Core #10-2: Bones of Biting Ants (Inactive)

Game Master Z...D...

OK, each night of travel Anwar will try to protect their camp as follows.

He casts Plant Growth on the area surrounding them in a 100' radius circle. In this area the undergrowth becomes nearly impassable, reducing land speed to 10 for large+ creatures, 5 for medium or smaller. I will create an area 20' across in the centre which the spell does not affect. With Stuinvolk in the centre of us it should not be able to charge pounce him (or anyone else) to death as long as we sleep together in the centre.

He will also create a Snare spell around our sleeping area. If you have trap finding there is a DC23 perception check to spot it, if you dont it looks like you cannot do so. There is no save, it if crosses the line it becomes entangled automatically. It can remove this as a full round action with a DC23 strength or escape artist check.

He will cast extended greater magic fang on Shimmer at the end of each day of travel and will continue to watch over the camp from te air during the night.

Let's get this show on the road.

Before we get into combat. Can Anwar please post where the snare line is on the map

OK, I have added two borders. The inner green border is the snare spell, I have moved everyone inside of it. Everything outside of the red border is affected by plant growth limiting all speeds to 5 or 10' dependng on size (and hopefully preventing charging)

This time the cat doesn't even make anywhere close to the agents before being spotted by Anwar and Brack.

Anwar and Brack may act. You are in the surprise round, so standard or move.

Looking at the perception values I think you mean August. Remember the snare will catch us as easily as it.

You are correct. August you and Brak may act in the surprise round

What's our current state? If we're camping:

Brak stands and grabs his axe!

If ready Not wanting to run afoul of the snare, Brak hurls a throwing axe at the intruder, hoping to draw its attention.

"Come over here ye lousy kitten!"
ATK: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 for DMG if hit: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

The Mngwa moves closer to its quarry. Before it can get to the group, the magical trap is sprung. It becomes entangled.

Brak instantly reacts and throws an axe at the beast, trying to get its attention. It connects with the entangled beast, but most of the damage is ignored. This is assuming the throwing axe is not magical

August may still act for the surprise round.
Anwar may act in Round 1

August moves quickly and quietly to the edge of the camp and climbs up the steep wall.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

The throwing ax is NOT magical.

Is there a wall around the camp?

From his position above the camp Anwar calls down purifying flames onto the creature.

This is for Mirage he screams as it!

Casting flame strike, it deals 7d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 5, 2, 5, 2, 1) = 20 damage woth a DC21 reflex save for half. Entangled imposes a -4 to dex, reducing its reflex save

Is shimmer acting on my initiative or on her own? I dont see a roll for her.

August moves quickly and quietly to the edge of the camp and climbs up the steep wall.

You might want to reconsider that as everything beyond the red line is subject to plant growth which limits your speed to 5'

Acts on your initiative. But Moving on, trying to wrap up before the special.

Anwar brings down divine flames on the Mngwa. It still manages to avoid some of the damage.

The mngwa pulls on the vine and eventually snaps through them, freeing him from the snare.

Stuinvolk stares at the beast and clenches his fist. "I will not let my fear conquer me." He then begins an ulfen chant which fills his allies with rage and vigor, his brow glowing with a bright green light. His song also seems to be affecting the Mngwa and winces at the bright light and begins to growl at Stuinvolk.

All agents may act

Khellek listens for a moment to the song, but instead of accepting its siren call... adds in his own words of advice.

"Remember, Stuivolk must be the one to land the final blow! And it is resistant to non-magical weapons... does anyone have a spare one they can lend him."

His words flow around those of Stuivolk, enhancing what the skald says, and filling the team with encouragement.

Inspire courage, +1 to hit and damage, and +1 vs fear; That will stack with the inspired rage

He then fumbles around, trying to load a bolt into Bessie.

From up in the air Anwar calls down another blast of flame, lighting up the night sky with holy fire.

Anwar does not accept the raging song. Casting a second flame strike, DC21, dealing 7d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 4, 2, 3, 1) = 24 damage, half fire, half holy.

He then flies down to flank the creature.

This will provoke if it has reach

Meanwhile the little dinosaur hops forward to the horid beast and tries to savage it.

Shimmer accepts the Raging Song. She 5' steps and full attacks. Her attacks are magical

D'lack don't accept the raging song

D'lack takes a 5ft. step back and casts a spell, his accuracy renforced by Khellek's song.

Burn!

RTA (Scorching Ray): 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 16
Damages (Fire): 4d6 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6, 4, 5, 3) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 24

Brak lets the song sink into him. He dashes forward and gives a huge swing with the axe. "HERE KITTY KITTY!"

Power Attack, Vital Strike, Raging Song
1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 14 + 1 = 30 for DMG: 2d12 + 20 ⇒ (3, 2) + 20 = 25

No reach

Kelleck begins to speak in concert with Stuinvolk, further increasing the moral of the party.

Anwar unleashes another strike of holy fire, but the cat manages to dodge some of the flames.

The raptor moves in and lands every strike except the bite.

D'lack manages to sneak his ray to the side of the raptor, connecting with the Mngwa.

Brak moves in and takes a swing, it connects, right behind the head of the beast. It crashes to the ground, it lays there bleeding and gasping from air.

Stuinvolk moves in, bow at the ready, "No more" He says as he releases the arrow. The head of the arrow flies through the air, shrouded in a bright green light. It finds purchase in the Mngwa's large head and it ceases all movement.

Out of combat

The green glow of Stuinvolk's brow fades as he ends his chant. He looks over to the others, and finally with a smile on his face, he speaks, "I think it is over. I feel like a dark spot on my conscious has been removed."

The agents are finally able to sleep in peace with the nightly threat removed for good.

Next few days. No more survival checks needed due to be out of their territory

Over the next few days of easy travel, the savannah slowly develops into gentle hills, and Stuinvolk confirms that they are getting close to Bujune's lair. He seems discomforted about being close to the cause of the curse, but keeps his head up and continues to track it using the wax locator.

After days of travel, Stuinvolk’s wax compass seems to have found its destination: a gentle gully with a stream rolling through it that could be an idyllic locale, were it not for a few less than idyll inspiring details. An anthill that could better be described as a mountain dominates the landscape. Rising at least thirty feet high, this abode for titans has a clear path winding around its perimeter. Here and there along its length, lesser mounds rise, presumably built by ants not quite as prodigious in size. Inhabitants of these smaller hills march in lines through the nearby landscape. Nothing that would be at home in the giant, central hill seems to be present at the moment.

"This is definitely the place, I can feel it, but this monstrous ant hill was not here before." Stuinvolk says in awe of the site.

Khellek considers the ant hills, their configuration and their sizes for a moment.

I'm sure I have read something of relevance here..

Does taking ten for a know(nature) for 24 give me any idea what might have built the large hill?

Nervously he fingers Bessie, one hand groping around to try and find the box of bolts for her.

It looks like a common ant hill, but of larger than normal proportions.

Khellek sighs. "Big ants...."

He quickly polishes his glasses again, once Bessie is loaded and ready.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16 Brak looks around and shrugs. "So now what?"

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Strange as you say my friend, lets be careful.

D'lack casts mage armor from his wand and see invisibility on himself.

Peering forward, Khellek notes "There appears to be a path leading up the mound."

He sighs, and fumbles around in his pouch. "I am thinking that if we have any insect repellent and other such academical preparations, now might be the appropriate time to apply them."

As the Mwanga falls Anwar drops to the ground and hits the body several more times. For Mirage. As he does so Shimmer nuzzles her hed under his arm and starts to lick his face. A half smile starts to form and he scratches her scaly head. You did well girl, very well. Let this beast rot here in the open, with it defeated let its spirit be torn to shreds by the winds of the plains...

As they travel in safety he ceases securing thei camp but maintains a nightly vigil floating in the skies. He climbs higher as they approach the giant anthill to get an aerial view.

Perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (17) + 18 = 35

Spotti the creature he floats down closer. Hello, perhaps you can help us. We are here from the pathfinder society looking to reolve an old lingering curse. I dont suppose you would know the location of nearby fey interested in such things. If he had eyebrows in elemental form he would definately be raising one of them.

I have updated Anwars spell list in his profile

"I once had to clear giant ants out of this girl's basement. We made a repellent in that case... perhaps something around here could be used in a similar fashion?"

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

August searches his memories for some indication of what the mushroom-man might be.

Knowledge, Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

"Has the heat got to you man? There is nobody else out here." says the somewhat tired and irritable scholar.

"An ants nest has natural ventilation and cooling. It may actually be more pleasant in the hill than out here."

"Very clever, I see that you spotted me from above." He rises out of the ground and speaks to the elemental. "I am Bujune and you are... He then looks past Anwar and sees Stuinvolk, his mood switches from curious to aggravated. "You have brought that desecrator of my hills back to the site of his crime? You and your cursed artifacts you left here have turned the ants that call this mound home, against me. The entire hill feels strange and dead."

Now looking back towards Anwar, "And this is the curse you wish me to resolve? Ha"

Anwar breezes down towards the little creature.

My name is Anwar and I am a druid of northern Garund. Stuinvolk here is a member of our Society and he has been really very miserable since you cursed him. I can assure you he is very very sorry for having upset you and is willing to make reparations as a gesture of goodwill. We would hope you might consider removing his curse, perhaps there is something we can do for you to help?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

"Perhaps..." adds Khellek. "We might remove the artefacts that he left behind... would that help alleviate the problem?[/]b"

He pauses for a moment. "[b]Could you tell us any more details about your..problem?"

I am D'lack Firestar, from Nantambu. Our Society is here to help and I'm sure that you can understand that we are protectiv of our own.
If we can help resolve a problem that one of our own have done, we will.

Diplomacy (aid): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Dupine is a little more reluctant to just offer a blanket statement of assistance, wanting to know more about what the group is jumping into.

"Of course, we hope to right his past wrongs. What artifact are we talking about here?"

You guys said just what he wanted to hear.

"Very well, I will remove the curse from the desecrator on three conditions. First, you must remove the poisonous artifacts from the hill. Second, you need to kill who or what ever has turned my ants against me. Finally, I have sensed some cocoons inside that have not been affected by whatever has taken over the hill. I want you to recover them and bring them to me so that I can raise and nurture them." He stops to make sure you all are following along, "Do we have a deal?"

Khellek looks around at the others. "That seems fair to me. Can you tell us more about the cocoons and the artifacts? How many of each are there?"

Assuming that nobody objects he says "We have a deal."

Anwar nods, Yes, that seems like a reasonable arrangement. How do we get in there?

Bujune shows you an entrance on the far side of the hill. It leads into a pitch black tunnel, barely wide enough to fit two people side by side.

"Be cautious heading in. Any major disturbances may attract the unwanted attentions of the drones." He then reaches into a pocket and pulls a handful of dried termites, and holds them out for the PC's. "Take these and eat them. These were once nothing more than useless vermin that tried to infest and destroy the mound. But now, they serve a purpose. If you chew these, they will allow you to understand the chittering of the ants. I am not sure if it will help in the endeavor or not."

Now a series of obstacles as you move through the anthill. Everyone may choose to roll if they wish. They way this works, is the highest check will be the primary roll, with others backing it up. You still must be trained to do the check though.

The PCs must first descend the vertical tunnel leading into the anthill’s belly. The sides are loose and sandy, making it difficult going. PCs can overcome this by taking time and effort to help everyone gently descend, or rigging an elaborate rope harness.

The first check will need to be a climb or a knowledge engineering.

What if I cast air walk on Brak and between us we carry everyone down?

In case that doesn't work...

Climb: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

"Ahh... I see. If we use our knives, the slightly reddish dirt should prove soft enough to dig hand holds and footsteps into.." suggests Khellek.

Takes ten on engineering for 25

OK, well I kind of messed up the first obstacle. It was supposed to be climb or escape artist. Which August was able to pull off on his own. The second obstacle calls for the knowledge engineering and/or profession engineer or architect. The first one was easily achieved by khellek. So we will go ahead and skip that one. On to the third.

The PCs come across the larvae chamber Bujune spoke of. Surprisingly, there are some living pupae left. The cocoons are still tended instinctively by worker exoskeletons. The PCs can filch a few cocoons and subtly cause a distraction, leaving the way clear, or they can evade the ants’ attention entirely by using their knowledge of vermin.

Need a Handle Animal or a Sleight of Hand check. These are both trained checks, so can only assist if you all have ranks in it. But, I think you guys are good on this one too, looking at the party composition.

Khellek pulls out one of the termites he has been chewing on, looks at it a little disgustedly and then concentrates on the ants - trying to understand what they are saying.

Khellek took up the offer of the things to chew on, sorry, I should have made that obvious before.

Anwar gobbles down the insect and tries to get the insects to distract the ants.

Handle animal: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

August watches the others distracting the workers, and takes a cance on grabbing a few cocoons while no one is looking.

Slight of Hand: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Brak follows the leaders as he's in awe of the setting around him!

Anwar is able to distract the ant long enough for August to pilfer a few of the cocoons from the nursery chambers.

Three obstacles, three successes, did a lot better than when I played it IRL

The agents, with cocoons in hand, head deeper into the hill, and ending up in a large chamber. This chamber is clearly the heart of the anthill. The walls have a wavy, sculpted quality to them in contrast to the sandier, rougher tunnels, and several different entrances lead into the room. A high mound of earth rises in the room’s center; interestingly, it seems to be decorated with bits of stick, rock, and even some bones, as though it were a dais or throne.

They queen is not aware of your presence yet. If you wish to prepare yourselves, you may, or you can stealth in to attempt to get a surprise round

The scholar polishes his glasses and peers into the room, trying to make out what he can of its structure and the occupants with...along with any weaknesses they might have.

"Can anyone sense these artefacts? Stuinvolk... do you know where they are? Could they be in the middle of ... tht?" he points at the structure.

Happy to do a know(nature) to reveal any weaknesses or resistances of the ants/queen.

I am no good at stealth. We do have some humans with us so I assume you have light sources given we are underground so not really sure how unaware she can be. I will drop extended gmf, extended barkskin and air walk on Shimmer before we enter, mage armour wand on Shimmer (D'Lak could you activate this please) and bulls strength on her and extended call lightning for me if there is time. Shimmer will generally stay 5' in the air as will I if there is space.