[Table Shieldwall] Daughters of Fury (Inactive)

Game Master Nathan Hartshorn

Combat over!

The last of the flying devils falls off the bridge, to the water twenty feet below. On to the upper-most caverns then?

Anthys watches the devil fall. "Onward." The Lastwall warrior leads the group up the ladder. Presumably he has to sheathe his sword to do this, but he will draw it again as soon as he is at the top.

Yes, ready to move on.

Vindler only nods, then stows his weapon and shield before following Anthys up the ladder.

Ready!

"Anyone hurt?"

Ready!

”Let’s go!

The walls of this cavern glisten with moisture, but the dirt floor is dry and dusty. Standing just inside the entrance to the cavern is bearded devil, glaive in hand. "Give me the half-orc and I kill you quickly!"

Order 1st Round
Elaril
Netokkurai
Vindlér, Anthys, Berato, Vegazi, Marcus

"You're not much of a negotiator are ya," Vindler calls back mockingly.

Anthys has +2 Deflection (Magic Circle), +2 Shield Wall, +1 Dodge (Heart of the Streets) for AC 30 (27 flat-footed). Lastwall Phalanx is no longer active.

Elaril cocks his head at the devil and speaks...

"Ummm, No!"

...before promptly dropping a ball of lightning on the extraplanar creature.

Cast Fireball. Use Versatile Evocation to switch the damage to Lightning / Electricity. Use Arcane Reservoir to boost Caster Level by 2.

Caster Level vs SR: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 1 + 2 = 19
Lightning Damage: 9d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 1, 1, 3, 4, 2, 2) + 3 = 22 Pathetic!
DC20 Reflex for 1/2 damage.

Wow...One 4

Dodge!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Elaril's electricity blasts the devil, leaving smoke trailing from its beard and horns. In response it slams its glaive into the ground and starts chanting in a foul language, opening portals all around it. Summoning.

Order 1st Round
Elaril
Netokkurai -22 [In process of casting Summon]
Vindlér, Anthys, Berato, Vegazi, Marcus

Double Move, but this happens after Anthys and Vindler's turn, so as to keep the charge lanes clear; map updated

Berato moves forward and position his magic circle against evil close to the devil so as to limit his summoning options and prevent him to use his new friends against the party.

"Come friends: stay close to me if you wish to avoid contact with any new fiends this devil is now calling to his aid!"

Again, Anthys and Vindler may ignore Berato's new position on the map for the purposes of charging; Berato only moves after Anthys and Vindler AND anyone that signals to Berato to hold off...

Anthys charges.
Attack, Charge, PA, Bless, Scion: 1d20 + 13 + 2 - 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 2 - 2 + 1 + 2 = 20
I think Bless and Align Weapon are still up.
Damage: 1d8 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

When casting a spell you don't threaten any squares. I believe the same is true for an SLA with a 1-round casting time. But if not, AC will be 26 (+1 Shield Wall from Berato's light shield, +2 Magic Circle, -2 Charging).

Berato will move right after Marcus' turn, as I believe Vindler can't charge from his location anyhow... I recommend everyone gets withing the magic circle before the devil's next turn: take a double move if need be.

Once Anthys has Marcus adjacent, his AC will go up by 3 to 29: +1 from Lastwall Phalanx, +1 additional from Shield Wall (Heavy Shield rather than light), and +1 from Heart of the Streets.

Marcus moves into position, drawing and throwing a dagger timed to interfere with any attempt to stab through to Berato.

Aid AC, Berato (Covering Fire): In Combat, Bless, Point Blank Shot: 1d20 + 8 - 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 8 - 4 + 1 + 1 = 20 +4 to Berato's AC vs. next attack if attacked by the devil.

Current AC 26, also have soft cover from Anthys.

Concentrate!: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Anthys' sword flashes, cutting into the bearded devil and causing it to lose its spell, the portals around it closing down. It growls as Vegazi, in the back, fires an arrow at it.

Thrum!: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 - 2 = 20
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 2d4 ⇒ (6) + 1 + (3, 1) = 11

The arrow head bursts on contact with the devil, showering it in holy water, burning it badly.

Order 1st Round
Elaril
Netokkurai -42
Vindlér, Anthys, Berato, Vegazi, Marcus

Vindler rushes up behind his team, drawing his weapon and readying his shield again, now that he has reached the top of the ladder.

Had to stow everything while climbing. Now have my shield and morningstar drawn again.

Order 2nd Round
Elaril
Netokkurai -42
Vindlér, Anthys, Berato, Vegazi, Marcus

Elaril scurries forward to get into formation with the others before dropping a flurry of blinding dust of the devil.

Cast Glitterdust. Spend 1 AR to boost CL by 2. DC20 Will Save to avoid Blinding.

Will!: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

The devil snarls as it tries to blink the dust from its eyes. It steps back away from Anthys and teleports away. Combat over!

Can't 5' step while blinded, I think. So if he wants to move it will provoke an AOO from Anthys, or he could try to use his SLA defensively.

AoO then

Anthys strikes at the devil as it tries to flee.
AOO, Bless, PA: 1d20 + 13 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 13 + 1 - 2 = 27
Damage (Magic, Slashing, Good): 1d8 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Whether that drops the devil or not, we have to decide what to do next. Catch up with the scouts and escort them back to town?
Or go to this Eiseth's Roost place to confront Kelseph?
What time of day is it?

Vindler laughs as the devil flees, "Ha! Running away, eh? Well then, let's take advantage of our opponent's cowardice and press the advantage! Onward!"

I've got my Level 3 spells at 0/3. I don't recall using 3 Level 3 spells since last rest but I could be mistaken.

Pretty sure you have. Fireball fireball fireball. One on the orcs in the cave with the collapsing ceiling, one on the orcs at the campsite, and one on the bearded devil.

Anthys slashes the devil, making it bleed more heavily, but ultimately doesn't stop it from staggering backwards and teleporting away. It is late in the day, you guys snuck out of the city around mid-day.

"Perhaps we should go back to Arwyll Stead. I would like to press on, but darkness will work to the advantage of devils and orcs.
Vegazi, how difficult is it to climb Eiseth's Roost? Can we just walk up? If not, then Elaril, can you prepare spells like Fly and Spider Climb?"

"We can walk up the mountain. I just fear what we will find at the top."

"Well, we've at least helped recover the lost rangers. Perhaps we should continue our hunt tomorrow. Though I hate to give the devils time to regroup. Still, it is late. Let's head back for a rest, eh?"

"I could rest and prepare Fly but there would not be enough for all of us. I don't know Spider Climb unfortunately."

Happy either way. Whatever is at the top has had plenty of time to prepare while we've been battling down below so perhaps resting is the best way to go. Get my L3 spells back.

I'd really like to finish this, but IC I think going back is what Anthys would judge the prudent course of action.

"Okay, let's go back and prepare to tackle the Roost in the morning.
Elaril, I think you can save the Glitterdust for foes that we know can turn invisible. I am a competent enough warrior that I do not need my enemies to be blinded in order to defeat them."

Having every battle turn into Anthys slaughtering nearly-helpless foes just seems really pathetic. The spell is quite valuable against invisible things, though Invisibility Purge from Berato might be even better. Direct damage also ends fights faster, which is helpful given the slow pace of PbP. I think I had asked this through PM but it may have been quite a while ago now.

Glitterdust has always been my bane as a GM. I've lost more BBEGs to this spell than anything else cause they all have crap Will saves.

You make your way back to Arwyll Stead and find the gates are still locked tight when you arrive just before nightfall. Calling to the guards doesn't get much of a response, and its not until Terrin looks over the wall that the doors open at all. The scouts break from your group to thank Terrin personally.

You find yourselves stopped by Mayor Proum before making your way back to your rooms at the inn. "Why are you back here?"

Anthys is about to answer, and would probably not be very tactful, but he instead turns to Marcus and Berato. "Why don't one of you explain."

Berato has a slightly better Diplomacy, but Marcus has Inspiration. Marcus has a better Bluff, and either one can draw on Scion of the Lost Empire.

Berato looks at Anthys with surprise, and shrugs. "Because we need to s@#@, eat and sleep? in that order if you don't mind..." says Berato, pushing past the Mayor in a hurry.

Anthys sighs. I was hoping he'd be more diplomatic.

"Yes, Mayor, we knew you had prohibited us from leaving. So no doubt you are wondering how we dare come back after defying you, and that is the meaning of your question.
Well, as this is a military matter, we judged that Terrin's wishes took priority over yours. We rescued his scouts rather than remaining here hoping for more aid.
As I said, we are the aid that Lastwall has sent. We will end this threat."

"Aye. Not to mention, I think we've earned a few hours' rest, Mister Mayor. Don't you worry, though, we know the fight's not done, and we'll be resuming the attack first thing tomorrow."

Mayor Proum shakes his head, "You don't seem to understand. Even in the short time you've been gone things have been happening the town. The curse appears to be real. People have started acting strangely, some of our herd animals have been slaughtered, and the town is running scared now. I hope whatever you're planning to do tomorrow is worth it." His piece said, Mayor Proum heads back to his home.

After the Mayor has left, Anthys turns to the others.
"So what's our plan here? Rest up and head for the Roost in the morning? Or try to figure out what is happening in town?"

"I think we should rest and look to decisively end the threat. The events the mayor described seem to be a problem, but it doesn't sound like people are dying. I think we can do more good fresh by dealing with the Roost."

"That works for me. If these problems remain after the Roost we will deal with them.
We should make sure that we are not ambushed in the night again. Windows boarded up and doors held closed from the inside."

"This town is besieged: it needs to hunker down all together somewhere defensible, like a keep or a temple. If they come, we'll have guards up through the night, and we'll see them coming, and fight back together."

Vegazi shrugs, "I don't think any place is big enough to hold the entire city. The walls have worked well enough until the devils started flying over."

"We tried sweeping the city with See Invisibility before we headed out. Could try it again tonight but maybe that isn't the method the devils are using. Maybe they are disguised as civilians.
Or maybe we didn't take long enough before and just missed them."

Kind of at a loss as to what to do here. I assume we want to rest and tackle the Roost in the morning, hope the town's troubles aren't too bad, but I imagine if there is bad trouble we will be awakened - and Anthys will once again head to battle devils without his armor. His unarmored AC can be fairly decent, but still...

"Can we find a scroll of Swift Girding in case there is once again a midnight attack?" That would be 25 gp. I am happy to spring for it.

Vegazi shrugs, "Towns are weird. I don't know what you'll be able to find here." Yeah, you can find one here.

Finding the Curse Devil is supposed to take days of in-game time and requires the GM to make a bunch of random events. I'll go through an event, or two max, cause having you guys chase this thing has the potential to drag on forever.

I suppose we could try sweeping the town again with both See Invisibility and Vindlér's Detect Evil ability. That really should find a devil hiding in such a fairly small town - unless it is not actually hiding in town, but flying or teleporting in and out. I would hope that the module has a provision for the PCs finding the devil faster if they use such tactics, but maybe not.

"I'll take the first shift. Let's check the town in the morning before heading to the Roost."

"We'll have to be quick. We can't be two places at once..." says Berato, heading to bed and getting his prayer books ready for the morning.

That's the thing, the town really isn't that small. And line of sight can be avoided fairly easily if the creature is decently sneaky. Give me a day to get the next bit setup.

My vote: unless we hear reports in the morning and we're able to directly act on those, we head straight for the Roost.

Motion carried