ROUND 3
Quinlan draws his crossbow and fires at the undazed ghast.
ROUND 3
Quinlan draws his crossbow and fires at the undazed ghast.
[dice=Crossbow]1d20+4 [dice=Damage]1d8
Quinlan has little window to aim through with allies in the way, and narrowly misses with his bolt...
GHASTS VS THE GOOD GUYS!! OOH!! OOH!! ROUND 4! FIGHT!!!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
BEAR!
FOX!
QUINLAN!
ARC!
ZAGATHOTH!
GHASTS!
BOGA!
EEEEK!!
Round 4
The Fox tries to move into a position from which he can strike the ghast up close.
From his new position, the Fox swings a lightning covered fist at the ghast to distract it...
Seeing an opportunity to split the smelly thing’s attention, Zagathoth shifts to the opposite side of it from Johann. The advantage gained, he hacks at the creature with his heavy sword again...
,
"GRRRRRAWWWW! GO TO HELL WHERE YOU BELONG!
Johann tries to take this ghast down! But good intentions don't equal martial prowess!
[dice=Bite Attack & damage]d20+4+2; d6+2 str 2 bab 2 blessing 2; str 2
[dice=Claw Attack 1 & damage]d20+4+2; d4+2 str 2 bab 2 blessing 2; str 2
[dice= Claw Attack 2 & damage]d20+4+2; d4+2 str 2 bab 2 blessing 2; str 2
The ghast ducks, dodges and weaves, staying clear of Johann's furious flailing claws and chomping jaws...
Round 4
The Fox tries to move into a position from which he can strike the ghast up close.
[dice=Acrobatics, DC is the ghast's CMD]d20+2From his new position, the Fox swings a lightning covered fist at the ghast to distract it...
[dice=Melee Mystic Bolt vs AC 10 to aid Zagathoth's next attack roll]d20+1+2
The agile Fox tumbles swiftly past his allies and positions himself near the ghast, but his lightning-shrouded jab falls short of connecting with the undead monster...
Seeing an opportunity to split the smelly thing’s attention, Zagathoth shifts to the opposite side of it from Johann. The advantage gained, he hacks at the creature with his heavy sword again...
[dice=power attack, flank, aid]1d20+6+2+2, [dice=for]2d4+10
Zagathoth rends the ghast apart with a mighty blow of his falchion! The monster topples over, motionless...
The final ghast snaps out of the trance as St Cecilia vanishes... It snarls and stalks toward the adventurers!
GHASTS VS THE GOOD GUYS!! OOH!! OOH!! ROUND 5! FIGHT!!!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
BEAR!
FOX!
QUINLAN!
ARC!
ZAGATHOTH!
GHASTS!
BOGA!
EEEEK!!
Having aided the goodly adventurers as best she could with her ghostly harping of the Dies Irae, the ghost of Saint Cecilia fades away, as does the entrancing sound of her harp...
Though disappointed that the blessing was not enough for Johann to strike the monster, Boga again calls for the Divine to intervene, "We are doing your work, Lord. Help him!"
hmm... bearman looks like a good fighter but he mostly distracts things... this priest does not hit very much but now that he did, he hit as hard as me...
Hoping not to be outdone by the cardinal, Zagathoth chops at the ghoul between him and Johann.
,
Recovering somewhat the Cardinal straightens up and attempts to make his way into longsword range.
[dice=Attack]d20+3 [dice=Damage]d8+2
[dice=Crit?]d20+3 [dice=Crit Damage]d8+2
Even though he is sickened by the ghasts’ foul stench, The Lord guides the cardinal’s vengeful sword stroke, and the final ghast is dealt a mighty gash in its side! It moans in agony and stages, nearly done in by Lucius’ single strike!
AAAAAARRRRGGHHH!!!
The last ghast looks over its shoulder, back the way it came, as if considering retreat...
hmm... bearman looks like a good fighter but he mostly distracts things... this priest does not hit very much but now that he did, he hit as hard as me...
Hoping not to be outdone by the cardinal, Zagathoth chops at the ghoul between him and Johann.
[dice=power attack, flank]1d20+6+2, [dice=for]2d4+10
Reeling from the stench of the final ghast, Zagathoth is sickened and swings wildly, his falchion blade whistling harmlessly over the ghast’s head!
Seeming to finally notice its three fellows sprawled out on the corridor floor at its feet, the lone ghast turns to flee, throwing caution to the wind! It turns back toward the chamber it came from and tries to flee recklessly past Zagathoth and the Fox...
The Fox swings wildly again as the ghast bulls him over, but can't connect.
[dice=Melee Mystic Bolt vs normal AC]1d20+1
The Fox swings wildly again as the ghast bulls him over, but can't connect.
As he draws back his right fist, crackling with blue sparks, the Fox is slammed to the corridor floor on his back by the ghast as it plows him over, trampling him in its desperate flight from the righteous blades of Cardinal Lucius and Zagathoth, and the furious fangs and claws of Johann!
,
[dice=AoO]1d20+6+2, [dice=for]2d4+10
As the last ghast turns away from Zagathoth to flee, the orc swings a savage stroke of his falchion that lops off the monster’s head! The head sails over Zagathoth and bounces at the feet of Cardinal Lucius, Arc, and Quinlan, before rolling to a stop between Boga’s feet, ugly face turned up, dead eyes fixed on the holy man’s!
The adventurers are again victorious!
A search of the four fallen ghasts reveals nothing of value, only tattered and bloodstained funeral shrouds worn like togas...
Advancing on to the west, into the chamber in which the four ghasts had squatted in the darkness around a half-eaten corpse of a middle-aged Roman woman, the adventurers examine the spacious chamber...
A corridor continues west beyond an open archway in the far wall...
The walls of this chamber are riddled with shallow alcoves containing the sekeletal remains of long-dead Romans... Some of these skeletons are wrapped in moldering funeral shrouds, and all are shrouded with dusty spiderwebs...
The ceiling, some twenty feet overhead, is carved with bas relief cherubs and seraphim, sounding golden trumpets or strumming golden harps...
Boga looks down at the head, shakes his head. He makes the sign of the cross while thinking, "Poor soul. May he now rest in peace," and he kicks it to the side.
Boga gathers his backpack and crossbow and rejoins the group. "What a fight! I don't believe anyone was injured but for a little gastric distress! The saint of God, Cecilia, indeed protected us!"
Quinlan looks distastefully at the ghasts scattered across the ground and hangs his crossbow back at his belt. "Boy oh boy this is not how I imagined spending my evening when I woke up this morning. If I had know I might have been a bit more helpful. Although I find my confidence in the rest of you grows rapidly."
Quinlan slowly approaches the woman on the ground. Before he bends over he fires a crossbow bolt through her eye socket, he winces as the bolt makes contact. "I don't know much about these undead in particular but I know that most have a nasty habit of creating more of themselves." He then leans over the body and gingerly examines it for anything that might identify the woman.
This poor woman was obviously abducted from her home (or perhaps she was working the streets of Rome) by the ghasts and spirited down into the catacombs to serve as a grisly meal for the undead monsters...
About her ankle is a golden anklet inlaid with tiger eye agates...
"I comed to kill things under the city for the pope," Zagathoth answers the horned man with a grin, "this is just how I imagined my evening."
human-god smiles on us... we find enemies easily and kill them quickly, and the ghost helps us... I am glad Father Cortez washed me and sent me here...
Assuming at least Johann is poking around in some of these alcoves? If so, Perception checks, please... or would you like to take 20 to search the crypt?
Assuming at least Johann is poking around in some of these alcoves? If so, Perception checks, please... or would you like to take 20 to search the crypt?
There are a total of thirty alcoves in the walls of this crypt—nine in the north wall, nine in the south, and six each in the east and west walls... It takes about two minutes to thoroughly search an alcove...
Johan gladly joins the search of the alcoves in the crypt.
Poor woman, dragged down to a fate worse than death. Curses be on whoever created these abominations!
"It's going to take about an hour to thoroughly search this crypt for earthly treasures. Do we want to spend that time? Let's search this crypt, then push on for the crystals." Boga looks around at the size and frowns slightly. "Evening has come. Were you planning to spend the night down here?"
EDIT:
"It's going to take about an hour to thoroughly search this crypt for earthly treasures. Do we want to spend that time? Or do we want to push on for the crystals?" Boga looks around at the size and frowns slightly. "Evening has come. Were you planning to spend the night down here?"
A red cardinal’s cloak is still in good condition, draped like a funeral shroud over a skeleton in an alcove. It has a golden clasp shaped like a dove clutching an olive branch, and to Quinlan’s divination, it radiates dim magic...
Quinlan returns Zagathoth's grin. "Some people don't appreciate how important it is to have men like you around."
After scanning the room Quinlan walks directly to one of the alcoves and then waves for Cardinal Lucius and Boga to join him. He quietly speaks to the clergymen in italian. "Questo mantello sembra offrire una piccola quantità di protezione magica. Sembra un po 'spiacevole ma potrebbe offrire una linea di difesa in più nei nostri tentativi di liberare le catacombe. Tuttavia, non è la mia chiamata a fare, rispetterò la vostra decisione come agenti della chiesa."
The chamber remains dimly lit by Johann's sun rod and Boga's halo to the eyes of Zagathoth, Johann, Ogon Fox, Quinlan, and Arc Percy... But to the sight of Cardinal Lucius and Boga the Reformationist, the chamber is suddenly filled with the glorious brilliance of the Prince of the Seraphim, Saint Michael the Archangel, a blazing sword of fire in one hand, and a shining brazen buckler in the other!
Sung in a rich baritone, in Celestial: Fear thee not, noble servants of Mother Church! I am not come to punish, but to encourage thee! Take thou this cloak, Lucius of House Borja, and wear it in good faith! Let it protect thee from the venomous fangs of the Evil One, as thou guidest this formidable flock in service unto God!
As quickly as he appeared, the Archangel vanishes!
Although Lucius alone understood the archangel's words, he could not help but notice that the herald of God appeared to the so-called heretic as well...