EbonFist's #7-15 The Deepmarket Deception (Inactive)

Game Master EbonFist

Possibly, but sometimes scenarios like to pretend we didn't.

Grandblade creeps over to the doorway leading deeper into the complex, greatsword at the ready.

"Shall we?" He uses the cantrip Open to open the door from about 10ft away, then returns his hands to gripping the weapon.

Crowe raises a palm, "Wait."

He casts a spell on himself, warding against the evils of Lamashtu and Snakes.
Protection from Evil

"Okay, let's go."

Crowe hefts his earthbreaker.

This room contains tools, barrels of water, and other mundane items. You have been in supply rooms often enough to know, or at least highly suspect that's what this is.

The door opposite the one you came in refuses to open, though you don't see any sort of lock.

When/if you try the other door in the room, it opens easily enough and there is a wide open tunnel leading out of the room, as well.

What now? Unyielding door? Yielding door? Tunnel? Back the way you came? Something else?

The yielding door and the door in the clumsy eater room look like they go to the same place and Diazepane votes for that room.

The yielding door and the door in the clumsy eater room look like they go to the same place and Diazepane votes for that room.

Crowe nods at Diazepane's suggestion.

Then he pushes the door open.

Given the stacks of cots and personal belongings against the western wall in this room, you assume that it is used as a barracks. There just doesn't happen to be anyone sleeping or lounging here at the moment.

Actions? Unyielding door? Tunnel? Back the way you came? Something else?

Voting tunnel.

Tunnel

Crowe strolls down the tunnel, "What have we got here?"
perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

With the potion still in effect, he sneaks without thinking about it.
stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18

The tunnel continues forward but a 10 foot opening to the left as they travel down it reveals a round room.

This wide, open chamber smells of rotten flesh and harsh chemicals. A curved workbench with dozens of drawers sits against the southern wall of this room, its surface covered with surgical tools, body parts, and alchemical items. On the workbench, a hairless six-legged rat the size of a housecat floats in a vat of blue liquid. The creature’s body is covered in surgical wounds that have been carefully sutured shut.

A wizened little creature that looks like a dark skinned cross between a gnome and goblin works at the bench while a six legged rat the size of a pony lays nearby. They both snarl as the Pathfinders appear.

Before jumping into combat, Crowe spots a deeper crack in the floor in a fairly regular shape that suggests a pit trap.

Everyone please arrange yourself on the map before initiative. The six legged rat and the humanoid are featured on the last slide.

Secret Tunnel!

Diazepane has Disable Device, if needed.

Castinus' eyes narrow, concentration kicking in ahead of what promises to be conflict ahead with the diminutive alchemist plus his mutant rat friend. He calls out, pointing his rapier directly at the chest of at the small wizened humanoid "You there! Tell me, what's your name? You're late!"

The Ganzi stands beside the half-elf, his blade poised in a ready position. The energy swirls about him despite the stillness of his form. His smile, as usual, spreads ear to ear and his hair blows in a non-existent breeze.

Grandblade strides in, blade at the ready, heading towards the front of the party.
Prebuff; Shield.

Before Kal'Ryon and Grandblade can set it off, Crowe points out the subtle markings on the floor that suggest it is not stable and opens onto some sort of dangerous pit. (I assume. The white dashed square is a pit trap Crowe noticed.

"I'm Yekai Deathhand. The fact that you don't know that tells me everything I need to know about whether or not you belong here, interloper!" the little man answers.

Spotting the trap and moving quickly, Ichio hurries up and disables the pit's triggering mechanism before Kal'Ryon or Grandblade can trip it.

But that only gives Yekai more targets. He grabs a vial from the table next to him, shoves an oblong pellet into it, shakes it and throws it at Kal'Ryon.

Bomb: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22
Fire Damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 2, 4, 1) + 4 = 17

Granblade, Castinus, Crowe and Ichio take 8 points of fire damage with a DC18 Reflex save for half

Round 1. The BOLD may act.
Ichio -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
Yekai
Diazepane
Crowe -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
Castinus -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
Kal'Ryon -17HP
Rat Thing
Grandblade -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)

Knowledge(nature): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26
Knowledge(planes): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

Diazepane moves up and throws a frost bomb at the rat (unless he identifies it as having cold resistance).

Frost Bomb, PBS vs FF, T: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Cold, PBS: 3d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 2, 6) + 7 = 20 plus DC 18 Fort vs staggered

reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Crowe shakes his head and steps up to take a swing at the alchemist.
attack: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33
damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (2, 3) + 14 = 19

Diazepane screams and wets his pants a little before he realizes Crowe intends to attack the other alchemist.

As the flask of bottled hellfire arcs across the room towards them, Castinus tumbles forward and twists mid-air, Neo-style, evading the worst of the blossoming ball of heat behind him: bullet time! reflex save: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

Emerging from his tucked roll in one graceful movement he dashes across the room to dart and flick at the rat-thing with rapier.

" 'Yekai Deathhand', eh? Never heard of you - but I did say you would be late - as in, the late Yekai Deathhand. En garde!"

move, stabby stabby, stab stab: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 191d6 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

If the creature should choose to attack Castinus in it's next turn, he will invoke parry/ripost for one panache point

parry: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
ripost: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 101d6 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

The blast of fire surrounds Kal's form, and out of the flame runs the shifting form of the Ganzi, blade at the ready. Feigning a powerful blow, Kal instead quickly sweeps a the feet of the alchemist. Rage, Move, trip

Mst Guisarme, Trip, No PA: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 2 = 25

Diazepane lets out another squirt of urine and jumps up to avoid Kal'Ryon's attack. Oh, the other alchemist.

You guys want a haste when it is my turn? :)

Fort Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Diazepane lets fly with a frosty bomb that leaves the six legged rat creature sluggish.

Crowe lands a bone rattling blow on Yekai, but Castinus is not quite able to hit him. Perhaps its because he's already falling from Kal'Ryon's glaive tangling with his legs.

Despite being chilled to the bone, the rat thing maneuvers into a more advantageous position then...breathes.

It's so cold, its breath is visible as it washes over Crowe, Castinus and Kal'Ryon but there is also something foul in it.

Round 1. The BOLD may act.
Ichio -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
Yekai -19HP
Diazepane
Crowe -8HP (DC17 Fort Save needed)
Castinus -4HP (DC17 Fort Save needed)
Kal'Ryon -17HP (DC17 Fort Save needed)
Rat Thing -20HP
Grandblade -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)

fortitude: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

The breath attack doesn't require a standard action?

Gonna go with the haste.

Reflex DC18: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Grandblade takes the brunt of the splash damage. "Very well, my adversary! Prepare to face oblivion at the behest of a giant hammer from an angry man of Shoanti lineage!"

Grandblade casts Haste on the party, then moves north to get into position to shift into combat.

Uh-oh ...
fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Fort, DC 17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
I am going to expend the use of "quibble" to reroll that save

Feeling the cold wash over him, Kal is nearly overwhelmed. Just as the cold settles on him, the air about him springs to life- and there is a sudden jolt, as if an alternative reality has sprung into existence.

Fort, DC 17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

"Maneuvering" in this case meant taking a 5' step. The breathing did take a standard action.

Refl Save, Ichio: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

Ichio nimbly sidesteps the bomb blast then hurries into the room to attack the rat thing.

Wakisashi +1: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
Slashing: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

But he misses.

Yekai Deathhand finds himself in a very precarious position. All but surrounded by Pathfinders and unable to get away safely. He can't throw safely from this spot, either but killing his assailants seems his best option.

He lobs a bomb first at Crowe, then Castinus, managing to avoid getting himself in the blasts, somehow.

Crowe Bomb: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22
Fire Damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 1, 4, 6) + 4 = 19

Castinus Bomb: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Fire Damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 6, 2) + 4 = 20

Kal'Ryon gets caught in both splashes of fire and Diazepane in one of them.

Everyone is Hasted. Crow, Castinus and Kal'Ryon get attacks of Opportunity.
Round 2. The BOLD may act.
Ichio -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
Yekai -19HP
Diazepane -8HP DC18 Refl for Half
Crowe -27HP
Castinus -24HP (Unconscious and Plagued)
Kal'Ryon -17HP (Two DC 18 Refl Saves for half damage on 8 points each)
Rat Thing -20HP
Grandblade -8HP (DC18 Reflex Save for Half)
I may have messed all this up. I couldn't find anything about throwing from prone so I'm not entirely sure it's possible or what modifiers there might be. If someone who throws things a lot knows more, I'm open to correction. Also...can you crit with a bomb since it's a splash weapon?

It is a ranged weapon and RAW you simply cannot use it from prone. Trip is awesome. That guy needs to stand up and provoke. And then can only make one attack. Also, even if he can attack from prone, he provokes AoO for making a ranged attack while threatened, unless he has the correct feats.

But, if he gets that second attack, bombs can crit. They do default crit (20/x2).

I played an alchemist through most of Red Hand of Doom.

Thanks for the clarifications guys. I'm starting to see why people dread running games in this range. Following is what REALLY happens.

Yekai stands up, (provoking attacks of opportunity from Crowe, Kal'Ryon and Castinus) then slams a bomb against Crowe. (provoking another AoO from any of those 3 people who have Combat Reflexes.)

Kal'Ryon is caught in the splash zone.

[ooc]Everyone is Hasted. Crow, Castinus and Kal'Ryon get attacks of Opportunity.
Round 2, revised. The BOLD may act.
Ichio
Yekai -19HP
Diazepane
Crowe -27HP
Castinus -4HP (Plagued)
Kal'Ryon -17HP (DC 18 Refl Saves for half damage on another 8 points)
Rat Thing -20HP
Grandblade -8HP

attack: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (5, 5) + 14 = 24

Crowe reacts instinctively to the attack AoO then he steps to the side 5ft step and swings again at the bomber.

attack: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (1, 3) + 14 = 18

Diazepane thinks destruction ice is also great, and will suffice.

Frost Bomb, PBS, haste vs The Other Alchemist: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 8 + 1 + 1 = 22
Cold, PBS: 3d6 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6, 5) + 6 + 1 = 19 plus DC 18 vs staggered

He will then move to de-crowd the area.

I had a ratfolk alchemist in Giant Slayer that I loved. He was functionally unkillable- until he was killed.

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18 4 Fire Damage

As the fire once again washes over him, Kal swings his polearm at the thrower who is still offbalance.

Mst Guisarme, Rage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29 Damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (2, 2) + 8 = 12
Crit?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12 Extra Damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (1, 4) + 8 = 13

And immediately follows with another attempt to knock him off of his feet following it with a downward blow on the hopefully downed enemy.

Mst Guisarme, Trip, No PA: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 9 + 2 = 16

If that trips him, the next attack is as written. If the trip fails, he will attempt to trip again

Mst Guisarme, Rage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17 +4 if prone, +2 if a second trip attempt (and ignore damage) Damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (2, 3) + 8 = 13

Quite surprisingly, Crowe misses both his attacks. The little alchemist's luck does not last, though. First he's hit by Diazepane's bomb.

Fort: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

And is left sluggish by it's frosty effects.

Then, he's seriously cut by Kal'Ryon.

He manages to avoid the Ganzi's first attempt to knock him down again but the second knocks him back off his feet.

Everyone is Hasted. Castinus gets an attacks of Opportunity.
Round 2. The BOLD may act.
Ichio
Yekai -50HP (Staggered)
Diazepane
Crowe -27HP
Castinus -4HP (Plagued)
Kal'Ryon -21HP
Rat Thing -20HP
Grandblade -8HP

In a flash Castinus' life flashes before his eyes. Had the ratfolk got another bomb off - well, the thought (plus the first pange of disease running in his veins) sluices his bravado away like water down a drain. In its place there remains only a steely murderous rage, expressed in a flurry of weaving thrusts from the rapier. No words, just raking swirls of lethal steel.

aoo: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 201d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
5' step, flanking hasted regular attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 161d6 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
5' step, flanking hasted extra attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 131d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Castinus comes remarkably close to skewering the enemy alchemist twice, once when he's tossing the bomb and once when he ends up on his back and between the ISO (Investigator, Swashbuckler, Occultist) and Crowe.

But alas, close does not cook the kobold, as the saying goes.

Crowe finds himself in the unenviable position of being between the Aspis alchemist and his pony sized rat pet as said rat pet closes on him.

Bite plus Flank: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 2 = 20
Bite Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

It does not quite cook the kobold either, thanks to the speed that Grandblade instilled in the party.

Everyone is Hasted.
Bottom of Round 2/Top of Round 3. The BOLD may act.
Ichio
Yekai -50HP (Staggered)
Diazepane
Crowe -27HP
Castinus -4HP (Plagued)
Kal'Ryon -21HP
Rat Thing -20HP
Grandblade -8HP

Grandblade shifts forward, powering up his greatsword with Arcane Strike, and brings it down on the beast!

+1 Fire-Forged Greatsword Attack Roll + Haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 1 = 14
+1 Fire-Forged Greatsword Arcane Strike Damage Roll: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 4) + 7 = 14

+1 Fire-Forged Greatsword Attack Roll + Haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 1 = 24
+1 Fire-Forged Greatsword Arcane Strike Damage Roll: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (6, 6) + 7 = 19

I completely forgot about haste last turn, those attacks should have been at a +1, making Crowe’s attack on his turn a 21.

Also, should have had a second attack!
haste attack: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 14 + 1 = 25
damage: 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (3, 5) + 14 = 22

With their oversized weapons and magically induced speed, Grandblade and Crowe manage to down both the alchemist and his giant rat pet.

The Pathfinders are left in relative calm after the storm, just the bubbling of strange liquids and crackling of oddly colored fires and their own panting breaths left in the room.

What're you guys going to do in the aftermath of your victory? There is a tunnel leading north out of this room, and the tunnel that brought you here continues further to the south.

With a sigh of relief, Castinus bends forward, hands on knees and takes a moment to catch his breath. "Well done guys - good job. That could easily have been much worse. And quickly done too. We should finish here fast and push on, to maintain whatever element of surprise we might still have."

He bends down and rifles through the rat-things belongings like a junkie, passing anything alchemical on to Diazepane. perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Before heading on, he tickles himself with his ward of CLW and offers it round "Healing anyone?"CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

For Crowe if he acceptsCLW: 5d8 + 5 ⇒ (2, 3, 3, 4, 8) + 5 = 25
For Kal if he acceptsCLW: 4d8 + 4 ⇒ (7, 2, 3, 6) + 4 = 22

He muses the two options for moving on. "How about North? That gets my vote."

Before entering into the next room, Castinus pre-buffs with lead blades.

Crowe swaps Castinus' wand with his own before the healing begins.
One of the advantages of using a pre-gen: use up those consumables!

That's ten of the twenty charges on Crowe's wand gone.

Crowe shrugs, "North, sure."

Looking about, Crowe speaks his thoughts, "This is the place, and I don't think we are sneaking any more."

He then smears his oil of daylight over his earthbreaker.

Kal has a wand on infernal healing. If we can wait 3 minutes he would rather use that

Crowe’s wand is essentially free healing, because he is a pre-gen. You can save your charges. That said, I don’t mind waiting if you want to use the infernal.

On the bad bomber, Castinus finds 3 potions, a wand, 4 alchemists’ fires, 7 alchemical vials, 2 alchemical solids, fine leather armor, a fine cloak, an unusual flask, an alchemist’s kit, a formula book, fine thieves’ tools, a bronze Aspis Consortium badge, and 35 gp.

The underside of the desk the alchemist was working at is crammed full of papers, mostly in various drawers but also spilling out.

Let me know if you guys want to continue on to the north tunnel or if you want to rifle through Yekai's drawers.

Craft (alchemy): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35

Diazepane will instantly identify the items and then spend the time saved looking through the drawers.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Castinus would like to spend some time looking at the books alchemical formulae, and resolves to go back to them afterwards, should he survive. On seeing the bronze Aspis badge, he checks to ensure it is identical to the Aspis badge he has previously recovered. He puts it on his lapel.

know local, inspir: 1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (9) + 6 + (1) = 16

Grandblade heads towards the north tunnel, taking a peek inside but not stepping further than his party can see.