Wardove's Rumble in the Jungle

Game Master Laithoron

As Alis picks up her right boot and balances on the other foot, Grak lisps out a communique from Lureene,"Mistressss saysss the giantsss arissse..."

Sasha backs away from the door. Squinting in the darkened room, she says, "Yeah I think it was barred when I ran in to get shorty..."

She tries to close the door as quietly as she can. In the corner behind the door, you find a sturdy beam of wood set on a pivot by the wall. It looks like it can swing down into place behind the door, catching in a bracket protruding from the wall on the north side.

Even as tall as the slender ranger is, it is just above her head making it awkward to reach. Jumping up she manages to give it a tug and it falls into place.

"Got it!"

Sasha moves to give her friend a celebratory hug when the sound of grunting echoing from the hallway to the south reaches them.

"Uh..."

MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 96)

"Missstresss says she not sure, Lissss. She baarr door to keep them owwtt, buttt moorreee coming...."

Sorry I peeked at the spoiler, saw the Lureene spoiler so this is in response to that post.

"Son of a..." Priyya sets her jaw. "I'll go after the undead. perhaps you two should continue hunting the hag... but I won't turn down help."

Priyya casts a spell on herself Shield of Faith (AC +2) and then sets off quickly.

Priyya will head around the west side of the building. She will run on the second round heading for the AM 30ish area. As soon as she sees undead, she'll start hammering them with arrows.

Ninja'd by 2 minutes! :D

Alis puts her bolero on and picks up her backpack. Upon hearing Lureene's missive, she murmurs, "Oh that can't be good..."

At Priyya's departure, Alis looks to Darvesch and points to the pathway leading east. "That looks to loop back the skeleton pen. Maybe I'm slightly mad, but I suspect the witch's handiwork in this. I'm going to go help."

Grak cocks his head to one side trying his best to make sense of Alis' statement.

Justin: Are you taking the big sword with you, or leaving it?

Lureene's face gets a confused look, as she tries to make sense of Grak's message, before she reaalizes she really does not have the time to ponder its deeper meaning.

Theme: House of 1000 Corpses

Priyya races back around the witch's hovel, up ahead, she can see the path Darvesch cleared when there is the white-hot flash of lightning up ahead against which she can see silhouetted a single towering figure with broad shoulders not even 100 feet ahead.

Sheltering inside the blood-soaked guardroom, Lureene very nearly jumps when the whole building shakes from the deafening boom of a nearby lightning strike. Even though she herself cannot see, Sasha puts her hand on her friend's shoulder for encouragement even as she stows her bow and draws her rapier.

Yet a moment later, the building shakes yet again, a loud boom filling the chamber from just behind them, banging on the door! Before she can even mutter a curse, however, she tenses and looks in Lureene's direction, though not at her face, unable to see her. "Can you hear that?"

There's another bang on the door, but she shakes her head. "No, not that, from the hallway!"

Lureene gives a listen. At first, she can hear what sounds like something shuffling along, but then there's another sound, like the chitter of hundreds upon thousands of chitinous things clattering inexorably across the stonework! Further away, the sound of unintelligible grunts and moans can be heard, along with the rapid scurrying of very large feet...

MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 97)

Justin: Are you taking the big sword with you, or leaving it?

I figured Priyya will take the sword unless D or A have a better idea. Figure I'll bury it tip first while I launch arrows then switch to the sword assuming the undead come after me.

Lureene nearly jumps out of her wings when she hears the lightning blasts the building. Getting a grip against the rising flood of terror in her body, she instead scans the area looking for something to barricade the southern door, while chanting a light cantrip for Sasha's benefit on the ranger's rapier.

She whispers wryly, "Well, it's not like they don't know we're here now..."

Sasha nods in thanks. "Well as long as it bleeds we can kill it... right? Too bad short-stuff turned the door into kindling though..."

At Sasha's words, Lureene looks up to notice that the door leading into the hallway is indeed shattered, only bits and pieces still hanging by the hinges.

Justin: That works for me. We'll call it just a swift action to retrieve the sword like that then.

Continued...
Now able to see, Sasha holds up a hand for Lureene to stay put and edges closer to the door to get a look at whatever is coming. As she moves forward, a few panicked rats run into the room and squirm their way under the door to escape into the lighthouse. Hesitating for a moment, she pivots around the corner, blade before her and then leaps backward into the room, seemingly looking a bit paler than before.

"Oh you're really not going to like this Ellie..." swallowing hard she flinches as she feels something on her neck and quickly swats it. "It's spiders... a whole fvcking carpet of SPIDERS!"

"Come on," Alis says to her dwarven 'cousin', casting a spell upon herself, "Priyya's going to need our help..."

With that, the two return around the north side of the building, Darvesh running ahead while Alis follows swiftly behind him, rapier in one hand, and her unusual crossbow, 'sewing kit' in the other.

Next Up: Priyya, Lureene, Malikadna, Alis, Giants, Darvesch, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 98)

Change of plans... Seeing the figure and hearing the chanting, Priyya casts a spell. Her feet glow golden and she charges the figure whipping the nine foot blade, yelling "Chanting - west by the pens!"

She crashes toward the figure - swinging.

SWIFT - Cast Quick March - move to 60'

FULL - Charge + Single Hit (Greatsword):

HIT: 1d20 + 8 - 1 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 8 - 1 - 2 + 2 = 17 power attack, oversize penalty, charge
DAM: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 5) + 7 = 17 power attack

Priyya shouts her warning and charges forward towards the looming figure. In her haste and struggling with the huge blade, she very nearly misses her target, yet the weapon hits home and the eerie runes once again begin to glow with the word, 'FRAGARACH.'

When the blow strikes home, the giant neither winces in pain nor cries out in anger. It is then that the focused warrior-priestess notices that his intestines have begun spilling out thru the grievous stab wound he suffered during the earlier conflict. Glancing beyond the risen chieftain, she can see that Vechus still lies where he fell, but beyond him, only the giant whose head Klorak ripped off remains lying where he fell!

From up here, Priyya can hear a wet, cackling noise coming from beyond the wall behind her and to the west.

Next Up: Lureene, Malikadna, Alis, Giants, Darvesch, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Priyya
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 98b)

Darvesch would have continued after the witch. When Alic mentions helping the group, he would have responded with something along the lines of cutting the head off the snake being the best way to finish this quickly. He then would have given her a measure of protection, sanctuary, and wish her luck before going after the witch. The witch doesn't stand a chance... Not against Darvesch Hellhammer.. ;)

Jason: OK, I'm a bit confused by your plan. So are you ignoring the fact that Priyya just shouted out that she heard spellcasting/chanting further west to instead go into the house? I'm guessing that's NOT what you are doing since Alis just pointed out the witch is probably the one creating all the undead right this second back in the village. Therefore, I can only assume that you are running past and not engaging any enemies who get in your way so you can reach Malikadna faster... Although if THAT's the case, then given your lack of Acrobatics it would make much more sense to cast sanctuary on yourself...

Lureene thinks quickly, A swarm! How can we block it off? I have a web spell, but it won't slow them down, they are too small for the strands to block ...but webbing is quite flammable...

"Sash! Get next to me and light a torch or something! I am going to web them, then you torch'em!"

5' step to AD22
Ready action to cast Web, centered on square AE17, once Sasha has moved out of the AoE

Sasha only used a single move action before sooo...

"Uh... ok." Looking around, she spies some giant-sized torches nearby and moves out of the way to retrieve one, slipping her flint and steel out of its pouch as she hurries over.

As soon as she is clear, Lureene casts her spell centering it on the gaping doorway.

Next Up: Malikadna, Alis, Giants, Darvesch, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Priyya, Lureene

From above her and to the west, Priyya hears a maniacal cackle, yet it is cut short by a wretched gagging, followed by what sounds like someone vomiting. Yet that vile sound is soon drowned out by the angry noise of what sounds like a swarm of wasps heading straight towards her!

Looking up, she sees a dark cloud of the vermin pour over the edge of the roof to her west descending towards her like some hellspawned storm. They are still a good 15 feet above over, but she has little doubt they'll be upon her in only a few seconds!

Next Up: Alis, Giants, Darvesch, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Malikadna, Wasps

As Darvesch and Alis run back towards the village, the sound Malikadna's unmistakable black laughter reaches the dwarf's ears leaving no doubt as to who is stirring up all the trouble. He stops just outside the path he made, Priyya, Klorak and the wasp swarm flowing from the roof of the complex where the captives had been imprisoned.

"Alis, cutting the head off the snake is the best way to finish this quickly. I'm going after the witch herself, take this protection..."

Alis stops just past Darvesch and looks back over her shoulder at him, a look of anxiety painting her face at Priyya's plight.

Dammit, things are going from bad to worse...

No longer running, and now clear of the trees, she can make out Malikadna's laughter and looks up towards the rooftop just as Darvesch's spell takes hold. Distracted, she fails to notice what the effect was. "Darv, what did you cast?"

"Sanctuary, now good luck to you and stay safe."

"Sanctua–"

Suddenly her eyes go wide and she turns to face him, keeping her voice low. "Stay safe my ass! I can see her! Malikadna's on the roof of the walkway! If we can provoke her into attacking, her invisibility spell should collapse... I'm going after her, follow me!"

Trusting the sanctuary spell to at least protect her from the wasps, Alis takes off, using the increased movement of her own spell to leap nearly halfway up the wall near the witch. Grabbing onto the rough masonry, she quickly scrambles up pausing just below the level of the rooftop

Next Up: (Giants), Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Priyya, Lureene, Malikadna, Wasps, Darvesch, Alis

Oblivious to the swarm of wasps about to cascade over him, Klorak looks down at the small woman and the glowing blade cutting into his thigh. With a a groan devoid of emotion, he clasps his hands together and swings down at her with all his might.

As the blow slams into her, Priyya realizes she would have been able to dodge the blow if not for how open her prior charge left her. Yet she has little time to dwell on the matter, when she feels an urging within her to retaliate against the one who just struck her and senses an opening. Immediately, she spins on her heel slamming the giant blade into her opponent once more.

As before, the runes on the blade now change to 'SKTHR', although their silvery glow seems less pristine than before, like tarnish forming on a candlestick. Still, a palpable thrill of retaliation rushes like adrenaline thru Priyya's hot blood...

Next Up: (Giants), Spiders; Sasha, Priyya, Lureene, Malikadna, Wasps, Darvesch, Alis, Klorak
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 98c)

In the hallway south of the guardroom, the sound of the spiders crawling along the stone floor is suddenly muffled as they begin to enter the webbing. By the door, Sasha pulls down a passive torch and hurriedly begins striking a well-worn piece of flint with the back of her rapier, showering the tallow-soaked rags on the head of the over-sized torch with sparks.

Although it seems an eternity to the nervous succubus as she holds her breath, the giant outside continuing to pound on the door, after a few seconds, a warm glow lights Sasha's face. "Got it!"

Next Up: (Giants), Lureene, Priyya, Malikadna, Wasps, Darvesch, Alis, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 99)

Lureene steps back away from the web and grips her rapier in one hand, while slipping her wand from her sheath.

"Sash, did you see anything else besides those spiders? Grak said he saw several giants rising outside, and if they head in here, we need to be ready for them. I am out of spells, but I still have my wand. If we can disperse the swarm, we can head out that way."

5' step to AD22
Ready action to activate wand if any giants come into view.

Grak silently acknowledges his mistresses command. He flys along behind Princess Alis, keeping a wide berth around the wasp swarm and prepares to encircle the witch.

Double Move: Fly to AN28.

"Well, I could only see to about the corner but I didn't notice any giants..."

There's yet another loud thud on the door. "Yeah, except for you, big guy!"

Meanwhile outside, Grak flies towards the roof of the building following the general direction of the princess, flying a bit further west in case Alis is able to scare up the invisible witch.

Note: I've deleted the maps for 98c and 99 because I posted the wrong versions. Enemy positions have been altered to help ensure no metagaming by those of you who save the map updates locally. >.>

Next Up: (Giants), Priyya, Malikadna, Wasps, Darvesch, Alis, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 99b)

Move to AM35. Move to AL33, climbing up the side of the building.

Darvesch moves toward the group and tries to climb to a better vantage point. "Someone help me up. I can't do this on my own" He wispers.

Priyya holds her ground, blasting Klorak with Alita's healing light.

STANDARD: Channel Positive Energy: 30' radius burst
HEAL: 3d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 6) + (6, 6) = 23 Phylactery
DAM: 23 + 5 = 28 Will Save vs DC:17 for 1/2 DAM

• May remove 5 creatures from AoE
  
• Does not draw AoOs
  
• No Channel Resistance on Damage Save

Priyya manages to completely mend the damage inflicted upon her by Klorak, but the undead chieftain resists the worst of her assault and remains standing.

Looking down at the blade she holds, a sort of dim recollection seems to take hold and he groans out, "Skaaay-thuur," congealing blood and drool pouring from his bluish lips as he does so.

Justin: Priyya still has a move action left if you want to clear out before the wasps descend.

Next Up: (Giants), Malikadna, Wasps, Darvesch, Alis, Klorak, Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak, Priyya

Trying to acro out of a giant's clutches seems a losing battle, but maybe I can earn an AoO on him in the process.

Priyya tumbles away from the giant, hoping to keep Klorak and the wasps away from her compatriots. Head towards AM38

Acrobatics 1d20 + 7 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 5 = 18 Boots of Elvenkind

Up on the roof, Malikadna laughs and hobbles forward to look over the edge, invisible to everyone save the tiny elven woman clinging silently just below the roof of the building. Seeing that the swarm of wasps she vomited are about to consume the meddling cleric just as the spiders are certain to end the winged-woman and her blood-thirsty companion, she takes notice of the dwarf running towards her location.

Hmm, and what does that one think he's doing eh?

She rubs her hands together snickering quietly to herself even as the wasps descend upon Klorak and Priyya, mindlessly seeking to sting and devour any flesh in their path. Yet when the cleric attempts to tumble away, she glowers in displeasure.

Priyya attempts to get away, but even with wasp beginning to swarm around his face, Klorak is not deceived. A massive foot seeks to stomp on her, very whether because he is distracted by the wasps, or due to the physical damage inflicted upon his corpse's form, he misses and badly.

In her hands, the giant blade reacts practically shaking with the desire for retribution. Priyya eagerly decides to go along with its instincts but immediately realizes she has misjudged the distance.

Or has she?

The strange blade very nearly pulls Priyya off her feet as it corrects its course and sheers thru all of the red-haired zombie's abdominal muscles spraying guts all over the nearby wall. Even as Priyya completes her clumsy tumble maneuver, Klorak collapses to the ground for the final time, the once mighty warrior's spine snapping as bows over backwards!

Priyya's plan works as at Malikadna's silent urging, the swarm abandons Klorak's corpse and instead pursues the warrior-priestess. Although Priyya can feel the burning sensation of their poison, the wasps' venom fails to slow her down at all thanks to Mal's foresight in casting Delay Poison on everyone earlier.

A hp: 26 = 26/26
D hp: 58 = 58/58
L hp: 41 = 41/41
     g: 20 = 20/20
P hp: 36 - 7 = 29/36
   Dex 14 - 1 = 13/14 delayed

Sasha hp: 46 = 46/46

Much to Malikadna's chagrin, the swarm of wasps bypasses Darvesch rather than attacking him as they move off to follow the warrior-priestess.

Hmm, now where did that lusty dancer go? Could it be Ieana failed to mention her?

The old witch casts her gaze southward, ignoring the dwarf for a moment as he fails to make it even a foot off the ground. Seeing no sign of the 10-ft-4 beauty, she turns her attention back to the dwarf.

A pity to waste a good opportunity like this...

Upon her silent command, a gibbering zombies races from around the north side with supernatural quickness and lashes out attempting to tackle him, yet it instead trips over Klorak's remains and falls prone. What is it with these guys fumbling around Darvesch?! O_o

Having nothing better to do until someone can throw him a rope or give him a boost, the heavily armored dwarf chocks up on his axe and buries it deep in the zombie's shoulder taking its left arm off!

Next Up: [Malikadna], (Giants), Alis, Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak, Priyya, Wasps, Darvesch
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 99c)

Very carefully, Alis climbs sideways, staying out of the hag's sight before climbing up behind her. Uncertain as to whether it was Darvesch's spell or her own skill that allowed her to pass unnoticed remains unknown. She pauses for a moment wondering what she can do to make the witch more visible and is about to simply tackle when a sly smile spread across her face.

Standing not 10-feet behind the witch, Alis begins whispering a spell...

Not so distracted that she could mistake spellcasting right behind her, Malikadna turns with a grunt of surprised just in time to get hit with a jet of slick, golden oil. Momentarily blinded and off-balance, the decrepit old witch loses her footing and slips over the edge, only the zombie directly below her cushioning her fall before bounces off and lands nest to the adjacent building.

Able to hear the crone's cries of pain even though she can't see her, Alis allows herself a small smile of satisfaction.

Already on the ground, Darvesh witnesses the spectacle of an oil-soaked, over-size humanoid plummeting from on high and crashing down right next to him. For a moment, he wonders what strange twist of fate this is that this should be the fourth time such a thing should happen in the course of the same battle.

Yet before he can think on it for too long, Malikadna gives a shriek of unadulterated rage and points at him, calling down a searing lightning bolt on him. Although Darvesch dodges the brunt of it, he still feels a good tingle as it crackles across his armor. Still, as the act cause the witch's invisibility to fully fail, he contemplates that he has potentially made out far better on the trade than Malikadna...

Next Up: (Zombies), Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak, Priyya, Wasps, Darvesch, 1-armed zombie, Alis, Malikadna

A hp: 26 = 26/26
D hp: 58 - 9 = 49/58
L hp: 41 = 41/41
     g: 20 = 20/20
P hp: 29 = 29/36
Dex 14 - 1 = 13/14 delayed

Sasha hp: 46 = 46/46

Elsewhere, Sasha tenses and Lureene about jumps out of her wings as a torrent of spiders begins ot pour thru her webs and into the room. Not needing the succubus to tell her twice, Sasha chucks the huge torch into their midst and the whole thing begins to go up in flames! Not wasting any time she says, "I know she's got wine and other crap in here, oooh oil!"

As Sasha holds up a bottle of extra-pure, smokeless lamp oil, Lureene notices that the vermin aren't done yet and the swarm is reforming as more pour in thru the burning webs in the hallway.

Next Up: (Zombies), Lureene & Grak, Priyya, Wasps, Darvesch, 1-armed zombie, Alis, Malikadna, Spiders; Sasha
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 100)

Knowing that their lives depended on keeping the fire burning, Lureene moves next to Sasha and grabs a bottle of lamp oil and heaves it at the center of the swarm of spiders!

Move to where the lamp oil is stored AB21
Throw Lamp oil at square AD18
Attack Ranged Touch AC 5 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 - 2 = 21 range
Damage 1d3 ⇒ 1 fire

Grak sees the witch and even he realizes who the true threat is, as he moves to assist the others by harassing her.

Double Move: Fly to AK34, 15' up.
Acrobatics to avoid AoO 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Sasha frowns at the lack-luster flames provided by the lamp oil. "Well that wasn't too impressive..."

Looking back inside the chest, she spots a completely black bottle with a platinum label. "Ooh, I wonder if that would burn well!"

Lureene glances to see a bottle labeled 'Kilarney Shadow Liqueur, 3724' and her eyes go wide knowing full well that it costs more than most people could hope to make in a lifetime.

Yet before either woman can comment on it further, there is a tremendous *B O O M* and the door flies inward as the wall bracket bursts free from the masonry, clattering loudly against the opposite wall.

A gurgling groan fills the room as a leering giant zombie cannibal stumbles through, hungrily eyeing the tasty morsels before him!

Meanwhile, Grak positions himself above the fallen witch, hoping to forestall any aerial retreat she might muster.

Theme: The Holy: Stand a Chance

Realizing the deadly predicament she is in so close to the dwarven warrior and the zealous priestess, Malikadna cries out, "Come to meee-eee!!!"

From all around the village, there is the ground-shaking retort of many feet as giant, flesh-craving zombies, rush from the hiding places their creator put them in!

Even the one gazing hungrily at Lureene's generous curves snaps its head around, grunting in surprise at the call of its mother.

Next Up: Priyya, Wasps, Darvesch, 1-armed zombie, Alis, Malikadna, Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak, Zombies
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 100b)

Mike - can you move straight through a swarm?

With a smile on his face, now that the witch has shown herself, Darvesch heaves his axe toward her with all his might. "You die today, witch!

I'm not going to edit my rolls at this point. But want to note that I neglected to add my +2 damage from my Judgement.

According to the PRD:

Swarm Subtype: In order to attack, it moves into an opponent’s space, which provokes an attack of opportunity. It can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey. A swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment...

Yep.

Through the swirling storm of wasps, steps the robe-shrouded priestess - sword held high. She brings the massive blade down upon the prostrate hag.

Priyya wonders if she could access the powers of the blade by calling out the words inscribed by its runes... but she doesn't risk it.

5' move to AL37.

SWIFT - Lay on Hands (self): 1d6 ⇒ 2

STANDARD - Single Hit (Greatsword 19+/2x):

HIT: 1d20 + 8 - 1 - 2 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 8 - 1 - 2 + 5 = 21 power attack, oversize penalty, smite
DAM: 2d6 + 4 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (2, 2) + 4 + 3 + 3 = 14 power attack, smite

As Priyya tries to move away, the zombie that just ran up behind her takes a cheap shot, striking her across the back. Before Priyya can even think about whether she should retaliate or not, the sword makes the choice for her, spinning her about as it strikes home!

Gritting her teeth against the willful blade, Priyya strides thru the wasps even as they continue to find gaps in her robes through which to sting and bite at her hands and face. She brings the mysterious blade, with its glistening black runes down on Malikadna who cries out in pain and fear. Even so, Priyya recognizes that her smite didn't have quite the effect that she would have hoped.

Seeing that the wasps still haven't stopped Priyya and hearing the dwarf's words, she directs the wasps to move against Darvesch. They finishes attacking Priyya and the cloud envelops the armor clad warrior having little trouble squeezing thru the gaps in the armor to come at his flesh.

A hp: 26 = 26/26
     k: 13 = 13/13
D hp: 49 - 7 = 42/58
L hp: 41 = 41/41
     g: 20 = 20/20
M hp: 57 = 57/57
     t: 42 = 42/42
P hp: 29 - 11 = 18/36
   Dex 14 - 1 = 13/14 delayed

Aerys hp: 24 = 24/28
Gelik hp: 26 = 26/26
Jask hp: 12 = 12/12
Sasha hp: 46 = 46/46

Undaunted by the witch's tricks, Darvesch pronounces his sentence and delivers a crushing blow that sounds like it must have broken something by the scream the old woman gives.

Next to the dwarf, the zombie whose arm he hacked off lashes out, attempting to snare his leg and pull the dwarf off his feet. However, the sturdy fighter shakes off the attempt.

Jason: You may take an AoO on the 1-armed zombie if you wish.

Next Up: Alis, Malikadna, Spiders; Sasha, Lureene & Grak, Zombies, Priyya, Wasps, Darvesch, 1-armed zombie
MAP: V - Giant Cannibal Village, (Round 100c)

I'll hold off on the AOO. I'm saving it for a special occasion ;)

Alis moves to the edge of the roof, sewing kit in hand. Seeing the grease-covered witch struggling, she snaps her fingers and the bolt that's currently chambered catches fire.