GM Kirsdrake's Eberron Case Files (closed recruitment) (Inactive)

Game Master Kirsdrake

I'm confused. I thought I was going to where #4 was and that they were blinking each round leaving room between Alua and I for another dog to blink to. If the option is still open then, yes, I will move north instead. I missed Lupi's 5' step west and was going only by the map which put me in a pore position. Seeing that she announced a 5' step then I will move 5' north instead. The position to attack being equal to where he started. Thank you for clarifying.

Phin would move 2 squares to the east to free up the one square again for Erix in case he doesn't want to stay on difficult terrain

Blinking doesn't move them around - it makes them go ethereal at inconvenient moments. Its their at-will quickened Dimension Door that they moved around with. Charge in, use the moments of etherealness and their intimate knowledge of the terrain to know exactly where to find you, then DD away well out of sight further back into the maze before you can do more than launch a single readied action. Rinse and repeat.

Can they do DD if they're being grappled? It doesn't say specifically in the spell description. Hint Hint Erix. :)

Well... I COULD just tell you, but that sounds like a fun experiment ;^)

I don't want to start playing against myself (that's what you are paid XP to do!)

This one made me laugh out loud, I hope the guys in the other cubicles did not hear. :)

Then the question: Readying an action says this: "You can take a 5-foot step as part of your readied action, but only if you don’t otherwise move any distance during the round."
I read it in the way that, when skeletal dog appears, Lupi could first move 5-feet, then do the readied action, right?

Can't see anything in the rules that'd prevent you from stepping back before firing. That could make things a bit weird... imagine, you spend every round readying an action to do whatever when an enemy attacks you in melee, and when the enemy does so, you take a step back, taking you out of range before the enemy gets the attack off, and assuming he charged you, or moved to get in melee range, he CANNOT pursue you (no 5' step if you took an action to move), and thus cannot attack you. I think that sounds exploitable. So. Use the trick sparingly, or the enemies start expecting it and working around it whenever you state that you are going for it.

Can't see anything in the rules that'd prevent you from stepping back before firing. That could make things a bit weird... imagine, you spend every round readying an action to do whatever when an enemy attacks you in melee, and when the enemy does so, you take a step back, taking you out of range before the enemy gets the attack off, and assuming he charged you, or moved to get in melee range, he CANNOT pursue you (no 5' step if you took an action to move), and thus cannot attack you. I think that sounds exploitable. So. Use the trick sparingly, or the enemies start expecting it and working around it whenever you state that you are going for it.

I was actually thinking of moving towards the skeletal dogs, if it blinks just out of reach, and then bashing it with the spellbook, but thanks for giving me this splendid idea :)... no seriously, I consider it to be exploitable too...

Blink dog skeleton 2 vs Alua, to hit: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 2 = 15

Erix, Acrobatics to balance on shield: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Blink dog skeleton 4 vs Erix, to hit: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 = 24
20% miss chance due to Blink: 1d100 ⇒ 11

Miss chance for Alua's readied attack: 1d100 ⇒ 68

The party barely had time to figure out who was to stand where before the hounds reappeared, although this time, only two chose to attack you. The one going for Alua got a facefull of iron mace for its trouble, the knockback causing it to miss its own attack while also carrying it outside Baran's staff's reach. But the one charging Erix struck true - balancing on his shield, trying to make more room for his allies who declined to accept the invitation, he had only his fists to defend himself with, and while his slippery footing proved no challenge to him, the hound made the most of the lack of his shield to sink its jaws into a forearm the brawler thrust forth to keep the beast from his vitals. But just as its teeth were about to close on Erix's flesh it faded briefly from the mortal plane, its attack foiled by its own best defense.

And, right on cue, the blink dogs used their innate magical abilities to whisk themselves to safety before more blows could be landed on them.

Your turn again. Enemies are nowhere to be seen but you can certainly hear them move and howl somewhere close by.

Blinking doesn't move them around - it makes them go ethereal at inconvenient moments ... terrain to know exactly where to find you, then DD away well out of sight further back into the maze before you can do more than launch a single readied action. Rinse and repeat.

Ahhh! Thank you - I'm at the picnic in full now. Apologies all.

Presuming a blink dog skeleton appears on the north side of battlefield.

The next time the skeletal dogs appeared, Lupi was ready and cast forth two more faintly shining magic missiles. Both missiles hit the dog to front paws causing the creature to be off balance.

Magic Missiles: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 31d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Ahhh! Thank you - I'm at the picnic in full now. Apologies all.

No worries, I could have made it plainer from the get-go ;^)

Phin gritted her teeth in frustration. "This strategy is getting us nowhere. Is there any way to block the magic that allows them to be such an annoyance? We're wasting time waiting for them to come to us and they have us paralyzed in a hallway. Or if their magic can't be blocked or disrupted, is there any way that we can move forward as a group while Alua and Erix cover our flanks?"

"EITHER" Erix barked "we hole up in here, backs to a wall and me, Alua and Phin readied to strike OR we form a line and push through, try to find where they're holing up between attacks. They picked this spot to ambush, so it should get better further in. Alua - choose."

You can fit a person to a square that's at least halfway on the map, or you can squeeze two people in one "free" square, but trying to fight - or defend oneself - in such cramped quarters wouldn't be fun.

Lupi looked first at Erix and then at Alua and thought "This is just like at home in Darguun, a shouting competition. I wonder if it progresses to a bugbear-style hitting and shouting competition", which was shortly followed by "I better just do what is told."

"Let's keep moving," Alua shouted back, "I have no idea how many there are. Is it the same ones showing up each time? Could be a dozen of them. Let's push through, sticking tight. If we find the kamadan, maybe they'll be too scared to come closer."

As they began moving carefully through the strange maze, Alua kept her senses wide open, trying to be aware of what's happening in front and behind the line.

morningstar: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

THERE! One of the dogs appeared before her, and she swung with focus, and connected. The tiny skeletons were able to take a lot of abuse, however, and even her solid hit wasn't enough to take it out.

However, she was getting so frustrated with the situation, that she focused some of her energy at the creature, trying to spoil its attack.

Misfortune as an immediate action - reroll its attack roll. I forgot I had that!

Also forgot the miss chance, so might as well use your own luck for the roll :-)

Oops, sorry, second time in a row. 20%?
miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 91

@Lupi - did you move again since the dogs last attacked?
Using his readied attack on hound 2 from around the corner - if there is an opportunity to move up as Lupi does then he will take it. He will stay with the basic pattern move and ready attack
quarterstaff: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
no need to roll % miss dice
Baran did his best to watch Lupi's back. He readied to move as she moved trying to keep her in the middle of the team. He was ready to lash out at the rear approaching hound, however. He plunged the butt end from around the corner and struck the wall's end with his elbow. He tried his best to believe his miss was because he didn't want to interfere with Alua's more skillful swings.
His words would have come forth boldly if not for his mishap, "From north and south came the sound and these flickering dogs did their worst ... but the moment for our heroes came round an' DAMN ELBOW! CURSED DEVILS BRITCHES!!! BURN! YOU OAFISH TOWER!" WHatever rhyme was meant was lost to time.

Sorry, wasn't clear, but Alua wants to take her move action. We should all follow Erix 30 feet per round, then ready our attack. Is that sequence allowed?Let's stick as tight as makes sense.

So we're following Erix to the left (northwest - assuming up is north)? I'm good with that. Phin wants to move out of their current position

With Alua giving the final order to keep moving, Phin readily followed behind Erix as he led the way. She hopped up on his shield to make room for the others to follow closely while having the room to fight if the skeletal dogs reappeared.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Can we move far enough to get into the next part of the tower?

Move in a line... check. Now, there's a fork coming right up, but Erix's darkvision will see the left passage turning back to circle behind you, and I doubt that's what you want, so I'll take you down the right passage...

Oops, sorry, second time in a row. 20%?

[dice=miss chance]1d100

No, for you it's a coinflip - the blink dogs themselves can make with with a 20% chance to miss. They can't control when they blink, but the magic gives them some sort of an idea, I'm guessing.

Actually, considering how far the tail end of your line has to move, I'll just drop you near the fork anyway - Erix couldn't get much further without the formation starting to break, so let's call it he took one look at the left passage, then started to move to the right to do the same, but was foiled by it apparently doing a 180 right away... and this is where the hounds find you again. Rolling the dice...

With an actual battle plan in place, you proceeded carefully deeper into the maze, running almost instantly into another fork. Not willing to commit to a choice blindly, Erix too a quick look at the left passage. His eyes penetrated the ill-lit gloom easily enough and determined that passage ran straight all the way to the tower's exterior wall before turning to lead back to the stairway you took to reach this level. He returned, shaking his head negative, and was about to lead you down the other way when the hounds made their return.

Their barking and howling had been a constant companion for the last few eventful moments, and you had already learned to expect them leaping at you from nothing yet again. Thus, the beast that charged at Alua at the back of your line was met with the oracle's mace and Lupi's spell, the force darts taking out both front paws at the ankles, and Alua's follow-up strike shattered the hound's skull into shards.

Erix, readied attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 46

Hound 4 vs Erix, to hit: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 2 = 9
Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 26

At the front of the line, the attack was less effective on both sides - Erix's heavy punch missed his quick target, and the hound's jaws found only the brawler's shield to bite on. A second later, the hound once more disappeared from sight... and soon after, the howl of the surviving beasts took on a distinctly mournful tone as the survivors realized only one of the two who went out returned.

Right, one hound down. Thoughts, reactions? Proceeding as planned?

Things were starting to make sense now and Baran kept up with the wave of motion that the group had fallen into. He called out to his wandering lights to follow and as the team moved they started to turn into little comets streaking near the ceiling. He then looked to Phin worried about her condition.
In the character status Phin has 13hp. In her character bar she has five?

In the character status Phin has 13hp. In her character bar she has five?

13 is right.

Lupi was happy to see the skeletal dog fell down on her Magic Missile and Alua's mace "Great work", but she was worried her lack of spells would make her just a burden for the group.

@Baran: Lupi is moving with the others, she has 30ft. movement. @kirsdrake: Lupi uses Prescience as free action, follows others with a move action and readies Acid Splash as standard action.

Prescience: 1d20 ⇒ 13 Oh well, Lupi likely misses with this number, but as she does not know it beforehand, so I am taking it. This means Lupi's ranged touch attack against the next skeletal dog is 13+3=16.

Miss chance(1-50 misses): 1d100 ⇒ 14 A miss also. @kirsdrake: I will write it down as a miss, but there is a decent chance the skeletal dog appears onto location, where Lupi does not see it or the skeletal dog is covered behind the backs of Lupi's allies, so feel free to ignore my writing below.

Lupi moved forward in the maze after Baran and was ready to cast a spell. When the skeletal dog again appeared, she splashed it with acid, but the dog just blinked out, before the acid hit it.

Ah shoot. I think Erix left his shield behind - unless someone can pick it up for him. Hmmm - might add that in.
IIRC blink miss chance is lower for the dogs 'cos they can still see while ethereal.

'I'm not bloody walking all this way through bloody blinking dogs to go bloody backwards!' Erix decided, and picked the other fork. "Keep on!" he commanded. "Lupi! Grab the shield, if you can, cover your flank! Give Alua someone to retreat to!"
readied attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12miss: 1d100 ⇒ 93

I'm assuming you did pick it up - perhaps it should have required an action, but it's no big deal and that attack wouldn't have hit you anyway, I'm guessing... and as it happens, you do NOT get attacked on the next round. Do you want to keep going until you get somewhere or something happens, or do you want to react to this somewhat unexpected bit of good fortune?

Aw, thanks! In which case I guess strip it. I'd say keep going, but if Alua calls a halt...
Actually, if Lupi is fine with a shield, it might help. Spells don't help too much here, and it'll help her survive any surprise attacks. Everyone else but Erix needs 2 hands, I believe.

Lupi could grap the shield, but heavy wooden shield is 10lbs., which pushes Lupi to medium load and slows her to 20ft. movement... That's what Str score of 8 does... :) If it is OK for kirsdrake Lupi could maybe drag the shield behind her, so it would not increase her load that much and she could keep 30ft. movement? I am not sure, if there is any official rule on this, but in practice dragging something is easier than carrying it."

Otherwise I would also say keep going, if Erix is still in hurry.

Phin was happy to have made some headway but it still wasn't far enough, fast enough for her taste. She pressed Erix to move forward, "Keep going, Cub. We need to find the kamadan. It's not like we'll have to find these pesky dogs since they keep showing up where they aren't wanted."

The rogue looked over her shoulder, "I assume everyone is good with continuing?". She could barely see Alua based on the structure of the hallway, "Alua?"

Baran could see the trouble Lupi was having just lifting up the sheild, "Please Miss, let me." He accepted it from her and slung it to his back. He would return it to Erix in the next free moment. Over Phin's shoulder he muttered, "No reason for stopping now."

Lupi took the shield from the ground and thought "This is really heavy". She dragged it for a while, but was only too happy, when Baran took the shield "Thanks", she whispered. "The skeletal dogs have not attacked us, maybe they gave up."

"Keep moving, everybody," Alua called out. She kept half an eye on Lupi as she followed her backwards, keeping alert for another attack.

morningstar: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
miss chance: 1d2 ⇒ 2

This time, when the dogs attacked, she'd been glancing backwards to make sure she didn't knock herself out on one of the strange hurdles. The sudden barking and rush of bones threw off her stride, and the morningstar connected with nothing but air.

... "Thanks", she whispered. "The skeletal dogs have not attacked us, maybe they gave up."

"Keep moving, everybody," Alua called out.

Baran glanced back at Lupi, "A little respite in the field of chaos, the stage is set and lit with heavenly fire. Five moved forward through topsy-turvy halls. Out of the frying pan ...", then concentrated on the path ahead, "and into the fire." He heeding Alua's command, only the latest of a cascade of calls to move.

Knowledge(Nature(behavior of pack animals): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27 @kirsdrake: below is a fair amount of speculation :).

Lupi said "Although the dogs were skeletons, they had their natural instincts left and seemed to attack as a pack. We probably hurt them so much, that they decided to retreat as a group. We could advance faster."

The idea is to do double-moves forward, instead of move + standard action to ready.

Reasonable speculation, and a good roll. One thing you definitely glean is that these critters haven't shown behaviour one might expect from an undead - they have been reacting to you a lot (if not completely) like living beings).

Anyway, editing map now, will move things along a bit shortly.

You continued to forge ahead slowly and cautiously, but another expected attack failed to happen, and even though you remained wary of every shadow, only beasts of your own imagination stared back at you from the darkness. The howls of the undead hounds had faded after their last bit of lament wails, and the only sounds in the maze were your own footsteps. You elected to double back when you encountered a tight squeeze of corridor behind another field of glass shard, but soon you found yourself before something new – a thick stone slab of a door, blocking your advance.

As you approached, you could hear some faint sounds from beyond – soft clattering sounds not unlike bony footsteps on stone, dragging sounds and some faint, subdued growls.

Erix, there isn’t more than a couple of seconds left on your marvelous mutagen, so be prepared to drop its effects momentarily. It’ll be most definitely over before you have a chance to start another combat encounter.

As they continue, Erix slumps. By the time they reach the door he's gone listless.
"I'm done." he says, tongue thick. "Gi' me a min."
Desperately he guzzles water, and crams his mouth with handfuls of nuts.

---
Soon his eyes light again, even if not so bright as before. "Damn. Sorry, Boss. No chance of another dose here, but I'm good to go."

Baran hands the shield off to Erix. "Wow, you seem to be going through some minor transformation. Forgive me but its' a little fascinating." He turned to Alua and checked her shirt and the wounds she'd received. "Would you like help with that? I can do a little something. It'll take most of the good out of me but I guarantee you'll feel a little better."

Alua keeps her eyes behind them, not trusting that the dogs were through. As word passed along the line of the door, and what they heard behind it, she slumped and rested her forehead against the cool stone of the upside down wall. "I don't like it here." she murmured.

At Baran's offer of ministrations, she looked up at him, genuinely touched. "That's very kind, but I'm okay for now. Best to hold on to your "good" for now, in case it gets worse later. I have a little healing left in me as well, so I can take care of myself if I need to." Usually Alua was the one healing others; she couldn't remember the last time somebody had offered to care for her.

Not hearing any dogs nearby, Alua squeezed up to the front to see the door. Grimacing at the sounds behind it, she said, "This poison better bring the kamadan down quick. We're not going to have much stamina for a long fight with the beastie. Who's have guessed this tower was so full of walking bones?"

Readying her morningstar, she said, "I guess we better open it. Erix, you ready?"

Guess we open the door, Erix and Alua in front and ready to attack first, in case it's more skellies.

"That's very kind, but I'm okay for now. Best to hold on to your "good" for now, in case it gets worse later. I have a little healing left in me as well, so I can take care of myself if I need to."

Baran nodded, acquiescing but with a look of concern.

The elf handed her waterskin to Erix after he drained his. He had picked up so many new skills since leaving her watchful eye and the rogue was impressed. As he rested, Phin took a look at the door.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Any locks? Any traps?

When she heard the rattling of bones, she directed a question at Alua, "Can you do what you did before and see if there's anything undead behind the door?"

in which Erix answers a number of conversational threads in the correct tense

Transformation?

"Yeah. Sorta. Leftover from the war. Medicine keeps it away for a while - but I'm out. Leaves me a shadow of my former self." Erix added, a bitter edge to his voice.

---

ready Erix?"...

"You got it boss. You and Phin take point. I'll open the door - fast open and shut'll help us, and I'm the strongest. Lupi, Baran, get ready for the dogs to make a come back when this thing opens. If they do, I'll join you defending the rear. Otherwise poison the damn Kama-thing and I'll shut the door behind us."

Phin is clever

Erix swore "Good thought, aunty. Boss?"

No traps that you can see, and while there is a lock it’s not engaged. The door is a bit stuck, but you can force it open with a bit of effort – all this hanging wrong side up can’t be good for the hinges, and this door is particularly heavy – a stone slab 4 inches thick, like I said, instead of your regular wooden affair.

Your plans laid, Erix forced the door open, wincing at the grinding noise as stone dragged against stone. You had just enough time to spot one of the skeletal hounds before it teleported itself away from the room before you had a chance to do anything to prevent it. The room you entered seemed to be the den of the hounds – five wickerwork baskets large enough for a hound to curl in to sleep, with rotting old blankets to act as mattresses. Empty food bowls. Various toys scattered about. And, in two of the baskets, the bones of the two blink dogs you had slain, carefully set to rest, with one choice toy for each positioned in front of it, like an offering on an altar.

Plenty of stuff in the room, but no enemies that you can see. The staircase leads up to the next floor, and is as tricky to ascend as the last one. DC 15 Climb required.

Looking at the toys Lupi's heart warmed as she remembered the short time she had shared throwing the "stick" with one of the skeletal dogs. She said "These dogs seem to be smarter than I thought. Maybe it is not a good idea to touch their toys?"

Looking at Erix and the wounds others had she asked "Are we still in a hurry or should we heal, before we advance?"

If Phin hadn't been so thoroughly annoyed by the skeletal dogs, her heartstrings may have been plucked by the two memorials of the fallen with their favourite toy displayed.

Are we still in a hurry or should we heal, before we advance?"

Phin took a quick visual assessment of everyone's wounds, "We've definitely been worse off than we are now. And we are still on a time crunch. I vote that we keep going but really it's up to Alua. She calls the shots and she's usually the one doing the healing."

The elf moved to the stairwell and sighed. "It looks like we're climbing again."

I'm assuming it's similar to the other stairwell in that there's no where to attach her grappling hook?

climb,DC15: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

She stowed her shortbow for the climb. The rogue's muscle memory served her well as she began her assent. She remembered every place she had placed her hand or foot as well as how much to use her muscles to move forward but not to overstrain her body.

I assume this room was set up for the dogs after the upsidedowning of the tower?

Alua stared at the dead dogs, and a long, cold shiver ran down her spine. "Now who do you suppose collected those bones and laid them to rest? There may well be a bigger baddie out here that we haven't seen yet." It was also the only room that had be adjusted for the new orientation of the tower.

I don't think there's much healing left to be had. Alua has one more spell, and a few lay on hands, which are only 1d6.

Hoping they weren't missing the kamadan on this floor by going up/down another one, Alua hung her morningstar on her belt, and followed Phin up the stairs ceiling. At least, that was the idea. Her soldier's coat wasn't made for this sort of endeavor, and she was hampered by its stiffness. And the fact that her morningstar came unhooked and landed on her toe as she climbed. Tumbling back to the ground, Alua sighed, picked herself up, rehooked it, and tried again. It took longer than it should have, and the oracle had a few new bruises by the time she reached the top.

climb: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0
climb: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (12) - 2 = 10
climb: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (18) - 2 = 16