the melee opens itself to her.

Unacceptable Harlynn! I suppose next you will want a leave when the baby is born! :) Seriously, this is a game, and so long as I know what is going on we can move forward and roll with whatever. If your life needs you that is most important.

Harlynn's spell misses its target, and then worse, Elinor slips and falls. What would have been a sure blow is ruined by her fall.

Larayn stands ready to help but not knowing what to do and then the grubs push forward again, attacking Bryndyn and Elinor. Miraculously even though she is done, the ulfen woman avoids being hit. Her companion is not so lucky though, and the tentacles rake him.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 161d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 4 = 101d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Bryndyn is hit for 3 points of damage. It is Narnels turn, Bryndyn has posted his action, and then Harlynn, Elinor (getting up will provoke an AoO) and Larayn. Narnel and Elinor, I am beat. Lets talk about arrows tomorrow. :)

Round 6, AC: 17, HP: 9/9, Point Blank Range

Narnel, seeing Elinor continuing to struggle, fires again at the slug engaged with her.

LB ATT: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24
LB DAM: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Harlynn curses his aim and flings the acid again

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
damage 1d3 ⇒ 3

Oops - forgot the -4...sorry, should still hit!

Narnel, who has shown his skill again and again drops, with a single arrow the beast that menaces Elinor.

Bryndyn swings mightily, and the final slug is sent to whatever afterlife things like that achieve. He turns and promptly falls, but what matter now? The danger seems to be past.

Looking down the tunnel, you note that it is solidly covered in the slippery slime. It goes straight for about 75 feet and then turns sharply left.

Result everyone. While that was going on I was musing on tactics but impossible to have a tactical discussion in 6s rounds (not that that ever stops us around a table). It occurred to me that the ideal position in the initiative tree for Narnel and Harlynn (after the first round when it's 'first, first and then first' of course) is after everyone else but before the monsters. This would mean that the people in the front (presumably Bryndyn and Elinor) could strike and step back leaving clear shots for the ranged attacks (bearing in mind that as well as the -4 for 'in melee' there's also -4 for cover if your line of sight passes through a combatant, so enfilade positions). The disadvantage is that this has the potential to allow bad guys to attack more fragile PCs, but if we're careful we should be able to manage interlocking threat zones so as to avoid this. (Please assume an in-character discussion of this, likely initiated by Narnel...)

"Thanks, tall, sharp and handsome."

Elinor gets gingerly to her feet trying to shake slime off her gauntlets and carefully cleans her blade.

"Yuck! What were those things? Tougher than they looked, for sure."

She looks down the tunnel, peering into the darkness. Even with the sunrod it's hard to tell how far it stretches.

"Can you see any better than I?"

She turns to Bryndyn, hostility and suspicion evident.

"What did you mean, 'this was a lizardman place'? Were those creatures some kind of worm-spawn? It was not they that broke those bairns."

It was a pleasure Elie.

Narnel blushes noticeably.

I feel very strongly that I will be able to fire my arrows at enemies that you are all engaged with more easily. I seem to have to do that a great deal. However, until my accuracy becomes more honed, it is difficult to do so currently. Having said that, I believe that you all performed admirably against such odd creatures. Let us delve deeper shall we, after I retrieve some arrows.

Narnel looks through the corpses to recover any arrows that he can before moving on. Fired 6.

How do you think we should precede, with the slipperiness of the cave could we slide down it? I assume we are going forward? If anything to find justice for those poor girls we found most mutilated, bled out and tortured elsewhere since we found no animal had attacked them at the site. The Goddess demands justice and that good does what it can to bring evil to light. I follow you all to this end and to go forward on The Lady of the Tower's quest.

Bryndyn ignores Larayn's attempt at discussion of moving on and turns to Elinor.

I am not a Lizard! I am of the water people. A lizard man! " he growls. He composes himself and adds. "I respect your prowess brave Elinor but this is like me calling humans apes. As far as your question... This was once....long ago...a place that held power among the people. A holy place. I believe in the power of spirits, and this place must surely have them. Sacrifices, burials, offerings are all part of the stories I have heard...what we found today is some macabre joke against the true nature of this place. I am angered, and my people will be angered as well.

"Ape?"

Elinor looks puzzled then light dawns.

"Oh, the man like beasts. At the Pool of Hearts the divvy peasants once hanged such a thing believing it to be a spy for the Irrisen."

She slaps Bryndyn on the shoulder.

"Keep fighting like that and you can call me anything you like."

She looks up the tunnel, singing a low verse in Ulfen; something about the look on her face suggests it's not very complimentary about lizard folk.

"Aye weel. Onward."

Elinor cautiously steps forwards, weapons and shield slung so she can maintain her balance. If this is futile i.e. if a save every round is required in any event (even with bonuses) she'll go forwards on hands and knees, and in this case will wear her shield.

True (or at least true urban legend) story about Hartlepoole - in the late eighteenth century the citizens hanged a monkey believing it to be a French spy. The city has now adopted the monkey as its mascot deciding that they'd never shake the story they might as well glory in it.

Indeed, the way is quite slick and attempting to maintain balance will be nigh unto impossible for long. You do note that the places were the secretions are thinnest, these are already drying, so perhaps if you wait some time, though it might be several hours, it will be safe to traverse unhindered.

It took me a bit to find the rule about ammuntion retrieval. I am really focused on RAW right now, and prefer to go with the rule on pg 141 of the Core book says that ammunition that has hit its target is useless for a second hit, but 50% of misses may be reclaimed and used again.

Well, I only missed once. ;-) Looking for high percentage to recover.

Recovery (High): 1d100 ⇒ 96

Narnel proceeds down the hallway.

Reflex Saves:(Not sure how many I will need)

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

back from my trip - back to normal... Onward?

At the two warriors at each others throats, Harlynn is not accustomed to people not following orders. He backs away at the signs of aggression. This would never happen amongst the ranks of the Hellknights.

When some mentions moving on he speaks up Right, onward then

Byrndyn seems molified by Elinor's words and turns to face the hallway. I'm not sure waiting is the best idea. Let us try to set up another rope if we have one...or perhaps use our staves and bows to add stability as we traverse the hall.