GM Abraham's Emerald Spire

Game Master Abraham Z.

Hey sorry for another delay. Back from my trip but have been catching up on stuff. Should be able to get a game post in tomorrow.

Ok, we are off and running again. And I should be back to a normal posting schedule now. Sorry again for the stop-start pace!

Onjatan, do you want to do your earlier stated move action? (You've already seen that it can attack you at this range). Also, note that you can indeed 5' step UP given that you have a Climb speed. You've used your standard action so far.

Well, if I stay on the wall, I can't really do much and have to worry about constant eel bites. If I get to the opposite ledge, my AC goes up and I can actually shoot back (ledge should provide a hard corner to the spider when it's down below, meaning no AoOs against Onjatan's ranged attacks.)

Does the haste happen before or after Onjatan's move?
If no-haste, 5' step up and along (putting him within a 20' move of the far ledge)
If hasted, just move to the door (can get there in a single move at this point)

GM Abraham wrote:

Onjatan, do you want to do your earlier stated move action? (You've already seen that it can attack you at this range). Also, note that you can indeed 5' step UP given that you have a Climb speed. You've used your standard action so far.

Well, if I stay on the wall, I can't really do much and have to worry about constant eel bites. If I get to the opposite ledge, my AC goes up and I can actually shoot back (ledge should provide a hard corner to the spider when it's down below, meaning no AoOs against Onjatan's ranged attacks.)

Does the haste happen before or after Onjatan's move?
If no-haste, 5' step up and along (putting him within a 20' move of the far ledge)
If hasted, just move to the door (can get there in a single move at this point)

It's so big that the ledge won't provide a hard cover for you to hide behind, though it will have to ascend somewhat to get at you.

Re haste, yes, you are already hasted (per normal PbP procedures, I resolve actions in the order that they are posted, unless there is some very good reason to be fussy about it) so as long as you haven't failed your Climb check(s) you should be able to get to the spot by the far door (just beneath Yanda).

[dice=Onjatan Climb check from taking damage]1d20
[dice=Onjatan Climb check to move]1d20
Onjatan, what's your current Climb skill modifier?

Since climb speeds let you take10 even if rushed or threatened, Onjatan will do so at every opportunity. Including Good Hope, his bonus on this wall is +18, making his end result 28.

It's so big that the ledge won't provide a hard cover for you to hide behind, though it will have to ascend somewhat to get at you.

Hmm. The reason it matters is ranged attacks while threatened. Onjatan would provoke when firing from melee, but (apparently) any amount of cover prevents AoOs. Which is what I was really hoping for, given its attack bonus. It's not about the AC bonus. And consider what this would look like if the map was turned sideways (so the ledge is instead vertical) and the spider was 15' away.

That being said, if the spider was only 5' down it would definitely have a direct line of attack, with how reach weapons determine cover... but then it would also be within melee range of us, which is a fine trade as far as I'm concerned.

Also, ouch.

Sorry, you are exposed on a ledge. The creature is a bit below you but, given its size, it's not enough to give you cover. Sorry!

Having destroyed the webbing, Onjatan tries to move out of further danger, provoking an attack from the Bebilith.
[dice=Bite]1d20+19
[dice=dmg]2d6+9

Just noticed - it didn't roll concealment on the AoO.

Too far to melee, and able to AoO if most of us attack at range. Hmm...

@Mykel:
Do you want a 5' high wall giving you cover, between you and the pit? I'm wondering if it might be best to give you cover this turn, and Onjatan next turn, hopefully prompting it to come a little closer.

Don't really like just sitting here and being bait, though. The (still good) alternative is Onjatan tossing down a bolt of fire, which would provoke. So still bait, but bait that hopefully does some damage.

yeah that'd be cool...

Did Yanda's previous blinding bomb manage to blind the thing?

Did Yanda's previous blinding bomb manage to blind the thing?

No, I rolled a 17 on the die.

Retcon: forgot to roll its miss chance on the AoO it took against Onjatan

[dice=20% miss chance]1d100
Thanks to Shiva's spirits, the Bebilith missed Onjatan. (Onjatan gets 15 hp back)

"T h a n k . y o u . S h i v a .."

Yanda hears a voice in her mind, "I'm a demon spider, not a snake!" It seems angry.

Huh. I'd have expected the demon-eating spider to be touchier about not being seen as a demon. You know, in a "those are food, fool, and so are you!" sort of way.

@GM:
Would kneeling improve or hurt Onjatan's AC while the monster remains 10' down? Normally it raises AC vs ranged and lowers it vs melee, but in this case it would also lower the size of the target he offers, so... your thoughts?

@GM:

Would kneeling improve or hurt Onjatan's AC while the monster remains 10' down? Normally it raises AC vs ranged and lowers it vs melee, but in this case it would also lower the size of the target he offers, so... your thoughts?

If you want to drop to prone that would give you cover from it. As long as it doesn't decide to ascend. :-)

Onjatan wrote:

@GM:

Would kneeling improve or hurt Onjatan's AC while the monster remains 10' down? Normally it raises AC vs ranged and lowers it vs melee, but in this case it would also lower the size of the target he offers, so... your thoughts?

If you want to drop to prone that would give you cover from it. As long as it doesn't decide to ascend. :-)

Didn't really want to go full prone, especially since I'm hoping it does come up. Being prone also interferes with using ranged weapons, which... technically might not include kinetic blasts, but they're weapon-like enough to qualify for Weapon Focus, so better not to go that route.

Ignoring the condition of "cover", though, and its implications on attacks of opportunity. Kneeling (per table 8-6) adjusts AC by 2 points one way or the other. I just want to know which way.

Is the spider thing considered adjacent to Yanda now? How much room is available over Yanda's head, i.e. can she move 5' straight up form here. If not, I'd like confirmation she could move 5' north and 5' up.

GM Abraham wrote:

Onjatan wrote:

@GM:

Would kneeling improve or hurt Onjatan's AC while the monster remains 10' down? Normally it raises AC vs ranged and lowers it vs melee, but in this case it would also lower the size of the target he offers, so... your thoughts?

If you want to drop to prone that would give you cover from it. As long as it doesn't decide to ascend. :-)

Didn't really want to go full prone, especially since I'm hoping it does come up. Being prone also interferes with using ranged weapons, which... technically might not include kinetic blasts, but they're weapon-like enough to qualify for Weapon Focus, so better not to go that route.

Ignoring the condition of "cover", though, and its implications on attacks of opportunity. Kneeling (per table 8-6) adjusts AC by 2 points one way or the other. I just want to know which way.

It was a melee attack so kneeling would have reduced your AC by 2, not improved it, so the AoO would have hit. Luckily the spirits intervened! :-)

Is the spider thing considered adjacent to Yanda now? How much room is available over Yanda's head, i.e. can she move 5' straight up form here. If not, I'd like confirmation she could move 5' north and 5' up.

It wasn't adjacent at that point but if it had survived it would have moved up to get in your face. It didn't like your bombs at all :-)

It's a pity it never got to use its Dismantle Armor ability! (If both claws hit it rips your armor and shield off, which fall to the ground (into the circulating pit in this case!). If you fail a DC 25 Reflex the armor is also broken. And then it would switch to Power Attack. Yikes.

Yikes is right. Not only did the author have a thing against buffs, he/she also hated armor? Double yikes!

Yikes is right. Not only did the author have a thing against buffs, he/she also hated armor? Double yikes!

And we apparently have constant environmental damage while in this room.

Mean author.

"I'm checking the next room immediately so the others can get out of the olaggi room as quickly as possible."

Assuming the next room isn't immediately aggressive, Onjatan might have a quick way across for Shiva and Mykel.

With a standard+move action, he can freely and "instantly move 30 feet in any direction (even straight up)." (Blade Rush talent, mentioned when we first found this room.) GM says the pit is 25' across. That means Onjatan could gather power on one side and instantly get to the other side.

While there would usually be a risk in using Gather Power then taking damage... these are only able to do at most 1 damage. That would force a DC14 concentration check, and Onjatan starts with a +12 bonus. Opinions differ on whether concentration checks are ability checks (and thus boosted by Good Hope) or not. Even if they aren't, I'd think that Onjatan should be able to gather power outside, 5' step up, and use the ability before getting bitten.

The eels didn't bite in the square Mykel is in, and hopefully they'll stop at the door to the next room. If Onjatan leaves his pack there he's got about 300 pounds of carrying capacity remaining - which won't slow him any, thanks to his dwarf blood. I'm thinking kineticist taxi service. The rider would need to hold on, though, since Onjatan needs his hands free to gather power.

@GM, your thoughts?

if need be i can use my fly potion

Yanda can also carry someone since she has ant haul. Well, someone light enough. She can carry an additional 500 pounds.

Yikes is right. Not only did the author have a thing against buffs, he/she also hated armor? Double yikes!

The author of this level is Wolfgang Baur. I've heard the name but otherwise it doesn't mean anything to me.

At this point the eels are biting everyone in the room. Mykel is just outside the door way on the far side of the pit. I'm not sure why I decided that the eels wouldn't attack him there - really no good reason actually - but I'm not going to worry about it. With haste still in effect Shiva was easily able to cross the pit in a single round so at this point you've got:
Onjatan on the far landing
Yanda flying
Araga gone under the far door
Shiva holding onto the wall on the far side
Mykel still back on the near side.

I'm fine with saying that Yanda just flies over and brings Mykel to the far side as well if that's what you want to do.

It seems likely that the eels will continue biting until the end of time.

Onjatan, do you have a way of communicating with Araga at range? Otherwise you'll have to wait until she returns to get her report. If she returns.

Just the standard familiar empathic link. So he'll know if something happens to make her actively scared or nervous (including seeing things that might see her, eek!), or probably if she goes unconscious, but not more than that.

That said, unless she immediately goes into the type of panic that would signify "active immediate threat", he's probably going to open the door next round. She wouldn't have actually gone under without saying anything if she'd spotted anything on Tremorsense, so the immediate area at least probably doesn't have something hungry (or it'll turn out that she didn't actually go under - that's why I mentioned the tremorsense.) Plus, everyone's trying to crowd onto this dangerous ledge rather than staying back and letting the tank open the door. We frankly need the room.

Seriously, what's up with this room that everyone wants a piece of it? Onjatan couldn't even get out because of Mykel's positioning, so he was stuck climbing to the other side and hoping for the miss chance to work

The room slopes upwards to the south. How high is the southern end, compared to where we're at?
And (aside from the cracks) is the ground smooth enough to cause traction problems?

Lead and wax seals lie broken on the floor before the door.

Always a good sign.

Lol. What could possibly go wrong?

Lol. What could possibly go wrong?

Cut to Onjatan standing in a glowing magic circle.

"H i .. I t ' s . m e ,. t h e . g e n i e k i n .."

"Y o u . m i g h t . b e . w o n d e r i n g . h o w . I . g o t . m y s e l f . i n t o . t h i s . s i t u a t io n .. .. .."

Did Araga see anything that she'd immediately mention when everyone came in?

(will make knowledge checks as appropriate once we're sure this isn't about to go into combat)

Did Araga see anything that she'd immediately mention when everyone came in?

(will make knowledge checks as appropriate once we're sure this isn't about to go into combat)

Nothing beyond the description I've already given you.

Btw, my stepmom is coming for a visit this weekend so posting will be very limited through Monday.

Before the pathfinders have a chance to investigate the runes and seals on the far door, the door slams behind them and flaming oil fills the trenches in the room!

Pathfinders may act!

Does the oil still appear to be flowing from above? Does it look like an earthen wall or two would keep the situation from getting worse?

Without carefully examining the construction of the room it's difficult to determine the exact design. However you can see that the oil is flowing downward (you are at the lower end of the room). Whether or not earthen barriers will protect you from the situation is difficult to say without trying it.

Barrier is on the map, but I don't actually know where the "start" of the oil is. If it's lower down, move it as appropriate. The intention is to keep flaming oil out of the east-side network of grooves (where half of the party is standing.)

Also... how smooth are the walls and pillars?

Normal dungeon smoothness. Tell me what you want to do and I can try to give you a number if needed.

Normal dungeon smoothness. Tell me what you want to do and I can try to give you a number if needed.

"Normal dungeon wall" is fine. I was looking for an indication of how difficult they would be to climb. Wanted to make sure it wasn't polished stone with runes carved into it or something.

I don't think I got an answer on how high the southern end of the room is, either.

The landing at the south looks like it's about 10' higher than the northern end where you are standing.

Yanda, Onjatan, and Mykel are all able to resist the smoke, at least for now, but both Shiva and Araga begin to cough and choke. Not able to act this round and also take...

nonlethal dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Good news! Elementals don't breathe.

Did Araga's knowledge checks reveal anything?

Also, how did the door open? Could a tiny-sized rock with tendrils open it from the other side?

Quote:

Yanda, Onjatan, and Mykel are all able to resist the smoke, at least for now, but both Shiva and Araga begin to cough and choke. Not able to act this round and also take...

nonlethal dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Good news! Elementals don't breathe.

Did Araga's knowledge checks reveal anything?

Also, how did the door open? Could a tiny-sized rock with tendrils open it from the other side?

That is good news.

Araga didn't have enough time before the fires started to thoroughly investigate the design but she thinks that there must be a source of all the oil somewhere, likely at the higher end since the oil is flowing downhill, and that there are probably many many pipes distributing the oil throughout the room.

The door opened with a regular door knob. You'll have to try it to see.

Unfortunately, Onjatan's air options are potions of touch of the sea - not helpful in here.

I'm not sure how much movement Onjatan gets or should have. With haste active, he's got a 40' climb speed, so the slope should be well within his capabilities. He's moved 30' to where he's at now, so he probably has a standard action left. You know, if there's a convenient valve up here or something.

Oh, and Araga's Reflex roll didn't include the Good Hope or Haste that everyone got hit with. That would have raised it to 15 (probably not enough)

EDIT: As a familiar, Araga also has Improved Evasion, so that's probably half damage even on a failed save. Just realized that wasn't on the easy-roll sheet, or even the character page (only on the full character sheet). Added.

Unfortunately, Onjatan's air options are potions of touch of the sea - not helpful in here.

I'm not sure how much movement Onjatan gets or should have. With haste active, he's got a 40' climb speed, so the slope should be well within his capabilities. He's moved 30' to where he's at now, so he probably has a standard action left. You know, if there's a convenient valve up here or something.

No obvious valves but you can take a standard action.

Oh, and Araga's Reflex roll didn't include the Good Hope or Haste that everyone got hit with. That would have raised it to 15 (probably not enough)

EDIT: As a familiar, Araga also has Improved Evasion, so that's probably half damage even on a failed save. Just realized that wasn't on the easy-roll sheet, or even the character page (only on the full character sheet). Added.

15 is insufficient but yes, improved evasion will get you half dmg. Details like that are best added as notes with the saves themselves (slide 2).

Araga wrote:

Oh, and Araga's Reflex roll didn't include the Good Hope or Haste that everyone got hit with. That would have raised it to 15 (probably not enough)

EDIT: As a familiar, Araga also has Improved Evasion, so that's probably half damage even on a failed save. Just realized that wasn't on the easy-roll sheet, or even the character page (only on the full character sheet). Added.

15 is insufficient but yes, improved evasion will get you half dmg. Details like that are best added as notes with the saves themselves (slide 2).

Yeah, didn't originally realize it wasn't there.

Onjatan wrote:

Unfortunately, Onjatan's air options are potions of touch of the sea - not helpful in here.

I'm not sure how much movement Onjatan gets or should have. With haste active, he's got a 40' climb speed, so the slope should be well within his capabilities. He's moved 30' to where he's at now, so he probably has a standard action left. You know, if there's a convenient valve up here or something.

No obvious valves but you can take a standard action.

Any unusual stonework (which would grant an automatic check)?

GM Abraham wrote:

Onjatan wrote:

Unfortunately, Onjatan's air options are potions of touch of the sea - not helpful in here.

I'm not sure how much movement Onjatan gets or should have. With haste active, he's got a 40' climb speed, so the slope should be well within his capabilities. He's moved 30' to where he's at now, so he probably has a standard action left. You know, if there's a convenient valve up here or something.

No obvious valves but you can take a standard action.

Any unusual stonework (which would grant an automatic check)?

None that you've noticed anything about.

No one has tried the far door yet. There doesn't appear to be any diminishment in the oil supply that you have noticed. So far. It isn't flowing out the door into the pit area yet but it looks like that is likely to occur very soon.

Opening what seems to be a formerly-sealed door while still wounded from the bebilith fight and the sudden fire seems like a terrible idea.