Skulk & Shackles with GM Apoc

Game Master Apoc Golem

Oduim gouges #2 in the midsection with a horrific wound, and the grindylow vanishes in the silt of the deep spot. With the creature taken care of for the moment, Oduim pauses to patch up his wounds, healing a significant portion of them before hopping over the pool to help Draxxie with the newcomer.

Nice roll! No need for concentration since #2 is no longer in melee range of you, but that would've succeeded regardless.

#5 was prepared to stab at Draxxie, but when Oduim suddenly shows up in his line of fire, he panics and diverts his attack at the last moment, making his jab with his spear clumsy enough to bounce harmlessly off the druid's armor. His tentacle-legs have much more luck, slapping Oduim's ankle hard as he lands and sending him onto his ass, soaking his back and legs in more ocean water. (Oduim is prone.)

[color=green]ROUND 3
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (0 dmg)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists, Skald’s Vigor)
Grindy 1 (5 dmg, staggered, fleeing)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Splish, splash, Asami's takin' a bath. Alas, she doesn't successfully murder anything this round.

The witch moves around Draxxie and glances down at Odium, "Well, you aren't very good at staying up either. Maybe the a!%%**$ will mock you instead of me after this fight."

She waves her little dagger distractingly at the foe.

MW Spring Blade Aid Odium to Attack #5 DC 10: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

+2 on Odium's next attack vs. #5.

With a frustrated growl, "At least when getting knocked down I'M still conscious".

Estelle and Oduim's petty squabbles successfully distract #5, who glances back and forth between them with a look of supreme confusion, tinged with that very specific brand of discomfort you feel when you're in close proximity to arguing strangers.

#7 wriggles up and tries to take advantage of Oduim's prone position but the druid easily bats away his spear.

#8 takes advantage of Asami's split attention between herself and her compatriot by ramming her spear into Asami's back, leaving a horrid flap of ripped muscle and forcing the brawler to stagger forward for a moment. (Confirmed crit for 8 piercing damage.) However, when she goes to take advantage of Asami's momentarily compromised footing, Asami inadvertently steps on her tentacle. The grindylow hisses in pain and yanks the appendage back, allowing Asami a moment to regain her footing. (Just barely missed the CMD to trip.)

[color=green]ROUND 3
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (0 dmg)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 1 (5 dmg, staggered, fleeing)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

"Wait. Did she just call me an a~+%*@!?" Draxxie calls down to Odium with a scowl.

cutlass vs grindy 5: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

The momentary distraction causes Draxxie's sword swing to go well wide. She holds her position, mainly to avoid the deeper water.

*evil GM laugh at party conflict*

#1, bloodied to the point of near death, hobbles slowly away from Asami, squealing and mewling miserably as he tries to flee death, but he's so bloody and wounded he can barely move. (Single move action since he's disabled. Provokes an AoO from Asami.)

#2 remains down in the murky water, hoping nobody sees her. Of course, Star already has, but has yet to point the grindylow out to anyone.

[color=green]ROUND 4
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (0 dmg)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists, Skald’s Vigor)
Grindy 1 (5 dmg, staggered, fleeing)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

AoO: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Confirm Crit: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: Who Even Cares Lmao This Is Gnarly Any Way It Happens

Does Oduim know #2 is there? I will assume #1 is down.

Wasn't #5 still standing over you?

UPDATE:
Asami does an aerial roundhouse that drives #1's skull down into the shallow water and smashes his head into the rocky floor so hard his melon splits like a... well, a melon. There is too-pale blood and gray mush spilling out into the water lapping at your ankles.

I just finished watching Invincible and I'm getting serious Omni-Man vibes from Asami in this fight. So gruesome! XD

[color=green]ROUND 4
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (0 dmg)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists, Skald’s Vigor)
Grindy 1 (21 dmg, this is getting ridiculous)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

Whoops, saw 0 damage and for some reason thought that was hit points. RETCON:Keep the spear, -4 to hit (prone) to attack #5 (total to hit was 18) and Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

18 is still enough to hit!

#5, surprised by the deft thrust of the druid even from his back, takes a spear under the jaw. The head bursts out through the back of the skull, and #5 slides down its length, his tentacles twitching.

Because #5 is dead, that means Asami and Estelle are now up next!

[color=green]ROUND 4
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (8 dmg, gently used)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 1 (21 dmg, this is getting ridiculous)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

Estelle simply steps up and waves her dagger in a familiarly threatening way at the next foe.

You know... you doing that is leading to it's death, just like the last two. So, that means you are functionally killing them. That make you feel good?

...

Listen here voice, there are some fine lines that I haven't yet crossed and I'm damn happy to keep those tiny little lines in place. So shut the f~%& up.

MW Spring Blade Aid Odium to Attack #7 AC 10: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

No bonus on Odium's next attack vs. #7.

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

.......................................Man,

Battle fatigue seems to have begun taking hold of the party. Estelle attempts to spook and distract #7 with her spring blade, but the witch simply isn't terribly intimidating. Asami jabs at #8, which the grindy ducks, then follows with an uppercut, but small targets are easy to overestimate distances on, and #8 barely needs to move her head for the second swing to catch nothing but air.

To be fair, Asami has a lot of blood from #8's friends all over her, making it kind of tough to see.

#8 snarls at her fleeing companion, barking an order at him in Goblin.

She then attempts to attack Asami and fails miserably. The brawler may have misjudged the grindy's height, but that doesn't mean she's going to make the same mistake when dodging clumsy spear jabs. Even her tentacles fail to find purchase against Asami's fancy footwork.

Two big whiffs in response to two big whiffs! Twinsies!

#7 slithers toward Draxxie (5ft step) and goes for her legs, but Draxxie stomps on the approaching appendage, forcing #7 to yank it back with a hiss. Turning his focus, he instead tries to stab at Oduim on the ground, but because #7 tried the trip first, Oduim has time to ready against the incoming spear and roll away from his clumsy stab.

[color=green]ROUND 4
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (8 dmg, gently used)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (0 dmg)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 1 (21 dmg, this is getting ridiculous)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

7 appears to be in the same square as Estelle? But I assume that since it attacked, it can be attacked back without penalty.

Draxxie slashes down at the grindylow that had the temerity to try to trip her...

cutlass: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
confirm?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

"That's what I'm talkin' about! F@+!in' squidface!"

As per Discord, slight retconning to account for Roll20's stupidity.

#7 takes a cutlass to the face, and then only has about two-thirds of a face. His scream of pain is cut short as shock sets in and he falls to the watery ground, convulsing and bleeding from his gored visage.

Also #1 is dead and I didn't mark that. I'm a dummy.

#1 remembers he's dead and drops to the ground. #8 looks disappointed in everything right now.

Grindy #2 continues to hide in the water. At this point it seems like maybe she's just hoping you'll forget about her and let her live.

[color=green]ROUND 5
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (8 dmg, gently used)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (9 dmg, face/off)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 1 (21 dmg, this is getting ridiculous)
Grindy 2 (5 dmg, staggered, hidden)
[/color]

Estelle offers a hand down to Odium to help him up (flavor, unless she can negate his action to stand by burning an action herself), ”There is an injured one hiding in the deep water here, do we want to waste our time on them?”

If specifically asked exactly where, she will point to the square.

Estelle pulls Odium up from the ground (standard) and then moves over to see what Asami is doing, "I expect the last enemy over there will soon be dead, but we might want to matriculate over just in case more of these grindylows show up."

Oduim grudgingly accepts the assistance to his feet. We're getting our a$$es kicked! This had still better be a rescue mission. He then hurls one of his spears at the sunken grindylow.

Spear vs #2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Concealment vs #2: 1d100 ⇒ 93

Oduim's spear plugs expertly into the grindylow cowering in the silt at the bottom of the pool. She shudders once before floating to the top, the druid's spear jutting from her limp back.

[color=green]ROUND 5
Characters in BOLD may act.
Oduim (16/26 hp, Bone Fists, prone)
Grindy 5 (8 dmg, gently used)
Grindy 3 (7 dmg, dead)
Estelle (15/29 hp)
Asami (9/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 6 (11 dmg, serial killer’s art school final project)
Grindy 8 (0 dmg)
Grindy 4 (11 dmg, dead)
Grindy 7 (9 dmg, face/off)
Draxxie (17/27 hp, Bone Fists)
Grindy 1 (21 dmg, this is getting ridiculous)
Grindy 2 (10 dmg, dead)
[/color]

Bone Fist vs. 8: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Bone Fist vs. 8: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

She snorts, flexing her fingers as if to "set" them now that they've hit.

#8's face suddenly becomes concave as Asami's bone fist reverses the poor lass's features. She wobbles backward and collapses as blood spews from her ears.

Silence finally falls across the cavern.

COMBAT OVER!

I'll say there's about a minute left on the bone fists spell. If you move quick enough you might get a few rounds of it in a third fight.

Asami grimaces.

"They're like chaff beneath an axe," she complains, nursing one of her spear wounds. "They've got no hope of stopping us but we may be blunted before we reach the wood."

"I'm no fool; I won't last another fight like that one with wounds like these, and odds are that whatever awaits us further in is meaner than these." She flicks some of the blood off of her bony knuckles for emphasis.

"Do we have any kind of healing left, or did we use it all before the last one?"

Estelle blasts herself and Odium with some witchery healing and frowns, ”Sorry, Cry says you used yours up from my patron today. So unless we sleep… nothing else from me.”

CLW Hex on self: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
CLW Hex on Odium: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Asami frowns. "Fair enough. Anyone got a spare shield?"

She glares down into the tunnel and stretches her shoulders, wincing at the pain as her wounds stretch with them. "Either way, it's probably best if I stay away from the front. I can cover you instead, Star."

On our way to next combat, Asami will cast Alter Self to reduce her size to a Small tiefling (per alternate racial traits, that's a thing!) and as soon as anyone who is not a member of our party is spotted she'll Martial Flex herself into Dodge for a +3 AC overall.

I did a quick check and afaik we haven't looted any shields or otherwise found any along our travels, so I think that's the best she can do for hardening her defenses.

"C'm 'ere, Fox."

Draxxie pulls a scroll tube from her pack.

"Bought this from Grok. Wasn't cheap, and I been savin' it fer an emergency. Yer our best fighter, hands down, an' this is an emergency. Better t' use what we got now I reckon, if'n we're t' have any real chance of savin' Sandara an' Samms. Hold still now."

Draxxie reads the scroll, and lays her hand on Asami's wounds.

cure moderate wounds: 2d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 7) + 3 = 17 Nice.

"Take my buckler if yer like Fox. Gets in the way of me pike anyway."

Okay, by my estimation, the HP totals should be as follows:

Asami 26/27 hp
Draxxie 17/27 hp
Oduim 24/26 hp
Star 26/29 hp

Let me know if you think I missed anything!

A cursory check of the narrow passage next to Draxxie reveals it simply winds around and exits at the other end of this cavern, near the gore-soaked remains of grindylow #6, as well as a narrow passage leading south nearby. That leaves the passage through 6's guts, the southbound passage near it, and a passage to your north.

I have conveniently marked these passages with white arrows on R20. WDYD?

Asami blinks in the relative darkness.

"Well, s%~&. Thank you, Fish." Her wounds close up so thoroughly that all she seems to have left are a few scrapes. She takes the buckler and grins. "I'll keep an eye out for something heavier--a big shield shouldn't slow me down much and then I'll pass you this one back."

She flexes her fingers. "Which way did that last one flee? I wouldn't be surprised if it was heading toward the safety of reinforcements."

Asami will still take the precautions mentioned, but will be taking the front line with a solid AC 20.

#1, in the brief time it was alive when it shouldn't have been (derp) was headed in a roughly south-by-southeast direction, so one of the two lower tunnels.

Estelle looks at Asami, then Draxxie.

Fish? That’s an odd nickname for the a~%~~#@. Wonder what she did to get that. Ya know what, actually I don’t think I wonder. Better left for not knowing sometimes.

Estelle shrugs, ”You woulda seen it more than us. We were back here fighting the other half of them. Nice job handling your set though. I assume it was impressive to watch based on the chum left behind.”

She conjures up a light and wraps it around herself like a nice cloak, ”But let’s not waste time, my magic and any surprise we might have is running out.”

Asami hmms as she looks back at the corpse.

"One of these two tunnels," she says, pointing. "Let's follow the smear."

As she wades through the blood and water, her face scrunches.

Such a pointless waste.

We better find something one way or another sooner or later. Otherwise were gonna die here.

The druid continues along, eyes searching for answers... or trouble.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

You come to a four-way intersection. The right-hand path clearly bends back the way you came; it's safe to assume it either leads to or eventually connects with the southerly path you chose not to take. The left path leads into a bulbous cavern significantly smaller than the one you just left--about 15 by 15 feet. The walls of this small cavern display strangely ribbed markings. The water within is deeper than the ankle-deep stuff you're currently wading through, going down about five feet before disappearing into a massive blanket of kelp and seaweed.

Down the forward path is darkness, but Oduim hears the faint sound of some kind of splashing coming from that direction.

WDYD?

Estelle glances into the kelp, ”Odd, no sunlight in here. I wonder how the plants are living? Perhaps a shaft of light comes in during the day. Anyway, if we want to search it, I can give us water breathing.”

"I can take a quick look." The druid sinks into the water and swims off to the left.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Estelle takes a moment to prepare herself in case following is necessary.

Water Lung Hex on self, then cycle it onto Asami and Draxxie the next two rounds if Odium hasn’t surfaced by then.

Oduim swims down into the slowly undulating seaweed bed, gracefully dipping between tangles of vegetation, sifting through their broad, waving leaves, down about ten feet, at which point he is stymied by a large barred gate riveted into the floor. In the dark silt about twenty feet past the gate, straight down, Oduim can just make out a shiny pile of coins, most of which are gold.

He also detects a flicker of movement, which is all the warning he gets before a hand thrusts out between the bars and tries to grab him. Thankfully the warning was just enough to let the druid backstroke away before the hand could succeed. Through the constantly-shifting seaweed, between the iron bars set in the cavern floor, a horribly rubbery, bloated ghoul reaches out feebly for him, its hunger and desperation apparent.

Behind the ghoul, another one swims back and forth near the bottom of the cavern, the aquatic version of nervous pacing.

He doesn't see any immediate mechanism to open the barred gate and get down to the bottom to snatch up those coins, but considering who is housed down there, that's probably for the best. Still, money is money, and if there's coins down there, who knows what else there might be?

Since the ghouls can't get to you at the moment, I have not put you in initiative. (It would've been a different story had that surprise grab attempt succeeded!) If you want to go down there and face the ghouls to get the gold, I will need a Perception check to find the mechanism to open it. WDYD?

Wis vs DC 12: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Oduim swims back to the surface. "Someone has trapped more undead in a gated pit. It didn't look like there was anything else down there that would lead to our missing crew mates."

It looked like a dead end otherwise, correct?

<<Facepalm>> No pun intended.

"Seems like a good place for them to starve and die, then," Asami shrugs. "No sense wasting time and blood on it."

Estelle rolls her eyes, obviously undead never starve. But frankly, she has talked a lot today already and Asami is comparatively nice so no need to correct her now. She waits for the group to go the other way.

It seems the general consensus is to leave the lacedons be and move on.

The party continues forward, swimming across a short dip in the path, until you reach a four-way intersection. Two paths lead north and northeast, respectively, both curving away out of view, but the northwest passage is a roughly straight shot into a large unlit cavern. Even with her darkvision, Asami can't quite make out much detail other than after about 55 feet, the tunnel opens into what seems to be a very large space--but it's too distant for her to make out even with her infernally-powered peepers.

Oduim hears the faint splashing again, closer now. It appears to be coming from the long tunnel to the northwest.

WDYD?

Asami points and shrugs. Northwest seems to be the way to go.

Estelle nods in agreement, refreshing her light cloak and water breathing.

Lacedons...SERIOUSLY?!?!! WTF? Let's just TPK the third-level toons! How does anyone survive this AP?

Oduim holds out a warning hand to quiet the others. "Shh... Did you hear that? Splashing from that cavern. Might be a waterfall, but it could also be something moving around. We should proceed with caution."

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

I mean, lacedons aren't particularly more dangerous than regular ghouls. They're literally just ghouls with a Swim speed. Are you thinking of ghasts? Two ghasts would be a serious challenge to the party for sure, that's a CR 5 fight, but two lacedons is actually only a CR 3, same level as the party. Still, if you don't have to fight them, no harm in passing them by. Of course, that CR should technically be higher simply by virtue of the fact that ghouls are OP, but lacedons aren't really any more dangerous than regular ghouls.

Anyone else using stealth? If not, what party order do you want to use? I assume Oduim wants to move ahead so as not to lose his stealth (as long as you stay in the dim light from Draxxie's light spell, so at least 20 feet ahead.

Estelle’s face briefly flashes a realization and she tries to slosh through the water a bit quieter.

Stealth: 1d20 ⇒ 18

Oooh, is that why I keep getting attacked? Am I really that loud?

Naw, it’s cause you delish!

…

Ghouls...UNDERWATER!! If I recall, the last undead made us burn through just about all our resources.

Do I have to in the dim light? Oduim has 60' Darkvision.