Hells Rebels (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Penfold 351

Sabo's skeleton shudders beneath her skin but manages to resist the worst of the effects of Kira's spell. She now looks in a very bad way.

Adonara, do you want to take your action.

I just had the 5'-step to remember, so I've adjusted my token on the map, but otherwise I think we're back to Pellius and Valekar, both of whom will probably need botting (no pressure - and I don't mind waiting a bit), and then the bad guys again.

Valekar swings at the guard again

spear: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 - 1 = 14

damage: 1d8 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 3 = 8

Unfortunately Valekar misses.

And back to you guys

critical confirm on Valekar: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

damage: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Valekar falls and starts to bleed but manages to stabilise.

I don't want to kill him off at he is not here so he will stabilise at 1 above death- hope everyone is Ok with that.

No disagreement there!

These are tough customers. Oooohhh, and Valekar went down like a sack of potatoes. Not good.

Ryker darts in towards the guard who struck down Valekar to deliver an overhand chop wit his greatsword before backing up and skirting around the counter. "Elf down, how's it going in there?" he calls out nervously. I hope this is the door, can't imagine why else there would be fighting from the other side. S+~$, unless I just killed that guard on a false alarm. Oh boy.
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+1 Greatsword (PA) vs Green: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 202d6 + 13 ⇒ (6, 4) + 13 = 23
GM, based on your description before, I think Red is dead after Ryker's greatsword crit. Post assumes that is correct, otherwise his attack will be on Red instead. Guards donning armor would be the perfect time for an arcane lock spell or hold portal if anyone has it (nontraditional spells, I know!).

Hearing the shouting outside, Kira winces. She can't understand the words, but from the tone, it sounds like things are going badly.

Delaying until after Adonara has a chance to act. No hold or lock spells, but I do have some AOE save-or-sucks that should work much better against mooks than Sabo. Not to mention healing Valekar.

"Understood! We'll be there soon!" Adonara calls out, hearing Ryker's alarming report from the entrance.

Nimbly avoiding Sabo's latest attack, she answers it with a vicious stroke of her own.
Power attack, flanking: 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 28 Damage: 1d3 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 7

"Go," she nods to Kira. "We'll finish up here."

The Infernal syllables add that much more menace to the obvious sense of what that means here.

I've got our scroll of hold portal, but someone with a better UMD bonus would have to use it. I can hand it off once we get some breathing room. It would be best used once we get access to the cells proper, anyway.

@Ryker, yeah the blow killed that guard.

Ryker's blow drops the second guard easily.

In the distance you can still hear the sounds of guards donning armour.

“Done,” Adonara says simply, as Sabo stops moving. Keys, find the keys, she urges herself, knowing that every moment erodes the Ravens’ tactical advantage.

“She’s got potions,” she adds a moment later, never so happy to see that the Asmodean obsession with law and order extends to standardized containers. She catches Pellius’ eye, realizing that she still needs an alias for Valekar. For now. “Deliver to Archer, please.”

Perhaps, to save our own spells as long as possible, we could have Pellius pour them into Valekar while we three take on the guards still arming? Although on that note…

Grabbing the warden’s keys, Adonara pitches her voice to carry through doors and across the hall, switching back to Common to make sure her message gets across.

“Hello, lemures,” she announces brightly, her voice sparkling with profane gratification. “We’ve just killed your commander, and we can hear you still putting on your armour. Don’t be stupid, start running, and you won’t join her in Hell – today.”

She considers a fair interval to let them think about it. “Say fifteen seconds?”

Setting up for a proper Intimidate check in a round or two when Adonara’s at least able to reach through a door to use Dazzling Display. And I know Pellius would appreciate the effort to minimize bloodshed, though if it comes to a Red Wedding sort of situation, them’s the breaks.

With the guard falling, Ryker heads back. Scooping the keys off of the man's belt, he locks the door to the outside but leaves them in the lock. Now to decide: are we locked in here with them, or are they locked in here with us?

With Pellius coming to tend to Valekar, he regroups with the other two. "Anymore healing?" he inquires, gesturing at the halberd slash on his arm.

"What's our next move? Guards or prisoners?" he asks Adonara quietly while the guards have a moment to respond. Merit and risks to both. Better leave it to the ringleader.
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Ryker can try the hold portal with a +10. He'll also try to assist the intimidate when it comes to that. He can nab a potion on his way over too if we want to minimize spells used.

Adonara - can you make a Diplomacy/Intimidate check

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 With another +4 for a total of 15, if these guards are the sort to have their heads turned by a pretty elven maiden, even if she's tearing into them. Despite the likely immediate consequence, I'm amused to see the dice going for either extreme these past few rounds.

Murmuring a prayer while she waits for the guards’ response, if any, Adonara grips Ryker’s arm, a silver glow flaring up in her hand only to flow to soothe the man’s hurts, the priestess’ fervent belief in her goddess sensible in an all but tangible healing warmth. Converting burning disarm to CLW: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8. Feel free to top that off with one of the potions, absolutely.

Adonara tries to remember the details of Vendalfek’s intelligence. “Prisoners, I think, especially if these louts are inclined to be stupid. There may be another door out of the barracks, but there’s only one into the cells on this side of the building. We’ll have to punch through two ready guards, though.”

Well, that would be my suggestion, if the intimidation route falls through. If you and Kira want to take the guards down first, while they’re unarmoured, that also works for me.

The guards come walking forward warily as they hear Adonara's words.

"Okay, ma'am if you're strong enough to kill Sabo we want no part of this, let us go and we'll leave you in peace."

Kira may not understand what the guards are saying, but the gesture of dropping their weapons is clear enough. Good.

Proposed Plan: Lock the guards in B5. They're scared right now and probably won't try to escape, but if they do they'll all be nicely grouped up for a Color Spray or two. The scroll of hold portal will only last for a minute, so we cast it right before we leave to give us time to get away. Kira's UMD is +12.

Also, I'll go ahead and roll for the potion Pellius is feeding Valekar.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Thank heavens for circumstance bonuses and Calistrian rites!

“I think we can let them go,” Adonara says, the cheerful expression she puts on at odds with Infernal’s careful, sinister syllables. “We should be done by the time they find their courage again, but if we coop them up where they can put their heads together…”

“And there’s that evil presence our little friend detected. If there is a pet devil here, we could use your help banishing it.”

It’s up to our GM’s ruling, of course, but forcing someone to act friendly with Intimidate normally lasts 1d6 × 10 minutes, so shooing these guys off should be safe enough for now.

@GM: I’m guessing only the guards we caught unprepared are surrendering? Not the ones we’re expecting at B6 or B9 – especially the latter, since they must be used to tortured screams from closer at hand?

Basically, Sabo was bad enough, but she was an ordinary mortal at least, while we’ve probably got 2-4 guards and something even more evil on our hands. I don’t mean to be pushy, though: I’ll go with whatever you two (and if the others have time to check in) prefer.

It was all the guards currently in the building, they all heard the alarm and came to investigate. I agree the intimidate will last minutes.

Ryker responds in Infernal, "Let's get to it then, bravery heals with time. If you see any useful documents lying around, scoop those up. Makes forging much easier."

Grabbing the other set of keys, he stands ready to free the prisoners. Guards temporarily peaceful, we could fight that devil with the prisoners' aid. That could expedite things.
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Potion CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Thanks for the healing!

You manage to collect up several seals and official stamps bearing the mark of Thrune and you can release the armigers in the cells. They tell you that one of their number is currently being tortured in B12

Ryker looks to Adonara. "What's your verdict, boss?" he asks, handing out extra weapons to the freed prisoners.

if I'm reading things right, Valekar stabilized at -7, so the potion got him up to -1. I will greedily assume that Pellius gave him the last two potions as well.

clw x2: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 2 = 8

okay, 8/19hp

Valekar comes to with a gasp. Seeing the blood all over his torn clothes he glances at Pellius in shock. "That was close, wasn't it?"

what was I thinking, getting in close like that?

Stowing his spear, he draws his longbow and falls in behind Ryker, arrow nocked.

Adonara looks over the prisoners, checking for signs of abuse.

“We’re here to rescue you, not get you killed, so there’s no shame in bowing out now if you’ve been ill-used, or if you join us but things get messy and you need to make a break for it. We’ve a temporary refuge until we can get you out of the city,” she explains, giving directions to the old livery. And then, one more very important question.

“Are the rumours true? Have they got a devil working on you?”

The answer to that will determine her own to Ryker’s question. “If it is a devil, everyone should probably draw silver that has it, raise such protections as they have, and then aim to strike hard and fast. If whoever they’ve got in there can walk out, that’s more important than absolutely murdering the opposition.”

In practical terms, I’m thinking layering on the buffs just in case and then holding our actions until we see if Kira can land a hypnotic pattern on the torturer(s)? That way, we might be able to just walk out of here after all – but if not, we’ll be as ready as we can. Thoughts, everyone?

once we know what room the torturer is in, Valekar will apply a few buffs
Prehensile Hair holding wand of snowball
Weaponwand to put wand of true strike in the Longbow
activate Arcane Pool on longbow
Prepare quiver of silvered arrows

Valekar grimaces at the reminder of the fiend. "We should not let that creature leave this building."

Now that they're away from the immediate stress of combat, Kira can breathe a bit easier. By the time all the prisoners are out of their cells, she's thinking in Common again.

"Do we know where B12 is? If we're close enough, I can tell you if there's a devil in there." She flushes. "After our, uh, encounter with the imp, I looked up a spell specifically for that purpose."

Assuming someone points Kira in the right direction, she'll casting Detect Fiendish Presence while facing B12. This detects the presence or absence of outsiders with the evil subtype within a 60 foot cone, approximately how powerful they are, (based on the Detect Evil chart), and their general direction.

Valekar, Adonara also healed you for another 8 hit points so you should be at 16/19.

Our DM posted immediately after I did, so I'm editing in a K. Planes check: K. Planes: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

One of the armigers comes forward.

"At the moment we're probably too weak to be of much use. We've all been tortured by that thing in the basement (B12)at one time or the other. It has wickedly barbed chains adorn this and gaps in the bindings reveal deathly pale flesh etched with jagged scars."

Knowledge planes

Valekar, Adonara also healed you for another 8 hit points so you should be at 16/19.

Point of disorder (we are chaotic, after all!), but I healed Ryker. But I don’t mind spending some fervor for Valekar. Let’s make it two uses, to start? Fervor: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7 15/19 OK?

“Devil it is, then,” Adonara concludes grimly. Probably not just an unusual aesthetic sense. Unfortunately, her interests incline more to the spiritual as such rather than the ecology of the planes, so she has little to add beyond an acknowledgement of the armigers’ condition. “We’ll meet you at the livery.”

In terms of last preparations, just before go time, Adonara will recall her prepared shield (but keep it in her back pocket), cast shield of faith and bless (unless Kira wants to do the honours), and then, the last thing before we open the door, spend 2 uses of her Chaos blessing to give her silver dagger and Ryker’s weapon +1d6 damage against lawful things for 1 minute.

Anyone else want to make preparations or try the knowledge check?

Thanks for the buff :D Ryker has no preparations to make beyond positioning and weapon out.

We had posted at almost exactly the same time so I'm not sure if you saw it, but Kira attempted the knowledge check along with casting Detect Fiendish Presence. Kira will also cast Bless so Adonara can save the spell slot.

thank you for the additional healing. I feel much better about going into combat. My preparations were posted above

knowledge, planes: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

@Kira- sorry I missed that

Kira, your spell reveals that there is en evil outsider presence behind the door.

Kira and Valekar you know the creature described is a type of devil known as a kyton. They have damage reduction except against silver or good weapons, they have some minor regeneration abilities, they have spell resistance, they have an unnerving gaze that can cause their victims to become shaken and they can control any chains within 20 feet.

I think we’re just about ready.

As she finds the right key on the warden’s ring, dagger aflame with anarchic yellow fire, Adonara tosses a last quip Pellius’ way. “Something martial, I think.” For inspiration! :)

Hand on the door, her tone turns serious again for something like a quick prayer. “Strike like the Lady’s wrath.”

And then I think we’re in? Zealots and other lunatics willing to get close first, archers in the back. :)

You open the door into the torture chamber. Within, a grisly sight awaits you - a pale, pretty young woman with long brown hair has been affixed to one of the two racks in the room. She's clad in rags and covered with horrific wounds - her right arm is partially flenshed and her little finger is missing from her left hand.

"And who is this come to my court? Carriers of lies, each of you. I smell your falsehoods. Do you seek my aid in stripping them from you? I am but just started on this subject, so you will need to wait your turns, my hopefuls..."

Adonara tries to stall for at least enough time for everyone to spot the target. Interspersed with vivid Elven profanities, her thoughts settle in several streams: Doesn’t look a regular devil. One of those Kuthite creatures, whatever they’re called? Damn, and if it’s not lying about, goddess, smelling…

She braces herself to bandy words. Oh no, sweetheart: if there’s anyone going to hold court here, it’s going to be me.

“Not today, darling. Of course, you know deceit is an important part of the armoury of the followers of the Prince of Darkness… Regardless. The facility’s been compromised, and we’re here to move the prisoners to a secure location. Isn’t that right, lieutenant?”

None of those things is technically untrue, as she understands them. Still, she hopes Kira or Pellius can back up an extravagant prevarication.

She’ll happily make a Diplomacy or Intimidate check – or even aid with a Bluff – but to try to pull shenanigans while she gets close enough to strike unexpectedly will take someone actually trained in the latter skill, I imagine.

This might be a good time to try a hypnotic pattern, but if we're feeling more aggressive, I have no objections to folks just charging in or blasting away with ranged weapons / spells while we sort of have initiative. Whatever makes everyone happiest. :)

Diplomacy/Intimidate or Bluff checks please.

I guess that really should be a Bluff check, under the circumstances, shouldn’t it? Since Pellius needs botting at the moment, could we ask our intrepid GM to make that roll for us, so we’re not purely at the mercy of my luck? He’s got a +13 to Bluff…

Bluff, to aid Pellius, say: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 Ouch. Now we really need someone to save the day! Even if that had been a Diplomacy roll, Adonara would only be hitting 9/13, which I imagine isn't enough to sway a suspicious torturer.

Slipping back into character, Adonara accepts the forged orders for the prisoner transfer from her (newly-promoted) ;) absent-minded but cheerfully tuneful lieutenant, as he makes the group’s excuses on Adonara’s – “her magnelevolence’s” – behalf and for the warden’s “indispensation.” I can’t do justice to Pellius’ Dogberryisms. Adonara would be tickled by a revealing malapropism combining magnificence and malevolence as a title for her persona, though. :)

She steps forward to hand them over to the devil - and hopefully be in a position to strike first, if that devil sees through her subterfuge. Looks like that might really come in handy. XD

Bluff: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14

[i]Pellius starts to speak but he trips over his tongue a little.

"As you can see my dear we have papers here signed by the Lord Mayor requesting that all prisoners currently held here are to be immediately turned over to him at the Opera House."

kyton Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

You might get away with this as creature doesn't have sense motive

Or not, sorry

"I'm afraid I don't believe you. I think you are working for that group the Silver Ravens."

I will allow a quick Diplomacy or Intimidate

“Don’t be tiresome,” Adonara snaps. “If we were with the Silver Ravens, what do you think we would do with you?”

“I doubt you’d like it,” Her gaze rakes scornfully over the devil, as she takes the opportunity to see where she has the best chance of landing a slash with her dagger. "Even if your piercings are lovely."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 Or 17, best case scenario…

Unfortunately for Adonara, her look is too obviously calculating against the expectation that combat is imminent.

Sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

At Adonara's words the devil backs down

With that she releases the armiger and hands her over to your custody before going and sulking in one corner."

Are we… really getting away with this? Adonara scarcely dares hope. But I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth! Also, if anyone else feels really strongly about anticlimax or like picking a fight, don’t let me stop you – I’m already feeling a bit guilty about taking up so much screen time while trying to keep the momentum of the scene going. Otherwise…

Nonetheless, she steels herself to continue, and maintains her callous air as she approaches the prisoner and, to maintain the charade, replaces her bindings with one of the pairs of manacles she and the others recovered from the guards they fought through to get here.

“Get up, maggot,” she commands harshly, even as she calls upon a spark of grace to close the worst of the woman’s wounds. Fervor: 1d6 ⇒ 3 “I’ll be a fool of a paladin before I waste a good man on carrying traitorous scum like you.”

Handing the prisoner over to Pellius to be steered out the door, Adonara puts on her most dangerous smile again and attempts to mollify (though not without a thinly-veiled implicit warning) the devil as she takes her leave. “Thank you for respecting the chain of command. I’m sure we’ll need your services again as soon as we resume operations. Do look me up by our mutual friends in the church. I’m sure we two could rewardingly discuss the nature of truth and the best way of … removing impediments to it.”

Yikes! Let’s get out of here! Hopefully to someplace we can debrief safely!

Ryker gets paid either way so... ;)

Ryker closes the door after Adonara leaves and brings up the rear of their little parade. Smooth talking goes a long way, too bad that's not a gift I was blessed with. A real devil though... Kintargo really must be in a rough spot...

Keeping his sword on his shoulder while he escorts the prisoners, he puts a stern face on in an effort to keep up the ruse.

Valekar keeps glancing over his shoulder after the door closed, concerned the Kyton might change her mind. She's still around to torture the next prisoners... I hope we made the right choice.

Closing the door, you make it out of the holding house, escorting the prisoners with you, and shutting and locking the doors so no one can see the dead bodies

Where are you heading to?

Back to the livery to make these rescued armigers comfortable, and then maybe back to the coffeehouse to check for a message from Captain Sargaeta? Though after all that, we’ll need a night to recuperate.

And, speaking of making comfortable, since the poor devils are likely shell-shocked and possibly not entirely sure whose hands they’ve fallen into…

Adonara relaxes the moment the group’s able to put a couple of streets and dark alleys between them and the prison, as the spur of excitement finally falls away. Goddess, she was bleeding from her eyes! And that was more blades than I've ever seen stuck through anything still moving...

“Well, that was a bit too much like work,” the courtesan quips with appalling candour, recollecting herself after a moment to catch her breath. “Though I’m afraid it was very far from my best performance.”

She considers the group’s rescued charges, not least the one most recently tortured, who looks half-terrified that she is being moved to another of Thrune’s oubliettes after all.

"Don't run," Adonara says gently, before reaching to undo the manacles, and for the holy symbol that hangs around her own neck to offer a quick visual reassurance that she's no servant of Hell, before reaffirming, in a quiet undertone, “We’re working with your lictor to get you all safely out of Kintargo. We’re still weighing our last options on that front, but we’ve got a place that should be safe for you overnight.”

Seeing that the group is going to take a brief break, Ryker sheathes his sword and moves to the nearest street corner to keep an eye out for anyone that might cause them problems. A counter-attack is unlikely, but with real, bonafide Devils on their payroll, anything is possible. Can't those things teleport or some s@*#? Gonna need a better weapon or some sort of magic if I'm going to stay useful. Guards are one thing...
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Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Ryker will also study target anyone suspicious for the extra bonus to perception and sense motive.

Kira keeps her mouth shut as they leave the prison, not entirely sure what's going on and not wanting to make things worse by suddenly speaking in Infernal. (Or by vomiting, which she fears might happen if she opens her mouth. She's heard of kytons, but Starsong, that face.) Once they're outside though, she breathes a sigh of relief as the words come back to her.

"Let's go this way." She gives her best reassuring smile. "I promise, we're here to rescue you. Once we get where we're going, I'll take a look at your injuries, see what I can do. But we need to get off the streets first."

Agreed, let's head to the livery. Once there Kira will cast CLW/CMW to get all the prisoners healthy again.