GM supervillan's Godsmouth Heresy [Menagerie] (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

ref : 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

The phantom moves away.

Djahan moves and attacks the undead in front of him.

MW Cold Iron Longsword (d8+4; 19-20/×2) To hit: Str+3, MW +1, BAB +1 ; Damage: +3 : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 101d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Djahan and his phantom trade places, and the tiefling swings his sword - but the blade snags one of the many broken tubes still sticking out of the animated corpse.

With a target of flesh and blood now in front of him, Mr Marrow lurches to attack:

Mr Marrow vs Djahan, partial charge: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 = 24damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

...and delivers a crushing blow whilst his master giggles behind him.

Combat round 1 / 2

Demm
Hunchback (blue)
Vat creature (green)
Data, -6hp
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Mr Marrow (black)
Felix
Onye, -1hp
Tsamara

The bold may act!

I wouldn't have mindless creatures Delay without them being directly controlled by an intelligent master, naturally.

"Data should fall back behind me and Djahan before me," Onye warns.

I hate to delay. but I don't see a reason to risk two AOOs and then get triple-teamed when they appeared quite willing to bottleneck themselves.

"Well, this explains where the bodies are going," Tsamara mutters. From her position at the very rear of the group there's little else for her to do but use her magics to bless herself and her allies one final time, at least until she can rest.
______________

Casting Bless again. Also Felix advised I should bot him but given the setup, I guess maybe it'd be better to put him on Delay for the moment.

You feel a familiar warmth as Tsamara calls upon her divine powers once again - and the rest of you wait for an opportune moment to strike.

I'm guessing you're wanting to delay until after Djahan in order to bring more attacks to bear, but have just placed Onya and Felix at the top of the initiative order for round 2 for now.

Combat round 2

Demm
Felix
Onye, -1hp
Hunchback (blue)
Vat creature (green)
Data, -6hp
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Mr Marrow (black)
Tsamara

active conditions: bless

The bold may act!

Demm reaches a finger around the corner and harmlessly launches a beam of energy down the hallway. Ugh! Why am fleshies and furries always IN THE WAY!?!?!

Disrupt Undead vs BLACK (melee): 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 - 4 = 1
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

He continues to hold his spear at the ready, letting the others move around him for now and waiting for an opening, either to strike or to adjust to a more favorable position in the narrow hallway.

Continuing to delay for the moment!

Demm's ray attack strikes a wall harmlessly.

bomb vs data, pbs, cover, melee: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 4 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 1 - 4 - 4 = 7
miss direction: 1d8 ⇒ 1

The hunchback steps forwards and hurls another icy bomb - but his zombies are in the way and it lands short, showering Data, Djahan and the zombies in shredding shards.

reflex, vat zombie: 1d20 ⇒ 20
reflex, mr marrow: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Data attempt a DC13 Reflex save. On a pass you take 1 cold damage; on a fail you take 3 cold damage. Djahan is caught in the blast but his tiefling Resistances protect him.

The hunchback screams in rage and looks through his gear for something. He should have made skeletons ;)

vat zombie vs Djahan: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

The creature from the vat swings at Djahan but ice shards in its eyes seem to confuse its gaze.

Combat round 2

Demm
Hunchback (blue)
Vat creature (green), -1hp
Data, -6hp, ref save
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Felix
Onye, -1hp
Mr Marrow (black), -3hp
Tsamara

active conditions: bless

The bold may act!

Djahan moves 5 ft and attacks the Vat creature in front of him.

MW Cold Iron Longsword (d8+4; 19-20/×2) To hit: Str+3, MW +1, BAB +1 ; Damage: +3 : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 241d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

CRIT?: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 221d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Djahan remembers which end of his weapon is the business end, and cuts the vat zombie in half!

After so many awful attack rolls you get a crit and one-shot a zombie :o

Combat round 2

Demm
Hunchback (blue)
Vat creature (green), -1hp
Data, -6hp, ref save
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Felix
Onye, -1hp
Mr Marrow (black), -3hp
Tsamara

active conditions: bless

The bold may act!

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Data avoids the worst of the cold and tries another blunt arrow at Mr. Marrow…

MW Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 18
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

A breeze with the smell of snow and pine swirls around Onye as he steps forward and brings the enchanted blade of his pole-arm down toward the animated corpse. "Your twisted abominations fall and so will you," he challenges the alchemist.

Martial Focus: Power Attack (move), Blood Rage (free), 5 ft Step, Attack

+1 glaive-guisarme, blood rage, power attack: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 2 - 1 = 20
Magic, Slashing, Blood Rage: 1d10 + 4 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 3 + 3 = 14

Data tags Mr Marrow with an arrow, rocking the zombie but not hurting it badly. The android withdraws to allow his fellows to make their way out of the corridor.

Onye leads the line - and having had quite enough of necromancy for one day he makes an emphatic point by slicing Mr Marrow in twain.

Combat round 2 / 3

Demm
Hunchback (blue)
Data, -7hp
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Felix
Onye, -1hp
Tsamara

active conditions: bless

The bold may act!

Seeing an opening now that the battlefield has changed, the fighter moves forward up to the hunchbacked... thing, taking one swipe at it with his spear in his spear fighter stance.

Spear/MH/Bless: 1d20 + 4 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 2 + 1 = 21
Damage/MH: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Demm pulls out his crossbow, just in case the warriors prove to be ineffective at their job.

With the bottleneck in the hallway being more or less broken, Tsamara slips past Djahan's phantom and Data to give Onye a bit of guidance.

Felix closes with the hunchback and spins his spear about - he catches the alchemist with the point and wounds the foe. You seem to have applied your two-weapon fighting penalty, but you only made a single attack.

Demm readies his crossbow, muttering about cheating alchemists as he does so.

Tsamara gives a reassuring touch to Onye.

I'm assuming the phantom is staying out of it.

The hunchback titters and steps back. He swallows something, and begins to grow...

Combat round 3 / 4

Demm
Hunchback (blue), -11hp
Data, -7hp
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Felix
Onye, -1hp, guidance
Tsamara

active conditions: bless

The bold may act!

Data moves and fires at the hunchback...

MW Composite Longbow: 1d10 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 17
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10

Onye moves out of the hall with the smell of pine trailing behind him and brings his glaive-guisarme down toward the hunchback in a powerful overhand swing.

Move, Attack

+1 glaive-guisarme, bless, guidance, bloodrage, power attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 1 + 1 + 2 - 1 = 20
magic, slashing, bloodrage, power attack: 1d10 + 4 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 3 + 3 = 17

Spirit Surge if 20 misses: 1d6 ⇒ 4 = 24

Djahan moves forward and attacks the man in front of him.

”It is over! Give up!!“

MW Cold Iron Longsword (d8+4; 19-20/×2) To hit: Str+3, MW +1, BAB +1 ; Damage: +3 : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 221d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Yeah GM! :-) lucky crit last round. The phantom stays out of combat and will only demoralize.

The phantom moves forward and and then looks at the man with a frenzied expression!

standard action to demoralize, Intimidate vs. 10 + CR + Wis mod: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Well, on the off chance Data, Onye, & Djahan didn't finish him...

"We make quite the force, don't we?" Tsamara marvels as the group falls upon the hunchbacked man. She slips forward yet again, this time offering her guidance to Felix, should he have need of it.
______________

Move to current map position, Guidance on Felix~

Data's arrow bounces off the hunchback's invisible shield.

But the spirits of creation guide Onye's hand - and they are angry. The catfolk's blade opens a terrible wound.

Still, the expanding alchemist stands. It takes Djahan to finish him with a thrust to the abdomen. With a shocked expression on his face, the enemy slumps to the floor - still growing.

Combat over!

Party status

Data, -7hp
Djahan, -5hp
Phantom, 1nl
Onye, -1hp

The alchemist ceases growing once he's doubled in size. He's bleeding out and you can stabilise him if you wish, but have no particular obligation to do so.

This room clearly serves as an alchemist's laboratory, and it is well-stocked. There are many esoteric volumes on the shelves, particularly noteworthy are a set of ancient texts written in the runic Thassilonian script.

The alchemist himself has numerous useful items on him.

Magic items

"Well! All of this will certainly be useful," Tsamara cheerfully remarks as she does what she can to help identify the various magical items.

Spellcraft - Spear (DC 18): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Spellcraft - Potions (DC 16): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Spellcraft - Potion (DC 16): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Spellcraft - Wand (DC 18): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

"Hmm...looks like we have two potions of Cure Light Wounds and the wand will let the user command the undead for a short period of time," she determines after some examination. "But I'm unsure of what the other potion is and what the enchantments are upon the spear."

"The priestess may want to try this man for defiling the dead," Onye says and kneels down to apply what he knows of first aid. "However, I am not well versed in this."

Heal: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16

Spellcraft - Spear (DC 18): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Spellcraft - Potions (DC 16): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Spellcraft - Potion (DC 16): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Spellcraft - Wand (DC 18): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

“A Potion of Enlarge Person. But the spear is beyond me!“

"I'm glad we were able to bring... whatever this thing is... down so quickly. Those explosive brews had me a little worried."

Spellcraft vs Spear (DC 18): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Demm looks over the spear. A brief look of frustration crosses his brow. He casually tosses it aside. "It no am for spells, so Demm tad-draguni no am care for spear. Use it or am not."

"Oi, have a little respect for the tool, now. It may be a bit short for my taste, but it's still a fine specimen. How'd you like it if I chucked a spell book because I didn't like the funny symbols?"

This is spoken lightheartedly and with a smile, though the fighter can't help a small wince as the diminutive spell-caster throws the spear aside like rubbish.

"It might also be worth something, if no one here has any use for it," Tsamara adds with a sly smile. "A fine weapon can fetch a pretty sum of gold, after all. Maybe even enough to purchase a few, let's say, scrolls or other such things..."

"Djahan found it magical, so it will certainly be worth something," Onye says, sharing a bit of Felix's pain with Demm's discarding of the finely crafted spear.

It's at least a masterwork spear if it's magical, so there's that.

Whilst some of you pore over the magical objects, Onye keeps the hunchback from dying of his wounds and the rest of you search the laboratory.

The phantom locates a secret door in the northern wall.

Perhaps of more immediate interest, the hunchback's notes provide ample evidence that he is the one behind the body-snatching activities. Obsessed with the secrets of a long-lost heretical splinter-sect of Pharasmins called "The Chymists of Life in Death", whose ancient Thassilonian texts he uncovered and deciphered, the former priest turned alchemist Silvennius Tripe has been attempting to duplicate the Chymists' work, creating undead via alchemical processes rather than necromancy.

“This is the body thief!! Unbelievable! But there are still many more dangers in this place! I’d like to continue exploring as these undead here would kill any innocent person entering these crypts!“ Djahan says.

"Is anyone supposed to be entering the ossuary?" Onye wonders aloud. "How did this man make it back and forth between here and the crypts? Maybe those stairs?"

"Fine, fine. We am keep looking. Maybe we am taking a break though."

I only have Snowball and Burning Hands left, and of course Distrupt Undead is a cantrip. So, Demm's contributions may be a bit limited if we run into living enemies.

"Little as I like it down here, I have no objections to at least making sure the rest of the place is cleared out. Destroying these undead monstrosities is quite satisfying."

"I've used most of my own magic for the day but I'll do what I can if we want to press on."
______________

I'm out of 1st level spells but happy to press on for now!

Do those of you who are wounded want to heal up before pressing on?

Data has no wand but he’s OK with pressing on…

Onye removes a bone wand from his belt and hands it toward Tsamara. "Data's wounds might need attention."

clw : 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Djahan heals himself partially.

Djahan also heals Data.

“Here my companion Data! Your flesh and circuitry needs healing!“ the fiendish Paladin says.

clw : 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Data nods and bows to Djahan. ”My thanks to you…”

The unconscious heretical hunchback Silvennius Tripe returns to his normal size, and you bind him securely before continuing.

A light is visible at the end of the tunnel to the north - you head in that direction before investigating the secret door further.

You can disregard the dotted lines on the map - they indicate a level beneath you.

You quickly come upon a square pit, and realise that below you is where you found the heap of discarded body parts and fought several animated hands. A narrow ledge on the western side of the pit could be walked along with difficulty. It would probably be easier to jump across the pit.

A dry, croaking female voice issues from a chamber at the end of the corridor.

"Visitors? And what have you done with my miscreant 'husband'?"

Party status

Djahan, -1hp
Phantom, 1nl
Onye, -1hp

"Let us say we've 'put him to sleep' for now. Might we ask who you are?"

"My name is Esme Verisi" the voice replies "Tripe's 'bride', or so he would tell you, were he not 'asleep'.

"If you have put Tripe to sleep, you have done me a service, friend. Would you do me another kindness? I should very much like to leave this place."

Esme remains out of sight, but you can see that her chamber has a bed in it and is softly lit by candelabra.

"We would like to free someone victimized by that madman, but can we be assured that this is not some kind of trap?"

"How can I be assured that you will not simply kill me on sight, stranger? For I am monstrous to look upon.

We must trust each other. Help me to escape and I will tell you what I know of this place."

"Ah, that's a good first step; we've seen nothing but monstrosity in this wretched place.

This is the first time monstrosity has reached out to us. Do you remember the sun?"

"Ah yes. I should like to feel the sunlight again. Although I don't know if I will be able. But I do know where I can be safe in Kaer Maga, if I can reach the surface. I cannot travel via the Cathedral though. Do you know another way out of here?"