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

Game Master supervillan

"We met an unfortunate party of tomb raiding tengu earlier. They had tunneled into this place from the outside; perhaps you can take that route?"

"Yes. Yes, a tunnel. That sounds suitable. Then do we have an agreement, stranger?" Esme asks. Her voice sounds hopeful.

Djahan looks at Felix and nods appreciatively.

“What are you? Many of us could be described as monstrous! I am a tiefling with sharp teeth and a tail. Everyone that sees me realizes that my feet are more bestial than human and resemble those of a clawed predator. So what are you?!“ Djahan asks.

"Undead" Esme replies.

"Not that I had any choice in the matter" she adds, a note of sadness evident in her strained voice.

"My kind are accepted in the City of Strangers, but not by the Pharasmins. That is why I will need your help to get out of the Ossuary safely. But perhaps the tengu tunnel will be ideal."

"We've seen such up above before we came down here... I Cannot speak for all of my companions, but for my own part I agree to help you out."

He turns to the party.

"What say you all?"

Demm's mouth drops agape at the conversation. "YOU AM UNDEAD!?! He turns toward the others, "Why am you agree to this. No am acceptable. She am dead!" Demm turns back toward to voice, "Demm tad-draguni am sorry for your loss."

He presses a clawed finger against the bridge of his nose, deciding exactly how to explain this. "Look, she am seem nice. Maybe even AM nice right now. But mortal no am supposed to live forever. Some day, she and her human mind am going to go crazy. Or elf mind. No am point. When she am start killing, it our fault, only we am already dead and no take blame." He stares at the others, "How am you no understand this? It am black and white. Undead am unnatural, no matter how good they am at talking."

"The little dragon has a good point," Onye says. "It is a greater mercy and safer to lay her to rest."

Djahan nods.

"And the streets of Kaer Maga are ruthless for sentient undead! I am sorry but I also believe that we should lay you to rest!!" he says and moves forward with his longsword while at the same time looking at Felix with an apologetical facial expression.

This is all very strange. Is this creature telling the truth?

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3

Well, even if she is, we...we can't...

Even Tsamara has her limits and she slowly shakes her head.

"I think the others are right. What's happened to Esme is very sad and unfair but we can't just let her leave..."

He nods after hearing the words of the others, excellent points all around.

"My compassion got the better of me, I suppose. A faint hope of being able to actually help something down here, no matter how little humanity it might have left."

"You are foreigners then. Should you leave this place today, do not go to Ankar-Te district. The locals will react badly to your closed-mindedness.

Be assured, foreigners: I have no wish to become dust. If you cross that pit I will destroy you. Or you can turn around and leave in peace. Your choice."

Esme sounds sad, but resolute.

As soon as one of you crosses, or attempts to cross, the pit I will roll initiative.

Technically we have yet to see this person, correct? They have been around the corner the entire time?

Demm turns to the spiritualist, whispering, "Am you able to send angry spirit self to see it?"

Indeed, Esme is out of sight around the corner.

”Go and look phantom!!“ Djahan says.

"We do not need to deal with her here and now," Onye suggests to his companions. "We need only alert the Pharasmins to the tunnel and give them a chance to seal it before she finds it. It is less of a mercy."

Djahan's phantom evades the pit by gliding silently into the wall. When it emerges, it calls to the pathfinders: "Three of them! Two skeletal, one fleshy."

"My, aren't you an interesting one?" you hear Esme respond.

knowledge: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"An unwilling servant. Bound to an uncaring master. Such a familiar, melancholy story" - a rattle escapes from Esme's mouth. Perhaps she is sighing.

No surprise round - everyone's aware of what's going down.

Combat round 1

Djahan
Esme
Data
Lulu (green)
Felix
Fiona (yellow)
Demm
Onye
Phantom
Tsamara

The bold may act!

You can still just leave Esme if you like of course.

"If she's willing to still let us walk away then...I don't know, maybe she's not truly wicked. But I still think we should either send her spirit on or at least fall back and let the Pharasmins take care of it," Tsamara whispers.
______________

If we weren't a little low on spellcasting resources I'd be more up for tangling with Esme & her friends but given the circumstances I'm happy to fall back and leave it for the moment.

Well, there is a pit. Hopefully we can range them?

Unable to cross the pit in order to engage the undead, Djahan signals to his phantom to return.

"I am pleased that you have reconsidered" Esme says. "I never enjoy violence."

Out of initiative!

Heading back the way you came, the phantom scouts the secret door.

"Another catacomb" it reports "with a gate at the far end some fifty feet distant. Many footprints in the dust."

"Hopefully the footprints belong to those things we just slew," Tsamara remarks, trying to be optimistic. "Still, one should always be cautious. Maybe the gate connects to a deeper level?"

"It seems the safer option by far at the moment with nothing immediately hostile in front of us."

You advance into the hidden catacomb and head towards the gate - which appears to be constructed from bleached bone. Repeated lines of footprints run from the secret door into the catacomb. The burial niches lining the stone walls are empty save for ancient scraps of yellowed linen - at least, most of them are empty. The occupants of several of the niches emerge and make themselves known to you.

The closest skeleton advances...

red vs data: 1d20 ⇒ 18damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

...and its rusty, broken sword grazes Data.

Combat round 1

red bones
Djahan
Tsamara
yellow bones
Data, -1hp
green bones
Onye
Felix
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

Djahan moves forward and attacks the red undead in front of him.

Movement provokes.

”It is over!!“

MW Cold Iron Longsword (d8+4; 19-20/×2) To hit: Str+3, MW +1, BAB +1 ; Damage: +3 : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 181d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

1d2 ⇒ 1

"More of these? I suppose that necromancer left them scattered all over the place," Tsamara sighs. She reaches out and gives Felix a tap on the shoulder, using her magic to impart a small bit of guidance.

"Remember, crush them if you can!"

Then she steps out of Demm's way.

Djahan cracks the bones of the undead - but his sword is not greatly effective at breaking bones.

red AoO: 1d20 ⇒ 6

The skeleton reaches out as Djahan passes, but its broken sword can't make any impact on Djahan's runelord armour.

Tsamara bestows her guidance.

Another of the skeletons assaults Djahan

yellow sword: 1d20 ⇒ 19damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6
yellow claw: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (16) - 3 = 13

And this time his armour can't completely protect him: the paladin is stabbed by the skeleton's rusty blade.

Combat round 1

red bones, -2hp
Djahan, -6hp
Tsamara
yellow bones
Data, -1hp
green bones
Onye
Felix, guidance
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

Data makes an acrobatic move back 10’….

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

…and then fires a blunt arrow at red…

MW Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 10
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6

I can’t move my icon on my phone…can someone please move me 10’ east?

Moved you behind Onye!

Data tries to back off, but stumbles in his haste and lets an arrow fly directly into the ceiling. You can still recover it. Also Red already took an AoO so you escape that.

The undead press forwards...

green vs Djahan: 1d20 ⇒ 9

...and another sword blow is deflected by Djahan's armour.

Combat round 1

red bones, -2hp
Djahan, -6hp
Tsamara
yellow bones
Data, -1hp
green bones
Onye
Felix, guidance
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

Onye takes a hand from his pole-arm and draws his silver aspergillum as he advances beside the skeleton that Djahan had struck. He swings the bludgeon. "I should have brought a larger club," he comments.

Move, Attack

Silver Battle Aspergillum: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Silver, Bludgeoning: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Confirming overly excessive damage: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Taking a sliding step and adjusting his grip into his spear fighter stance, he too focuses his fire on the red undead, hoping put it down quickly and move on to the rest!

Attack vs. Red (Longspear MH/Guidance): 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 1 - 2 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Attack vs. Red (Longspear OH/Guidance): 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 1 - 2 = 4
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Onye's blow shatters the damaged skeleton in front of him.

Felix closes on the next, and uses the butt of his spear like a club, smashing another skeleton to pieces. Since Onye destroyed red, I've applied your attack to the next enemy in line - a single attack with the more effective bludgeoning end of your weapon.

A fourth skeleton emerges and attacks...

blue vs Felix: 1d20 ⇒ 5

...but Felix dodges nimbly.

Combat round 1 / 2

Djahan, -6hp
Tsamara
yellow bones
Data, -1hp
Onye
Felix, guidance
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

The kobold sends another beam of energy at the latest undead.

Disrupt Undead vs BLUE {Touch (melee)}: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 - 4 = 10
Disrupt Undead: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

An audible frustrated sigh escapes from his maw. Uhg! Why am big clumsy oafs always in the way?

Opting to stay where she is, Tsamara next offers what guidance she can to Data.

I need to grow stronger so I can do more...
______________

Guidance on Data~

Djahan attacks the yellow undead in front of him and then steps back.

MW Cold Iron Longsword (d8+4; 19-20/×2) To hit: Str+3, MW +1, BAB +1 ; Damage: +3 : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 141d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Demm aims another pale ray into the press of living and undead bodies, but the big furries keep getting in the way.

Tsamara helps Data'a aim, and Djahan swings his sword mightily only for the alchemically-enhanced bones to repel the blade.

The yellow-boned skeleton steps out of its niche...

sword vs Djahan: 1d20 ⇒ 18damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3
claw vs Djahan: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (17) - 3 = 14

...and stabs Djahan through a chink in his armour.

Combat round 2

Djahan, -9hp
Tsamara
yellow bones
Data, -1hp, guidance
Onye
Felix
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

"Hang in there!" Onye encourages Djahan. He swings the aspergillum at the skeleton that just emerged from the alcove.

Silver Battle Aspergillum, Flanking: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 4 + 2 = 22
Silver, Bludgeoning: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Onye's silvered bludgeon shatters the mindless undead menace!

Yellow is destroyed.

Combat round 2

Djahan, -9hp
Tsamara
Data, -1hp, guidance
Onye
Felix
blue bones
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

Data nods in gratitude to Tsamara and fires again…

MW Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 19
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

Data fires a calculated shot, but like Demm finds that there is too much cover. Miss.

Felix is up!

Just curious GM…did I miss due to firing into melee or soft cover? Wasn’t sure if Demm would count as the second soft cover since he’s small and I could shoot over him. No worries, soft cover confuses me in some instances…

He keeps up his spear's momentum amidst the flying dust and bone fragments as the skeletons are shattered around him, hoping to add this one's remains to the pile soon enough!

Vs. Blue (Longspear MH): 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 2 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Vs. Blue (Longspear OH): 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 - 2 = 3
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Small creatures do provide soft cover. But if more than half of the target is visible the cover AC bonus is reduced to -2 (GM discretion determines).

Felix keeps up his momentum and thrusts his spear through the last skeleton's ribcage - but only scrapes the bones with the spear tip. His follow up strike goes wide.

The skeleton fights back...

blue vs Felix, sword: 1d20 ⇒ 18damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
blue vs Felix, claw: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (18) - 3 = 15

...stabbing the spearman despite his agile defence.

Combat round 2 / 3

Djahan, -9hp
Tsamara
Data, -1hp
Onye
Felix, -5hp
blue bones, -1hp
Demm
Phantom

The bold may act!

The tiny evoker fires at the remaining abomination again.

Disrupt Undead vs BLUE {Touch AC, melee}: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 - 4 = 13
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Djahan drops his sword, draws his morningstar and attacks the undead in front of him and then steps back.

Cold Iron morningstar : 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 51d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Data moves 15’ forward to get better LOS and fires again…

MW Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 26
Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 2 = 12

Perhaps feeling a bit sorry for Demm, Tsamara steps up and bestows her guidance upon the scrappy little evoker.

"Maybe if you watch for Onye to zig and Data to zag, you can get a clean shot?"
______________

Guidance for Demm~

All the big folk continue to get in Demm's way, though Tsamara consoles the kobold.

Data finally gets his calculations right, a blunt arrow shatters the last skeleton to pieces!

Combat over!

Party status

Djahan, -9hp
Data, -1hp
Felix, -5hp
Demm, guidance (1 minute)

The skeletons have nothing of value - just scraps of ancient armour and broken swords.

The gate at the end of the catacomb bars access to a further passage. The gate is clearly fashioned of bleached bone, but has no handle or hinge that you can make out.

Stowing his spear away,. he looks around the room for a way to deal with the gate barring the way forward.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11

"At least those are a little easier to deal with," Tsamara remarks, trying to look on the bright side of things. She produces a healing wand and gives Felix a tap while he investigates the room.

CLW Wand (Felix): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW Wand (Felix): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW Wand (Felix): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 Charges remaining (41).

And of course she offers to do the same for Data and Djahan - or activate their own wands for them, if they carry any.

Taking your actions as per Discussion thread.

Demm fires a couple of disrupting rays at the gate, but they have no effect. Evidently it is not undead.

The Chime of Opening causes it to swing open.

Data (-1hp) and Djahan (-9hp) are still wounded.

The passageway beyond ends in a stone wall. To the side of the passageway is a small, deep pit descending farther than anyone can see. So deep it is Beyond The Scope of This Adventure.