Hells Rebels (Inactive)

Game Master Daniel Penfold 351

I feel like the Pellius route may be underrated here, but I'm not opposed to the drains

Just going to hold off for a while to allow Pellius to catch up and to make any suggestions.

Mostly caught up... I take it the consensus it to move through the sewers to get around the hellhound. Barring any ins that Pellius would know from being a (relatively low on the totem pole) member of the Aulamaxa family... yeah, lets try something "new" so to speak.

Lifting a sewer cover you descend into the sewers, they are dark and smelly. Getting your bearings you head in the direction of the manor. You eventually see in the distance another sewer cover which you think must be inside the manor grounds

Can everyone make a Perception check please?

Hells, it stinks like a troll's fart down here. Good thing those opening are always covered, I don't think anyone would live here if they could smell this! Smacks the appetite right out your mouth at the least. Ryker grimaces a little the entire time he is in the sewers.
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Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 Whatever it is, Ryker finds it with his face :P

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

As they venture into the sewer, Pellius manifests lights around them to aid in seeing. He turns to the others briefly as he whispers.

"Yes yes, I know... not the most scenic of places... but better to have a better idea of what we are walking around and through than to accidentally faceplant into it, courtesy of something we could have stepped over if only we had more light to see it."

Cast Dancing Lights.

Kira's eyes water from the smell, and she reflexively pinches her nose shut. In a much more nasally voice she agrees, "Yes, light is good. I do not want to trip on anything down here."

I am going to need so many baths after this. Perfumed ones. And I might end up burning these clothes.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Mostly caught up... I take it the consensus it to move through the sewers to get around the hellhound. Barring any ins that Pellius would know from being a (relatively low on the totem pole) member of the Aulamaxa family... yeah, lets try something "new" so to speak.

:) What’s the old escape-story motto again? “Under, over, or disguise?” After this, we’ll have to try over a wall or something at some point.

Oh, dear goddess, Adonara prays mentally as the group begins its unglamorous infiltration. Given the situation, she can’t really take comfort in the idea that it’s all for the greater glory of Calistria. Sacrifice. Think of it as a sacrifice. Of your dignity, or pride, or … or something.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

She lets a stray thought spin out into a fantasy of somehow embarrassing the Count Aulorian into compensating her for the inconvenience, even beyond the coup of sneaking a letter to his unruly son. Fortunately, her imagination doesn’t run away so far from her as to interfere too badly with navigating the sewer to a promising next grate.

Adonara, Kira and Pellius you find two traps on the sewer grate. The first is a mechanical trap designed to fire poison spikes, the second is an alarm spell trap.

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

have we recovered spell slots since our last escapade?

"Can any of you take care of those traps?" Valekar assk

Pellius shakes his head as he points to the traps.

"If by 'take care of' you mean 'set them off by opening the grate' then sure. Sadly, not much call to pick locks or disarm traps in the theater. Still, good that we saw them first... and explains why there wasn't a guard down here."

Yeah, you have recovered spell slots.

A small smile tugs at Adonara’s lips, but all she says, for now, is, “I can’t promise much, but I can take a look.”

She would dearly like to indulge in some innuendo, take her mind off the muck soiling her boots, but it would, regrettably, be pointless until they’re out of the conduit. Even as she retrieves some of the tools tucked in her bracers, she runs her free hand just along the edge of safety, feeling for the best approach, when her trained instincts slam down.

She hisses a vicious Elven curse that would have made her blush as recently as a few decades ago, and calls up a cantrip to confirm her suspicions. She shakes her head. “Aulorian is as anxious as one might fear after all. There’s definitely an abjuration in place to set off some sort of alarm, but it would take another sort of professional…”

She tries to remember what Erisia, her friend and mentor in the larcenous arts, taught her about such things. “Even if I could silence something audible – which I can’t, yet – that wouldn’t help if the ward’s been set to sound only in someone’s mind, as it were. But those are just channels for poison darts, and I’ll see what I can do while we decide if we prefer trying to soothe the savage beast or risk making a lot of noise. In any case, it might be useful to have another way out when it’s time to leave, when noise is less of an issue.”

Adonara shoos the others a safe distance away, and then, murmuring a hasty prayer to her Calistria in her guise as goddess of trickery, sets to work. Disable device, after casting guidance: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

"Damn. Can't say I'm surprised, but you're right about having an alternative escape route. If you find a lock, leaving it open would help too," Ryker points out. "Unless someone has a trick up their sleeve, I think we've no choice but to tangle with that mutt..."
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For the future, there is a spell than allows us to disarm magical traps (Aram Zey's Focus). Magic trap DC's are base 25 IIRC though, so unless we have someone who has a real chance of beating that, another route might be better.

Although Adonara tries her best the poison dart trap is set off.

Con damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

REF: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Fort: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Ouch, brings me to 16/22.

Pellius winces, pulling several darts out of his arm, the poison burning within his veins.

"You do know.. (ouch) that I was... (son of a) only joking... (AHH) right, Adonara?" Looking around, he pulls out his sword just in case.

"Did you set off both or just the painful dart one?"

For the future, there is a spell than allows us to disarm magical traps (Aram Zey's Focus). Magic trap DC's are base 25 IIRC though, so unless we have someone who has a real chance of beating that, another route might be better.

It’s all part of the clever and cunning plan! Well. Getting Disable Device as a class skill on a warpriest is tricky, but we’re working on it. A wand of Aram Zey’s focus is definitely on the wishlist, as are a few other goodies in my notes somewhere. Cold comfort for now, of course. :/

Adonara thinks she’s just found the wire that controls the whole mechanism with one of the thin sharps in her thieves’ tools. Unfortunately, this is true in the most inconvenient sense possible. The soft click as the trap resists her efforts is the only warning she gets, and she barely has time to call out as she ducks: it’s unclear whether what comes out is “Down!” or “Damn!”

Ref: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

The courtesan's reflexes mercifully see her through, and into the embarrassing silence that follows she drops, shame-facedly, (She'll check, of course...) "Oh, goddess, I'm so sorry! I think the alarm is still in place."

Count Aulorian immediately gets put on her mental list of outstanding vendettas.

Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

Kira was already on edge and prepared to dodge, but fortunately she barely needed to. Count Aulorian seemed to mostly expect human-sized invaders, and all but a few of the darts go over her head.

Straight into Pellius.

"Are you okay? I think we've got some potions that can help..." She takes another look at his arm and pales slightly. "That does not look good."

There's nothing else she can do about it though, so she turns her attention back to the grate. "I don't have anything to help with the alarm, sorry. As much as I don't want to have come down here for nothing, I think we might have to try the dog. At least we have a chance of getting by him quietly."

Last time I checked we have three potions of lesser restoration.

didn't Adonara send us away from the trap before she started disabling it?

reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
fortitude: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

if she didn't send us away then it looks like Valekar is at 2 Constitution...

Valekar falls to his knees in shock

Apologies I had missed that in Adonara's post, only Adonara had to make the reflex save

Ryker grins a little at the telltale sound of a dart trap firing into the wall. He pokes his head out from around the corner. "Are you dead yet? That doesn't void my contract you know!"
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Back to the dog then? Is there a way for us to check if the gate is locked without setting the alarm off?

1) Misread the damage, thought it was straight up vice con. Would have been at 4 con had it hit. 2) Whew, glad that I wasn't hit via the most important block my defense teachers taught me: the "don't be there" block. ;)

Pellius, who very much was not hit by poison darts, pops his head out of safety to check on Adonara. "Well, glad that you weren't hit, but perhaps we should risk the devil dog. I might be able to distract it if nothing else."

Kira blinks at Pellius' arm, then wrinkles her nose. "Never mind, that still doesn't look good, but...I think a bath will be enough to get rid of those spots." She takes a breath and immediately regrets it. "A long bath."

"Without any way to get past the alarm, I think we have to try the dog. Between me and Pellius hopefully we can keep it quiet."

Valekar nods, feeling a little better about this approach for some reason. Then a thought occurs to him and he frowns. "Hopefully the lad's window is not similarly alarmed."

a fascinate bardic performance seems the way to go here, to me

I’m very glad everyone was safe, after all!

From her crouch, Adonara is very gratified to hear the sound of footsteps running as the first word of her warning and apology leaves her mouth. After a few seconds to make sure the barrage is over, she saunters out none the worse for wear apart from embarrassment, shock, and the discomfort of mucking about in sewers.

Ryker grins a little at the telltale sound of a dart trap firing into the wall. He pokes his head out from around the corner. "Are you dead yet? That doesn't void my contract you know!"

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Back to the dog then? Is there a way for us to check if the gate is locked without setting the alarm off?

“It would take more than that,” Adonara scoffs, heading for the gate with as much feigned dignity as she can. The twinkle in her eyes shows how far she is from actually being offended as she looks over her shoulder, brandishing the pick she’s still holding. “Better luck next time?”

Before proceeding any further, she scans the gate for any magic, and tries to determine if it’s locked, barred, or trapped, or if Count Aulorian is relying on his cerberi to do the job. Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

She tilts her head up to consider how thick the darkness in this part of the city, tonight, is likely to be.

Like Valekar said, trying bardly fascination first sounds like a plan, once we get in. If there isn't a magic trap on the gate, I think we want to try that, burning a scroll if necessary. Otherwise, we could try climbing the walls - at least the more athletic of us, to let everyone else in?

Agreed. I could also try casting lullaby followed by sleep if you think it would work on it.

Pellius clears his throat a few times. "I am ready to sooth the beast through song when you are, just remember: no sudden moves, no overtly hostile actions. Assuming it doesn't try to kill me off the bat, just walk quietly by, giving it a wide space." Mentally, he adds, And pray to the gods big and small that it doesn't charge the moment I stop distracting it....

Apart from the alarm spell you do not see any other traps on the grate and it does not appear to be locked, although it looks as it if might be slightly rusted in place.

Strength check to move the lid please.

Ryker gives it a mediocre shove. He shrugs and rubs the back of his head. "I didn't try very hard. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to be that stuck," he confesses. "Anyone have a crowbar? Mine, uh, ran out."
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Strength: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
I'm a little confused. Are we in the sewers still or back up top at the gate? He'll try again after we know the status of the party's crowbar situation (and if it even applies!).

You're in the sewers, you're having to lift the lid to get out

Oh, OK. Sorry, I was moving too quickly, but I was thinking we were back on the street outside the estate again.

Ryker gives it a mediocre shove. He shrugs and rubs the back of his head. "I didn't try very hard. Honestly, I didn't think it was going to be that stuck," he confesses. "Anyone have a crowbar? Mine, uh, ran out."

“I’m afraid I don’t,” Adonara says, “but maybe we can get more leverage if we push together? On three?”

Try again? Could Adonara aid another with an ability check? If so… Str check, to aid, if she can: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 Fabulous.

I'm happy for you to try again- due to space constraints only a maximum of 3 of you can get leverage to lift the lid.

I am pretty sure we wanted to go back out to the street to try a different tactic instead of going up through the sewers

Ah Ok, I was getting confused, so you are outside - will backtrack a bit

Adonara, you can see that there is another alarm spell on the gate, you do not see any traps, however.

"What do you think? Risk the gate or scale the walls and risk the guards?" Ryker discreetly asks the others.

"I think we try to climb the wall from the side or the back. Ado, are there alarms on the top of the wall at all?"

we have quite a few options here. I have scrolls of obscuring mist and silent image, and I can also cast glitterdust or blindness/deafness.

If the party decides to go over the wall, Valekar will use a scroll of expeditious retreat

Adonara does not find any traps or alarms on the top of the wall.

“No other traps that I can see, beyond a ward on the gate itself that’s likely just to raise the same alarm,” Adonara confirms. No more darts, thank the goddess.

She quickly considers the group’s options. “Does anyone have a bit of rope? I’m not the best climber in the world.” Regrettably, she’s more accurately described as skinny rather than lean: even with an elf’s build, hoisting herself up would be easier if Adonara were stronger than she is.

“And then…”

I think we should go with getting over the wall, if we can. Thoughts on the marching order? How about starting with a climber who can lay down some cover and maybe throw down a rope for us less athletic types? And then preparing to deal with the cerberi? Something like:
Valekar (with obscuring mist from the top of the wall)
Pellius and Kira (performance or spell ready to incapacitate the dog, if it notices us)
Ryker and yours truly, bringing up the rear (and then making a beeline for the estate proper while the dog's distracted, hopefully)

"I'm not much of a climber, but I do have some rope if we need it," Kira offers. "Which we probably will." It's entirely possible she might need someone to hoist her up. Decades of academia have left her arms rather weak.

I mostly agree with Adonara's plan, except for the obscuring mist. A sudden localized fog bank would probably draw more attention than a few people quietly scaling the wall.

"I've rope and a grappling hook too. Give me a little time and a dark alley so I can put some knots in it. With a wall to brace against and some evenly spaced knots, we should all be able to scale it quickly," Ryker suggests.
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An obscuring mist in the yard though might be helpful to keep the dog from mauling us while we all pile in though. That plan (with or without the mist) works for me!

Pellius shrugs and whispers, "Not the best at climbing, but I can always give it a shot. Let me do something first though... you said the dog was a demon, yes?"

Pellius focuses on the section of wall they were about to climb. Come on, show yourself...

Casting Detect Fiendish Presence, hoping to see if the cerberus is sleeping or standing next to the area we are about to scale. 60 FT radius in a cone from me, doesn't say if walls block or not.

I'm also concerned about the obscuring mist, although I know I brought it up. Could it interfere with Pellius's Soothing of the beast? Let's save it as a hail Mary if things go south. Otherwise I am fine with the plan

I'm also concerned about the obscuring mist, although I know I brought it up. Could it interfere with Pellius's Soothing of the beast? Let's save it as a hail Mary if things go south. Otherwise I am fine with the plan

As much as Ado would lament a missed opportunity to get her Dracula Carmilla on (though I suppose properly speaking that would take some sort of polymorph spell :) ), we can see what we can see. OK, let's keep the mist option in the back pocket for now. If no one’s really watching from the house, I guess the first couple of us could lurk on the wall like gargoyles before jumping down once we find out where the guard dog is.

Pellius shrugs and whispers, "Not the best at climbing, but I can always give it a shot. Let me do something first though... you said the dog was a demon, yes?"

Pellius focuses on the section of wall they were about to climb. Come on, show yourself...

... hoping to see if the cerberus is sleeping or standing next to the area we are about to scale. 60 FT radius in a cone from me, doesn't say if walls block or not.

How does it go, again? I think it’s one foot of stone, one inch of ordinary metal, or a thin sheet of lead. I wouldn’t be surprised if the wall’s solid enough to block most low-level detection spells.

“Ryker and I will give anyone that needs a boost,” Adonara nods, shamelessly volunteering the more muscular mercenary along with herself. “And then we’ll follow.”

Pellius your spell does not detect anything within 60 feet of the wall.

They say it is like detect evil, but specifically for demons or demon worshiping clerics. And yes, Vale, the thing has to be able to see and hear me for fascination to work.

"I don't sense anything on the other side. If the dog is there, it either isn't really infernal or I just can't pin it down. Still, be ready for anything."

Pellius would go second or third. Here is my roll for when that happens:

Climb: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Can I have climb checks for everyone?

After knotting the rope, he tosses the grappling hook over the wall. Ready to go last, per his orders, Ryker helps anyone who needs it up the wall.
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Climb (ACP) vs Wall (Knotted Rope, Wall to Brace): 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 9 - 4 = 20

One by one, you climb over the wall. You find yourselves in a large garden, whilst it is overgrown there is no real cover between here and the house. The house itself is completely boarded up on the ground floor. The first floor windows are unbarred and ivy runs up the side of the building. In the distance you can hear a low growling and snuffling sound.

Climb: 1d20 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 1 - 2 = 13 Adonara is grateful for the help Ryker's rope provides. Pausing just a moment at the top, she notes the windows and the lack of cover as such - but spots where the wall of the house turns inward, also providing a handy corner for bracing to climb to the second storey.

Finding a convenient patch of hedging, she lowers herself into the garden as quietly as she can, half-using the branches to slow her descent. She starts picking her way across into the lee of the house. Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

If she doesn't get heard, spotted or, I guess, scented, she'll take a double move at half speed (for Stealth) and end up about where I put her token on the map?

Nothing seems to spot Adonara as she makes her way across the ground

Is anyone else following- if you are please could you move your tokens on the map.

Ryker slinks off after Adonara. He points at a wall that has ivy growing up it and a window near it, then mimes climbing. Finally, he raises an eyebrow and turns his head slightly to the side.
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Stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12 Yeesh! Sorry in advance!
Ryker doesn't have a way of taking AoO's while flat footed and has BAB for drawing on the move (which is especially great when you only get one attack/have a mobile fighting style), so, for the record, both hands are empty.