Way of the Wicked by GM SnowHeart (Inactive)

Game Master SnowHeart

Indeed, that will drop him, but let's stay in initiative order to track action economy.

With one guard down, the pale elf spins around quickly and strikes at the remaining foe.

Melee attack (masterwork longsword): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Damage (slashing): 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Or at least that is the idea. If both targets are down, then probably just staying his hand and instead looking out for reinforcements.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Okay. I'll call that the round. Still in combat, however.

From the other side of the door, you hear, "What is this? Fighting within the tower? You want to meet the Magister of Balentyne? Then enter, if you dare!" You hear spellcasting from the other side of the door.

==Villains, go!==

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

Rolling his eyes at the Magister's words, he checks for keys to the door amongst the dead guards.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Ordywyt moves up to the side of the closed door, but does not enter yet.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Timo readies himself to charge in as he addresses his compatriots quietly, "It sounds as if hes moving away from the door. Perhaps half of us enter this way and half through his bedroom and catch him in the middle?"

Morthos quickly pats down the two guards but does not find any keys on them. He and the others see, however, both of the doors do have locks. It's impossible to tell if they're engaged without trying them or inspecting them closer.

== Next Round ==

You hear the sound of the magister's voice from the other side of the door, though it is somewhat muffled.

== Villains Go -- If you missed an action last round and want to retroactively do something preparation wise, you may do so ==

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

His eyes narrow at what's been overheard. "Careful, all. The fool has assistance within. I'm not sure what kind of assistance but whoever - or whatever - it is, sounds formidable. For it has been instructed to 'crush' whoever comes through that door." Morthos then carefully inspects the door to see if it's locked.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

What is the window situation on this floor? Is there a window that Kiffix could fly out of and one it could peek into to see who or what is in the room with him?

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
While Daidalos doesn't quite make out what the wizard says, he nods at Morthos' comment.
"Perhaps a magical construct or bound outsider? Either way, it's likely a more literal servant. So, going through his room might be faster and safer."
he goes over to the second door and tries to open it, seeing if it's locked.

Affyria glances from left to right, clearly getting anxious. "Whatever we do, we better do it fast. There's no telling what sort of tricks that mage has up his sleeve, and I'd rather not get caught up here by the rest of the garrison," the tiefling says.

Did we actually check if the doors are locked? If not, Affyria will do so now.

What is the window situation on this floor? Is there a window that Kiffix could fly out of and one it could peek into to see who or what is in the room with him?

Hmm. There are none on the map and the room description doesn't provide for any, but I also don't think that's entirely realistic. I'll say there are no windows, but there are a couple of arrow slits that Kiffix might be able to squeeze through.

A quick jiggling of the latches reveals that both doors are locked (DC 25).

Daidalos quickly fidgets with the keys taken from Father Donnigan to see if any open the bedroom door.

Daidalos finds the keys do not work on this door.

I'm about to put you in a proper combat. Should be obvious by now but just in case, last round to take any actions, pick the lock, or cast any spells.

With the mage doing whatever it is that mages do, Timo gives a sidelong glance to Daidalos to see if he has any inkling as to what the mage is up to. Timo then readies his blade for whatever might come through the door.

I'm leaving for a cruise tomorrow morning and returning monday afternoon. I will be without internet during that time. Feel free to bot me during that time

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Mumbling a spell, Ordywyt calls upon the strength of Asmodeus, enhancing his strength in battle.

Casting Divine Favor, which lasts 1 minute

Divine Favor 1/6

Morthos backs away from the door and moves off to the side, his sword and shield ready, just in case a rolling ball of flame decides to venture through the door. "The fool will do what he must. If he opens the door to come after us, then his folly will cost him dearly. But it would be far more beneficial for us if he could be somewhat quicker about it."

Following Morthos' example, Raven, sword at the ready, moves to the opposite side of the antipaladin and waits for the probably inevitable magical attack. Preferably one that misses him.

The door is suddenly flung open and, in the threshold, is an icy statue standing a head taller than a normal human. A rime of frost coats it, and razor-sharp shards of ice adorn its limbs. As you consider this, nearly the entire hall is suddenly overwhelmed with a blast of cold and hailstones falling from above as if through the ceiling. Your vision is obscured and a layer of ice quickly forms on the stone floor beneath your feet.

Perception checks at -4; movement now counts as difficult terrain, and everyone takes: Bludgeoning Damage: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 5) = 15 and Cold Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10 No saving throw, but there is Spell Resistance if you have it.

==Villains, Go!==

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
K (arcana): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

Daidalos just barely has time to process what's happening before the blast of cold, his celestial heritage unable to protect him, and is knocked backwards and lies unmoving on the floor, the cold eating away at his very core.

Yeah... 20 points of damage do not mix well with a level 4 wizard.
Fort DC 10: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 3 - 2 = 19

Oh man I have a bad feeling we're about to bite it here. That is a NASTY ton of damage, folks. No save? Really? Man that makes it even tougher. I'm afraid D is not the only one that might fall. And I literally have a whole lot of nothing I can do. Hang on, D! Hopefully somehow someway we can survive this thing. :P

Taking a beating from the hail and cold, Morthos watches Daidalos fall before looking up at the creature and realizing this could be the end of them all. Narrowing his eyes at the beast he moves forward and attacks it.

Move 10'; Attack

Mwk Bastard Sword: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Digging deep down from within, the antipaladin finds that he is able to strike again on the backswing.

Using a Hero point for an Extra Action: standard

Mwk Bastard Sword: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Crap. Ah well.

AC 18; Hp's 20/45; Hero points(1/4 used)

Feeling the cold bite deep and wounding him enough to feel unconsciousness or even death approach, the pale elf nevertheless does not fall back, finding it a wasted effort given their foes. Instead he advances on the golem and brings his sword down on it once and then once again.

Well, Raven is at 1 hit point. And since I am seeing drinking a potion as pretty much a wasted action given the damage an ice golem and a wizard can dish out, I may as well go down swingin'. :-P

Moving and attacking and using a Villain Point (heh...) for an extra standard action.

Melee attack (masterwork longsword): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
Damage (slashing): 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Melee attack (masterwork longsword): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29 [Critical Threat]
Damage (slashing): 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Melee attack (masterwork longsword): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 [Critical Hit Confirmation Roll]
Damage (slashing): 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

By the way, Morthos, unless I am mistaken, Hero Points have a maximum of 3 regardless of level after 3rd.

I'll give folks until the end of the day then I will try to Bot as best I'm able.

By the way, Morthos, unless I am mistaken, Hero Points have a maximum of 3 regardless of level after 3rd.

And that's true. There's a feat you can take to store a fourth, which is pretty much the biggest waste of a feat I've ever seen.

Ordywyt curses as the wave of frost cuts into him, but quickly reacts to Daidalos falling. Moving over he whispers, "You're not going down to Hell yet, you bastard." Placing his hand down on Daidalos's shoulder, he casts a Cure Light Wounds.

CLW: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Those damage rolls were crazy high. Still, I suppose it's not quite time for me to dust off my replacement character yet (though Planar Adventures did give me a cool idea for a new diabolist...)
Daidalos' eyes jerk open suddenly, and anger washes over him as he realizes just how close he came to meeting Pharasma. The heat of his rage quickly cools off into a simmering fury, though, and he considers his options. His eyes furrow in concentration and his numb fingers grasp for his spell pouch, grabbing the item needed for the spell tightly.
"Go to Hell... yourself." he spits out, and casts the spell. Immediately, a hole opens in the ground below the golem, threatening to take it down a few notches, along with a couple of his allies. Then, he stands up, regaining his footing carefully on the slick ground.

Create Pit right under the Golem. No SR, but it can succeed on a DC 17 Reflex save to avoid falling into it. Which I guess would put it on an adjacent square, keeping it from attacking? I don't know. The rules are weird for stuff like this. Also, sorry Raven, Morthos and Affyria. You also have to save, but you also get a +2 on it.

"What did...," is all Raven has time to say as a 20-foot deep pit opens up almost beneath his feet. Despite his quick reflexes, he proves unable to keep his footing and falls in, an audible thud accompanying his unfinished sentence.

Reflex: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 12

Falling damage (20 ft.): 2d6 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5

Unless I am mistaken, Raven is at -4 hit points and dying, so basically 2 hit points away from death since he has a Con score of 6? The Constitution check to stabilize comes next turn, right?

Also, I think the dice hate me, or at the very least hate this guy...

Ouch... Sorry Raven.

Eh... No worries. All part of the game.

You can make an acrobatics check (DC 15) to take no damage from the first 10 feet, though, and reduce what's left to nonlethal. With a +10 to the check, you should be able to make it with the luck of the devil (which you'd think we'd have here...). And if not, I'll pitch in a hero point for an extra +2 to the check if it would help. It's the least I can do. Just don't roll a 2 or less.

I checked that out. It requires the fall to be deliberate or due to a failed jump. I think suddenly having a hole open beneath one's feet does not quite qualify... :-P

Fair enough. I suppose it does read that way.
GM, any way I might be able to spend a 'Hero' point to help out? Perhaps to utilize Dimensional Slide to put him out of harm's way?

I'm going to wait for GM response to Daidalos's action before I go cause I need to know what I'm looking at.

Affyria winces at the sudden blast of magic uttering forth from the mage. She mutters a few words, invoking the blessing of Asmodeus to heal herself and her compatriots. Between gritted teeth, she orders Kiffex to pester the mage, after placing a spell on him.

If it's possible, I'd like to burn a hero point to cast silence on Kiffex, and send him towards the wizard, since I probably don't have line of sight to him. With 10 cold resistance and fast healing 2, Kiffex is now at 8 hp (after my heal).

Channel energy: 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5 healed.

Sting: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Crit confirm: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1
+ Crit damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Also, fort save DC 13 vs. poison: onset 1; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save.

Affyria, do not forget the Reflex save for Daidalos' pit.

Also, how does this work? Does the pit happen first, possibly affecting Affyria's healing, or does her healing spell go off first? Also, I am assuming that Raven is also healed, at least if Affyria's spellcasting works as intended?

Oh, I missed that. Reflex saves are not my strong suit...

Reflex save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Hurray! My channel energy heal should hit everyone, I can use Kiffex as the point of origin for positioning it.

Cool. So Raven is in the 20-ft. deep pit, at 1 hit point and has an ice golem to keep him company...? This amuses me. The player that is. The character, probably not. :-P

Yeah, this is a bit chaotic because Daedalus got dropped, some folks took their turns including healing daedalos, so he then took his turn, and his spell affected others. But I think it’ll all make sense once I write it out. Hero point for an extra action is fine, so the plan with Kiffex sounds viable.

I think the simplest solution would to just have Daidalos' spell be the last thing to go off for the villains.

I do like the idea of the imp pestering the mage and doing most of the work while we're all struggling in the snow. AoO for spellcasting, AoO for moving, and Kiffex can turn invisible whenever he has a turn free. It's perfect! (And I'm absolutely doing something similar when I get my own little devil)

Ref: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 2 = 18 Does this mean I avoid falling into it? Or do I just avoid damage? And does this also mean that Raven is in there by himself?

Far as I can tell, you indeed avoid falling in. So far only Raven is in the pit at 1 hit point. It remains to be seen if the ice golem will be joining him or not.

Kiffex is invisible at the moment, he has standing orders to maintain his invisibility at all times. That is, until he attacks the wizard, of course.

This was a magnificent disaster. However, I'm reading the description for Create Pit closely and I think Raven is okay. The spell reads, in part, "Any creature standing in the area where you first conjured the pit must make a Reflex saving throw to avoid falling into it. In addition, the edges of the pit are sloped, and any creature ending its turn on a square adjacent to the pit must make a Reflex saving throw with a +2 bonus to avoid falling into it." When the spell was cast, Morthos and Raven had already acted. They were not ending their turn adjacent to the pit. Affyria did, technically, but could easily take a 5' step out of the way. So, by GM fiat, I'm going to say Raven is NOT in the pit and I'm moving Affyria 5' to the SE. If either object to that, of course, they can reposition themselves to the less advantageous position.

The magister's spell wreaks havoc in the ranks of the faithful, dropping the budding diabolist like a fly caught in a storm. Morthos is the first to charge in but, as he steps forth, the icy creature in the doorway seems to have been anticipating his approach and slams a fist into the Asmodean. The force of the impact is bad enough but behind it comes a searing cold that seems into Morthos's bones. (Readied attack; Morthos takes 10 points of damage)

Morthos follows up with a pair of strikes, both hitting but doing less damage that he would expect (DR/Adamantime). Raven follows up with another pair of attacks, the first going wild but the second landing a solid blow sending shards of ice flying.

In the back ranks, Ordywrt steps up to heal Daedalos who, dazed by his flirtation with unconsciousness and death, fires off the first spell that comes to mind, sending the golem to the bottom of an extra-dimensional pit. Raven nearly joins it, his feet slipping on the surface of the ice and the slopped edges, but maintains his ground.

Affyria begins a dark chant to Asmodeus, calling for his favor and sending a wave of healing energy through the party, while Kiffex darts forth to stab at the magister. The wizard yelps in surprise as he is stung, but the stinger seems to chip and scrape against a skin as hard as stone (Stoneskin).

The magisters mouth begins to move in what seems like a cry for help, but the muffling effect of the silence spell cast upon Kiffex turns it only into a weird pantomime. Quickly realizing what has happened, the wizard moves towards the southern door, ignoring the pricking of the imp's stinger, then casts a web upon the imp and surrounding area.

Kiffex and anyone moving through white area needs to make Reflex save DC 18 or be grappled.

Timo, I'll let you take a double-action this round.

As I have DR2/Pierce, I believe I take 13 bludgening and 8 cold putting. I then heal 5 from Affriya putting me 25hp. Does that sound right or is it one set of damage and DR only applies once?

With the golem appearing to be contained by the pit, Timo starts to make his towards the southern door in hopes of catching the wizard all the while muttering somehting about bloody wizards under his breath.

Action 1: Double move to the space just south of Ordy
Action 2: Move to in front of the southern door.

Heavy armor and difficult terrain are not a good combination.

Timo- you'd only reduce the bludgeoning damage with your DR. However, you have Cold Resistance 5 as a Tiefling, so you only take 5 from there, for a total of 18 damage

"This was not supposed to go like this." Daidalos grumbles, and vanishes in a puff of brimstone, reappearing inside the room. Once inside, he steps up to be face to face with the Magister, "You sure you don't want to surrender? You aren't the only master of the arcane here." With one hand, he draws a dagger, and the other, he starts tracing the arcane runes needed for his spell, but holds them in place before releasing the magic, eyes narrowing for just the right moment. The moment, of course, is the instant he tries to cast, and when he does, Daidalos releases a mass of ice and snow point-blank into the magister's face. Plus, he stabs him with his dagger if the magister tries to move away or after the snowballs take their toll.

Flurry of Snowballs (DC 17 Reflex half): 4d6 ⇒ (1, 3, 3, 3) = 10
AoO: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 201d4 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
Crit Confirm?: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 151d4 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

Spending an Arcane Point to Dimensional Slide into the room and move up to be next to the Magister, then readying Flurry of Snowballs for when he casts. That miserable damage roll should still trigger a DC 20+spell level concentration check if he fails the save or a 15+ if he doesn't (the spell deals cold damage, so no DR). Plus an AoO to deplete a bit of stoneskin. Fingers crossed he has a rotten Reflex save.

Catching his breath after almost falling into a pit currently inhabited by an ice golem, Raevanis follows Timo's example and moves towards the southern door, seeing as how the magically conjured hole has essentially blocked off the more immediate entrance to the wizard's quarters.

Moving to where Timo is, probably ending up next to him more or less thanks to difficult terrain. Will open the door though if I have movement left (or is it already open? Not quite sure...).

@Daidalos - Thanks, I had completely forgotten that Tieflings have innate cold resistance. Also I didn't think DR applied to elemental damage but I couldn't find the rule one way or the other.

@Raevanis - I think the door is locked. My plan was to bash the door until it breaks

Anyone else acting? I only see 3 PCs posting here. Will aim to update tonight either way.

Morthos follows Raven toward the far door; at least as far as his armor will let him.

Double moved 40'