The Tomb of Abysthor

Game Master Ierox

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 Well, at least she's not getting sick.
Two Weapon fighting and bless on all attacks
Attack Longsword: 1d20 + 6 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 - 2 + 1 = 7
Attack Cestus: 1d20 + 6 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 - 2 + 1 = 11
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Arianna continues to try fighting off the rats, her sword misses, but perhaps she manages to connect with the cestus on her off hand.

Okay, I think we may need to get a little creative here. If we can squeeze into that tunnel behind Zat, maybe we can rotate everyone so that those of us with area attacks could get up here.

I'm willing to work with something like that if you are... 'cuz, uh, even with accurate attacks killing every time, this is gonna take awhile.

With a wave of her hand, Rhiannon sent another rock hurtling forward, this time aiming for the eleventh rat. There wasn't a whole lot else she could do at the moment, but at least the rats were starting to lose numbers. They really did need something for this - mild explosives, maybe, or similarly useful items.

Ranged Attack, Squeezing: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 7 - 4 = 14 for Damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (2, 3) + 8 = 13 Big enough to hit a swarm, not big enough to hit foes sharing a space. XD Oh well.

For what it's worth, Inspire Courage is also up for the party, adding to damage.
This should have helped Arianna in particular this round.

Zatinya starts attacking the 10th rat in a defensive manner.

Unlit torch, Inspire, Bless, TWF: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 - 4 = 20; Damage: 1d3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3
Unlit torch, Inspire, Bless, TWF: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 - 4 = 21; Damage: 1d3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Assuming she succeeds in killing it, she steps into the vacated space. "I'll be the bait, you all get in here!"

AC=21 while fighting defensively. Inspire Courage round 2/9.

Gren sees Zatinya move up and wastes no time following. "Hah! Getting better! Come on everybody, push forward! They're just a bunch of rats!"

As soon as he is up, he thrusts his rapier around Arianna.

Long Arm Thrust w/ Bless and Inspire vs. 20: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 25
Damage w/ Inspire: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6
Active Effects: Long Arm - 27 rounds

Rhiannon's blast of rock kills one rat, and Zatinya bashes another's skull in with her torches. Gren's impossibly long arms reach around his allies to lead the tip of his rapier through the guts of a rat he can barely even see from there, killing it dead.

For a moment, there's even a little breathing room around you, before the rats close in again, screeching while lounging for Arianna with their mouths open.

#9 vs Arianna, squeeze & cover: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (5) - 5 = 0
#17 vs Arianna, squeeze & cover: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (9) - 5 = 4
#2 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
#7 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7
#14 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19
#21 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
#16 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

#14 to confirm vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10 Crap.
Two Weapon fighting and bless on all attacks
Longsword: 1d20 + 6 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 6 - 2 + 1 = 8
Cestus: 1d20 + 6 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 - 2 + 1 = 7

A pair of whiffs. :/

Don't forget about Inspire Courage. Admittedly, this is not the most heroic battle.

Zatinya lights her torches on fire. Casting Spark, then using a move action to light her other torch.

I don't think it stacks. Did the GM say otherwise?

Frowning slightly, Rhiannon continued her assault, lobbing rocks towards the most-exposed rodents she could. One would hope that seeing so many of their own getting crushed would dissuade the others, but... intelligence wasn't something vermin were known for possessing.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 7 - 4 = 18 for Damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (5, 4) + 8 = 17

Gren keeps thrusting away with the rapier, trying to whittle down the rats. His extended arms are beginning to tire from the awkward position and their unnatural length. The bodies are beginning to pile up around the two women in front though.

Once more with longarm vs 2 or 7: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

More rats fall to your weapons. Undettered, the rest of them close in to take a bite out of Arianna.

#17 vs Arianna, squeeze & cover: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (7) - 5 = 2
#9 vs Arianna, squeeze & cover: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (2) - 5 = -3
#5 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
#1 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
#6 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20, damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
#13 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6
#16 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9
#21 vs Arianna, squeeze: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13

"They just keep coming! Can you either of you see how many more of them there are?" Gren's ever present smile is beginning to fade a little as he leans in to the monotony of the fight.

Again with longarm vs 1: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7

So we weren't able to push any further into the room?

Gren stabs another rat to death.

Not at that moment, no.

Lorien quickly channels to heal Arianna.
Channel: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 4) = 6

Zatinya fights the remaining lone rat #1 she can reach in a defensive manner.

Torch, Inspire, Bless, Defensive, TWF: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 4 - 2 = 22; Damage+fire damage: 1d3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6
Torch, Inspire, Bless, Defensive, TWF: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 4 - 2 = 15; Damage+fire damage: 1d3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

Crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11; Damage: 1d3 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 Does a torch's fire damage multiply on a crit?

Assuming it dies, she steps into the breach using her other attack on rat #6.

AC=21 from defensive fighting.

*Edit* - I forgot to subtract 2 for TWF. Sorry.

Bleh. Sorry! I hadn't realized a new round was up. Targeting 16 then 21.

Attack Longsword (Bless, IC, TWF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 15
Damage (IC): 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7
Attack Cestus (Bless, IC, TWF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 7

Gren killed 1 with his strike, so supposing that Zatinya stepped in to fill that void, I've redirected some attacks so it makes sense.
Map is updated, I just need Rhiannon's actions.

The moment space opens up before him Kesh wriggles forward, cursing the stone for snagging his wings and keeping him from the fight.

Oh, you HAD posted the enemies! I somehow missed that. o_O Sorry!

"How about you scoot forward? You've got the space." Rhiannon told Gren as she launched a rock at the eighth rat, the last she could effectively see. She'd definitely need to be able to move forward to help finish off the others...

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 7 - 4 = 15 for Damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (4, 4) + 8 = 16

The last rats close in on Zatinya and Arianna.

#8 vs Zatinya: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
#9 vs Zatinya: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
#17 vs Zatinya: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19, 1d4 ⇒ 2
#15 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16, 1d4 ⇒ 1
#21 vs Arianna: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Zatinya's AC was 21 due to defensive fighting so the rats miss.

Zatinya hopes to finish off another rat or two.

Torch vs 21: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 17; Damage+Fire: 1d3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5
Torch vs 21 or 15: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 8; Damage+Fire: 1d3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5

She sidesteps to create room.

Attacking 21 then 9
Longsword (Bless, IC, TWF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7
Cestus (Bless, IC, TWF): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 12
Damage: 1d4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

Five foot step to get a better shot at 9

Gren steps into the room and jabs at another rat.

Jab at 2: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 1 + 1 = 26
damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

Can somebody move me east of Arianna?

Done.

Lorien will delay till someone is hurt, then she will heal again.

Woo! Only two rats, 17 and 8 left. Need actions from Rhiannon(and Keshokkar, he might actually get to move here.)

As the others cleared some space, Rhiannon stepped forward as well, finally emerging from the tunnel. Free of the squeezing, her attacks were more accurate now-

Ranged Attack vs 8: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19 for Bludgeoning Damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (6, 1) + 8 = 15

-which, fortunately, generally meant accurate enough.

Inching along behind Rhiannon, Kesh emerges from the tunnel with a triumphant roar and shoves his way into the room, stretching his wings wide just because he can.

The last rat hisses and tries to run away.

Torch AoO: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

It flees down one of the western tunnels, disappearing out of sight.

You're left alone in the chamber, alongside a pile of dead dire rats and their nest.

Gren smiles, cleaning off his blade. "So, was it worth it?" He kicks over some of the bodies, seeing if there is anything of value in the nest.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Kesh moves over to Ari, a strange expression on his reptilian face. "Ari, are you okay? Are you badly injured?"

If she says any variation on "Yeah I'm alright..."
*WHAP*!! Quick as a snake the wyvaran's hand comes up and smacks the idylkin in the back of the head. "Just what in the name of Apsu's Arse were you thinking?!" he growls. "This place has a literal fountain of blood and you decided to fie off through these little rat-holes? What if it had been something worse like, like a huge nest of poisonous spiders, or those hungry-slime-monsters, or some sort of magical stone creature? We'd all be dead, that's what!"

Pausing for a breath, Kesh observes the pile of dead rats. "You gotta play to the group's strengths, or we're already dead." he mutters.

Gren bends down to pick at something giving of a gleam in the pile of refuse that makes up the nest, coming up with a silver ring.

There's more shiny stuff to be found, but it'll take a while to search the whole thing.

As the dragonkin smacks Arianna, Zatinya spins with her mouth agape, then immediately steps between Kesh and Arianna. "Hey, who do you think you are? Don't touch her. If you had a problem with it, you should've said something in the first place. We all followed along, and now we're doing just fine. It's not like you got bitten. Only Arianna here got swarmed by a bunch of rats."

"Ah, stuff it, firedancer. There's nastier things down here than rats and we all know it. I'd just as soon not wait for someone to get killed before saying something. Group discipline is what will let us all go home."

"Yeah, I gue–" *SMACK*

Arianna holds both of her hands to the back of her head where Kesh had slapped her. She's quiet as she rubs the pain out of the back of her head and Kesh and Zati begin to argue.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

"Kesh, Zati, can you not argue, please? I'm sorry I did something stupid. It won't happen again."

Lorien smiles. "If you see more shiny things, better check carefully. We have no time issues!"
Perc: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Zatinya calms down as Arianna does. She actually kind of agreed with Kesh; she just didn't like the way he was communicating it. It reminded her of the way Meredith the dominatrix whipped her lions. "You've made your point, Kesh. So, we're here now, we killed a bunch of rats, and apparently they liked shiny things. Let's find some more silver linings."

She tries to help Lorien find something interesting. Perception (aid another): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9. Though she's too flustered to be of much use.

"I dunno, rat tunnels seem safer than fountains of blood." Rhiannon observed. "I'd actually like to avoid that if we can - and checking the small places helps make sure nothing's going to swarm out of them later."

Can we get an updated map of the floor we're on?

Gren picks up the ring, flips it up in the air, and then drops it in a pocket. He then keeps rummaging through the bodies and various detritus of the nest. "Uck...Gross."

He is mostly just touching things with the toe of his boot.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Either a map or the potential destinations...it's been a while since we've had to figure out where to go.

You dig around for a while - ten minutes or so.

In total, you find 128 gp, 387 sp and 1,091 cp, six onyx gems which are worth about 25gp each, three daggers and a masterwork kukri.

With some simple magics, Zatinya helps clean off the gunk from digging around in this rat nest. Prestidigitation. "There, ready for the show again. Now that we're done here, want to pick another tunnel?"

"Can Lorien heal up these bites," Arianna asks.

"Preferably one we can move through more comfortably," Kesh adds, flexing his wings for emphasis. Which tunnel is largest?

Lorien with a smile nods."Of course dear, of course.
Clw: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10 She then summons water to clean off the grime!

One of the tunnels, leading west, seem slightly wider than the rest of them. It's the one marked as '5'.

I am adopting Gren's suggestion, endorsed by Rhiannon.

"I don't know, that tunnel doesn't look that much wider than the rest," says Zatinya, inspecting the options. "If we're worried about fighting in narrow corridors, let's just go back the way we came and press on."

You make your way back down the tunnel you came from, probably to Keshokkar's discomfort.

You emerge in the narrow cave at the base of some stairs, quickly making your way up into the large cavern. There's quite a bit of noise in here - even if it's faint, the wind howling through the sinkhole makes for continuous background noise, and there's squeaking coming from the southern, upper part of the cavern you're standing in.

You cross the cavern hurridly, and make for the tunnel leading west. The entrance is blocked by a large rock, which you have to inch your way past. The passage on either side is narrow, but unlike the rat tunnels, you can navigate it standing up, and it's only a couple feet before you make it through to the other side besides.

You're standing in a tunnel, and can see faint light coming from up ahead. The tunnel splits in two just ahead of you, but one end clearly ends blindly after twenty feet or so. The other one leads to a set of roughly hewn stairs, leading down.

The light is provided by a sinkhole, just like the one you saw earlier, albeit there's no heavy wind here. The sinkhole provides a window to the sky, a circle of grey clouds, with a couple drops of rain reaching you when you stand directly below it.

The stairs lead down to a small cavern, where a thin layer of soil forms the floor. There's a variety of mushrooms growing here, as well as a pair of small openings leading to rat tunnels beyond.

Well, at least she was good with rocks...

"I'm having a hard time deciding how to feel about this place. Half of it's worked, but the other half isn't." she said, looking at the stairs. "A few light touches on existing work can be nice, but this seems less... professional." As a stonemason, that sort of thing slightly offended her. "Anyone know what kind of mushrooms those are? If they're dangerous, I'm happy to flatten them from here."

"Maybe it was a series of natural caverns that were worked as needed? Dunno much about history or architecture, but I wouldn't want to hack through any more of this than I had to."

"Most of the mushrooms I've encountered have all sorts of interesting side effects. I wouldn't want to try them out in this place, though!" Zatinya conjures some Dancing Lights to let the party see better.