GM Xavier Kahlvet's Hell's Rebels 2e

Game Master KingTreyIII

"Thank you." Vitalis says with a smile, while thinking "Hypocrite" to himself.

"Let's pay this Wex a visit."

Jisara nods, and, once they're out of earshot of the landlord, whispers some instructions to Thatch.

"Go scout the hallway before we get up there, then tell me what you find."

Thatch's Perception and Stealth are both +10.

Thatch returns soon thereafter. ”Coast is clear.”

*

Just like the crotchety landlady said, apartment 303 is the first door on the right of the third floor. The door itself is, of course, locked. As no one appears to be around (and this is the apartment of a potential serial killer) Edrakk gets to work on the lock.

As it is not an overly complex lock, Edrakk manages to open it in several dozen seconds. With that, the PCs slip into the room before any of the neighbors ask questions.

Wex’s apartment is surprisingly large, with a spacious den that connects to a bedroom and bathroom. Two windows overlook the western side of the building—one in the bedroom and one in the den. The interior of the apartment is very clean, with bouquets of fragrant flowers arranged artfully about the space (though the faint odor of urine and rancid cheese still hangs in the air). Several full bookshelves sit against the wall. Upon casual observation, the area is completely average.

What do you do?

"Oh, nice home library! Let's see what our suspect reads in his free time between clockmaking and killing people."

Chance marches over to the bookcase and begins browsing the titles, looking for anything unusual, interesting, or suspicious

Vitalis crinkles his nose. "This place stinks. Not even Shelyn's bounty can get the piss smell out. Let's not linger too long. I don't want this foul odor to cling to me."

Vitalis wanders into the bedroom and starts looking around.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Holding a sleeve up to cover her nose, Jisara directs Thatch to search the apartment, focusing in particular on places that larger humanoids could easily miss, like under furniture. She herself joins Chance at the bookcase, hoping it will offer some clues.

"Chance," she says, as they sort through the titles, "don't you have a spell that could reveal any magical auras?"

Edrakk takes a moment to smell the bouquets of flowers. "Well, he seemed to try to hide the stench at least." Not seeing much else of note, he follows Jisara and Chance's lead to investigate the bookshelves.

"Do I? Oh, of course I do! Maybe you two can make some headway with these books while I look for anything magical."

Chance casts detect magic and scans the apartment, turning slowly a full 360 degrees. He will cast read aura on any magical items he can find, and plans to cast object reading on anything - magical or mundane - that looks like it might be a clue.

Chance doesn’t find anything magical in the apartment.

Neither Thatch nor Vitalis notice anything in the apartment.

The majority of the books on the shelves concern clockwork theory, tinkering, and machinery. However, a couple of books on anatomy and alchemical substances are among them as well.

"Well he's not here. I suppose we could wait."

"I suppose it was too much to hope for him to have My Crimes displayed prominently in his apartment," Jisara says, clearly frustrated. "But there must be something here, he's been sloppy everywhere else."

The PCs continue to search Varl Wex’s room for anything useful, but to no avail. They cannot find anything even remotely incriminating. That is, until Chance notices something very interesting: as the gnome passes through the bedroom, he notices that the window is open. When he did a scan of the apartment for magic, he went into the bedroom to do so, and he distinctly remembers that the that same window was closed at that point in time. When Chance moves to the window (and jumps a bit to actually see out of it), he notices that there is a ladder leaning against the building, leading from the ground to the now-open window! Map Updated

Before Chance even has a chance to mention the ladder he found, an audible slam is heard coming from the bathroom. In the next instant, someone rushes out of the bathroom: a wild-eyed, muscular Varisian man wearing a leg brace and a leather apron with many pockets—Varl Wex Character Profiles Updated. In his hand is a kukri etched with runes that glow blood-red.

No PC has weapons drawn since y’all were preoccupied with searching the apartment.

For the record, Wex just came out of a secret room in his bathroom that y’all failed to find.

Unhinged
Round 1
==============
Varl Wex
Chance/Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis
==============

Gauntlet: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26
Damage: 1d4 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 4 = 10 (Smite Evil)

Vitalis nearly leaps with surprise when the man suddenly bursts out of the bathroom. Almost reactively, he swings a steel fist radiating holy energy at the man's face. Then he takes a defensive step backwards away from Varl.

"Varl Wex, surrender now and answer for your crimes!"

◆ Smite Evil
◆ Strike (Gauntlet)
◆ Step

"The man of the hour!" Jisara exclaims, quickly recovering from Vex's surprise appearance. Before he can get more than a few steps into the room, she conjures a layer of slippery grease under his feet. Thatch, meanwhile, leaps up onto the desk against the northern wall of the room, hackles raised.

"Do try to take him alive, boys."

Jisara: ◆◆) Cast grease in the highlighted squares, DC 22 Acrobatics or Reflex. ◆) Cast shield, AC 23 Hardness 10.
Thatch: ◆ from Independent) Leap.

Sorry (again) for my inconsistent posting. I started at my new firm this week, and between onboarding meetings and reaching out to clients to get them moved I've been jammed. Hoping that the worst of it will be done by the end of next week.

Chance runs to the bedroom doorway to tell the others about the window and ladder, then skids to a stop when he hears combat start. Instead of plunging through the (I assume) open door into the living room, he takes cover against the wall and begins to sing.

"Oh, once upon a looking for Varl Wex time
He was a tough Varisian killer
Tough killer, rough tough killer, oh oh oh
Looking for a killer
Just started looking for Varl Wex
The Kintargan clockwork blacksmith
Tough killer, rough tough killer, oh oh oh
Hear he smells like old cheese"

◆: Stride
◆: Take cover
◆: Cast a spell, inspire courage
Reaction (whichever is triggered first, if either):
↻: Shadow Projectile (Trigger an ally within 20 feet of you makes a ranged attack roll)

↻: Unexpected Shift (if triggered)

Edrakk has his beak deep in one of Varl's alchemical volumes when the slam makes him drop it in surprise, and he turns eith the rest of the group to face Wex. For a moment, he stares at the kukri in the man's hand, images of it's use popping into his head, before Vitalis's declaration snaps him out of it. Frantically, he digs through his bag, and pulls out a vial filled with a dark purple gas. He throws it at Wex, before fumbling to draw his own knives and hold them in front of himself defensively.

When it breaks open, the vial releases a glittering shadowy cloud that envelops Varl.

◆ Draw a dread ampoule, moderate
◆ Dread Ampoule, Mod. + Inspire Courage: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 12 + 1 = 20, 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 = 7 Mental + frightened 1, 2 mental splash
◆ Draw tengu gale blade

Resolving in turn order rather than post order.

Chance rushes out and presses himself against the wall as he sings.

Edrakk pulls out a bag of purple gas and launches it at Wex, while Chance uses his magic to fire a shadowy version of that bomb!

Wex Will vs shadow projectile: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26

Wex is shocked to find another bomb coming at him from behind, and is thus distracted by Edrakk’s bomb, but even so, the bomb fails to properly find its path and explodes at Wex’s feet! Technically Chance would take the splash damage, but because of the hard corner and the fact that he’s Taking Cover, I’ll say that he doesn’t take it. But Vitalis still would.

Jisara conjures grease beneath Wex’s feet while she protects herself. Thatch meanwhile jumps onto the furniture.

Wex Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32

Wex manages to grab hold of the doorframe to stabilize himself against the grease.

Vitalis punches at Wex and only manages to graze his knuckles along the serial killer’s back. Yes, that is including the +1 from inspire courage; a 27 misses. And for the record, the bonus damage from Smite Evil only applies to your blade ally (your glaive), so the extra damage wouldn’t have applied to your gauntlet Strike (however, you don’t actually need to be wielding your glaive to use that).

Wex growls then ◆ Steps over and looks directly at Chance! The killer reaches out with his free hand and tries to put Chance in a headlock! ◆ Grapple

Wex Athletics vs Chance Fort DC: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (4) + 18 = 22

Wex puts his arm around the gnome’s neck as he lifts him up and brings his mouth close to Chance’s ear.

◇ Subdue Hostage: when Wex successfully Grapples a creature, he Demoralizes that creature as a free action.

Wex Intimidation vs Chance Will DC: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37

The serial killer then takes his kukri and slashes it across Chance’s cheek! Technically, there’s a small lip of the door frame that could provide cover, so I’m going to say that you would have cover against this (since you Took Cover).

Wex vs Chance FF w/cover and frightened 2; 2nd, agile: 1d20 + 19 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 19 - 4 = 27
Damage; Sneak Attack: 2d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) + 6 + (6, 2) = 22 plus 1d6 persistent bleed

Wex presses the recurve of his kukri against Chance’s neck to prove just how serious he is.

@Vitalis: Smite Evil has extended until the end of Wex’s next turn.

Unhinged
Round 2
==============
Varl Wex (-2)
Chance (-22) {grabbed; frightened 2; 1d6 persistent bleed}
Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis (-2)
==============

And for the record, the bonus damage from Smite Evil only applies to your blade ally (your glaive), so the extra damage wouldn’t have applied to your gauntlet Strike (however, you don’t actually need to be wielding your glaive to use that).

New ability. I missed that part.

Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 15 + 1 = 33
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1) + 4 + 4 + 1 = 11(Well that's crap damage)

Does Chance provide flanking when grabbed?

Vitalis draws his glaive and steps around the edge of the grease to get closer to his enemy. He swings the glaive into Varl to get his attention.

"You let him go! I won't hold back if anything happens to him!"

◆Draw Glaive
◆Stride
◆Strike

Chance stops his performance and his voice drops to a choked whisper. "I don't think he likes my singing!" He kicks his feet in the air in futile attempts to escape.

◆: Escape (attack), frightened 2: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 11 - 2 = 23
◆: Escape (attack), frightened 2, second attack: 1d20 + 11 - 2 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 11 - 2 - 5 = 18
◆: Escape (attack), frightened 2, third attack: 1d20 + 11 - 2 - 10 ⇒ (12) + 11 - 2 - 10 = 11

FYI, Chance, the second Escape attempt was a critical failure, which means you can't attempt to Escape any more that turn, so you still have one more action to do something else if you wish.

Usually I try not to bot half the party (rounded up) at a time, but I’ll make an exception due to Jisara’s explanation in the Discussion. Resolving in turn order.

Chance struggles in Wex’s grip, but doesn’t manage to escape his grasp. The gnome then does his best to whistle in an attempt to continue his performance despite the kukri at his throat. Replacing the third Escape with inspire courage.

Bleed Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Botting Edrakk: Edrakk pulls out a vial of leadenleg, applies it to his game blade, then pulls out an elixir of life.

Botting Jisara: Jisara casts life boost on Chance, then casts electric arc on Wex.

Electricity Damsge: 3d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 2, 1) + 4 = 11
Wex basic Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 20 = 28

Does Chance provide flanking when grabbed?

Technically, yes, but…

Vitalis moves over and yells as he screams at Wex! Wex chuckles at the paladin’s words. ”Oh really?” ↻ Endanger Hostage

Wex Athletics vs Chance Fort DC w/frightened 1: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 26 Success

Suddenly, Wex grabs hold of Chance’s body and turns around, forcing the grabbed gnome to move right in the way of Vitalis’s glaive!!! Wex repositions Chance to be in Vitalis’s reach (while still being adjacent to Wex), and Vitalis’s Strike now resolves against Chance rather than Wex. Chance doesn’t take the good damage because a) he’s not evil, and b) the damage is specifically only against Wex. However, Vitalis’s attack is a crit against Chance.

Damage w/Deadly: 1d8 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22

Wex chuckles at Vitalis’s horror as his glaive cuts deep into his own ally! The serial killer attempts to reestablish his grip on the gnome.

◆ Wex Grapple vs Chance w/frightened 1: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23 That is technically an attack, so that will further extend Smite Evil’s duration.

Wex then stares straight at Vitalis as he starts tracing the kukri’s runes with the thumb of the hand grabbing Chance, and the sanguine runes on his kukri start to glow as his thumb passes over them. Soon thereafter, Wex’s eyes turn pure black as he seems to stare right into the paladin’s soul! Vitalis feels his skin start to wither and rot as he stares into Wex’s eyes and can’t seem to look away! ◆◆ Death Gaze

Negative Damage: 5d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3, 2, 3) = 20
Vitalis basic Fort: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17 Failure

Just as quickly as it had begun, Wex blinks and his eyes return to normal.

Unhinged
Round 3
==============
Varl Wex (-7)
Chance (-43) {grabbed; frightened 1; 1d6 persistent bleed; Fast Healing 6: Round 1 of 4}
Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis (-22)
==============

I'm going to go out on a limb here, but since I got a crit on Chance, that would also activate my glaive's critical effect of moving the target 5 ft.

Grabbed: You're held in place by another creature, giving you the flat-footed and immobilized conditions.

Immobilized: You can't use any action with the move trait. If you're immobilized by something holding you in place and an external force would move you out of your space, the force must succeed at a check against either the DC of the effect holding you in place or the relevant defense (usually Fortitude DC) of the monster holding you in place.

Moving Through Another Creature's Space: You can’t end your turn in a square occupied by another creature, though you can end a move action in its square provided that you immediately use another move action to leave that square. If two creatures end up in the same square by accident, the GM determines which one is forced out of the square (or whether one falls prone).

So grabbed says the target gains the immobilized condition and the immobilized condition says if an external force would move the target, the force needs to make a relevant check.

Unfortunately, there are no free spaces out of Varl's reach, but it would be a DM call if I can yank him into, let's say Edrakk's space, and he could either fall prone or be forced back out of the square (but it might still break the grapple for leaving the space next to Varl even if he returns back to it).

If you'll allow it, here's my check.
Athletics: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 15 + 1 = 30

Let me know before I decide what to do on my next turn.

Huh. That's certainly a wacky way to make a crit against your ally work out in your favor. All things considered, I'm going to say that, with that check and all the weird rules interactions going on, what happens is that Vitalis pulls Chance into Edrakk's space and Chance falls prone, thus breaking the grapple. Due to that, I will redo Wex's turn. But I will keep any relevant rolls that I rolled in the previous post. Hero Point to Vitalis for all of that.

Wex growls and moves over to the window and grabs Jisara! Using the roll in my last post for the Grapple check, so that’ll be a 23 against Jisara’s Fort DC (which succeeds).

◇ Subdue Hostage

Wex Intimidation vs Jisara Will DC: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26

Wex then moves to slice at Jisara’s arm!

◆ Wex vs Jisara FF w/frightened 1; 2nd, agile: 1d20 + 19 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 19 - 4 = 19
Damage; Sneak Attack: 2d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) + 6 + (1, 2) = 16 plus 1d6 persistent bleed

Okay, that will trigger Retributive Strike, but I’ll leave it to Vitalis as to whether or not he wants to use it (since you now know about Wex’s reaction). I’ll have all the relevant rolls (including Vitalis’s Strike, since that’s not optional) in the spoiler below if you wish to use it.

Possible consequences of the Retributive Strike are not reflected in the initiative card currently.

Unhinged
Round 3
==============
Varl Wex (-7)
Chance (-43) {prone; frightened 1; 1d6 persistent bleed; Fast Healing 6: Round 1 of 4}
Edrakk
Jisara (-16) {grabbed; frightened 1; 1d6 persistent bleed}
Vitalis (-2)
==============

Chance crawls between the tengu's legs and collapses on the floor behind him. He takes a few shuddering breaths and, voice quavering from blood loss, starts to weave his original tune into a new, attention-grabbing spell.

"Tough killer, Varl Wex the killer, oh oh oh
Now I know he smells like old cheese!"

◆: Crawl
◆◆: Cast a spell: roaring applause, DC 22 Will save
↻: Unexpected Shift (if triggered)

Chance lifts his head up and peers between Edrakk's skinny bird legs to see if the murderer liked his singing.

Okay, that will trigger Retributive Strike, but I’ll leave it to Vitalis as to whether or not he wants to use it (since you now know about Wex’s reaction). I’ll have all the relevant rolls (including Vitalis’s Strike, since that’s not optional) in the spoiler below if you wish to use it.

It may have worked out unexpectedly the first time, but Vitalis isn't going to make a habit of hooking his allies. Instead, I'll use my previously unused reaction Protector's Sacrifice to transfer 9 of the damage done to Jisara to Vitalis instead.

Cast a spell: roaring applause, DC 22 Will save

Very nice!

As long as Varl doesn't get a critical success, he shouldn't be able to use his reaction this round. I'm going to take my action assuming this.

Vitalis hesitates, not wanting to risk injuring his friends while Varl Wex has Jisara in his grip. Then with Chance's distraction, he sees an opening and strikes.

Glaive: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (7, 1) + 4 + 4 = 16

Quickly, he dashes between Jisara and the killer and tries to push her away towards Edrakk.

Shove: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
I'm pushing Jisara but because of the grapple, this would likely be against Varl's Fort DC instead of Jisaras?

◆: Strike (Varl)
◆: Stride
◇: Remove 1 hand from glaive
◆: Shove (Jisara)

If Varl Wex does critically succeed on his save against the Roaring Applause, I'll move, shove, then put my hand back on the glaive.

Edrakk quickly attends to his fallen ally in front of him, attempting to patch up his many wound, and gives Chance a potion of healing, before turning back to focus on Wex again, drawing another bomb.

◆ Battle Medicine, DC 20: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26, 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (4, 8) + 10 = 22
◆ Give Chance the Elixir of Life
◆ Draw a blight bomb

Chance crawls away and tries to get Wex to applaud him.

Wex Will: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30 It was actually against DC 21 because of frightened, but that doesn’t matter

Wex looks curiously at Chance as he occasionally pounds his kukri’d hand against Jisara’s chest in applause.

Bleed Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Seeing his opportunity, Vitalis moves over and slices into Wex! As the killer is sliced into, the kukri in his hand glows and it seems to slice in retaliation at Vitalis—completely on its own and taking Wex’s arm along with it! ↻ Blood Vendetta (yes, I am fully aware of Wex’s debuff from roaring applause; this is the kukri’s reaction being used.)

Vitalis Fort: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28 Success

While the kukri gets nowhere close to hitting the paladin, Vitalis nevertheless growls in pain as a bloody wound opens up on his arm! 2d6 persistent bleed. The paladin then tries to shove Jisara out of Wex’s grasp, but ultimately fails.

Bleed Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Edrakk helps Chance with his wounds.

Botting Jisara: Jisara tries to Escape.

Jisara Escape; frightened 1: 1d20 + 11 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 11 - 1 = 17

She then casts ray of enfeeblement at Wex.

DC 5 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Jisara vs Wex; frightened 1: 1d20 + 12 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 12 - 1 = 18

Bleed Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Wex looks down at the kukri in his hand and stares at it deeply before briefly nodding. He shoves Jisara into the wall as he makes his way around the central table and through the grease.

Wex Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25 As it’s technically a check to Balance, the grease is treated as difficult terrain, so it takes him two actions to get to his final position.

Wex then raises his kukri and brings it down on the crawling Chance!

Wex vs Chance FF: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (5) + 19 = 24
Damage; Sneak Attack: 2d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) + 6 + (1, 4) = 21

Unhinged
Round 4
==============
Varl Wex (-23)
Chance (-37) {prone; 1d6 persistent bleed; Fast Healing 6: Round 2 of 4}
Edrakk
Jisara (-8) {1d6 persistent bleed}
Vitalis (-11) {2d6 persistent bleed}
==============

Edrakk stumbles back away from Wex, breath shaking and muttering panicked curses under his breath. Once he's a few feet away, he quickly lobs the bomb in his hand, wincing as the poisonous substances splash onto Chance, before turning to help Jisara.

◆ Step
◆ Blight Bomb vs. Wex: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27, 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (6, 5) + 2 = 13, 2 poison splash (sorry Chance), 2d4 persistent poison damage
◆ Battle Medicine on Jisara, DC 20: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23, 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (2, 8) + 10 = 20

"Yow! That blade has a mind of it's own." Vitalis exclaims when the kukri suddenly wounds him.

Vitalis chases after Varl and attacks him again.

Glaive: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 2) + 4 + 4 = 11

Glaive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Damage: 2d8 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 2) + 6 + 4 = 15

◆ Stride
◆ Strike
◆ Strike

Apparently I inadvertently turned off my IFTTT notifications for Gameplay posts for this campaign when I meant to turn them off for a now-discontinued Hell's Vengeance game I had been in. I set them back up, so should be able to keep up a little better now.

"Calm down, Varl! Just ... just stop trying to kill everyone!"

Chance crawls behind Vitalis and starts to sing.

"Calm down, you crazy smith,
You're much too violent to go on like this.
But if you're so tough, tell me
Why are we all still alive?
Why so angry,
What's the murder about?
You better cool it off
Before we take you out.
You've got clockwork to build
And only so many hours in a day, hey hey!
But you know that when the bodies grow cold
That you can kill all you want
But even murder gets old
We're gonna stop you
Then your killing spree will all be through
When will you realize
Hangman's noose waits for you..."

◆: Crawl
◆◆: Cast a Spell, calm emotions (signature spell, heightened to level 3, DC 22 Will save, burst placed so that only Wex is affected)
↻: Unexpected Shift (if triggered)

"Hang on, everybody - let's see if he's ready to talk."

Chance crawls away and casts inspire courage as he keeps Wex applauding.

Bleed Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 16

Edrakk throws a bomb at Wex, only managing to hit due to Chance’s music! He then patches up Jisara, closing the wound from which she is bleeding. Jisara’s now at full HP, so the persistent bleed stops.

Botting Jisara: Jisara casts shield, then casts a 3rd-level fear. Overkill, but the debuff is kinda needed.

Wex Will: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

Vitalis moves over and manages to slice into Wex!

Bleed Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Wex growls and once again slices his kukri at the fallen Chance!

◆ Wex vs Chance FF; frightened 1: 1d20 + 19 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 19 - 1 = 32
Damage; Sneak Attack (doubled from crit): 2d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (6, 1) + 6 + (1, 3) = 17 plus 1d12 persistent bleed specifically increases to 1d12 on a crit, rather than going to 2d6 like normally.

Vitalis intervenes in his friend’s assault ↻ Retributive Strike; Vitalis can roll the actual Strike then he traces the runes on his kukri and his eyes turn black as he stares at Vitalis, the paladin feeling his own skin starting to rot away! ◆◆ Death Glare

Negative Damage: 5d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 2, 1, 5) = 16
Vitalis basic Fort: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26 Success

Wex blinks, and his eyes return to normal.

Poison Damage: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Unhinged
Round 5
==============
Varl Wex (-57)
Chance (-64) {prone; 1d12 persistent bleed; Fast Healing 6: Round 3 of 4}
Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis (-26)
==============

Retributive Strike: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 1 = 28
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1, 5) + 4 + 1 = 11

Round 5
Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 15 + 1 = 20 Hero Point Reroll
Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 15 + 1 = 33
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3, 2) + 4 + 1 = 10

Vitalis swings his glaive at Varl again. He takes the brief opportunity after the strike to bend down and channel energy into Chance to heal some of his wounds. Heal Chance 18 hp. Also gives him a +2 AC bonus for the round.

◆ Strike
◆ Lay on Hands
◆ Put hand back on glaive

Could I have cast blood vendetta myself when he sliced me earlier? It's a few turns back and I was indisposed, so I definitely understand if you would prefer not to retcon.

Jisara takes advantage of her sudden freedom to send one of Wex's books hurtling across the room at him before granting Vitalis a bit of magical healing.

Telekinetic Projectile: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 12 + 1 = 31
Bludgeoning: 3d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1, 5, 6) + 4 + 1 = 17

◆◆: Cast telekinetic projectile. ◆: Cast life boost on Vitalis.

"Owwww.... thank you, Vitalis."

Chance keeps Wex magically distracted while he crawls past the paladin and huddles against the wall behind Edrakk. He continues his song, albeit weakly.

◆: Sustain a spell, roaring applause
◆: Crawl
◆: Cast a spell, inspire courage
↻: Unexpected Shift (if triggered)

Edrakk takes a small step over the grease and pulls out a vial filled with a slightly bluish-tinged liquid with metal shavings suspended in it, and hurls it at Wex, causing a burst of electricity.

◆ Step
◆◆ Drawing & Throwing Bottled Lightning: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 12 + 1 = 23, 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 3) + 2 = 8 + flat-footed until the start of my next turn, 2 splash to Vitalis (sorry!)

Hero Points have reset Sorry about the delay; yesterday was really bad for me.

Could I have cast blood vendetta myself when he sliced me earlier? It's a few turns back and I was indisposed, so I definitely understand if you would prefer not to retcon.

Yeah, I’ll allow that retcon.

Chance crawls back under Edrakk and continues his magic.

Bleed Damage: 1d12 ⇒ 10
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 9

Edrakk moves over and throws a bottled lightning that Wex dodges away from.

Jisara launches a book at Wex and hits him in the head, then begins healing Vitalis.

Vitalis heals Chance and Strikes at Wex. Technically, lay on hands doesn’t require you to have a hand free to use it, only to be able to touch Chance with any part of your hand, so I’ll replace that last action with another Strike. And I probably should have mentioned this before, but Smite Evil did have its duration extended, so another 4 damage.

Vitalis vs Wex; 2nd, inspire courage: 1d20 + 15 - 5 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 15 - 5 + 1 = 19
Damage; Smite Evil, forceful, inspire courage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6, 8) + 4 + 4 + 2 + 1 = 25

Wex coughs up blood as he is bombarded by attacks in all directions, but he nevertheless remains standing! The man swings the glowing kukri’s spine at Vitalis’s legs! ◆ Trip. Kukris were not traditionally used as a tripping weapon, but Pathfinder has them with the trip trait for some reason! Also, because he’s using the weapon to Trip, Wex adds the weapons item bonus from its potency rune to the check to Trip.

Wex Athletics vs Vitalis Reflex DC; item bonus: 1d20 + 18 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 18 + 1 = 23

Vitalis falls off from his feet, and with the threat on the ground, Wex ◆ Steps onto the grease and swings his kukri down on the fallen gnome! And that will extend Smite Evil for another round.

◆ Wex vs Chance FF w/lay on hands; 2nd, agile: 1d20 + 19 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 19 - 4 = 31 Thank your paladin for saving you from a crit.
Damage; Sneak Attack: 2d6 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 + (2, 1) = 13

Even despite being on the ground, Vitalis manages to intervene with his glaive against Wex! ↻ Retributive Strike (Vitalis rolls the actual Strike)

Unhinged
Round 6
==============
Varl Wex (-107)
Chance (-55) {prone; 1d12 persistent bleed}
Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis (-22) {Prone; Fast Healing 6: Round 1 of 4}
==============

Retributive Strike: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 15 + 1 = 24
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4, 1) + 4 + 4 + 1 = 14

Vitalis pushes himself up off the floor and glares at Wex angrily. "Tripping me was a mistake," he growls. Then he lays into Wex with his glaive.

Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 15 + 1 = 20 Hero Point Reroll
Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 15 + 1 = 34
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (7, 7) + 4 + 4 + 1 = 23

Glaive: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 10 + 1 = 30
Damage: 2d8 + 6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1) + 6 + 4 + 1 = 13

◆Stand
◆◆Strike x2

"Yeah, tripping Vitalis was a mistake! But I'll just stay down here on the floor."

Chance sustains his roaring applause and crawls behind Jisara, singing and leaving a trail of blood behind him.

◆: Crawl
◆: Sustain a spell, roaring applause
◆: Cast a spell, inspire courage

Jisara tries to clobber Wex with the book again, but stumbles over Chance as she's backing away from the serial killer.

Telekinetic Projectile: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 12 + 1 = 14
Bludgeoning: 3d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4, 2, 2) + 4 + 1 = 13

◆◆: Cast telekinetic projectile. ◆: Step.

Chance continues to move away while keeping his magic going.

Bleed Damage: 1d12 ⇒ 5
DC 15 flat: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Botting Edrakk: Edrakk Steps over and uses Battle Medicine on Vitalis.

Medicine; DC 20: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

He then slices his gale blade at Wex.

Edrakk vs Wex; inspire courage: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 12 + 1 = 14
Damage; inspire courage: 2d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4, 2) + 1 + 1 = 8

Jisara flings another book at Wex, but he easily dodges it.

Vitalis stands up and slices his glaive twice into Wex.

Wex growls once more as he moves across the grease…

Wex Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21

…but the man slips and falls! He curses under his breath as he stands back up and tries again to move.

Wex Reflex: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21

But doesn’t get his footing and slips once more!

Unhinged
Round 7
==============
Varl Wex (-143) {prone}
Chance (-60) {prone; 1d12 persistent bleed}
Edrakk
Jisara
Vitalis (-16) {Prone; Fast Healing 6: Round 2 of 4}
==============

Glaive: 1d20 + 15 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 15 + 1 - 2 = 32 Nonlethal
Damage: 2d8 + 4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2, 8) + 4 + 4 + 1 = 19

Glaive: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 1 - 2 = 23 Nonlethal
Damage: 2d8 + 6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1) + 6 + 4 + 1 = 13

Sensing the battle nearing its end, Vitalis starts hammering at Varl Wex with the butt of his glaive in an attempt to knock him out. Perhaps they could get some answers out of him. He also takes a step in front of the front door in case Wex tries to escape.

◆◆Glaive x2
◆Step

Vitalis raises his glaive up high and brings the butt of it down on Varl Wex’s stomach! The tinkerer lets out a forceful gasp as his eyes roll to the back of his head, the glowing kukri clattering onto the ground beside him. Silence hangs in the air as the PCs’ adrenaline exits their system, the serial killer now clearly down for the count.

What do you do?

Chance mutters “Yeah, give him one for me, Vitalis,” and casts soothe on himself (heightened to level 3).

Soothe (level 3): 3d10 + 12 ⇒ (4, 5, 5) + 12 = 26

He casts the spell again at level 2.

Soothe (level 2): 2d10 + 8 ⇒ (4, 10) + 8 = 22

"Edrakk, do you still have the day’s healing magic on those gloves?”
Wincing and still bleeding, Chance clambers up to feet and stumbles over to the unconscious killer. “Let’s see what we can learn from his weapon, Jisara.”
(If nobody has any healing left that won’t cost resources, Chance will cast another level 3 soothe to heal the rest of the way to full.)

Chance casts Loremaster’s Etude and tries to identify the magic on the kukri.
Chance will use Occultism (rolling twice and taking the better result), assuming Jisara is better than he is at Arcana.

Whatever the result of the Identify Magic checks, unless it seems like merely touching the kukri is dangerous, Chance will grab it by the handle and cast object reading on it.

"Be careful with that weapon, Chance. It's capable of reacting on its own." Vitalis warns.

Vitalis starts searaching Wex's body and removes any other weapons, tools, etc. that would be dangerous to leave on his person.

"Now what should we do with him? He seems rather skilled. I doubt the mundane items I have on me will keep him restrained for long."

Other than identifying the kukri, I'll refocus as needed to get us all patched back up.

Jisara steadfastly refuses to touch the weapon directly, only turning it over as needed with her own dagger. "Whether through design or incompetence, our dear friend has managed to bind these runes permanently to the weapon itself. I'm not confident that it's not cursed, either.

"As for what to do with the man himself, I think we should either kill the man now or bring him to Master Haace. I'm curious to see Milanite justice."

"The weapon should probably be destroyed but I don't know if we have the means to do so." Vitalis searches for a box or other container and scoops the dagger into it for transport. Then he hefts Varl Wex's unconscious body over his shoulder. "That's a good idea. Let's see what Master Haace has to say to this man. I don't deny that this man's crimes warrant his execution and I won't stand in the way of justice."

"I knew I liked you," Jisara says, lightly elbowing Vitalis before preceding him out of the apartment.

Thatch, following close behind, stops in the doorway to turn and lock gazes with the paladin for a long moment before bounding off to catch up with her.

Vitalis jokes with odd familial levity. "Since when?"

Vitalis searches for a box or other container and scoops the dagger into it for transport.

As Vitalis searches, he enters Wex’s secret room for the first time. Inside the 4-foot tall room he finds a few heaps of books and papers as well as a small stand the stand was where Wex keeps the kukri.

The majority of the books and notes are, like the strangely off-topic books in the front room, concerned with medical and alchemical notes. Here, taken in context, they suggest a disturbing focus in the grisly studies of anatomy, the nature of blood, and theories on the source and ultimate fate of the mortal soul. Many of the notes focus on the rather lurid history of Kintargo’s time under the knife of the Temple Hill Slasher. The bulk of these notes contains nothing new, but one note in particular considers the possibility that Mangvhune may have been manipulated by supernatural forces beyond this world, and that his spirit may have somehow become anchored to Kintargo due to some strange eldritch and primordial feature of the region, yet the note does not go into further detail.

Of more immediate interest are several notes that seem to have been written by Wex himself. The notes detail Wex’s extensive research into the kukri in his possession. Wex had apparently found the weapon for sale at the Newt Market and became drawn to it. Further research found that the kukri was once a weapon used by the Skinsaw Cult (a sect of Norgorberites devoted to the murderous aspect of the god known as Father Skinsaw), and how Mangvhune himself once owned the blade. Wex apparently believed that Mangvhune’s spirit resides in the blade, and that the weapon came into his hands because he was destined to carry on the Temple Hill Slasher’s work.