World's Most Interesting Hall of the Flesh Eaters (tier 4-5, 002) (Inactive)

Game Master Great Green God

I would like to invoke 1. Borox is using the Bull's Strength extract which raises his STR by 4 which increases his CMD. 2. Borox is a Dwarf and is standing on the ground which means his Dwarven racial trait of Stability, +4 to CMD when resisting a Bull Rush or Trip attempt while standing on the ground. That should give him a 23 CMD. I will make my actions this round predicated upon the hope that he is not tripped.

Good point. Borox retains his footing. But before that happens two other things do. 1st I moved your marker having seen the map before coming here. So double check it's in the right place. 2nd Rajhan-Vol gets to go again.

Rajhan-Vol lashes out madly at the paladin.

bite v Raynor: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 miss
claw v Raynor: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 miss
claw v Raynor: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 miss

Then Borox does his thing!

Rajhan-Vol will: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
festrog (dotted blue) will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Round 2! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Borox
__ Prof. Alkarion
__ Kaillum
__ El Garrapata -44 hp, sickened, paralyzed (2/5)
__ Raynor
__ Festrogs blue blinded, dazzled
__ Rajhan-Vol -46 hp (corrected)

Map updated.

Raynor tries to hold his lunch against the stench while continuing his crusade against Rajhan-Vol i.e. Smite Evil vs. Rajhan-Vol - AC 27, +2 to hit, round 2 and onwards +5 to dmg only

He takes a 5-foot step backwards to guard Garrapata's body and as a standard action, he attempts to strike King Vol with his lance again.

+1 Lance vs. King Vol: BAB 5, STR +4, Weapon +1, Power Attack -2, Divine Favor +2, Smite Evil +2, Bless +1, Sickened -2: 1d20 + 5 + 4 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 4 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 2 = 31 for 1d8 + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 = 21 dmg (bypasses DR)

By the Harborwing!! Pharasma wants to judge him!!

CONFIRM CRIT: 1d20 + 5 + 4 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 4 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 2 + 1 - 2 = 25 for 1d8 + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 + 1d8 + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 + (4) + 13 + 2 + 5 - 2 = 41 dmg (bypasses DR)

I don't care if that thing is dead or not! If any of the undead are still standing when it's my turn I'm casting Barbed Chains just to do it!

Hanging on to the wall, Alkarion quickly pulls two vials from vest pockets, pours one into the other, and tosses the oddly shaped container at Rajhan-Vol, spinning it as he does.

Maintain Controlled Rage and throw a bomb, using Precise Bombs to select out Raynor's square from the splash.
Controlled Rage, Bless, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Sot
Attack vs Touch: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27 Fire Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 = 7
Purple Festrog takes 6 points of splash damage; a DC 15 Reflex save reduces that to 3.

Sorry, got laid out by a stomach bug Thursday evening. I'm back now! Thanks for NPCing me!

Garrapata makes a sort of URGH sound. It sounds encouraging!

Glad you're feeling better! Our entire family was hit back in September and it's the worst...

My coworkers threw me out of work Thursday. Seems they didn't want to catch it. Now I know why!

Judgement finally comes to the ghast. In flurry of lance and fire Rajhan-Vol and his companion festrog fall to final death.

END COMBAT!

I'll let you folks decide what to do with the last temporarily blinded festrog.

El Garrapata recovers from paralysis after a few minutes.

What would you like to do in the meantime?

Raynor continues the battle until it's over in order to liberate the souls imprisoned in undead form. After all dangers have been dealt with, Raynor suggest the experts in the group search this room for traps, mechanisms, secret doors, etc. He assists anyone in need of healing with his wand of cure light wounds.

After this time Raynor retrieves his mount and guards the rubble entrance. When everyone is back in front of the rubble, he unpacks the digging tools the Venture-Captain gave them. However, he looks to the giant blob with a doubtful eye, and says, "I don't like this giant pile of evil standing there... especially after King Vol's declaration that he was 'shackled' to it... I think we need to deal with it now lest it remains here and keeps festering and growing and creating undeath... what do you all think?"

"It did recover fairly quickly from our attempts to harm it ... perhaps we will find helpful information either here, or past the blockade?"

Alkarion will begin a thorough inspection of the room.

First take 10 for 29 Perception, then if that turns up nothing and we have the time, take 20 for 39 to be absolutely sure.

"Great idea Professor! I shall attempt to assist you in your search."

Perception to assist Professor: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Borox mumbles something about not being able to cast [i[Barbed Chains[/i].

[b]"I'll be a castin' Detect Magic and concentratin' for any magic items that be inna the room. Big guy, that was a nasty blow ye took back there. Let me cast a cure on ye so Raynor dinnae be a needin' to use up his whole wand."

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (7, 1) + 4 = 12

I will swamp out a L2 spell to cast this one. I'll mark it off when I get home. I also have a CLW Wand if we need it.

Garrapata stretches as soon as he's freed. His many wounds weep and bleed, but he bounds over to clap Raynor, the Professor and Borox tightly on the shoulder. "EXCELLENT WORK! I had a FRONT ROW SEAT to that and IT WAS GLORIOUS!"

Kaillum breathes a sigh and reloads his pistol after Raynor exacts his god’s judgement upon the wicked.

While I agree the blob should be destroyed, it seems to be very resilient to damage. As if the evil it produces is protected by it. Ideas anyone, other than hopefully sheer determination and willpower?

"I have alchemists fire. That fire is sticky so that could maybe work on one end as we simultaneously cut it to bits on the other end. That, and I have a bit of holy power left from the Harborwing... I think we need to all go at once to prevent its scabbing powers to close the gaps!!"

"I be havin' one Burst of Radiance left, and can channel some positive energy if that harms it, but otherwise I be a swingin' steel on it, lads. I be a thinkin' it's gonna take some time."

Garrapata shakes his head. "I THINK this might be BEYOND our KEN to KILL, Raynor. We should focus on the MISSION. Let's get DIGGING!" He gingerly moves over to the collapsed wall and begins digging.

"Above and beyond is fine by me Garrapata... this thing throws massive evil vibes and it's hurt by holy power. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, you know... except here replace duck by undead, and you'll get the picture!! but I will not force anybody. Borox you're in yes? anyone else?" Raynor waits for anyone else wishing to join in before starting his mounted charges on the blog. Raynor offers Garrapatta his longbow and his 5 alchemists fire if he wishes to help from a distance and not sully his fists in the disgusting stinking blob.

I was hoping the search of the room might reveal something useful before we start pounding on the blob. We also might wait until we've revealed the last room before expending resources on it.

Understood; I agree with the Professor. Raynor doesn't care when we deal with the blob as long as we give it a good try... just giving up and leaving this mess behind does not sit well with him.

"I agree we should take care of the mission first and then see to the other problem. Good point, everyone."

Raynor asks for help removing his fullplate and then settles into a steady cadence with the shovel.

Alkarion will begin a thorough inspection of the room.

First take 10 for 29 Perception, then if that turns up nothing and we have the time, take 20 for 39 to be absolutely sure.

After a 20 minute search by the Prof. Alkarion and Raynor uncover one cleverly concealed secret door opened via a switch hidden among the wall reliefs. Now noted on the map. That's taking 10. Did you want to Take 20 (it will take about 6 hours and 22 minutes worth of time; the elixir of vision runs out in the first 40-ish minutes so I'll need to know where you begin and how you proceed)?

While that is happening Garrapata begins removing the stone form the blocked passage (something that is likely to take a loooong time).

What's everyone else doing in the meantime?

Garrapata keeps working, blissfully unaware of any secret doors unless someone wants to enlighten him. He's probably also singing. Loudly. Off-key.

I don't recommend we take 6 hours doing searches... I seem to recall the beginning of the mod saying this was time-sensitive due to rotation of the pillars...

As soon as the secret door is found, Raynor helps Garrapata with the shoveling. He asks if Borox will help with the shoveling and providing advice with excavation works. He asks if Prof. and Kaillum will patrol back and forth between King Vol's room and the giant tree to make sure the diggers are not ambushed. Perhaps Kaillum can even shoot a few fat leeches down to make the waters safer.

"Before we be a bustin' our heinies to kill that blob thing, we ought to either check out that secret door or dig into that collapsed wall. Maybe we be a findin' something that will help us kill it quickly."

"Secret DOOR? What magic DO YOU HIDE, oh DOOR of MYSTERY!" Garrapata totally heads toward the door to investigate its forbidden charms!

"Hold on, mighty wrestler! let's stick to our digging, lest you'd have me in and out of armor every five minutes!"

"But what if the DOOR leads PAST the COLLAPSE? We may not NEED TO DIG? Plus, MYSTERY, RAYNOR! IT IS ASKING TO BE OPENED! WHO CAN REJECT THE CALL TO MYSTERY? NOT I!"

No, I don't think a 6 hour search is reasonable.

"I agree with El Garrapata - this might bypass the problem. Watching the rate at which you have moved the rock so far ... estimating the average size of rocks within ... carry the two ... rounding ... that comes to ...

(something that is likely to take a loooong time).

Alkarion looks over the secret door, making sure it seems safe, then waits for the others to be ready before opening it.

Give the door itself another Perception check (take 10 for 29) looking for traps or other dangers, and listen to hear if any sounds are audible through it.

Raynor grabs his longbow, feeling naked without his fullplate on, and stands at the ready to shoot from the back row...

The secret door slides back on unseen hinges and gears revealing a dark, dusty corridor, and spiral stone stairwell leading downward.

Map updated.

Alkarion looks down the stairs, then back at the others. "I do believe we were warned not to venture too deep into this tomb without backup. Perhaps we should note this for future exploration, and return to the digging."

GM: When you said a "long" time to clear the rubble, are we talking hours, days ... ? Do we see any other secret doors or unexplored areas?

"Agreed! let's finish everything related to this most annoying room!" says Raynor, picking up the shovel and digging in.

"But...but...MYSTERY!" Garrapata whines. He glances around, pulls out and lights a torch and moves down the staircase, just to make sure it's beyond our ken and not the place we should be going to.

Going in about 100' just to check it's not where we should be going!

Just as a reminder, our instructions specifically say "Check around the top level, but don’t go any deeper than you have to to find the Orb." That's what I'm basing my comment on.

I don't want to do PvP, but Raynor would suggest to everyone at this time - in a stern manner if applicable - that we finish digging for the orb before doing anything else! Images of submarine sailors locking fellow crew-mates on the other side of a flooding compartment come to mind for some reason... :P "Open the door g@% d$@n it!!! come on Lieutenant! OPEN THE DOOR!"..... the Lieutenant, tears streaming down his face as he looks at his drowning friend through the hatch's window - for there is always a window in submarine hatches right? - slowly mouths the word 'S-O-R-R-Y'...

and yes, the GM's early post mentioned: They only have three days starting from now to get in, find the spire, climb to its peak, find the entrance to the top-most dungeon level, and retrieve the Orb of Stars before the Gloomspires shift again, possibly leaving them lost in the fog for all time.

GM: When you said a "long" time to clear the rubble, are we talking hours, days ... ? Do we see any other secret doors or unexplored areas?

That's hard to tell early on. Certainly hours.

I'll give you a moment to decide whether or not you go down, split the party, or forget that you found the secret passage. Currently, Garrapata is saying he taking a quick look, and Raynor says he will be sending a very strongly worded message to those that do so.

Now I totally want to make Augustus Gloop in Pathfinder. Maybe a Bloatmage?

Garrapata will check the 100' just to ensure we're not missing out on a quick route into the room. Garrapata calls back, "I'll only be a MOMENT. But I HAVE TO KNOW!"

"Fool!" says Raynor, fuming... which makes him shovel harder.

If the stairs don't open into a room within the first 30', Garrapata will immediately turn back and begin contritely digging out the collapsed tunnel. He promises.

"I really don't recommend going down those stairs ... our instructions said not to go deeper into the tomb ..."

Alkarion will spend a minute whipping up an extract of Ant Haul to increase his carrying capacity, then join in the digging and clearing.

"Well lads, I reckon it be diggin' time. Let's get to it and get outta this tomb of stinky undead."

Borox grabs a shovel and begins to dig into the rubble.

The steep stairs descending into darkness beckon to El Garrapata like the siren song of adventure. "Go on," they say. "Go on." After thirty paces down Garrapata looks back to see he has only descended five steps and that he can still see over the entryway and the lights of his companions beyond. He takes another five and looks back again, but all is stairs this time with no entry, no companions, no anything, just an endless spiral of stairs. He turns back to consider his plight and finds himself on the last step leading into a chamber with only one other exit a a solid stone door carved to resemble an immense scowling face. The relief seems to stare down accusingly at Garrapata.

For clarity sake, this stone relief doesn't actually move.

Meanwhile above, the party continues carefully clearing the rubble.

Garrapata sighs deeply as his sense of adventure and his obligations war within him. There's a brief cessation of hostilities to consider the ramifications of a game of blood-pig, but then he sighs deeply and his obligations stage a strong counterattack, killing his sense of adventure... for now. He trudges back upstairs, feeling slightly miffed.

Once up there, he begins digging anew.

Garrapata returns to help with the digging.

The return trip seems to amount to about 30 feet of steep stairs, followed by the corridor depicted on the map.

Six hours later....

Those of you who are digging I need a Fort save vs a hard day's work (DC 10) to avoid fatigue.

"Whew, long time diggin' in this rubble. I need a drink."

Fatigue: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

"Nothing like a day's hard work to get the blood moving properly!"

Fort save against Fatigue: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

"I begin to REMEMBER why I joined the PATHFINDERS instead of becoming a LABORER."

"It's a good workout, once you get into it. Bend the knees and don't overload your shovel. Once the sweat gets going you can last for hours as long as you're good to your joints and drink plenty of water."

Raynor takes a small break and takes a long drink from his waterskin.

Fort: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Bolstered by his alchemical concoctions, Alkarion labors without complaint, though he does periodically stop to take notes, muttering things like, double reversed knees for better support and some sort of direct opening to attach a waterskin to for continuous hydration.