Miteke's Legacy of Fire

Game Master miteke

"Big empty nest here. Could mean a creature is coming back. If we destroy it there is no reason for it to come here. If we leave it, it may come back."

Having explored the entire monastery except for the chapel, the team heads in that direction. Off to the left and right before you get to the steps leading into the chapel proper, you see a couple of chambers.

The chamber to the left (11A) once held a shrine and alter, but now contains only the smashed remains. The ceiling has remained intact over the years, helping to preserve a huge bas-relief statue of a muscular humanoid man you have grown to know, Saint Vardishal, his visage a frown of concern. In the background, as usual, you see the Pale mountain, largest of the Brazen Peaks and the site of many fell legends.

The chamber to the right (11B) is very similar, but Vardishal is shown on a hilltop appearing before a group of pilgrims, his hand held out palms upward in a sign of peace. Some of the pilgrims look beatific and some horrified. A crude stone stele that seems to have been erected more recently reads "A ghost of unholy mein was purged from this place by Theodephus Estrovan, servant of Aroden, 4691 AR. (See this link for a golarian timeline).

Lady Vulpina shrugs. "If there are no eggs, I suppose it would judge the nest to have been poorly placed and move elsewhere. Go right ahead."

As they move along, she leans in curiously, lips pursed as she observes Saint Vardishal's face. "I am no historical-- or religious-- expert, but I am curious about what our compatriots back at camp might have to say of it."

"I admit I am likely to forget it before long, however. I tend more to practical knowledge."

"Wow. These are cool. I can't wait to tell father."

Cast detect magic.

Lupe detects no magic.

Bick will begin a careful search of the area while leading wolf to sniff around.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Perception Wolf: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"Let's make sure there are no hidden dangers."

Once he is done with his very good searching he will collect up the group and move them toward the last area.

Lupe finds a secret door between the legs of the statue to what once was probably a pleasant garden area between areas 11B and 9, though quite overgrown and untended now, as you might expect. Instead of a pleasant garden, there is a wild cacophony of multicolored scrub plants and desert weeds which have almost completely overgrown the area. Opening the door was an effort not for the feeble.Clearing the doorways enough to make it an easy passage would probably take a good half hour, 10 minutes with a nice sharp axe.

As you search the area you can't help but look down the stairs leading to the chapel, a cavernous area where the congregants must have gathered for sermons at one time. You see rows of marble benches that disappear into the gloom with a wide walkway stretching to the north. Here and there a frew red clumps of the original carpet hang on as if defying the general decay. Over these benches are the rafters about 20' high, and a ladder to them lies against the west wall near the entrance.

"I think we need to explore the chapel next," Lupe says wiping sweat from his brow. Looking down he notices the filth that has accumulated over the long day."

Do you enter the chapel? Could I get more of you to post something? Some of you have not posted in more than a week.

"Let us investigate."

Sarona points at the chapel.

Bicks you grab his brother and Wold and venture forth. They are moving along slowly looking traps and anticipating an ambush.

Gm you can move him to an appropriate distance for him checking for dangers.

Rahella had been very quiet as they continued their explorations. She'd had little to add and nothing to notice so she simply kept her peace as they continued their efforts to clear this place of dangers. So far, since that nasty nest, they had found little of interest to her and no further threats. This chapel area promised to be more interesting if for no other reason than someone needed to go up and check the rafters.

Rahella pointed to the ladder from just outside the chapel and asked, "So who is going up there to look for threats?"

Rahella had been very quiet as they continued their explorations. She'd had little to add and nothing to notice so she simply kept her peace as they continued their efforts to clear this place of dangers. So far, since that nasty nest, they had found little of interest to her and no further threats. This chapel area promised to be more interesting if for no other reason than someone needed to go up and check the rafters.

Rahella pointed to the ladder from just outside the chapel and asked, "So who is going up there to look for threats?"

"I am most assuredly not."

Above the center of the chapel, dangling about 10 feet from the floor, hangs a cluster of gnoll skulls in various stages of decay. Strung together like a ghoulish candelabra of twine and bone, the boulder-sized ornament hangs from the wooden rafters about 20' above the ground. As the group enters the knotted rope jerks and jumps as a runty little creature dressed in crude furs scrambles from above to perch on the swaying skulls, almost in response to Casper's firm statement attempting to avoid being ambushed. With a squeaky laugh, the gremlin casts a rude gesture your way and you are bombarded with small darts from every which direction and you get that ill feeling you have come to associate with the pests.

You also happen to notice that the ceiling rafters in the southeast portion of the chapel upper works have been papered over like a wasp's nest in an interwoven mish-mash of soiled tapestries, tablecloths, alter runners, and other bits of salvaged cloth, creating a sort of hanging 'tent' in the rafters above. Just prior to the attack, you noticed movement in the fabric, as if by the passage of tiny feet over the hanging cloth from above.

To make this simple, I'm going to give them each an attack and then let you all go.

to hit Casper: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
to hit Lupe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
to hit Katsumi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
to hit Rahella: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
to hit Sarona: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
to hit Lady Vulpina: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Rahella (-1 NL)
Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf
Lupe (-2 con)
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -1 NL) and her familiar
Katsumi
Pugwampis

Casper, could you add you AC to your tag line?

Is that “hanging tent” hanging by anything in particular—in other words, is there an exploitable point of failure there, or is it pretty hard to spot something that, way, a well-placed bullet would bring down?

Rahella felt the tiny dart hit her, pricking her skin where it was bared, and gave the creature a glare that promised death. She focused, her eyes flashing black, and sent a jet of acid lancing out at the little freak who hit her.
acid jet: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 81d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
fort DC 13 to avoid being sickened for: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Pretty sure a second roll for unluck is not needed.

Is that “hanging tent” hanging by anything in particular—in other words, is there an exploitable point of failure there, or is it pretty hard to spot something that, way, a well-placed bullet would bring down?

The fabric is anchored to the rafters in many places. A well placed shot would not bring the whole thing down but it might loosen a section of the covering.

Pretty sure a second roll for unluck is not needed.

LOL. No, that was a pretty pathetic roll. On the bright side that makes you a low value target.

Sarona looks up at the gremlin and glares at it.

Evil Eye hex, targeting AC, DC 15 Will Save to have it only last 1 round instead of 7.

How close are they? Can I try to hit one with my short sword?

How many well-places shots can I make, say, within a 15-foot diameter? ;)

How close are they? Can I try to hit one with my short sword?

Afraid not. The little pests are shooting at you from the rafters. Which look a little rotted away like everything else in this place. They are small and light, but if you went crawling around up there, there is a good chance you will fall.

How many well-places shots can I make, say, within a 15-foot diameter? ;)

Not sure what you mean by that. Are you asking how many shots it would take to do what? Bring down the entire canvassed area? I don't think you have enough time to do that in the course of this combat. I would allow you to blast a section of the rafters under one of their feet though, forgoing damage, in order to make them make a reflex ST in order not to fall. ST = 10 + whatever you make your to hit by when attacking their touch AC.

Sarona looks up at the gremlin and glares at it.

Evil Eye hex, targeting AC, DC 15 Will Save to have it only last 1 round instead of 7.

will ST: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf
Lupe (-2 con)
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Katsumi
Pugwampis
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -1 NL) and her familiar

Casper makes a tactical retreat out of range.

Vulpina steps forth; ”I do not believe we are a group that does well at range. Allow me to just...”

She points her pistol at the nest beneath a pugwampi and fires.

Dragon Pistol: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Still need to reroll for bad luck?
Dragon Pistol: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Vulpina steps forth; ”I do not believe we are a group that does well at range. Allow me to just...”

She points her pistol at the nest beneath a pugwampi and fires.

[dice=Dragon Pistol]1d20+5
Still need to reroll for bad luck?
[dice=Dragon Pistol]1d20+5

"Blast the little fiends!"

Casper backpedals in a hurry, realizing that he has little to no protection against the tiny darts. Lady Vulpina takes a shot at the rafters under one of their tiny feet and manages to do more than put a bunch of tiny holes in the structure. Assuming you use the scattergun option and you do not have a slug option that you would use. The AC on these fellows is 13 so, though you hit the area you were aiming for, the little nasty had moved on before you perforated it. You did manage to make a section of the rafters a bit less navigable though.

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Lupe (-2 con), Wolf
Katsumi
Pugwampis
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -1 NL) (and her familiar)
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Casper (-1 NL)

Lupe rides wolf over and attacks the little Fey (brown).

Morning Star (BP/CI): 1d20 + 0 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 0 + 3 + 1 = 23
Morning Star (BP/CI): 1d20 + 0 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 0 + 3 + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Katsumi steps over to the creature (black) and attacks.
cold iron kukri: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
cold iron kukri: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Wolf will attack whichever one is still standing.

Bite (BSP): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 + 1 = 13
Bite (BSP): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

All of the gremlins are in the rafters except for one who is hanging about 15' up and out of reach of melee weapons.

Wolf's is a review action.

Lupe attacks are -1 to the rolls.

New damage:

Sling damage: 1d3 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Katsumi's attack is the same for the bow.

Long bow damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4

They will attack the same creature.

Lupe manages to land a sling stone and does quite a bit of damage. At least for a gremlin! The gremlins continue to spread their shots around, even brown who does his best to stay out o the way of Lupe and dashes over to a new location after taking a shot a Lupe.

to hit Wolf: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
to hit Lupe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
to hit Katsumi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
to hit Rahella: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
to hit Sarona: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
to hit Lady Vulpina: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

This time Wolf, Katsumi, And Sarona take hits now that Casper has made himself scarce and is cowering behind a nearby pillar.

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Rahella (-1 NL)
Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf (-1 NL)
Lupe (-2 con)
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -2 NL) and her familiar
Katsumi (-1 NL)
Pugwampis (-2 brown)

Vulpina sighs, tut-tutting as she grabs a paper cartridge, tears off a corner, and reloads her pistol. "This may take a moment..."

"Ah, there we are."

KRAK!!

Shot vs. Frayed Rope: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Shot vs. Frayed Rope: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Roll damage. A rope Has an AC of 10 -5[dex 0] -2[not sure why] +4[diminuative]

For a grand total of 7!

Big bucks, no whammy, big bucks, no whammy—
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2
........it technically could have been less!

Sarona glares at another gremlin before following Casper's lead and retreating.

Another DC 15 Will Save to avoid having AC reduced by 2 for 7 rounds--successful save reduces AC for 1 round.

"I should have prepared more means of arcane ranged assault."

Lady's shot produces a lot of smoke and, for a moment, the rope seems unharmed. The gremlin throws another rude gesture and prepares to climb to safety but, like in some cartoon, the rope breaks and the gremlin scurries up a length of rope that drops more quickly than it climbs, leaving the creature shaking its head in a pile of skulls 15' below where it fell from, largely uninjured except for it's pride.

damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Once again Sarona attempts an evil eye, but it sure seems like these pugwampis are immune.

will st: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf (-1 NL)
Lupe (-2 con)
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Katsumi (-1 NL)

Pugwampis (-2 brown)
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -2 NL) and her familiar

Rahella cursed as her spell missed and cast it once again, this time aiming for the nearest of the vile little creatures. Her eyes blackened and a jet of acid shot forth right at the creature to her right.
acid jet @ red: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 91d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
fort DC 13 to avoid being sickened for: 1d4 ⇒ 1rounds
Unfortunately the foul little things were far too agile for her to hit.
My Good my dice hate me in this game it seems.

Ugh. No need to roll twice with a start like that.

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf (-1 NL)
Lupe (-2 con)
Katsumi (-1 NL)

Pugwampis (-2 brown)
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -2 NL) and her familiar
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)

Katsumi Will fire his bow.
cold iron kukri: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
cold iron kukri: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Lupe will keep trying to hit at range

Morning Star (BP/CI): 1d20 + 0 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 0 + 2 + 1 = 22
Morning Star (BP/CI): 1d20 + 0 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 0 + 2 + 1 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Wolf will attack any that come near.

Bite (BSP): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4
Bite (BSP): 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Lupe manages to land a blow on the pugwampi that tried to slip away (brown) and it stands there staggered, a rude gesture halted in mid air. It looks at the arrow protruding from it in surprise and glowers at you.

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf (-1 NL)

Pugwampis (-6 brown)
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -2 NL) and her familiar
Lady Vulpina (-1 NL)
Lupe (-2 con)
Katsumi (-1 NL)

I'm assuming Casper continues to hide. He does not have a missile weapon useful in this situation and I doubt he is going to run through the battlefield in order to pick on the one that fell. But wolf has an opportunity to snap at the downed gremlin (green) before it dashes off and climbs back up.

Can I try to do Intimidate?

You can, but you need to come up with a way to do so without being able to speak their language. I require role-play for intimidate unless it is something like the enforcer feat. See 6.3 of the house rules.

Wolf will just keep redying the attack, though it does not look like they want to come close.

No, they are going to keep at range. There is that one on the ground though. Did you not want to engage it for some reason?

I'm ok for now.

You can, but you need to come up with a way to do so without being able to speak their language. I require role-play for intimidate unless it is something like the enforcer feat. See 6.3 of the house rules.

Can I make aggressive animal noises, like a predator that would be threatening to them?

That would not likely do much in a noisy room full of combat and with them in the rafters. Tell you what, take a shot at it with a -5 to your skill roll, but I think I need to move on.

The gremlins are hopping about from rafter to rafter, every shot with a hoot of derision and enjoyment, confident in their victory. Except for the one on foot who has grown strangely silent, probably worried about it's own skin. Even the injured one keeps up the insults, though he is in no shape to shoot.

to hit Wolf: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
to hit Lupe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
confirm Lupe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
to hit Katsumi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
to hit Rahella: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
to hit Lady Vulpina: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

This time it is Lupe and Lady that take hits.

Combat Card
Bold may go.

Casper (-1 NL)
Wolf (-1 NL)
Rahella (-1 NL)
Sarona (-1 con, -1 NL)
Lady Vulpina (-3 NL)
Lupe (-1 NL, -2 con)
Katsumi (-1 NL)

Pugwampis (-6 brown, grounded green)

Vulpina takes another packet from her jacket; tear, pour, tamp, annnnnd...

KRAK!

Dragon Pistol vs. Pugwampi Footing: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

POP!

There's a blast of smoke that doesn't seem to have all come from the front of the barrel, and the noblewoman coughs and waves her it away from her face.

"Misfire!"

1d20 ⇒ 18

That's 17 with my +4 and your -5. Does that do anything?

Casper effects his best impression of a pack of dire wolves that might devour the little devils for a mid afternoon snack.

Remember to roll twice due to the ill-luck. As noted, I will make the roll if you forget.

Casper intimidate: 1d20 + 4 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 4 - 5 = 15 Nice!

perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 Really nice!

Indeed, with those rolls it will work. Though how long it lasts is up in the air (though I will take your class ability into account) because
1) It is highly unlikely that a pack of dire wolves would be attacking.
2) Dire wolves are not a threat when they are in the rafters.
3) When the things do not appear it will get suspicious.
A pity you did not imitate Stirges! Though how would one even do that?

I assume you target the closest one (i.e. the one of greatest threat to the self serving Casper), though the one on the ground would be the most likely to be worried.

Katsumi Will fire his bow.
Long Bow: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Long Bow: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8