Skulk & Shackles with GM Apoc

Game Master Apoc Golem

"S+%# Fox, I was just gonna sing a happy tune up here and look whatcha gone an' done."

Draxxie pulls her boarding axe and uses it to help her shimmy down the tree - but not all the way down she hopes...

climb: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 - 1 + 2 = 12

I think that means no progress but no fall? So Draxxie is basically stuck up the tree with an axe in one hand. I was hoping to get her into range to chuck things, or use her pike's reach :(

Catching herself with her axe before she tumbles out of the tree, Draxxie belts out a song for the heck of it.

"How many times have you wanted to cast off the chains of your life
How many times have you wanted to throw it all in to be free for one moment of time
With a gun in your hand and a sword by your side
The wind at your back and a reason to die
A chance to set sail and to write your own tale in the sky!"

Alestorm - Call of the Waves

Oduim can't quite get the traction he needs to properly duck away from the crab's clacking pincers as he carries away Estelle's unconscious body through the mists, but thankfully his shirt rips instead of getting caught up in the bony protrusions. (3 slashing damage to Oduim from the AoO.)

Draxxie belts out an inspiring song instead of breaking her neck falling out of the tree.

The crab once again wanders vaguely in the direction it saw the big blue thing run off, but it doesn't follow exactly, and when it skitters out of the mists, it's several feet away from its quarry and has to course correct, but finally finds itself standing next to its archnemesis.

Probably.

I mean, it's a crab. Oduim is as close as it's ever going to get to an archnemesis, just let it have this, okay?

[color=green]ROUND 2/3
Characters in BOLD may act.
Asami (6/20 hp, 4 NL, grappled)
Crab 1 (0 dmg, grappled)
Draxxie (15/18 hp)
Oduim (14/20 hp)
Crab 2 (5 dmg)
Estelle (-3/19 hp, inspired rage, unconscious and dying)
[/color]

Asami snarls, then roars. Rather than try to tear herself away, she leans in and bashes it with her head-- and then, again!

Power Flurry: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Power Flurry: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Bludgeoning: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Bludgeoning: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Okay so some math is a little off there. Technically, your current flurry attack bonus should be +1 each. (Normally +2/+2 with Power Attack, but +1 from increased Strength due to Inspired Rage, which I'm assuming you took, and -2 from grappled condition makes it +1/+1.)

That being said... still both hits because the crab also has the grappled condition!

In a fury, Asami slams her head into the crab twice, leaving a massive crater in its shell. The crab releases its hold, squirming and writhing in pain. It's not dead, but it apparently decides this meal is not worth the effort, and scuttles off into the water.

Unless you choose to slap it dead with an AoO, of course!

Still need that stabilization from Estelle, but we'll go ahead and keep it moving for now, since the crab fleeing puts Draxxie and Oduim back up!

[color=green]ROUND 2/3
Characters in BOLD may act.
Asami (6/20 hp, 4 NL, grappled)
Crab 1 (13 dmg, fleeing)
Draxxie (15/18 hp)
Oduim (14/20 hp)
Crab 2 (5 dmg)
Estelle (-5/17 hp, unconscious and dying)
[/color]

Power Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Asami, grinning, grabs it by its retreating legs, yanks it to the ground, and stomps a hole through its shell with a rough-sounding crunch.

Probably. I'm not the DM here!

climb, acp, axe, sing: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 = 25

"How many times have they said that you're living a meaningless lie
How many times have they told you to give up your dreams and to simply just lay down and die
Well my friend don't despair we will show you the way
Your battle for freedom is starting today
Cast off your chains, no longer you'll live as a slave!"

Draxxie slides down the tree, controlling her descent with her axe, and lands next to Asami.

I think that's one move action to get far enough down to drop the last 5 feet or so safely, and leave a standard?

With a vocal flourish, Draxxie's magical voice soothes Asami's wounds.

Cure Light: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

"Them's good eatin.' she points at the busted crab.

"That's the idea," she grins, rubbing at her closing leg wound. "Thanks for the song!"

Stabilize DC 10 - neg HP: 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 - 3 = 11

Heh… hehehehe… oh this’ll be fun!

Torn between attacking the crab or saving the human, Oduim growls in frustration. Turning his shield toward the giant scavenger, he funnels healing energy into the limp form beneath him.

Cast Defensively: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 {Should avoid provoking}

Casting Stabilize.

Retcon on the Stabilize

Oduim spares a look down at the crumpled form. Can't keep dragging her around the beach. I have to try and finish this thing off. The druid raise his spear and looks for an opening. He jabs straight forward hoping to hit something vital.

Short Spear: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

{Accepting the 'Inpire'. So that is a 22 to hit, 9 damage and a (gulp) 14 AC}

Draxxie plops out of the tree (taking 1d6 ⇒ 1 non-lethal) but manages to reach out and seal up a few of Asami's wounds.

Meanwhile, Estelle's bleeding seems to slow as she stabilizes.

Oduim decides to stand his ground and spear the crab in front of him, letting the fury of Draxxie's music pour through his weapon. He leaves a gruesome, jagged hole in the crab's shell, and although it's not dead, it decides enough is enough and skitters off, heading north-by-northeast toward the water.

Oduim may take an AoO if he wishes.

COMBAT OVER!

The party is a bit worse for wear.

Asami: 10/20 hp
Draxxie: 15/18 hp, 1 NL
Estelle: -5/17 hp, stable
Oduim: 14/20 hp

On the bright side, you have enough coconuts for 4 days of rations total.

Asami stomps through the sand to Estelle, but she doesn't rush; she's seen enough healing magic to have an idea.

"Every couple hours, something new shows up to try to kill us," she grimaces. "And some of 'em get real close, too. How are we on resources?"

Not willing to allow good food just stumble away, the undine stabs again at the fleeing crustacean.

AoO: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

CONFIRM??: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Later responding to the brawler, "I can cast some minor healing a couple of times this day.

Asami nods. "Get her conscious, then, and we'll figure out our next step from there."

As the young woman lies there completely at the mercy of her companion's decisions, her internal discussion continues.

Alright, I'm up! A deal is a deal.

WHAT? No, I'm not dead. I don't think. See, I don't even see the tunnel with the light at the end.

Oh you beautiful idiot, that's not what happens anyway. It's more of a... never mind. Anyway, this is as close as one gets to dead without headed into the great beyond, so the offer you made stands. You are so close to the verge of death, you won't come back on your own. So even if your 'buddies' decide to bring you back, it still counts as a death. Besides, you've done it twice now in less than a day so that's gotta at least add up to a full one.

FINE. But only for a day. And you better not mess up my outfit. I finally got it comfortable after the last time you messed with it.

ALRIGHT. But a day means a full twenty four hours, no technicalities allowed. AND I get to poop this time. I haven't experienced that yet. It always seems like such fun!

Whatever. That coconut is gonna clear us out anyway. DON'T forget to wipe and avoid any plants with three leaves. What am I saying, I'll still be here. Ugh. These pirates are going to be so confused!

Oduim looks at the grievous wound. "She's pretty bad. Might take everything I've got just to wake her." With that, the druid begins a brief ritual. He focuses his attention on the most badly damaged parts of the body.

CLW: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Gets her to zero!

"'Sup?" Draxxie asks as she picks herself up. "We havin' crab fer dinner?"

"Oh, right. Fragile little flower, ain't she? I gotta bit o' magic left, but not much. C'n ya get 'er on 'er feet, Oduim? How bad is she?"

We've got one Cure Moderate potion left, and Draxxie's got one spell left today.

Estelle's blue eyes snap open at the touch and she rolls away from the cold slimy fish hands with a groan.

She pulls herself slowly onto her hands and knees and then releases a yelp of pain, "F#~%! YEAH THAT'S BROKEN. HOLD ON." Her hand slips under her shirt on her left side and you hear a grinding/popping sound. She grimaces but seems to bear the pain much better now, standing up to take a deep breath and exhales slowly.

She walks over to Odium, offering a handshake, "THANK YOU FRIEND FOR SAVING ME. MY NAME IS STAR. I AM ESTELLE'S PATRON SAINT OF SAVING HER ASS. YUP. THAT'S WHO I AM FOR SURE. I AM MOST DEFINITELY NOT JUST THE RESULT OF A SIGNIFICANTLY CONCERNING MENTAL ILLNESS THAT CREATED A PERSONALITY THAT CAN ENDURE ANYTHING. NOPE. I'M THE MAGICAL SOURCE OF HER POWERS FOR SURE. ESTELLE SAID I COULD TAKE A TURN CAUSE THIS ISLAND SUCKS." She looks around, "NOW, WHERE DID THAT FANCY HEALY POTION GO?"

I think we also have 2 charges on the CLW wand, right?

"Oh, she's plural."

Asami shrugs. "Good to meet you."

Idk how hosed we are for healing; I know Oduim had "a couple" before that cast and Draxxie has one spell left. If we want to press on, giving Estelle the CMW and maybe using one of the remaining spells on Asami is probably our best bet. Alternately, we can try to find a safe place to sleep--like out a little ways on the boat.

I only have two more castings of CLW. I figured we needed the healing.

Oh, that ain't bad at all tbh. How do we feel about Estelle using the CMW and then giving Asami a quick CLW tap? That leaves Oduim and Draxxie both with one CLW each, which means if either one of you goes down, we have someone that can CLW them back up (hopefully). It seeeeeems like the best compromise between survivability, daily resources, and our time limit that I can think of.

Absolutely down to hear any other ideas, though.

That all sounds reasonable to me.

At first, Oduim is certain that Esteles's actions are a sign that Ghoul Fever has finally taken the frail witch. He takes a defensive stance at the villain 'monologues'. However, the ranting ceases without an attack. Still, best to be on guard. She's acting too weird.

The druid takes a few steps away toward the demon-blood. He casts another healing spell.

CLW vs Asami: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

"Why'd you pull away? You messed up the spell. The magic was practically all wasted."
Just trying to play up the 'Condescending' drawback. I mean, Oduim can't blame the dicebot...or himself.

Asami goes ahead and proposes the OOC plan IC.

"You can do this in combat just fine, but I fidget to scratch my nose and suddenly I'm the problem?" she snorts. "Thanks anyway."

Star considers Asami’s description, ”PLURAL HUH? INTERESTING USE OF THE WORD. I GUESS IT APPLIES. FOR SURE YA AINT’T BAD, KID. AM I TOO LOUD? IT SEEMS LIKE I AM. SORRY HAVEN’T TALKED OUT LOUD TO ANYONE IN A LONG TIME.” Taking a deep breath she continues, ”THIS BETTER? YOU NEED HEALING STILL? I GOT THIS WAND.”

Her injuries completely heal themselves and she stretches to check out her returned pain free-ness. It could have been the healing potion, but is probably just because she is awesome.

Oh snap I forgot about the wand. With it, I think we can top everyone up (or get within a point or two of it) and carry on for the day without as much stress.

"Had a cousin like that," she says. "Half of them wanted to leave the family. Half of them wanted to stay. The first half was scared to leave in the first place, so..."

"For all I know, they're still in the family. I left before they all made up their mind." Asami shrugs, running a thumb along her thigh; it's still bloody, but not nearly as bleedy.

Still not totally sure of the new personality, the druid nods the wand toward Asami, "You first. Try not to move around this time. Ya already wasted one spell." He watches for any suspicious movements from the small form. We still may have to kill it...her...whatever. Damn, I worked so hard to save her too.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 {Oduim is wondering if this is this some sort of possession or part of the disease taking over.}

"Wait, you can talk? Why the hell can't the girl?"

I am good with using the remaining two charges. We still have to search for the missing crew, secure the water, AND get back to the ship before they abandon us. Well, you guys. Oduim will just swim away if it comes down to it. Lol.

Oduim has no idea where this strange new persona came from. It might be delusion from the disease, though he's never heard of anyone suddenly coming down with DID from ghoul fever before. That doesn't mean it can't happen, of course.

So Asami got a couple HP back and Estelle really got the most out of that potion. Any further healing? And where to after that? You still have the break in the trees to investigate, and the building up the hill. The path, where it picks up again, continues roughly southward, more or less in the direction of both locations.

Further healing: using the remaining CLW charges on Asami and Oduim, I believe.

I thought that was the plan, but I wanted to get Draxxie's input before committing to anything.

Oh def, I'm just summarizing/noting it for the GM.

"Here" Draxxie hands over the last of the potion stash to Estelle - or whoever she is now. "I hope ye're better at not gettin' whacked. That's the last one."

Draxxie has one clw potion, but it's her own emergency stash. She' also happy with draining the wand - might as well explore the island fully.

"Wanna eat now, or push on?"

Star glares at Odium and replies, "CH’GITEM, INCH’U CH’I KAROGH YeS KHOSEL YeRKNK’I LEZVOV?"

She picks up a coconut and quickly works it open, "Eat while WALK. I expect we will KNOW SOON how good I am at dodging." Her voice begins to 'normalize', starting to match a volume similar to everyone else.

The druid continues to carve crab meat from their latest opponent."Okay, that first thing you said wasn't real. Just random noises." He hacks through a particularly tough section. "Still, we should get moving soon."

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Asami holds very still for her CLW-tap, almost sarcastically, and grumbles when she feels as good as she ever has.

"Harrumph. Yeah, let's get movin'."

The unknown spirit in Estelle's body who calls herself 'Star' smiles, "Oh, my sweet little mortal. EVERY LANGUAGE is just random noises."

Asami glances between Star and Oduim.

"I mean. She's got you there."

Looking from one to the other, the dour druid mutters, "Fine, play your little word games."

I hope it kills the big one first.

Before I forget...

Oduim finishes dressing the crab, separating the white and brown meat. He then takes the wand and expends the last of it's magic.

Survival (crab meat): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Wand of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Can't be mad with either of those rolls.

I believe that puts the group at:

Asami: 19/20 hp
Draxxie: 15/18 hp, 1 NL
Estelle: 17/17 hp
Oduim: 20/20 hp

Let me know if I missed one.

After another forty minutes or so of walking, the path having already revealed itself again after the stretch of beach, the dirt line suddenly splits. One path continues southward, toward a thicket and the strange break in the trees; the other steadily curves westward, through a slightly denser thicket and up toward the ridgeline.

Which way would you like to go? C7 or C8?

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

The druid points through the undergrowth. "See that? Looks like someone's been farming over there. I vote we go check that out first. Any one on the ridge is going to see us coming anyway."

I believe the farm-y stuff is C7, so that is my two copper.

Asami, who has 20 HP, shrugs.

"Ghouls don't farm. Frogs don't farm. Crabs don't farm. S'got my vote."

She pauses a second, then scratches her chin.

"Well, most frogs don't farm. I think grippli farm."

Star shrugs, ”Mushrooms yes, but they also don’t like being called frogs so your first statement still applies.”

”Besides, if you want water, a farm is a place to find it.”

She begins trying to whistle as they walk. It goes poorly.

Eyes askance, Oduim watches sad attempt. "Why are you blowing spittle? You look like a fish drowning in air after they've been brought onto the beach." He then looks back at the others, "I thought gripplies were like geckos. I mean, they have tails, right." He hears his stomach rumble. "Man, some flame-roasted grippli tail sounds delicious right now. Er...gecko tails, whatever."

"Hm. Always an opportunity to learn something."

She shrugs at Oduim. "I have never seen a grippli with a tail. But then, perhaps you simply got to them before I did."

"Or he likes looking down grippli pants" Draxxie smirks.

"Be a minor miracle if we meet someone on this island that don't wanna eat us. Sure. Lessee."

At that point you hear the faintest tweet of a whistle. Star looks very pleased.

The party moves down the path, tall palms hunched over the path like a corridor; the midday sun flickers through the gaps between the wide fronds. After only a few minutes of walking, the party is partially stymied by the sea of gold before you.

It's hard to tell how large the clearing is for sure because the rows of corn have become wild and overgrown, turning neat rows into a chaos of ears jutting pell-mell in every direction, grown just over eight feet in height, making it impossible to see to the other side or gauge how large the field is.

The path does seem to cut into the cornfield, sort of. It doesn't quite go straight anymore, thanks to the overgrown crops, but a keen enough eye should be able to sort out a path forward.

However, there is also the rotting head on a pike to consider.

It rests on a six-foot-tall pike, skewered expertly through the ragged hole of the throat; it does not exit the top of the head, which caps the pike and makes it look for all the world like a hideous giant staff. The humidity has bloated and discolored the flesh to the point that it's hard to even determine ancestry, though the remains of a beard would at least suggest a man. Botflies buzz around it in a soft black cloud, crawling across milky eyeballs and out of swollen, blackened lips. This was clearly meant as a warning for someone, but considering the party has only been here a day, probably not you specifically. But then... who?

A DC 15 Survival check is required to navigate a path through the field. If you still wanna go, that is. XD

Asami stares at the head, then at the cornfield.

"Never a simple walk on this island," she glowers. "I've had enemies that felt more safe."

She ponders a second.

"I currently have enemies who feel more safe."

"Shouldn't be too hard to get through."

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

If we decide to go through the field. I'd like to go.

We’re gonna die.

Oh shush! Didn’t you just hear me whistle? That was awesome! Today is a good day. I’m sure everything will be fine.

Star points down the corn rows, ”If it is this overgrown, probably nobody home. And probably good fresh water. Worth a shot.”