The group charges in at the skeletons to great effect. While Raff starts battling one, Omari simply charges in and slahes it down with his greatsword. Lenna's arrows fly true, felling another to the south, while Varook takes down a third with military precision.
BANG
The one Lenna just fell suddenly explodes! Thankfully nobody is nearby.
The skeleton to the southwest suddenly pulls off its head! Its jaw starts clattering loudly, and it then hurls the head directly at Omari. A loud scream fills the dungeon as the head soars for the Champion, hammering into him brutally before it starts rolling across the dungeon back to the skeleton.
The skeletal hellknight stomps in and as one of its minions moves to attack Varook, it suddenly jabs in with a halberd. Varook is caught with one of the attacks, and he has a sudden sensation of being pierced all over with sharp metal as something attacks his mind. The pain does not overwhelm him.
Skeletal Hellknight
---
Raff
Omari (-6)
Lenna
Amaril
Alak
Varook (-9)
---
Skeletons
"Will they all explode like that?" Raff goes up to the one and tries to slam it with his weapon.
◆ Move: stride
◆ Attack
Morningstar, silver (low-grade): V (pierce)
◆ Attack
Morningstar, silver (low-grade): V (pierce)
Lenna moves across to get a better angle on what they face. Feeling sure the one calling the orders is the greatest threat and her friends can handle the rank-and-file, she focuses on the skeletal champion and opens fire.
Omari moves in to ensure that the remaining skeletons are in range of their Glimpse of Redemption, transforms their weapon into a Maul and begins smashing the one to the south.
Action 1: ◆Move
Action 2: ◆Shifting Rune
Action 3: ◆Attack
Reaction↺: If a creature attacks someone other than Omari, Glimpse of Redemption (Attack Canceled or Resistance 5 and the attacker is enfeebled 2 until the end of its NEXT turn).
From his location, Aramil continues inspiring his allies.
He then cast a spell to hurl a rock at a skeleton.
Aramil's flung rock caves in a skeleton head while Lenna shoots another incredible arrow into the skull of the skeletal hellknight. Omari's weapon shimmers before turning into a huge maul, but he's unused to the weapon's balance and misses.
As Raff asks if all the skeletons explode, the answer turns out to be 'this one does'. He kicks the head clean off, and the skeleton flies apart! The group is sprayed with bones but only minorly injured.
Alak charges in at the skeletal hellknight, which slashes out at him as he closes the distance! The halberd slashes with deadly accuracy, almost felling Alak where he stands. Alak's counterattack misses.
Skeletal Hellknight
---
Raff (-3)
Omari (-7)
Lenna
Amaril
Alak (-24)
Varook (-12)
Stepping forward Varook slices at the skeletal knight with his swords.
Attack:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Varook moves in and smoothly slices up the hellknight while it is distracted trying to chop off ALak's head. It takes a quick step back and then slashes out twice but its attacks are blocked.
Lenna maintains complete focus on the champion now that its minions had all fallen and the threads the needle among her companions again and again, trying to bring the undead warrior down.
Raff growls as his furor grows then he moves into position to trap the boss skeleton.
◆ Stance: Tiger
◆ Stride:
◆ Step: last 10' per Tiger Stance
Aramil strides into the room from the doorway, and seeing how badly injured Alak is, plays a soothing melody to heal his wounds.
Omari moves into flank with Raff and lays into the skeleton.
Action 1: ◆Move
Action 2: ◆Attack
Action 3: ◆Attack
Reaction↺: If a creature attacks someone other than Omari, Glimpse of Redemption (Attack Canceled or Resistance 5 and the attacker is enfeebled 2 until the end of its NEXT turn).
Varook continues to hack away at the undead knight.
Action 1: ◆Move
Action 2: ◆Attack - Double Slice
Action 3: ◆Attack
Attack:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Your blows bounce off of the skeletal hellknight as Lenna's extraordinary string of luck with her archery comes to an end and her arrows fly and break against the walls.
However, it is Varook who ninja rolls through the hellknight's legs, and comes up with both blades. The breastplate clatters to the floor and a powerful thrust severs its spine. Whatever force animated the hellknight collapses, and soon it's just a pile of bones in some plate mail.
End of Combat
You look over the body and find a complete suit of half-plate with a big hellknight skull on it, as well as a +1 glaive.
"Wow, there's a lot of restless dead down here! Surprised the goblins didn't run into them, really..."
"Alak, are you OK? That looked like quite a shot you took. Is this guy someone that was important when he was alive?"
Alak looks miserably at the bodies. "Battling the ancestral remains of my own order is... difficult. I would say that to be interred here is a mark of honour. Although - " He moves to the west doorway which leads to a sepulcher.
Four monuments loom in this dark and somber room, each with prominent carvings of black-winged angels and various stylized pentagrams. Burnished plaques along the floor next to each sepulcher bear the names of those interred within, while atop the northern wall near the ceiling the words “Sepulcher of the Nail” are carved in prominent relief.
"This resting place is a very high honour. Each would have accomplished a noteworthy deed of great importance."
You also distinctly recall that the records from Big Bumble's room indicates the bodies are all interred with magic items of power.
"The honorable dead should be respected. Let's get them back to their resting places."
"What could have awoken them? Was there a ward or something when we opened the door?"
"There may have been a protective magic similar to that in the other room - that, or one of these cultists we seek meddles in black magic."
"They didn't rise when we opened the door. They were waiting for the door to be opened. That's what it seemed like to me."
"Well some evil has forced them to rise...so we will just have to put them back to sleep...nasty business when you cannot even find peace after death!"
The halfling helps return the bones to the various stone biers withing the room.
You decide to leave the tombs well enough alone and take a little while to lay the bones of the risen Hellknights to rest, much to Alak's delight.
From here, you can explore to the south, which appears to be an ossuary, or to the large doors to your east.
"That ossuary will most likely have more active undead. Are we sure we want to look there?"
"If there are undead we should clear them out. Better to be safe than sorry."
"Omari's right. We should be prepared, but we cannot leave them to possibly go down into town."
”We should clear the ossuary first. We don’t want to get caught from behind.”
You head southwards.
Narrow stone walls filled with coffin-sized compartments stretch from the floor to the ceiling in this dark, claustrophobic chamber. Most of the compartments are occupied with shroud-covered bodies, though some of them are conspicuously empty.
As you stride into the room, you hear a strange howling noise along the south wall. Floating Hellknight helmets suddenly shoot out of compartments, turn to face you, and attack! They completely surprise the group and rush in
As the floating helmets fly up, they rear back, and a volley of nails flies over the group! Most of you avoid the attacks, but Omari takes a nail in the arm, and Raff gets one in the neck. Blood starts spurting out from both wounds.
Hellcrowns
---
Lenna
Varook
Aramil
Omari (-3) (1 persistent bleed) (enfeebled 1)
Raff (-7) (2 persistent bleed) (enfeebled 2)
Alak
Seeing the animated armor pieces fly forth, Lenna ducks back. Hearing the *plink* of nails hitting Alak's armor, she has to acknowledge, if only to herself, the benefits of a suit of armor - or a suit of armor to stand behind!
She peers around the Hellknight's leg and opens fire!
Moving forward, Varook attacks the floating helmet (orange) before him, striking out with a double slice of his swords, and then a single stab for good measure!
◆ Move (10')
◆ Attack: Double Slice
◆ Attack: Single sword
Attack:
Attack:
Damage:
crit Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Aramil deftly evaded the floating helmets that shot nails. It was obvious that they were the sort of foe that killed you slowly, and the more he could stop from acting, the better.
Moving forward, he stepped in front of Raff and played a melody, creating a shimmering burst of color that swept over them.
Omari removes the nail from their neck before moving forward and swinging with the maul.
Action 1: ◆ Interact to remove nail
Action 2: ◆Move
Action 3: ◆Attack
Reaction↺: If a creature attacks someone other than Omari, Glimpse of Redemption (Attack Canceled or Resistance 5 and the attacker is enfeebled 2 until the end of its NEXT turn).
[ooc]My initiative bonus is correct, but you keep rolling horribly for me. What's up with that?"[/b]
Raff removes the nail before going to support Omari.
◆ Remove nail
◆ Stride
◆ Strike
Longspear: reach
Also, I just noticed I rolled my to hit roll for damage. Here is the real damage roll.
The group rushes in with a flurry of brilliant attacks while Lenna's arrows zoom past. Aramil briefly creates an explosion of colour in the room with his spell and once the frackas is ended, several of the hellcrowns lie dead, and one is dazzled. ALak then rushes in, scoring one hit ona hellcrown. Omari takes another nail in the leg, and this time the hellcrown turns to stare at him. For a moment, he feels a horrific sense of fear, but he shakes his head and overcomes it.
"Nice hit, Lord Killjoy. Good to know you can use your powers for good." Raff m0ves over to attack his next target.
◆ Stride
Move closer to red
◆ Strike
Longspear: reach
◆ Strike
Longspear: reach
Aramil plays out an inspirational song on his lute, before changing key and flinging a rock at a Hellcrown.
Following her friends into the room, Lenna switches her focus to one of the remaining helms and opens fire.
"I just removed this. Could you please not do that again?" Omari removes the nail, steps up, and strikes the creature.
Action 1: ◆ Interact to remove nail
Action 2: ◆Step
Action 3: ◆Attack
Reaction↺: If a creature attacks someone other than Omari, Glimpse of Redemption (Attack Canceled or Resistance 5 and the attacker is enfeebled 2 until the end of its NEXT turn).
Varook watches as the skull disintegrates before him before turning to the next one (Yellow) He swings at the floating heat.
◆ Move (10')
◆ Attack: Double Slice
◆ Attack: Single sword
Attack:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Whoops...missed that!!!
Crit damage:
Arrrrgh
The remaining hellcrowns are quickly downed by the party. You take a moment to yank out the nails from the ordeal as Alak nods over to Raff. "I'm great fun at parties, I promise. Let's find out what set these defenses up."
The room you are in appears to be the resting place for the standard ranks of hellknights. Short of going through the compartments to check out the bodies, there's nothing of note here, although Omari does detect magic in the area.
”You feel magic? Where is it?”
"Well. Those were unpleasant. There is a magic aura over there though. Omari will point out the magic to everyone else, as well as spend the necessary time to lay on hands those that were wounded
Out of curiosity more than greed, Lenna will search the area of the reported aura. At least until told to desist.
While the others check for magic, Aramil sets to further expanding the ballad to account for the battle with the Hellcrowns.