cynarion's Carrion Crown PbP

Game Master cynarion

Wow, having crazy perception has become Theron's superpower or something.

As everyone begins reacting to the spiders coming out of the sarcophagus, something catches Therons eye, and he looks up..."Giant spiders, coming from the ceiling!" He immediately fires a shot from his longbow...

Surprise Round
(+1 attack and damage from point black shot)
Attack (longbow) at Spider 2: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7 fail
Damage (longbow): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Seeing that is first attack missed, Theron calls upon Iomedae's power to steady his aim. "Iomedae, guide my hand!" Judgement (justice) used

Round 1 (FIGHT!)
Swift Action: Judgement (Justice) +1 sacred bonus to attack
Move Action: Theron tries to move to get a better shot larger spider 2 if necessary. No cover bonus for it.
(+1 attack and damage from point black shot)
Attack (longbow) at Spider 2: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 14
Damage (longbow): 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7

Seems like I'm going to have to hope these things don't have a good flat footed AC. Btw, Theron has precise shot, so shooting into melee shouldn't be a problem.

*edits so that inspire courage is in the calculations*

Well, Cyn said that we basically go as a group. So you wouldn't get the inspire or Bless during the surprise round, but if we want to have me Inspire and Walter Bless before your attack (and why wouldn't we?), it's allowed under Cyn's combat rules.

Well, Cyn said that we basically go as a group. So you wouldn't get the inspire or Bless during the surprise round, but if we want to have me Inspire and Walter Bless before your attack (and why wouldn't we?), it's allowed under Cyn's combat rules.

Ah cool, I'll add that in then. All the little +1s are adding up XD

Very little can redeem a '2' but I've hope for the next round... just have to trust my armour to get me through to it in one piece. Hopefully Flori and Karrik will see this soon and we MAY get the spiders and Kendra's round done and move to the spiders... I love PbP but combats are the slowest part

Lem Longbarrow wrote:

Well, Cyn said that we basically go as a group. So you wouldn't get the inspire or Bless during the surprise round, but if we want to have me Inspire and Walter Bless before your attack (and why wouldn't we?), it's allowed under Cyn's combat rules.

Ah cool, I'll add that in then. All the little +1s are adding up XD

Yup, it's all good!

You don't need to move to get a clear shot. You hit the spider with your second attack. It's now looking wounded.

###

Enemy Health Levels
Spider #1: Healthy
Spider #2: Wounded
Spider #3: Bleeding Out
Sp. Swarm: Healthy but contained

Only Flori and Karrik to go before Kendra gets a turn. : )

Time for me to head home for the day...don't expect to hear from me for another hour and a half or so.

Wow... so sorry to make you guys wait.

Karrik roars out in surprise, but quickly recovers. The nervousness of a few moments before vanishes as he makes a quick flourish with his off-hand, punctuated by a single, odd word. A semi-transparent, ghost-like disk springs into place between himself and the nearest spider as a flash runs along his blade. He doesn't hesitate, stepping forward and bringing his sword down in a cruel over-hand chop.

When it comes to swarms, Flori's got nothing. She'll get back and let others handle this.

Thanks guys :) We could be good for another round of combat over the weekend now

Daaaamn Karrik, nice one.

Flori, FYI only the monster in the tomb was a swarm. The others are giant spiders. Assuming Karrik just killed the second one, there's still one left you could magic missile, if you want.

No MM. She'll just stay out of the way.

Flori, FYI only the monster in the tomb was a swarm. The others are giant spiders. Assuming Karrik just killed the second one, there's still one left you could magic missile, if you want.

Or 'Sleep' - though not sure how that works on spiders or swarms

Or 'Sleep' - though not sure how that works on spiders or swarms

It don't! LOL

He doesn't hesitate, stepping forward and bringing his sword down in a cruel over-hand chop.

Karrik, I am presuming you chopped Spider #2, the one nearest you. It too is smushed.

Round 1: Narrative
Theron's shouted warning gives everyone an opportunity to brace themselves, but they're still surprised when he manages to fire an arrow even as the spiders are dropping from ceiling to floor. The shot goes wide and Theron grimaces.

As the spiders boil out of the sarcophagus, the quick-thinking Raj runs around to the other side, squeezes in between the sarcophagus and the wall, and slams the lid shut. He curses as a few wayward spiders begin crawling up his leg, but the threat is contained for now.

Walter steps forward and calls down a benediction, just as Lem raises his voice in supplication to Desna and Theron invokes the justice of Iomedae.

Rose is the very picture of elegance as, with a few quick and seemingly effortless strokes, she severs six legs from one of the spiders and then plunges her blade into its bloated abdomen; it collapses in a heap at her feet as she glides backward in anticipation of retribution, but none is forthcoming.

Opposite Rose, Dragomir couldn't be more different. He swings his enormous sword wildly, its blade throwing up sparks where it scrapes against the flagstones. The spider in front of him seems to dance out of the way of every blow, and rears up menacingly.

Another arrow from Theron flies over the heads of everyone assembled on the stars, this one striking true and thudding into the thorax of a spider, which stumbles and turns to face Theron--only for Karrik to roar, leap forward and with a single powerful overhand blow, shears off four of its legs and bites deeply into its abdomen.

Kendra, buoyed by Walter's magic and Lem's sermon, sidles past Flori and moves in front of Walter. She reaches out and grasps Walter's hand.

Try to stay behind me, she says, and extends her other hand out before speaking a few arcane syllables. Her hand crackles with barely contained power.

Team Vermin's turn!

Spider #1
The spider in front of Dragomir reaches out its over-long front legs in an effort to grab Dragomir and bite him.

Attack roll: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (6) + 0 = 6
Damage roll: 1d4 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

But the spider's legs skitter off Dragomir's armour.

Spider #2
Stabilisation roll: 1d20 + 3 - 7 ⇒ (18) + 3 - 7 = 14

This spider stops bleeding.

Spider #3
Stabilisation roll: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 - 1 = 9

This one doesn't.

Spider Swarm
The swarm rages impotently inside the sarcophagus. A few escape from small cracks and imperfections--probably how they got in in the first place--but not enough to cause Raj any alarm.

###

Enemy Health levels
Spider #1: Healthy
Spider #2: Unconscious
Spider #3: Bleeding Out
Sp. Swarm: Healthy but contained

Time for Round 2! Round 2 will end at 7am Melbourne time on Monday--or whenever someone smushes the last spider, whichever comes first. : )

Updated map.

Raj scoots out from around the far side of the sarcophagus stomping the spiderlings as he goes, "Smallest AVDM's I ever seen..."

He keeps the flask and blade in hand and an eye on the ceiling in case there are more eight-legged surprises.

Raj delays action. Feel free to whack the spideys, guys! :)

Karrik's black eyes sweep the dark room once his spider drops, falling quickly on Dragomir's dance partner.

"I'm confused… we still discussing devil monkeys?"

He skirts around the backside of the spider, only closing when he sees that the spider will have to split its attention between himself and the big human. Gripping the blade in both meaty hands, he steps in with a grunt, delivering a crude slash.

Move in a skirting path to flank S1 with Drago, then two-hand his scimitar.
Scimitar (two-handed) 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 13; Inspire, bless, flank.
--- Damage 1d6 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 = 13.

Spellcraft DC 16 (Kendra's spell) 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22.

"Coming through!" Theron pushes his way past Lem and Flora so that he can get a clear shot at the last of the bigger spiders. At least he hopes it is the last one...

Round 2!
Moving to E8
Longbow: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 23 (Inspire, Bless, Point Blank, Judgement)
---Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 1 = 10 (Inspire, Point Blank)

After arrow hits its mark, he looks back at Lem and Flora a bit sheepishly. "Sorry"

Wow, I wasted some amazing rolls on that spider ;)

Spellcraft DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Good shot, Theron!

And Lo! The Arachnid, King of Beasts, stood over the lifeless body of the princess. The clouds parted and the stars shone as bright as the sun, focusing Desna's wrathful gaze upon the wretched creature. "Spider!" she exclaimed. "I denounce you as a traitor to all the good creatures of the world. From this day forward you shall be banished to the shadows, forever to skulk and lurk, lusting for warm blood. Whenever men see you they will no longer pay you homage, but will despise you and seek to bring about your death. This I decree, from now until the end of days. Begone!" And just then, the spider saw the angry mob running towards him, weapons brandished. He fled into the shadows, and the rest is known by all.

Good shot indeed!

Spider #1 is now Near Death.

Enemy Health Levels
Spider #1: Near Death
Spider #2: Unconscious
Spider #3: Bleeding Out
Sp. Swarm: Healthy but contained

Dragomir mumbles scripture as he uses the long blade to try to piece the spiders carapace as well as push and hold it away from him.

Attack1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Damage2d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 6) + 6 = 17

I'll forgo the religious rant - Lem's got that all sewn up

I wont even worry about crit conversion

I wont even worry about crit conversion

Roll for crit! Roll for crit! C'mon, 34 damage is so much cooler than 17 damage. ;-)

How will we know how badass Dragomir is unless we have numbers to reflect upon? :)

"Hey, you remember that time when Drago crit'd that spider for like 40 Damage?!"

Wow. Reflex save to avoid getting spider goo splattered on me from that impact. 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 fail!

Dragomir does take requests... It's what keeps him good with Th' Laaaadies'... It certainly isn't his face.

confirmation 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 damage 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 6) + 6 = 16 add in the bonus damage on top... +1 twice?

Booyah!

Um, yeah, 33 damage. I'm interested to see the death description for that. Dragomir will probably be getting a good deal of respect from the rest of the group for the foreseeable future.

O.O If that spider ain't dead, he's got one hell of a headache. Nice roll, Dragomir.

if the bonus damage from the spell applies twice it's 35... Otherwise 34

if the bonus damage from the spell applies twice it's 35... Otherwise 34

Yarp. If you're talking about performance, that is.

Walter boggled. There was once a spider there, a voice offered. Walter shook it off-- but without a hand to press the voices away, put the pressure in the right spot, he couldn't push it away. He considered, then dropped his longsword.

1 is north on the compass rose. 1d8 ⇒ 7

The sword clattered to the floor, swept standing on its point, lost momentum, and then hung, upside-down-- like it was being held. A second later, the sword, as if thrown by someone gripping the hilt, cartwheeled another ten feet through the air, landing definitively on its side-- as if caught and pressed to the ground.

For Walter's action... no action! Drop the sword and delay.

Oh, the spider is dead. Very dead!

I will write some suitably graphic description of its demise tonight; probably in around ten hours or so from now. We can deal with the spider swarm after that--Kendra's burning hands spell might help there.

Now I had best get back to looking after my little one. Hope you're all enjoying your weekends. : )

EDIT: There's no need for everyone to stay in initiative any longer--the spider swarm is contained, when you confront it you will get a surprise round and go first automatically, so feel free to banter while I look after a small child. : )

1 is north on the compass rose. 1d8

The sword clattered to the floor, swept standing on its point, lost momentum, and then hung, upside-down-- like it was being held. A second later, the sword, as if thrown by someone gripping the hilt, cartwheeled another ten feet through the air, landing definitively on its side-- as if caught and pressed to the ground.

*calculates, using North as -up- on the map* Eeek, I didn't realize where that sword was going...

Theron glances to the side as he hears Walter's sword fall to the floor, only to see it suddenly get thrown at him by an invisible hand. "What in..!?" Theron jumps aside and watches in amazement as it cartwheels through the air and lands in an an... unnatural manner.

The inquisitor looks back and forth between the sword and Walter for several moments, almost totally forgetting about the spiders that they had been fighting. "...what in Iomedae's name was THAT? I thought there weren't any spirits here!" He exclaims at Walter and looks around to make sure that he wasn't the only one who witnessed that.

He quickly recasts his detect magic and checks both Walter and the sword...starting with the sword.

Knowledge Religion(on Walter ;) ): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Round 2 Narrative
Theron moves down the stairs, pushing past his companions for a clear shot. His arrow strikes home, lodging up to the fletching in the spider's abdomen. The spider squeals in pain and turns to face Theron--but when it sees Karrik advancing, it focuses on the half-orc instead. It manages to avoid Theron's blow--but it sidles straight into Dragomir's descending blade.

Dragomir's greatsword hums as the big man brings it down, with Lem's sermon about Desna's banishment of the Spider King acting as a trenchant counterpoint. The sword seems to gain its own momentum as it goes, slamming into the spider's body and immediately pinning it to the ground, then slicing straight through the spider's armour and into the flagstones beneath with a sharp ping. For a moment, the spider just looks stunned--then it separates into two pieces and a flood of haemolymph washes over Dragomir's boots.

The big man eyes the corpse with satisfaction.

The spell flickering around Kendra's hands dies down as she realises the threat is over--for now.

###

All righty. Decide how you want to handle the spiders in the sarcophagus--Kendra will be directed by you. Theron, don't forget your 50% chance to recover the arrow that missed.

###

Theron, Walter--I will leave the interplay about Walter's mischievous spirits to you two to play out. Walter, feel free to as GM when it comes to information about Walter's 'condition'. You should be the one who decides what--and how much--becomes character knowledge. : )

Seeing that the large arachnids have been dispatched with none of the party wounded, Raj relaxes a bit and puts the Alchemist's Fire away. He notes Kendra's hand fanned out in front of her and pointed in his general direction. He assumes she's prepared a spell to handle the swarm... either that or Raj has somehow drawn the young mage's ire.

"Miss Lorrimor, you got some spell in mind to handle this carpet of bugs? I'm thinking that maybe a few folks should pull out vials of Fire then I'll pop the lid and lure the buggers out. Then you can hit'em with whatever you got. Just, whoever is handling the fire... don't miss. I don't fancy being a bonfire."

Perfect. I wish I had such a spell, but I don't.

Flori gets if for free at 3rd, so no point taking it at 1st. She won't be much of a blaster until then.

What I can do is use a little trick to help someone's aim. Who's up for a little touch of rage right before they strike?

Touch of Rage (Sp): At 1st level, you can touch a creature as a standard action, giving it a morale bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, and Will saving throws equal to 1/2 your sorcerer level (minimum 1) for 1 round. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

She sidles up to Dragomir. You can't miss with me, she says with a little smile.

Lem stops his sermon suddenly, as if snapping out of a trance. He considers Flori's suggestion, and responds quietly.

While rage can be useful in some fights, I think cunning might be more useful against a swarm. Why don't we drag the carcasses near the tomb, stand back with our acid, fire, and spells and have one of us open the lid and run back to the rest of us. If our first volley doesn't kill enough of them, maybe the swarm will be preoccupied with consuming their larger brethren, giving us a clear route to retreat and come back later to finish the job. What do you think?

He waits patiently to hear the others' suggestions.

Fine. If nobody wants a free +1 to hit and damage, she'll continue to stand around doing nothing.

@Flori--I wasn't intending any offense, I was just trying to have Lem act in character. I think he'd feel that Rage would be better served when Dragomir hits something with his sword rather than when we throw things with finesse at a swarm. Not to mention we already have +1 morale to hit from Walter's Bless, so the rage wouldn't stack with that. You can certainly pick up a flask of alchemists fire to throw instead of doing nothing. And don't be afraid to use your crossbow when we fight bigger things like the spider. I know you're waiting around to gain a level or two to get your combos going, but in the meantime you can help out a lot. You have a cool character and you're a great member of the party.

Raj rubs his chin. "I'm happy to run in whichever direction you need, but straight back at you folks probably is a little risky. I was thinkin' towards a back corner. That should give you time to escape if things get hairy." He nods at Flori, "Any magic you got, Miss Flori that will keep anyone's aim straight would be 'preciated."

Now now kids, don't make me turn this campaign around! ; )

Mechanically, Lem has a good point; the morale bonus to hit won't stack, and I expect this whole thing will be over within the 48 seconds we have left for bless to run. In character he also has a good point--although one probably better directed at the designers of the orc bloodline than anything else; 'touch of rage' doesn't sound like it should make you more accurate, or apply to ranged/non-weapon damage rolls. I think it would have been better as a +2 morale bonus to Strength and Will saves myself.

For Flori: while it's true that not all encounters are necessarily designed for all PCs to shine, in the end, it should all come out in the wash. If you feel you're spending inordinate amounts of time standing around with nothing to do, please let me know directly by PM or over on the discussion thread, where we can talk about what you want from the game. If we can get it happening for you, then great. If we can't, best for us to work that out sooner rather than later. : )

Kendra, hearing Walter's sword clattering to the floor, turns around just in time to see it skid away across the flagstones.

She eyes Walter uncertainly, but doesn't let go of his hand. Is everything okay?

To be clear, she will wait for Walter to respond before moving on to say the next bit in response to Raj.

"Miss Lorrimor, you got some spell in mind to handle this carpet of bugs? I'm thinking that maybe a few folks should pull out vials of Fire then I'll pop the lid and lure the buggers out. Then you can hit'em with whatever you got. Just, whoever is handling the fire... don't miss. I don't fancy being a bonfire."

Quite, Kendra says, amused. It would make for a less-than-delightful experience, I imagine. I can cast burning hands if necessary--that should do for most of them. The alchemist's fire could also be useful. But whatever we decide, let's do it quickly. I am beginning to wish I wore more clothing. She shivers in the cold of the tomb.

Disposition Update
To reduce this situation down to its tactical components, the following will occur in the following order:
1. move action to open the sarcophagus;
2. move action for the opener to get away to wherever he or she is going;
3. surprise round for everyone else--while the spiders are still inside the sarcophagus;
4. round 1 begins; PCs go first (probably best to ready an action);
5. spiders will exit the sarcophagus and make for the nearest target they can perceive--they don't exactly have PhDs in tactics.

You would all know this as the likely sequence of events from a descriptive point of view, but reducing it to primarily rules content should put you all on solid decision-making ground.

You are all also welcome to make Knowledge (Nature) checks to see if you can remember anything salient about spider swarms. The DC is 6 so you can make the check untrained.

Hope that helps!

Know (Nature) 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Know (Nature) 1d20 + 1

The spider swarm is effectively immune to weapon damage and single-target spells (e.g. magic missile), but takes 150% damage from area of effect spells (e.g. Kendra's burning hands) and splash weapons (e.g. alchemist's fire, acid).

Since an untrained check can't break 10, I can only give you the one piece of information.

(As a player you probably knew that already, but that's got to be the most important thing I can tell you right now.)

###

One other thing: I am trying to have Kendra be unobtrusive so you don't feel like she's a glory hog or there to suck up your XP. This means I try to get her to move last in any given round. If you want her to fire off burning hands at the beginning of a round, though, just go ahead and ask. Then the alchemist's fire or acid can do the mopping up.

@Flori-- I know you're waiting around to gain a level or two to get your combos going, but in the meantime you can help out a lot. You have a cool character and you're a great member of the party.

I too acknowledge what Lem said and would like to add I'd like to see more of Flori. If I can help with that, let me know. Flori will be hell on two legs once she hits 4th level+, but even once she hits 2nd level she can pick up Magic Missile (never a bad spell for a Sorc and what you seem built for) or something else. Until then she can help with aid anothers (you've an INSANELY good Cha bonus - even allowing for possible Circumstance negative, you can still pull off Aid Another Diplomacy or even try yourself - Dragomir is doing just that with half the bonus you have), throwing stuff like Alchemical fire, acting as crossbow support etc and above and beyond all that? She can share her personality through her posts and help us drive the story.

I for one would love to see Flori talking dresses and hair styles with Kendra - sighing over the contents of wardrobes and so forth (if I read your background correctly that is) and generally being girly... Just as Walter is an awkward teen, Flori is also a teen - the type that is into all that stuff I just mentioned (again, if I read your background correctly). We are ALL first level, and with the exception of a few of us (Karrik, Myself, Rose) we are mostly 'fresh' and undarkened by the horrible experiences most adventurers endure. Just as Dragomir is a cynic, Flori could be the pillar of bright optimism and happiness that helps the party stay on its feet and moving forward when all is turning to crap. Have a chat to Cyn but again, I'd love to see more of the character coming out in the posts

Oh, and for overkill, Dragomir had used the whetstone before coming so thats +2 damage added to the overall result after the crit :)

Dragomir winced when for the second time the blade hit the floor but seems pleased that the large spider is well and truly dead.

Moving back and running his fingers close to the blade, heedless of the gore, he tries to feel for damage to the sword.

I've a good throwing arm and a decent eye if someone needs me to hurl something, otherwise I'll stand back and leave you to it... Using this, he indicated the sword with a jerk of his head, would be like tryin' to use a catapult to kill a scorpion... besides, never really seen any flashy magics before. Until today? Never seen magic done at all, lest you count those Market Fair lot, which I don't.

What I can do is use a little trick to help someone's aim. Who's up for a little touch of rage right before they strike?

She sidles up to Dragomir. You can't miss with me, she says with a little smile.

Urrr... , says Dragomir, more confused than anything else... Thanks...?

While rage can be useful in some fights, I think cunning might be more useful against a swarm. Why don't we drag the carcasses near the tomb, stand back with our acid, fire, and spells and have one of us open the lid and run back to the rest of us. If our first volley doesn't kill enough of them, maybe the swarm will be preoccupied with consuming their larger brethren, giving us a clear route to retreat and come back later to finish the job. What do you think?

I dunno girl... Dragomir looks over at Flori a bit suspiciously, Will this spell make me go berserk? I'm not sure I want to go into a rage down here, truth be told..., he cleans his fingers of sludge on his trousers before scratching his head, not sure how I feel about someone usin' some sort of 'witchcraft' on me to make me get all enraged like... hows it work when a fella is tossing flasks of fire around?