Dungeon Master S's "War for the Crown" AP

Game Master Chris Marsh

Ianthe does +2 additional damage from Inspire Courage. If her attack rolls don't account for it, it's +2 to Hit As well.

If her targets are within 30' of Corran, they also take +1d6 Sonic Damage.

Ianthe's damage correctly tallied (with bonus in Slack). I had a post vanish that resolved all the posted things... Paizo ate it. I'm not rewriting...

The topiaries continue to go after the two closest intruders.
Trunk v. Kenton: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Trunk v. Xavien: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

It's not a good start as wounds are coming fast before even entering the manor...

ROUND 2:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Xavien: Go

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Location: Stachys

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light, Aquatic
Enemy Conditions:

Kenton recoils from the blow but tries to give as well as he's been got. He maneuvers with another five-foot step and...

MW rapier: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
piercing (w/Precision): 1d6 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 5 = 12

Kenton steps to the remaining topiary and stabs it in the trunk!

Ianthe's damage correctly tallied (with bonus in Slack). I had a post vanish that resolved all the posted things... Paizo ate it. I'm not rewriting...

The topiaries continue to go after the two closest intruders.
Trunk v. Kenton: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Trunk v. Xavien: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

It's not a good start as wounds are coming fast before even entering the manor...

ROUND 1:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Hit
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Xavien: Go

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Location: Stachys

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light, Aquatic
Enemy Conditions:

Xavien takes a few steps round to stand opposite Kenton and hacks at the up-jumped shrubbery, humming along to Corran's song.

Koriana's Blade: 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 2 - 1 + 1 + 2 = 14
Slashing Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 3 + 2 = 16 plus Sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 4

AC 14, HP 33/48.

Xavien hits leaves, but nothing of the bole.

ROUND 2:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Xavien: Miss

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Kenton joins with Xavien in trying to fell the other shrubbery!

MW rapier: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 2 = 26
piercing (w/Precision): 1d6 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 5 = 10

Weapon drawn, Aurelia maneuvers around to the back of the topiary. She steps in to hack at it with her family’s longsword.
Longsword: 1d20 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 2 + 2 = 10
Damage (S): 1d8 - 1 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) - 1 + 2 + (6) = 13

this time Kenton sticks it, although Aurelia can't claim the same.

Xavien hits leaves, but nothing of the bole.

ROUND 2:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Hit
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Miss
Xavien: Miss

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Bolt to the head.

Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 2 + (2) = 11

"Darts and needles will find only sky between the branches!" Xavien calls. "Use a bladed weapon with some heft!"

Answering that particular call... Corran draws his falcata and goes to prune the hedges.

Falcata: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 13

Looks like a miss, friends. :(

Ianthe's bolt flies harmlessly, while Corran's swing is simply too short to connect.

The topiary bashes both Xavien and Aurelia above all others:
Bash v. Xavien: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Bash v. Aurelia: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 MISS

It's beginning to dawn on the party that no alarm has been raised, no guard is noticeably en route.

ROUND 3:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Xavien: Go]

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Aurelia waits and watches for Corran to attack before she takes another swing with her blade.
Longsword vs Topiary: 1d20 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 1 + 2 + 2 = 25
Crit Confirmation: 1d20 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 2 + 2 = 11
Damage (S): 1d8 - 1 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) - 1 + 2 + (2) = 9

She then takes a step away from the menacing shruggery, not looking to get hit by a stray branch.

I guess none of us have actually done this yet: Knowledge: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 (add another 4 if dungeoneering/engineering/geography/history/nature, or 9 if local, or 10 if nobility)

Xavien grits his teeth against the mounting wounds and hacks at the offending branches yet again.

Koriana's Blade @ Blue: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 13
Slashing Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 3 + 2 = 13 plus Sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 6

But the gods of fortune are looking the other way.

AC 14, HP 23/48.

Kenton keeps at it on Blue.

MW rapier: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 10 + 2 = 23
piercing (w/Precision): 1d6 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 5 = 13
plus sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Lady Aurelia makes a solid cut into the trunk of the topiary monster.

Xavien is at a loss for placing this thing, and similarly for hitting this thing. Kenton connects, though his thrust is muted. Thankfully the sonic power makes up for the loss.

ROUND 2:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Hit
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Hit
Xavien: Miss

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Aurelia watches as Ianthe reloads her crossbow, levels it, and fires again.
Crossbow vs Topiary (Firing into Melee): 1d20 + 3 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 1 - 4 = 15
Damage (P + d6 Sonic): 1d8 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 1 + (5) = 10

ROUND 3

Corran stops his performance, but the powers linger...

"Shouldn't we be neck deep in Birdsong guards by now?"

Knowledge Check on the Topiaries...?

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10 Bardic Knowledge.... I got 'em all. Anything that should apply should be 6 so prolly not.

Corran wades in and takes a wide slice...

Falcata: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 2 = 14 if hit... 1d8 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + (4) = 11

"This can't be it."

Can I... Sense Motive on the situation? Or look around and try to see where the other shoe might drop from?

Ianthe and Corran alike fail to end the shrub. Corran looks around, wondering .... if this is it. You can make a Perception check as a move action to look for the other shoe...

The topiary devoid of purpose beyond bashing the trespassers continues its work on Lady Aurelia:
NI: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17 for DMG: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

ROUND 3:
Topiaries: ATK
Kenton: Go
Ianthe: Go
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Xavien: Go

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Kenton connects, though his thrust is muted.

"Do not stab the thing! One fells a tree by chopping!" Xavien exclaims. He offers an extremely poor example, however.

Koriana's Blade: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 11
Slashing Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 3 + 2 = 18 plus Sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 2

AC 14, HP 23/48.

Kenton, through gritted teeth, nods and drops his rapier, whipping out his cavalry side blade in a blink (Quick Draw) and stepping into an advantageous position with Xavien (five-foot step), he uses the blade to try and protect Aurelia, hacking at the tree-shrub-thing.

gladius: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 9 + 1 + 2 = 16
slashing: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 plus sonic: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Perception as Move (if allowed): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Xavien misses, but Kenton gets a lucky hit in! By virtue of the sonic power of Corran's bardic talents, it's a kill shot! For scrubbing the shrubs, each agents earns 480 XP.

Breathing hard through his sore ribs, Kenton sheathes his gladius and picks up his rapier, then looks to Xavien and his wounds. How fare you, Lord Karthis?, though his eyes tell him well enough to hand over his potion of cure light wounds.

Perception:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15... Hrm. Do I see the other shoe?

Xavien looks down at his wounds. "I have seen worse. Those thorns do bite though!" He waves off Kenton's offer of a potion, fetching a thick wand instead.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 7) + 3 = 17
Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 5) + 3 = 15

Swapping for a thinner wand, he adds, "Kenton, good fellow, let me tend to your own scratches. And Aurelia dear, will you take some restorative? A pitiful lot we should look, greeting Bartleby like we had been tossed about by bandits on the road."

Cure Light Wounds @ Kenton: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Cure Light Wounds @ Kenton: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Cure Light Wounds @ Aurelia: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Brings everybody back to full, I believe. CMW wand 48/50 charges, CLW wand 17/50 charges.

"Why thank you, Lord Karthis," Aurelia says right after her wounds close from the wand's magic. "It was an unpleasant cut, and I'm glad it will trouble me no longer."

Corran, really worried, doesn't see the other shoe... which only worries him more.

The party takes shelter behind a low wall to heal up. Still, no one comes. Where to now?

"I got a bad feeling about this. And I'm extra worried because--since I do have a bad feeling about this, my best idea is to head right in and spring this trap."

I recall studying a similar plan to send an attack directly into the mouth of the lion, Kenton says, relaying a quick synopsis of Pittick's Charge during the Grand Campaign. T'was on the Heaven's Step Offensive where the Taldan forces met their demise at the hands of the Qadiran army, reinforced by the Kelish Empire, with a poorly-conceived charge to the middle.

Kenton shakes his head. I advise against a frontal assault. Let us see what is at the rear of the manor home.

"Nonsense, nonsense!" Xavien laughs. "We need not enter with swords drawn and fangs bared, nor skulk in through a window. We had an appointment with Bartleby, and we are merely a little late. Let us see who we can speak with."

"Of course, we need not go in unarmed, either," he winks, intoning a pair of brief arcane phrases. Heroism and Heightened Awareness on myself. Each will last a little under an hour.

"Exactly. We are expected, and have been making ourselves a thorn in Bartleby's side for a bit now. He didn't expect the plants to kill us, just soften and slow us. Or those are just security measures in place. I fear if we look around for another entrance, we'll just run into more and waste ourselves on more ill-tempered shrubbery. Let's... Let's go in."

"Just so," Xavien agrees. He leads the way to the front doors and prepares to give the knocker a sharp rap...

...but deems it prudent to examine the entryway thoroughly before doing so. Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Aurelia shrugs. "My study of military battle tactics is limited, but in this case I feel we should focus more on the man behind this. And I am inclined to agree with Lords Karthis and Clement. Bartleby likely expects us to be cautious. So let us be bold."

Xavien looks in the windows by the main doors. Unsettlingly white walls flank this otherwise opulent grand hall. The walls are decorated with portraits and four carved columns support the ceiling. A soft, plush carpet provides traction on the shiny marble floors. It looks just as it did the last time you were here, albeit completely empty of people...

Xavien pulls his hood down low again and raps smartly on the door. If no one comes after a minute, he will gently open the door.

After a minute, Xavien opens the door. Map updated.

Something feels very much amiss, Kenton observes. Has the manor been abandoned?

He stands at the doorway and takes a close look at the hallway before entering.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 heh

Convinced there is nothing to fear, he steps into the hall and heads to the doors to his left.

Kenton steps in, assuming the worst, but not seeing the worst.

That includes not seeing the quartet of statues turn their eyes towards the man. With feet planted firmly together, these marble statue of female warriors hold stone swords. Simultaneously they step off their plinths to deal with the intruder!

INITIATIVE:
Enemy: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16
Aurelia: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10
Corran: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Ianthe: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Kenton: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Xavien: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

ROUND 1:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Go
Knowledge (Arcana): TBD
Corran: TBD
Aurelia: TBD

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Ianthe shouts ahead to Knowledge (Arcana), Watch out for the hole!

Create Pit, 10'x10'x30', Reflex DC 17

Ianthe opens with a spell to hopefully end the fight quickly.

Red: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (18) + 0 = 18 PASS
Blue: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (5) + 0 = 5 for DMG: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3

One of them immediately falls in! The thud shakes the very palace!

ROUND 1:
Xavien: Go
Ianthe: Pit
Knowledge (Arcana): TBD
Corran: TBD
Aurelia: TBD

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

"The rudeness deepens!" Xavien grins, looking admiringly at the animate statues.

Kn Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Edit: if that is enough, defensive abilities please.

Xavien draws his blade and charges in, plowing his shoulder directly into the gut of the nearest statue. "Apologies, miss, but you are in my way!"

Bull Rush CMB @ Red: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 = 25

AC 13.

Xavien hurls himself forward. the statue slashes at him as he arrives: AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 for DMG: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Somehow he knocks the one ton statue back just far enough to send it tumbling into the pit! DMG: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

The remaining two statues advance!
ATK v. Kenton: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17 MISS
REF: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17 into the pit for DMG: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

ATK v. Xavien: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 for DMG: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
REF: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19 Safe!

ROUND 1:
Xavien: Bull Rush!
Ianthe: Pit
Knowledge (Arcana): ATK
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Kenton: Go

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Corran moves forward and chants out a lil Inspire Courage.

+2 Hit/Damage, +1d6 Sonic if the baddie is within 30' of me

Kenton moves over and gives up himself in an attempt to trip the statue, hoping it then rolls over into the pit.

Trip Combat Maneuver (provokes): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Kenton goes for broke too. AoO: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17 MISS
and he sends the 4th statue tumbling! DMG: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 4) = 9

This pit will last for 6 more rounds, and I'm not sure you can destroy them that fast. If the party runs past them, let me know. I'll give that opportunity. If you want to stay and plink them, that's fine too.

ROUND 1:
Xavien: Bull Rush!
Ianthe: Pit
Knowledge (Arcana): ATK
Corran: Go
Aurelia: Go
Kenton: Boom!

-----------------------------
Location: Palace of Birdsong

DM’s Tracker
Party Conditions:
Terrain Conditions: bright light
Enemy Conditions:

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24
Aurelia takes a moment to study the statues...

Indeed, caryatid columns! Weapons which strike them will most assuredly damage the weapon more than them. Magic is also near useless!

"Those statues are called 'caryatid columns'. You do not want to strike them with weapons that are not magical, as they are apt to do more damage to the weapon. And spells are nigh useless. Let's quickly move beyond their sight, as I expect they've been given simple instructions."

She moves up beside Kenton, looking to see what the warrior does next.