SO Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master ScorchedOne

"Whatever you think best. This is NOT my area of expertise :-)"

The floor of this vast cavern descends in two twenty-foot drops into a large, eerie grotto. The walls drip with moisture and bear strange and disturbing cave paintings of towering four-winged humanoid shapes. Tiny motes of glowing light drift and bob in the air, giving the place an almost nauseating feeling, as if the cavern is viewed through a dreamlike haze.

You are on the lower level, not the upper.

Continue forward, our folks with high perception should be checking for traps and Vance will be constantly scan the area for magic.

GM, want to ask permission on this: How helpful would Tiltha be in checking for traps? She has a hell of a perception score, but I'm not sure how limited her help would be with her intelligence score locked at 6. I don't want to play her too meta and be too impactful.

Tiltha is not super helpful. Is current map placement about correct? I moved everyone.

If it helps seek and search are animal companion tricks that animal with 2 int can do.

Olaff feels unease about the paintings and the whole place. "Humm... Do any o' ya smarrt ones make any sense o' this? I do not give a crrap about ancient mysterries and the sorrt, but if any o' these paints arre any help to Ameiko orr perrhaps hint o' any danger ve might face ahead o' us, it vould be nice to know."

He walks a couple more feet inside the room in order to allow everyone to have a good look of the whole cave. "If nothing helpful can be found, lets move on..."

I think asking Tiltha to search for "traps" may be a bit above her capabilities, because she may not see a string of rope and connect the dots that it is a trap. When it comes to looking for something much more obvious, say "Olaff went missing in the forest, go look for him" would be well within her abilities. As it stands I think the GMs ruling is good.

Vance stays where he is most comfortable, near the back, and scans the area for magic.

Placement on map looks good, Vance will follow along!

Ryn will start by casting detect magic as well as well as checking out the images.

Nikka and Jakur would be a little closer to the front. I think Nikka has one of the highest perceptions in the party.

Nikka is frantically looking around, trying to find trouble before it finds here. Jakur is also alert and nervous although he does a MUCH better job of hiding it :-)

"These motes look like... some sort of faerie fire? Vance, you are learned, do you recognize these winged things painted here?"

"As long as they are not will-o-wisps."

Ryn and the others are fairly certain these are not will-o-wisps, but something appears to be moving up ahead in the grotto, though it doesn't appear to have noticed you yet.

"Potential hostile ahead. We should move up and attack."

Drawing his wakizashi, Sunishi begins focusing his ki and preparing for a battle.

Whispering, "These cramped quarters will make this difficult, hopefully the monster goes down easy,"

The creature lunges, and it is terrifying to behold! Descriptions fail, there's a picture in Maps & Handouts, page 7. You get the distinct impression that you have made several wrong turns along your path, and that this may in fact become your grave....

________
Leandro
Sunishi
BAD GUY
Vance
Olaff
Ryn
Nikka
________

What's the knowledge check?

Planes.

Leandro dashes to the side, rapier at the ready.

Fighting defensively, readying an attack if it comes into range. If I'm attacked, immediate action to use Dodging Panache, take a step back and gain another +3 AC for a total of 22/16/15.

Readied attack: 1d20 + 6 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 6 - 4 = 4

Sunishi unleashes his channel ki, turning invisible. Dashing forward with his Wakizashi drawn he positions himself to attack the creature.

Sunishi tries to keep his final position unknown, hoping it passes by him and he can attack it from behind.

Stealth: 1d20 + 20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 20 + 8 = 38

Invisible for 2 rounds

Forr Queen Elvanna's loose ass! Olaff curses as he readies his shield. "Vance, tell me this s~*! is harrmless... if not, ve rretrreat!"

When Sunishi turns invisible, Olaff continues to instruct the others. "I hope ye puffed out o' herre, Sunishi... if ye appearr behind that crrap, if it does not kill ye, I VILL!"

If the plan is to retreat, lets retreat!

Tiltha Knowledge (planar, assist): 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Vance Knowledge (planar): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

I'm not up in initiative yet but figured I would roll the knowledge check.

Vance doesn't quite know what it is, it looks like an Octopus only with more limbs, and it seems Fiendish.

Leandro, I'd need a climb check before you jump up a 20 foot cliff. Redo your movement.

Didn't know it was a cliff. Staying where I am (I guess you moved me back into a safe position) is good for me.

Didn't realize we were retreating yet, we hadn't discussed it in character.

The creature swarms upward, taking a place closer to the ceiling (20' mostly upward movement) and from its maw produces a wand of some sort. "Ffoooolish mortals, you tread in my domain... now become food!"

It does not appear to have done anything yet. Team actions.

"I don't think this is a fight we need to have right now."

Ryn will move toward the exit hoping Nikka and others will get behind him. He will ready a move to move further toward the exit keeping himself between the monster and the others.

Nikka is happy to take the hint and she and Jakur retreat backwards

Sunishi watches his allies begin to retreat and takes advantage of his invisibilty to run out of the room with his team mates.

Whispering to Olaff as he runs by. "Come, let us live to fight another day, we'll come back for this guy"

"So we're running now? Good for me!" says Leandro, doing as suggested, but keeping to the back ranks.

Olaff readies his shield and retreats slowly, always keeping and eye at the monster.

To Leandro, he barks as he plants his free hand on his chest and pushes him back: "I am not rrunning... ve arre rretrreating! Ya run, as fast as ya can. Save yarrselves, save Nikka, boy, and save Ameiko! I'll be rright behind ya if I can. If I can't, I'll take that thing vith me orr at least delay it... ya all still have too much to live forr..."

Delaying to be the last to act before the bad guy. Then Total Defense (AC 24, touch 15, flat-footed 19) as standard action and then retreat as move action.

Vance begins stuttering. "I-I-I h-h-have..." He stumbles back, moving away from the creature before breaking and running!

Move action to move away, I will delay my standard action to see how the retreat goes. If everybody is running and the creature isn't pursuing, he will simply keep moving. If the creature looks to be pursuing, Vance will take out his scroll of silent image and make it look like he walled off the tunnel.

The creature waves its wand, and speaks in an unknown tongue. A ray of fire leaps forth from the tip of the wand at Olaff.

Touch: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 2, 5) = 14

It engulfs Olaff, the searing heat and pain immense! Party Turn.

Is Olaf still up? And can the rest of us see what has just happened?

"Faen ta deg!" Olaff exclaims in anger and the ray of fire hits his sword arm, burning his cloth and boiling his flesh. Looking back, he notices the others are still close to him.

"Vhat the f%#! arre ya still doing? GET OUT O' HERRE! Ya arre rruining my death!"

Olaff is still up at 6 hp. He has delayed his action to just before the monster, so you all will act prior to him. If there is any of you still here, Olaff will hold his ground and die next turn... evel if healed I think. Assuming you all double move, Olaff will follow and all will be safe I guess.

Ryn casts cure light wounds on Olaff.

CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

"Thank you. Let keep moving. Get behind me and let me take the next one. Share the load my friend.

Ryn will move toward the exit.

Whether you can see it is based on perspective, Olaff is still up though very badly burned.

"Come on Olaff. RUN!!! Lets all RUN!!!"

Olaff and Leandro, waiting on you bros.

Looking at Nikka, Olaff yelled back. "Then rrun, girrl! RRUN! The morre ya vait, the morre I'll vait... only I can be the stuborrn herre! Get yarr baby feet out'a herre!"

Actually I've already posted my action... Olaff is the last one in initiative (since he delayed last turn). Once its his turn, he'll hold his ground if there is still anyone around or will flee like the others.

Since the monster acted, only Ryn posted his action and fled. Leandro and Vance had not posted theirs and and Nikka only yelled, but did not move.

"Everybody, get past me so I can hold the line. Move under Olaff's cover. Then Olaff, get your @$$ behind me and let's start moving the line back."

Ryn's voice is different now, haunted and commanding as the voice of an ancient general possesses his mind.

I've already retreated. I think we all just need to flee and start worrying about other measures if it pursues.

"No time to strategize, just go!" shouts Leandro, getting close to Ryn. "It should be too big to follow!"

I've already retreated. I think we all just need to flee and start worrying about other measures if it pursues.

There has been a second set of retreats initiated with Ryn. He was up front and now is the furthest back despite only taking a single move (healing Olaff). From this post on Vance, Nikka, and Sunishi have a set of actions. I would recommend a double move. I can move anyone that needs me too.

Yeah I wasn't sure if I needed to post again, wasn't sure if I'd sufficiently retreated enough yet. Was kind of just waiting to see what happened before I posted

Pretty much what Sunishi said. If I haven't retreated enough I'd retreat more

Ok, it looks like everybody has moved now.

The squid-topus thing cackles creepily. "Yes, flee! FLEE before my might!" You may exit back to the surface. He does not give chase.

"Ok, let's all find a safe place to rest and come up with a better strategy for attacking the fort."

Shaking his head, "I don't know what we were to do there, that creature was so far beyond us, if that is what awaits us in the rest of this place I'm not sure we will make it. . ." Clearly his faith has been shaken, Sunishi slinks off to wander around nearby, staying to the shadows, deep in thought.

"There must be some other way. For all the Hells' sake, we are not even certain what it is we are looking for! Let's seek another entrance and try again, or check on the others and plan differently."