"Before we do that, who here wants some protection from fire? I have 2 wardings I can cast" while waiting for answers, Mauro conjures another expendable...
Mauro casts Resist Energy (Fire) on Antaral and Becky. After that, he counts down "Sending the skeleton in on three. One... Two...Three" and sends his minion in to trigger the haunt again.
Talath channels positive energy on the moving shadows. The glowing light and warmth terminating from him make the shadows recoil, however, it's not quite enough. He thinks perhaps one more channel would do it.
Antaral moves into the area and touches the Wand of Cure Light Wounds to the moving shadows.
Cure Light Wounds:1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
As the alchemist moves towards the shadows, the sky goes dark and firey meteors plummet to the ground!
Haunt (DC14 Reflex for half):6d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 4, 2, 5, 4) = 22
The damage of Talath's channel and the wand is enough to disperse the shadows. When other party members tentatively step into the area, nothing happens.
Crispin's rope is securely knotted and someone gives it an experimental tug to make sure it will hold a person's weight.
Meanwhile, someone else loots the elaborate (and now heatwarped and worthless) circlet set with a faceted sapphire (worth 875 gp) from the charred skeleton. The sapphire pops out easily from the ruined, warped circlet.
Mindful there are glyphs drawn by Durvin Gest, (post 1675) the party proceeds down into an enormous vertical cavern tunnel. (Mauro and Talath rolled but you weren't actually close enough. Now with the haunt gone, you can make the roll before climbing down the rope if you wish.)
With the party's various light sources, which are the only illumination here, you can see this chamber features an enormous vertical cavern tunnel
to the surface. Much of this structure has collapsed and is in severe disrepair, and everything sits skewed at an awkward angle. A portion of the chamber is flooded with water flowing from streams cascading through the overhead cavern opening. The floor, partially obscured by piles of broken stone and crumbling masonry, consists of corroded, interlocking tiles of copper and brass lined with delicate silver circuitry. A pair of steel doors are set in the wall to the north, and a break in the wall to the east reveals another chamber.
A fissure in the south wall of the caved-in chamber leads to a narrow, winding passage that eventually dips down below the water line in the cave. This dangerously narrow tunnel snakes on and on towards a journey that is beyond the scope of this adventure.
New combat map but not in combat. For no particular reason, you can make a generic Perception check since it's a new area.
Male Human Ranger 7 (Tidal Hunter) | AC 26, Touch 16 |Flat-footed 22 | HP 67 (67) | Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +3 | Init +6 | Perception +11*, Keen Scent; Huntress: Init +2, AC 20 (12 Tch, 18 Flt)
Asher looks around the ruins and does a quick casting of Lead Blades to prepare for whatever goes bump in the dark.
Nodachi base damage goes up to 2d8. Also, Asher has Furious Focus now, so Power Attack will give him no penalty to hit at all since he only has one attack per round.
Your cloak billows in the wind as you walk with purpose towards an impressive stone archway that reads Ankyhatyra in Azlanti letters. The building as it once stood is reminiscent of the Spindle Solutions tower, where you found Rayland and Eliza being held hostage.
As you're closing the distance with a feeling of self-importance and purpose, a cloud passes over the sun. No. Wait. Not a cloud. The ground shakes violently and as you turn you see smoldering remains. People are yelling and screaming all around you. Meteors are falling from the sky!
You rush forward - you're only a few steps away from the doors. Maybe you can still make it.
The vision ends. It must have been a quick death.
Antaral Yes! It was doing fire damage!
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
At the bottom of the hole, Mauro takes a good look around and pauses.
They quietly watch you with their glowing eyes as if setting up for an ambush. Smoke trails up from their burnt skulls and arms. They no longer have ears or a nose - those appear to have been scorched off.
You may act in a Surprise Round.
Pass Perception, then Knowledge Religion DC15:
These are blast shadows! Corpses commonly reanimated after a magical catastrophe or as a burnt offering to evil fire deities. You can assume probably the first.
At the same time as Crispin, Mauro shouts "Ware! Enemies!"
Both Mauro lashes out the closest critter, as his skeleton tries to grapple it, to keep it away...
Standard Action, skeleton : Grapple blue. Blue is flatfooted, so I can get a grapple in without eating an AoO...(barring combat reflexes or somesuch)
Standard Action, Mauro : attack blue.
@ Ventiine, you will need to adjust these rolls for cover; I'm not sure how much penalty applies so I haven't included it.
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
Becky looses one of her slightly-surprised-but-not-fully-panicked yelps before spewing out all the info she knows about how to battle these unusual undead. The little walking encyclopedia sounds smarter than ever...or maybe more concise...but whatever the reason, her words instill even more confidence than usual.
Bardic Performance (Naturalist--NOW +2!!): Round #1 of 14. +2 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities.
[ooc]Hopefully Becky's Knowledge check will be high enough to gain some extra info on our foes, such as what attacks they might be immune to.
Oh yeah, there's another roll we're going to need...
Init:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
depending on where Becky is in the init, Mauro and his Skelebro are at +2 on their attack rolls.
Also, @Asher you need that perception roll first, to act in the surprise round. @ Becky, Talath, I think Ventiine would appreciate it if we all actually kept track of our HP (and roll the reflex save Talath).
Male CG Aquatic Elf Male Cleric 7 | HP 59 / 59 | AC 24 / 14 T / 22 FF | CMD 16 | Fort + 11 Ref + 6 Will + 11 Init +2 | Perception +15 (Low-Light Vision)| Speed 40 ft. |Conditions: None (Fish Person) | Effects: None | Channels: 4/5
Mauro Ocela wrote:
Oh yeah, there's another roll we're going to need...
[dice=Init]1d20+2
depending on where Becky is in the init, Mauro and his Skelebro are at +2 on their attack rolls.
Also, @Asher you need that perception roll first, to act in the surprise round. @ Becky, Talath, I think Ventiine would appreciate it if we all actually kept track of our HP (and roll the reflex save Talath).
What Reflex save? Channel is a 30' burst radius so he wasn't getting anywhere close to the fireworks.
In the Surprise Round,Becky begins to inspire her companions with knowledge.
Crispin conjures Dancing Lights which illuminates the smoking undead. The party can clearly see visual steam rising from off the corpses as if they are very, very hot.
Becky:
Becky's knows shadow blasts are immune to fire and have undead traits. She also recalls these creatures have the ability to surround themselves in smoke as a free action, giving them concealment and inflicting fire damage to those within five feet. If the blast shadow takes any cold damage, this cloud is dispelled and cannot be renewed for 1d6 rounds.
Shadow blasts also explode when they die, doing a considerable amount of fire damage to those within 30 feet. Becky would not want her companions near the blast shadows when they're killed.
Because Death Burst is so nasty, I'll tell you DC: it is Reflex 18 for half damage.
Mauro's skeleton attempts to grapple the blue blast shadow! Mauro's ranseur misses the creature by inches.
In Round 1, a cloud of smoke appears around the blue blast shadow! Mauro and Talath feel as if there's a pleasantly warm fireplace near them. The bones of the skeletal servant brown and blacken!
Cloud of Smoke and Fire:1d6 ⇒ 5
The blue blast shadow claws out at Mauro's skeletal servant with one hot, steaming hand!
To hit (Cover penalty):1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 7 - 4 = 13 Claw 1 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 2 + (4) = 9 To hit (Cover penalty):1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 7 - 4 = 16 Claw 2 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 2 + (1) = 7
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
"Blast shadows!" Becky squeaks. "Use cold from a distance--they explode! Violently!!"
Unable to use cold attacks from a distance, however, the teen bard sighs, closes on the nearest undead, and wiggles her rapier in its general direction.
Becky Beys mwk rapier (Aid Another {attack roll}--Asher):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27RAWRGH!!! First time I use Aid Another and I waste a potential crit!! Uh--anyhow, +3 to Asher's attack roll (thanks to the Helpful trait).
Oops--forgot to mention that Becky's maintaining her bardic performance as well.
Bardic Performance (Naturalist--NOW +2!!): Round #2 of 14. +2 insight bonus to AC and on attack rolls and saving throws against extraordinary, supernatural, and spell-like abilities.
Bombs do fire damage. Can I rethink my action? ANd how long has it been since we climbed down? Just wondering if enlarge person has disappeared yet? I am still under the effects of my mutagen (str). It will last for a while still.
Male CG Aquatic Elf Male Cleric 7 | HP 59 / 59 | AC 24 / 14 T / 22 FF | CMD 16 | Fort + 11 Ref + 6 Will + 11 Init +2 | Perception +15 (Low-Light Vision)| Speed 40 ft. |Conditions: None (Fish Person) | Effects: None | Channels: 4/5
Antaral Ne'lethborn wrote:
Bombs do fire damage. Can I rethink my action? ANd how long has it been since we climbed down? Just wondering if enlarge person has disappeared yet? I am still under the effects of my mutagen (str). It will last for a while still.
It might help to let the GM know how many minutes Antaral's Enlarge Person effect lasts.
I'm not up yet, but a couple of things for Ventiine. 1) The skeleton is still up with 3 hp (thank's to becky's peformance adding to AC. Also note that if it goes down, I can pull it back up at full HP with an immediate action (and a focus point), and I will. 2)What does the cloud of smoke effect do by way of blocking vision?
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
@Mauro: The smoke provides concealment (among other things). I try to follow the unwritten "say as much as a person can say in 6 seconds--a sentence or two" rule with Becky's knowledge results. The rest of her info on blast shadows is scheduled for next round, but I figure the smoke cloud's concealment effect should be self-evident to anyone who has sight.
In the Surprise Round,Talath channels positive energy, harming the undead! (Apologies for forgetting the action.) Red Blast Shadow DC14 Will for half:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20 Blue Blast Shadow DC14 Will for half:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
In Round 1,Becky continues to inspire her companions, warning that the creatures explode "violently" and they should use cold abilities if able. The teen manages to keep focus, effectively providing aid to Asher. (+3 to attack roll)
Asher steps up to attack the red blast shadow, cutting deep into it with his nodachi! The undead looks a little ragged but doesn't appear to feel any pain.
Antaral mixes liquids and dry ingredients together off to the side as combat breaks out. He makes an excited noise and holds up the mixture to appreciate his work. (I think the typo should be +15, not +1 so he succeeds.)
Like the blue one, the red blast shadow surrounds itself with a could of fire-hot smoke. Asher and Becky are both seared from close proximity!
Cloud of Smoke and Fire:1d6 ⇒ 4
The red shadow blast claws out at Asher, who landed a hit on it! However, thanks to Becky's inspiring knowledge, Asher is able to avoid both attacks!
To hit (Cover penalty):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 Claw 1 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 2 + (6) = 10 To hit (Cover penalty):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 Claw 2 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 2 + (2) = 7
Both blast shadows currently have concealment (not total concealment which is 50% miss chance) because of Cloud of Smoke and Fire. It is a 20% chance to miss them because of their hot, firey cloud. 1-20 misses, 21-100 hits. You can roll the miss chance or I can. Your choice.
@Becky I appreciate you <3
@Antaral has a little over 4 minutes of Enlarge Person left. I adjust the size of everyone simultaneously and forgot - thanks for the reminder!
@Mauro Thanks for the reminder on your raising speed. I remember it was at 3 HP but I forget the total HP.
Becky has resist fire 10 from Mauro previously, so I don't think she takes any damage from the cloud of smoke and fire ability.
Mauro sets himself grimly and hacks at the nearest blast shadow, saying "I can hold this one in play in the water. The rest of you get the other one!". His skeletal servant joins him in attacking the blast shadow.
Sonic Blast (Su) The arcanist can loose a deafening blast of sonic energy by expending 1 point from her arcane reservoir and succeeding at a ranged touch attack against any one target within 30 feet. The blast deals 3d6+1 sonic damage. The target is also deafened for 1 minute. The target can attempt a Fortitude save (DC 13) to halve the damage and negate the deafness.
In Round 1,Crispin unleashes a Sonic Blast against the red blast shadow!
Concealment (1-20 miss):1d100 ⇒ 63 Fort DC13:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Mauro and his skeleton focus on the blue shadow blast but all of their attacks fail to land on the steaming undead! Talath steps back to cast Resist Energy on himself!
The blue blast shadow shambles to face Mauro's skeleton squarely and reaches out with its claws!
To hit:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22 Claw 1 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 2 + (1) = 10 To hit:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 Claw 2 + Fire:1d8 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 2 + (5) = 13
Mauro's skeletal warrior goes down, bones splintering, and promptly reforms, Mauro's magic pulling it back up ...
Mauro uses a point of mental focus (as an immediate action) to return the servant to full health (19 hp). "At 5th level, whenever the necromantic servant would be destroyed, if you are within medium range (100 feet + 10 feet per level) of the servant, you can expend 1 point of mental focus as an immediate action to cause the servant to return to full hit points."
N Female Human Bard (Archivist) 7 | hp --52-- 52/52 NL [0] | AC 21, t 13, ff 18 | Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +8 | BP 16/18 | Init +3 | Perc +11 | Speed 30 ft. | Bard Spells 1st 4/5; 2nd 3/4 ; 3rd 0/1| Lore Master 1/1 | Shirt 1/1 | Wand of CLW 30/50 | Conditions: none | To-Do List
"Their smoke is super-hot, but cold can dispel it briefly!" Becky calls to her friends. She keeps poking at the blast shadow to annoy it and take its attention off the real threat--Asher.
Becky Beys mwk rapier (Aid Another--Asher's attack roll):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23SUCCESS! +3 to Asher's attack roll (incl. trait bonus from Helpful).
