cynarion's Carrion Crown PbP

Game Master cynarion

Dragomir smashes one of the skulls to smithereens.

(Which one, Dragomir?)

"Is there an inch of this place that isn't corrupted?" Theron grumbles to himself as he sees the grinning skulls appear. Getting tired of the constant assaults and finding himself wanting to send the forces at work here a message, he calls upon Iomedae's Justice before readying his bow. The Inheritor's light will drive you out, foul spirits! Justice is coming for you once again!

Actions
Move: Move to AF22 for clear shot (drawing bow)
Swift: Judgement of justice (+1 to attack rolls)
Attack: Bow attack to skull #5 with blunt arrow

Bow Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 23 Point Blank Shot + Judgement
Blunt Arrow Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 Point Blank Shot

Round 1

Rose once again lets her sword clatter to the ground as she pulls out the heavy hammer, infusing it with magic as she sends a white ray at the nearest skull, stepping forward as she does. "No more, we will not back down!"

Free drop sword, move draw warhammer (should just ready that I think), swift arcane enhancement, standard disrupt undead at Skull 1, 5' step to AF23.

Disrupt Undead: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Lem treads lightly, skirting the hole in the floor to move next to Raj. The priest draws the magic stone and holds it up to show the thief.

These should work well now, Raj. It doesn't look like much, but it'll get the job done. Watch.

Lem turns and hurls the stone at the nearest skull, aiming right between its eye sockets.

Move: to AL 24, draw magic stone.

Standard: Throw Magic Stone at FS #4 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 17

Damage 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 = 7

Raj acknowledges the effectiveness of the priest's blow with a nod. "Nice. You'll have to show me that trick some time."

Then he steps into the nearest skull and goes to work with both his brass knuckles and glowing blade...

FREE: 5' step to AK25
FULL: Attack FS#4

Dragomir smashes one of the skulls to smithereens.

(Which one, Dragomir?)

S1 seems appropriate

Walter took Lem's lead and drew the mighty magic stone. He hefted it in his hand for a second before wheeling back and pitching it at the skull he decided was the most ugly.

Move to AH22, drawing magic stone along the way; Attacking #6 since it's not in melee.
Attack - 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Damage - 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 1) + 2 = 4

The stone bounced off the creature's forehead. Walter frowned.

Karrik reads a few words from the scroll. It answers immediately, the letters glowing briefly with an arcane light.. which literally runs off the page, up his hand and arm, then jumps out in front of him in the form of a semi-transparent disk. With a nod, he hustles over next to Rajuna, drawing his morningstar even as he pours a bit of his internal arcane reserve into it. "Can't leave our point man to flap in the wind, now can we?"

:: Round 1 ::
STANDARD: Cast Shield from the scroll
MOVE: to AJ.25, drawing morningstar along the way.
SWIFT: spend final point from arcane pool to imbue morningstar.

The thief snorts but welcomes the company, well aware that he could have been cut-off. "I 'flap' better'n most. With luck, these buggers'll give us a flank."

Updated the map with new positions

Dragomir steps across and smashes one of the skulls into flaming debris.

Theron draws his bow, fires and arrow and destroys another of the floating skulls.

Rose, seeing Dragomir destroy the skull she had originally been targeting, shifts her attention to another, her spell landing a hit* and seriously damaging one of the skulls.

Lem's magically-enhanced stone flies true, creating a crack in the skull he targeted.

Raj's followup blow finishes it off.

Septimus bends down and retrieves a chunk of masonry from the floor, before throwing it with relish at FS#3.

To hit: 1d20 + 5 - 6 ⇒ (16) + 5 - 6 = 15; hit
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

The rock does minimal damage.

###

[ooc]Team Skull's Turn
Skull #2 makes a snap at Dragomir, Skull #3 and #6 attack Karrik.

Rolls to hit:
#2 vs. Dragomir: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9; miss
#3 vs. Karrik: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16; miss
#6 vs. Karrik: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13; miss

One of the skulls' attacks rebounds off Karrik's shield spell.

###

ROUND TWO
Your turn. : )

###

*Wow, I've been running games wrong for years. I only made combatants flat-footed in the surprise round. Whoops.

Theron takes aim for another skull and lets an arrow fly.

Move to AF26
Attack action: blunt arrow to skull #3 to finish it off

Attack w/ blunt arrow: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 overkill... if I actually hit it.

Dragomir takes on skull #2 with a grunt and massive swing...

Power Attack
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
2d6 + 9 ⇒ (4, 5) + 9 = 18

Karrik grins at the Varisian's retort, but if he has any response of his own, its cut off by the blunted attacks of the flaming skulls... though the impact does throw his own initial counter-strike wildly off-course.

"SAIGHNEÁN!*" he roars as he brutally reverses the morningstar's direction. Mid-strike, it flares to life with a halo of crackling white-blue energy, exploding in a peal of thunder on contact with the skull.

:: Round 2 ::
FULL: Spell combat w/ Spell-strike (Shocking Grasp - cast defensively) targeting FS#6. If it drops to the first strike, send the second one at FS#3. If FS#6 drops at all this round, 5' step to AI.25.

*note: I've suddenly decided that I'm going to use short-hand (bastardized) online celtic/gaelic translations to add some flavor to Karrik's spell-casting. :D

Raj nearly jumps at the half-orc's explosive outburst. "Yeah, it's dusty in here."

Then he steps into the nearest skull and goes to work... but the skull proves an elusive target.

~ Round 2 ~

FREE: 5' step to AJ26
FULL: Attack FS#3

Sigh. Site was down for me for most of the day. At least I was here! : )

Both Theron and Dragomir miss, but Karrik's ensorcelled morningstar shatters the skull into fragments. Raj's strikes also fail to connect.

(map updated)

Round 2

Rose sends out another beam of positive energy as she moves forward, bringing the warhammer down upon the skull.

Full round for spell combat, Disrupt Undead, 5' step to AG24, warhammer. Target is FS2.

Disrupt Undead: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13; 1d6 ⇒ 3
Warhammer: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18; 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

I was having trouble getting on, too. I assume FS2 is crushed, right?

With a few quick hops, Lem is behind Raj, placing a hand on him.

The spirits have almost been vanquished, my son. Hold fast, and strike with Desna's blessing.

Move to AK 26.

Standard: Casts Guidance on Rajuna.

Rose's strikes destroy the skull.

Just Walter and Septimus to go. If they haven't posted by the morning I'll finish off the round. (That's about 20 hours or so from now.)

Walter drew his staff as he moved up to the creature, attempting to crush it with the leather-wrapped end of it.

Move to AJ25 while drawing quarterstaff-- attack.
Attack - 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Damage - 1d6 ⇒ 3

Possibly to Walter's surprise, his blow with the quarterstaff shatters the skull into fragments. All is quiet once more.

###

Judging by the weapon racks and training dummies in the room, you assume you're in some kind of weapon training room--presumably for the prison guards.

Possibly to Walter's surprise, his blow with the quarterstaff shatters the skull into fragments. All is quiet once more.

Battle XP

TOTAL XP PER PC: 150

You all gain 150 XP.

Running Total: 3,245 XP

DC10 is something most people can attempt
Knowledge 1d20 ⇒ 13

Yup, you don't even need ranks in the skill. : )

Dragomir looks up at the ceiling then into the hole. Elevator shaft... fancy work for a prison.

Rajuna scratches his chin and assesses the ruined equipment and the supports in the room - looking for something to use as a rope anchor. He glances into the darkness below, "Yup. That's a hole a'right. I expect someone is gonna tumble on the idea that we need to go down there..." His scarred face puckers in an amused grimace, knowing who is the logical volunteer to lead. "I ain't in a hurry to do that - if we got more to see up here. Like a fella warned me once about another dark and nasty place - Don't go down the well!"

Knowledge (Untrained): 1d20 ⇒ 19
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 These dice are feast or famine!

OK, guys, options? Preferences? Do we need a recap from Cyn on what we could still explore above ground?

As the room falls silent once again, Karrik can't help but bark out a laugh, clapping the young Walter on the back mightily. "Good show, Walter! We have a regular lumber jack on our hands!"

Dragomir's observation draws his attention, and the Half-orc wanders over as he draws another scroll from his case. "How deep do you suppose this descends? I'm half convinced to toss a light down there to see, but any time we've kicked over a stone, this place seems to want to kick back."

A recap would be nice; I don't remember what we've done or uncovered... though so far I dn't know that we've uncovered much.

I've a sunrod...

Dragomir pulls it out and before he lights it, toes a piece of debris into the hole.

Have you read/seen the Fellowship of the Ring?! ;P

Karrik grunts at the falling stone, shooting Dragomir a dark look before he moves over to give a cursory inspection of the weapons' rack and the room in general.

Anything interesting/pertinent about the room?
Perception 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7.

Looking at the map, I think something we need to check is the auditorium (through the doors by Theron). Then we can head toward the podium. On either side of the 'stage area' are doors - one leading to some kind of storage spot and the other moving towards (possibly) the warden's office. Before we head down, let's take a look at those... Also, before we head down the shaft, we should consider our resources and everyone's ability to duke it out with the baddies.

EDIT - just noticed some light text saying 'iron bars' in front of the podium. That back podium area might be inaccessible except through the front doors or windows - so we may have to circle around the building to get there.

Agreed on everything.

Dragomir's stone takes less than a second to make a 'plop' noise as it vanishes into the gloom.

Exploration options:

• The laundry (door at N17).
  
• The unknown room to the north (door at Q13).
  
• (DONE) The unknown room to the east with a hole in the floor (wade through the lake around the ruins of the wall at AK16).
  
• The unknown room to the south (double doors at V26:W26).
  
• The room with a brazier in it (door at I23).
  
• The unknown room to the west (door at M18).
  
• The triangular room in the centre of the floor (door at Q24).
  
• The rectangular room in the centre of the floor (door at R24).
  
• (NEW) The auditorium (double doors at AF27:AF28).
  
• (NEW) The hole in the weapon training room.

Raj is indeed right, the podium in the auditorium is protected by a row of iron bars. There is no door in the bars to batter down, they appear to be there to separate the two areas of the auditorium.

Raj and Karrik give the training room a cursory glance, but find nothing of interest in it.

Agreed on the auditorium--lead on, master Rajuna

Righto. Well since we are by the auditorium, might as well finish the area out before we backtrack.

Raj heads into the auditorium cautiously, not wishing to test his luck down the watery hole quite yet.

STR Check (door busting as needed) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

EDIT - looking at the map again, it looks like there is another set of doors across the auditorium that might get us into the corridor between the office/front entrance/podium/storeroom. Raj will be paranoid checking for traps in that zone.

Strength AA if necessary 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7.

DOH! I vote we use Ice Titan's strength check method. :)

lol! Aren't we a pair of he-men?

To speed up the discovery process, here is a possible course for exploration. This way if we are in a room without deadly surprises, Cyn can whip us through to the next spot after appropriate searches and whatnot:

1. Auditorium then --> door Z27
2. South Room(s) (leading to the Front Door) then --> door Y30
3. Podium Room then --> door AE30
4. Tagged Items Room then --> Backtrack trying to get to Corridor (P30), Office (I30), and Room (K28)
5. Backtrack to door V26 then door U25
6. Triangular Room in the centre of the floor (door at Q24)
7. Rectangular Room in the centre of the floor (door at R24)
8. Brazier Room (door at I23).
9. West Room (door at M18)
10. Laundry (door at N17)
11. North Room (door at Q13)
12. The Hole (in the training room)

I'm fine with that.

Walter shuddered. He picked up the mandible of one of the shattered skulls by his fingertips and inspected it for a moment before casting it away. Abominations.

He dutifully lined up behind the others, clutching his quarterstaff, ready to... do something, hopefully.

Everybody loves the Ice Titan method. Also, that plan of action sounds great Raj.

Thanks Raj, that will help lots. : )

I'll see if I can come back tonight to post an update. : )

Dragomir (unpossessed of 14 Int) ignites the sunrod and throws it into the hole.

Dragomir's sunrod spirals down into the darkness, before landing in a pond with a splash. It sinks around another eighteen inches to the bottom of the pond and comes to rest.

The area beneath, illuminated dimly, seems much more a cavern than a functional room. The remains of the lift are visible in the pool, as are several mounds of bones and splintered beams. The fire evidently precipitated the collapse.

The walls of the cavern are caked in soot and covered in various forms of fungus and lichen. Water drips slowly down the walls to collect in the pool directly beneath the hole.

At least nothing stirs after the invasion.

###

A few minutes later, everyone is examining the auditorium, after Raj and Karrik's somewhat comedic attempts at bringing the door down. The room is empty save for the furniture: several dozen timber pews, their varnish long since worn away, are arranged neatly, extending from the back of the room all the way to within ten feet of the podium at the front of the room. On the back wall are portraits of what look like knightly men--it's hard to tell under the mould. Septimus heads down the back to examine them.

At the front of the room, a raised podium is separated from the area of seating by a span of iron bars. To the east, a dock is raised a few feet off the floor, a simple timber bench and a steel loop for attaching manacles evidence of its function.

It seems the room was used at least part of the time as a courtroom, explaining why the dais is blocked off from the rest of the room.

Septimus calls out from the back of the room. "Hey...come and look at this, I think I've found something..."

Before he can complete his sentence, however...

If you succeeded on your Perception check, roll initiative. If you failed, sorry, you'll have to wait.

###

I will post something at Initiative 10 when everyone who scored better has acted, and then we'll move on. : )

Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Initiative 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Ghosts!, he yells before grabbing for a vial of holy water in his belt... which isn't there.

He brings up his blade instead.

Perception 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19.
Init 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19.[/ooc]

As soon as he sees his breath, the thief doesn't hesitate. He barrels towards the doors on the far side. "Another blasted h'aint! Clear the room, maybe it's tied here!"

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Initiative 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

STR Check (bust open door at Z27) 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Karrik, having no immediate better idea, rushes after the Varisian and levels his shoulder at the door as well.

AA on the Strength check 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Initiative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10 That was close!

Theron immediately notices the cold, but hesitates about what to do about it. Did this have to do with whatever Septimus found?

When he sees Rajuna and Karrik bolting out of the room, Theron decides that they may be onto something. "Something's happening, everyone out of the room!" He begins moving, and he grabs one of those who didn't react in time as he makes his way out of the room.

Unlike Raj and Karrik, Theron runs for the OPEN doors. He runs to AH26 (if that is out of range of the cold) and takes cover, looking around the corner to see what the spirits are going to try to do to them this time. If possible, Theron drags someone (either Lem or Walter, whichever seems to fail to act in time) out of the room as well.

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Initiative 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

The seasoned warriors around him flee, but Lem stands his ground. He looks around the room for signs of manifestation as he speaks in a booming voice.

Show yourselves, spirits! We have faced your like and prevailed many times before. I walk with the light of Desna, and I will not succumb to fear over wayward souls caught between the worlds. Walk beside me and I will set you on the path to the ever after. Stand against me to your peril.

Standard: Inspire Courage, I believe 4/9 rounds remaining.

Boom. Haunt falls, cleric dies. :D

Never! I have Lady Luck on my side ;-)

Yea, I think the theme of this campaign is that the warriors keep running away.

Getting really tempted to say that Theron drags Lem along with him :)