Coldwater's Abomination Vaults

Game Master Quentin Coldwater

Upon closer inspection, Kka realizes that it was just a strange optical illusion that made it look like there was another room off the catwalk. Never mind. She walks back downstairs and randomly picks a new door to examine out in the main hallway. "I wonder what's behind these doors?"

Activity: Search with (Perception +16) - SECRET

Kvit leaves the rest of the abominations behind for now. He considers what to "They seem stuck for now, perhaps there is a way to permanently eliminate them."

He follows Kka into the hallway but tries to hide his face from the others as he does.

Sorry, this last week has been a rolling series of disasters an 'do this now' priorities.

"I can remove the curse tomorrow Lough," Cherry says. "It is within my abilities, I am just not prepared with spells right now."

Kka presses on.
1 is north, 2 is east: 1d2 ⇒ 2
She chooses the eastern door.

Upon closer inspection, there's a note pinned to the door that says in Common, Undercommon, and Infernal: "Do not disturb if you value your limbs."

There's also a rusty latch in the door you can slide aside to peer into the room.

"Not worried about it" is how Lough says 'thank you' to Cherry.

Feeling himself, he announces that he is "Going in!" and puts hand on latch...

...shuts it "Some mutie on the ceiling. Praying. Sneak in or bust through?"

Kka presses on.

1 is north, 2 is east: 1d2 ⇒ 2
She chooses the eastern door.

I had Kka looking at the southern door, which leads to the room just north of the room with all the creatures in glass columns. I don't believe that we've looked into that room yet. I presume it's just another viewing room with a one-sided glass rock wall.

But, hey! The eastern door is as good as any.

Kka frowns. "Mutie on the ceiling? Let me haave a look." She elbows Lough aside, slides open the latch again, and looks inside. She's confused. "Huh?!"

Is it on the ceiling? The way I read it, the creature is sitting on the floor, probably between spikes, though it could just as easily be sitting on the spikes. The picture does not look like a creature that flies. It looks like an aberration to me. How big is it?

Action: Recall Knowledge (Fleshwarp Lore +9, Religion +12) - SECRET

She turns to Lough. "You sure about this, Big Maan? Thaat is one ugly looking brute. I don't think it'll react well to us just bursting in." Regardless, she grips her swords tightly and prepares for battle. She looks over at the spellcasters. "You guys haave anything that caan help us against aberrations?"

I think we have an opportunity for some buffing before we kick down the door. Because if that's what I think it is, then we're in for a nasty fight.

Lough tries to identify the mutie…

Occultism (Expert) +14, will Hero Point a CF!

occultism: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34

Kvit takes a peek.

Kvit goes through his mental preparations, "The spikes look nasty. I can levitate one of us to avoid them. I could also corral it in with a wall of fire. I haven't had a chance to try that one out yet in a practical trial. I could also try to get it confused, but would have to get uncomfortably close for that. I also have two more fire beads."

Kvit draws the dagger from before,
Levitate, Wall of Fire, Befuddle, Illusory Object (if it has any particular interests or phobias). Also two more 4d6 fireball from the necklace of fireballs.

GM Kwinten wrote:

Kka presses on.

1 is north, 2 is east: 1d2 ⇒ 2
She chooses the eastern door.

I had Kka looking at the southern door, which leads to the room just north of the room with all the creatures in glass columns. I don't believe that we've looked into that room yet. I presume it's just another viewing room with a one-sided glass rock wall.

I think there's a miscommunication. I think we're talking about the same door. There is no other door to inspect. Though I can't access the map to verify what you mean.

Is it on the ceiling? The way I read it, the creature is sitting on the floor, probably between spikes, though it could just as easily be sitting on the spikes. The picture does not look like a creature that flies. It looks like an aberration to me. How big is it?

Yeah, not sure where Lough is getting from that the thing is on the ceiling. It's resting in between the spikes. It's large-sized.

Lough: Recall Knowledge is secret, so no Hero Point rerolls.

Kka doesn't recognise this thing. It's definitely not fleshwarped, but also not religious.
Lough thinks this is a gug. Big dumb brutes that might be distantly related to trolls. They're especially afraid of fire and light, as they mainly live underground.
Kvit agrees that it's a gug. He knows gugs are weirdly afraid of ghouls, but love to eat ghasts. He also knows that if he can get multiple arms to connect with an opponent, they can rip you open.

I'll roll a Perception check for each spell that's cast to see if the gug wakes up from it. Open the next spoiler tag after each cast spell.

Moved Kvit and Cherry up.

Kvit casts Levitate holding out the tip of his staff for Kka or Lough to accept, otherwise he'll cast it on himself. (opening spoiler) Not hearing any movement from the Gug, he considers what else he has and gestures for the others to open the door.

"When you charge in, I'll create the wall of fire to corral it somewhat, it's much larger so it will have a harder time avoiding it."

Will prepare to cast wall of fire on Kvit's turn depending on what happens, or could summon another animated statue.

I think there's a miscommunication. I think we're talking about the same door. There is no other door to inspect. Though I can't access the map to verify what you mean.

You exit the pillar room to the north. The west leads back to the main hallway. The south is obviously the pillar room. North and east are unexplored. East is the room with the meditating monster.

Ah. Never mind then. I was under the impression that the area I've highlighted with a green box was a separate room only accessible from the main hallway by a set of double doors, but not accessible from the pillar room. I didn't realize it was an extension of the pilar room with the catwalk going over it.

When Kvit mentions still having some fireball beads left over, Kka looks at him like he's an idiot. "Uh, Kvit? We caan see this gug thing through the laatch and I'm pretty sure the fire ball beads you haave there will also fit through the laatch." She pauses to see if any of this is sinking in. "Soooo, why don't you just pop those beads through the laatch and caast whaatever naasty spells you caan on this thing through the door before we go in and deal with whaatever's left of it."

Is there any reason why we can't see the room and its gug contents yet?'

I can throw two, but they're only 4d6 DC20, so I feel like that won't be super significant. His best damaging spell is searing bolt (scorching ray) 4d6.

Kvit nods, "That would require me standing in front of the door .. I have one spell, and you two-" He gestures towards Kama and Lough "Can have a bead. It's already active, don't drop it. Just throw it."

Kvit takes up position in front of the door, and prepares to move out of the way asap.

"Ready?"

Anyone going to take the levitate? Necklace of Fireballs. Kvit will cast the searing bolt then move, though I assume the Gug won't ignore that no matter what the perception roll.

Lough nods to Kvit.

Waits for the bead to drop.

Then, raising his shield, rushes in madcap!

"Let's do it!" Kka takes the fireball bead from Kvit and waits for Kvit to cast his spell. No sooner has he done so, that she flicks the bead through the latch hole and flattens herself against the wall, regripping her sword and waiting for the explosions to subside.

I'm picturing Kka pulling the pin on a grenade and stuffing it through the slot of an old WW2 bunker, followed by a muffled explosion and a lot of dying nazis.

GM Kwinten wrote:

I think there's a miscommunication. I think we're talking about the same door. There is no other door to inspect. Though I can't access the map to verify what you mean.

You exit the pillar room to the north. The west leads back to the main hallway. The south is obviously the pillar room. North and east are unexplored. East is the room with the meditating monster.

Ah. Never mind then. I was under the impression that the area I've highlighted with a green box was a separate room only accessible from the main hallway by a set of double doors, but not accessible from the pillar room. I didn't realize it was an extension of the pilar room with the catwalk going over it.

Now I'm even more confused. I thought that was the room you mentioned in THIS post.

Is there any reason why we can't see the room and its gug contents yet?'

I was at work and couldn't edit the map, sorry.

Who has the Levitate now?

So, the plan is:
- Drop a bead
- Open door
- Searing Bolt
Then combat actually starts? That seems like a lot. I'll allow the bead, but then we roll for initiative. Is that okay?

I was actually wanting to have Kvit do searing bolt and then gtfo. Then Kka and Lough can be in front of the door for their beads.

But I agree, whatever goes off first starts initiative. No one claimed the levitate, so Kvit will use it.

Let's kick this off then!

kka drops the bead through the opening and ducks for cover. A small blast of fire spews from the latch as the inside of the room is suddenly engulfed in flames. A confused roaring yell emerges from inside as the gug is suddenly disturbed from his meditation.

Reflex gug: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31

Miraculously, the gug dudges all of the flames, but is very angry at you.

Cherry Berry: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (2) + 15 = 17
Kka: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23
Kvit: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
Lough: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33
Gug: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (3) + 19 = 22

Lough 92/92
Kvit 48/48
Kka 83/83
Gug
Cherry Berry 78/78

Lough, Kvit, and Kka are up!
You could have opened the door as part of your initiative, I'll leave that up to you.

Kvit waits for Kka to either move or open the door, then blasts the Gug with his prepared searing bolt.

searing bolt: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (17) + 15 = 32fire: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 4) = 12

Then steps aside.

will wait for someone to move or open the door then >> ◆◆ searing bolt ◆ levitate away

Lough watches the fire totally fail to envelope their meditating foe - looks at Kka and shrugs. Smiles. And opens the door.

"Gunna rip you apart, Gug!" he charges 5 feet into the room and takes a slash out of the bifork-four-armed aberration.

◇) Open Door
◆) Raise Spellguard Shield (to AC 27, hardness 9, HP 76)
◆) Step
◆) Snagging Strike
↺) Shield Block (if around 30 damage or less)
↺) Reactive Strike
~) First to trigger

Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 322d6 + 7 ⇒ (1, 5) + 7 = 13
Off-guard while adjacent to Lough!

Kka shrugs back at Lough. "Them's the breaks. Let's get this done." She follows Lough into the room and starts chopping away at the Gug.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (35 feet)

Action 2 & 3 (◆◆): Double Slice
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Wounding Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Surprise/Sneak Attack and Gang Up vs Off-Guard Gug.
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Ghost Touch Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization and Gang Up vs Off-Guard Gug.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 15 + 1 = 35 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + (2) + 4 + 2 = 13 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 4) = 9 precision slashing damage
+1d6 persistent bleed damage

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 15 + 1 = 26 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + (3) + 4 + 2 = 14 slashing damage

Kvit lobs a ball of fire into the room that hits the gug square in the chest. It roars in pain. Kvit then moves out of the way.
Lough moves up and hits the gug while it's still sitting, but not before the gug lashes back out at him!

Jaws attack: 1d20 + 23 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 23 - 2 = 40
Piercing damage: 2d12 + 13 ⇒ (10, 2) + 13 = 25
Ouch! That's 50 damage! You specified you'd block at 30 damage, so you take it all.

Lough then strikes back at the still-sitting gug, dealing a decent blow back.
The spikes on the ground are uncomfortable to stand on, but you can still carefully walk around them. Lying down would be a problem, though.
Kka moves up as well and also strikes at the gug. Only one attack hits, though.

The gug gets up (potentially provoking from Lough if he wants), then lashes out with both arms at the same time, once at Lough, once at Kka. This attack does not take MAP.

Claw vs Lough: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (6) + 23 = 29
Slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (2, 7) + 13 = 22

Claw vs Kka: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (5) + 23 = 28
Slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (3, 4) + 13 = 20

Lough, do you use Shield Block on that, or did you take the provoke? Looking at your stats, this is your shield's statistics: Hardness 9, HP 76, BT 38

Lough 42/92, either shield block vs 22 more damage, or a reactive strike
Kvit 48/48
Kka 63/83
Gug, 47 damage
Cherry Berry 78/78

Everyone is up! The gug has taken a bit of damage, but is nowhere near bloodied yet.

"Finally, a worthy foe!" Lough smiles - his torso shredded - and gets to shredding on his own - using offense as his defense!

Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 262d6 + 7 ⇒ (1, 4) + 7 = 12

↺) Reactive Strike
◆) Raise Spellguard Shield (to AC 27, hardness 9, HP 76)
◆) Snagging Strike
◆) ??? (Pending outcome of Discussion)
↺) Shield Block (If 28 damage or less... but if significantly healed by ally, threshold instead = "HP+8" or "46", whichever is less)
↺) Reactive Strike

Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 252d6 + 7 ⇒ (2, 5) + 7 = 14
Hero Point!
Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (2) + 18 = 202d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 3) + 7 = 15

Despite knowing what what this thing was and capable of, Kvit is still surprised by the speed and ferocity in action. He tries to slow it down by affecting its mind.

"A̅_̴͋̔ͩ͊̓͘̕͝ľ̵̛͉͍̳͖̬̥̪͈̫̳͔̱ͪ͑̿̂͂́̉ͭ͗̌̂̆͆͋̈́̃͂͢͞͞_̐̋l_̸̖̼̫ͬ́͆ͪͨͯͦ̂̉ͨ̋͋͜͝͠͞ ̴̸̡̱̠̭̿ͧ̋̿͡͞į̨̛̤̱͙͐ͭ̏̚_̜̀̃̐̎͗ͦ͘͡e̗ͫͯ̉ͧs̵͇̺̪͖̠̘ͯ̐͒̈ͮ͞ f̢͙̗̰͍̘́ͣ͋̆̿͘͝ǫ̸̴̫̤͕̙͉̬͙̬̱͑̓̏͊̀͝ȩ̸̸̵̰̠͇͙̲̜̗̝̀̍̀͌ͣ̔͂̊ͧ̈́̅̋̓̊̏͊͛͘͢͟͡șͤͣ͂͞ͅ ̵̨̤͙̤̩̝̻̥̳̪͓̆̏̊̾ͥ̏̇͗̂̏̃̒̉̂͘ͅ wh̴̶̶̢̡̝͕͉̰̹̹̪̘̱̠͎̭̠͕̞̮̪̪͕̭̳͌ͣͫ̔͛̿̀̓̔ͨ̂͘͠͝ͅo_̵̧̡̣̩͖̼͓̖̮̖͕ͮͣ͌̈́̎͂̓ͩ̅̾ͤͥ̏̓̕͜͜ ̶̖̩̓͋ k̨̧̧̛̦͕̖͚̺̹͉̯͈͙͂̉͛̌ͨͬ͋̾̑͘͞͠ͅn͎ͩ͗o̭̞͖͎͇̓̔́̾̚͡͡ͅ_̢̛̞̥͖̦͓͇̯͙̺͉̄̒̐̾ͯ̊̀̌ͅw̟̦̾́͞͠ ̹̘͇̱̲͂̑̾̒ͮ͛̑́̚͠ṣ̴̫ͭͨ̓̈́̕͜ͅ"

.
DC25 will save v Befuddle

Then he follows it up by telekinetically sending the dagger towards the creature.

Hand of the apprentice: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 15 + 1 = 36slashing: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 2) + 4 = 7 On a critical hit, 1d8 persistent bleed and Kvit gains 1d8 temporary HP for 1min.

Awesome! That attack should have been with a -2 from levitate, but with the nat 20 it doesn't matter. ◆ ◆ Befuddle ◆ Hand of the Apprentice.

temp HP: 1d8 ⇒ 7

Lough and Kka have the creature off-guard due to Gang Up. But if Kka's earlier 26 was a miss, then so is Lough's likely to be.

Kka watches the creature in action and decides to severely reduce her earlier estimation of their odds of surviving this encounter. Not only was the Gug's skin hard to pierce, it hit like a battering ram. Seeing little in the way of options, Kka slices away, then drops her off-sword, and throws a patch on Lough.

Action 1 & 2 (◆◆): Double Slice
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Wounding Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Surprise/Sneak Attack and Gang Up vs Off-Guard Gug.
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Ghost Touch Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization and Gang Up vs Off-Guard Gug.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 15 + 1 = 35 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + (6) + 4 + 2 = 13 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 1) = 4 precision slashing damage
+1d6 persistent bleed damage

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 15 + 1 = 22 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + (4) + 4 + 2 = 16 slashing damage

Action (◇): Release: [+1 Striking] Ghost Touch Shortsword.

Action 3 (◆): Battle Medicine (Medic Dedication & Assurance:Medicine) on Lough vs DC 20 (Expert)

Assurance: Medicine (Battle Medicine) expert vs DC 20: 10 + 13 = 23
Battle Medicine Healing vs DC 20: 2d8 + 10 + 5 ⇒ (7, 6) + 10 + 5 = 28 hit points healed

That's all the Battle Medicine that Kka can do on either Lough or herself for the rest of this encounter.

As per discussion, Lough didn't take the 50 crit damage, but looking at his actions, he didn't shield block, so 22 damage.

Lough catches the gug as it gets up, but it manages to twist away at the right time. He slashes once more, but misses again.

Will save gug: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33
Kvit messes with the gug's mind. It manages to shake off the worst of it, but it still reacts more slowly than before.
Kvit then hurls his dagger at it, striking it right in its chest for considerable damage.
Kka slashes twice, but connecting only once. Still, it's a good hit.

With Lough less damaged, do you still want to Battle Medicine? You can also do something else, if you want.

Lough 70/92
Kvit 55/48
Kka 63/83
Gug, 78 damage, Clumsy 1, Stupefied 1, 1d8 persistent bleed
Cherry Berry 78/78

Lough and Kka have 1 action remaining, Cherry Berry has all 3.

Lough plants his face into Gug and attacks him with feral shag!

Living Hair (blunt, agile, disarm, finesse, trip) w/ MAP (-4) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 18 - 4 = 192d4 + 7 ⇒ (1, 1) + 7 = 9

◆) Snagging Strike
↺) Shield Block (Awaiting GM info / decision before posting thresholds...)
↺) Reactive Strike

With Lough less damaged, do you still want to Battle Medicine? You can also do something else, if you want.

I'll save it for another turn then. Instead of dropping her weapon and doing Battle Medicine on Lough, Kka will throw up a Shield and hope to survive another round.

Concentrating on the aeon stone in her wayfinder, she says the words, "protect me," and the space around her shimmers a light pink.

Action 3 (◆): Activate an Item: Wayfinder & Aeon Stone: Dusty Rose Prism - Cast: Shield [L4] - AC 25/26 (Nimble Dodge); Hardness 10

Cherry aware that they have limited spells, but wanting to be useful, gestures at Kka and releases a great spell.

◆◆Heroism +1 statis bonus to every d20 roll for the next 10 miuntes

Then they desture their staff at Lough to boost his abilities too.

◆Guidance +1 on your next d20 roll.

cherry Berry: Heroism is a touch spell. I'll assume you moved up to Kka instead of casting Guidance on Lough.

Kka protects herself while Lough flails with his hair.
Cherry Berry moves up to boost Kka's offensive abilities.

Lough seems to be less of a threat to the gug than Kka is, so the gug tears at Kka twice.

Claw attack: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (7) + 23 = 30
slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (4, 7) + 13 = 24

Claw attack: 1d20 + 23 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 23 - 4 = 33
slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (5, 8) + 13 = 26

With two claws stuck in Kka's chest, the gug rips her chest wide open.
slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (8, 8) + 13 = 29
Kka's bleeding body falls to the floor, blood and internal organs flying everywhere.

Bleed damage: 1d8 ⇒ 4
DC 15 flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 3

Lough 70/92
Kvit 55/48
Kka 0/83, Heroism, Dying 1
Gug, 82 damage, 1d8 persistent bleed
Cherry Berry 78/78

Everyone is up!

EDIT: I forgot that Cherry Berry moving up would've provoked, but I don't want to put them in unnecessary danger let's say the doorframe blocks a proper reactive strike.

Kvit fortunately is spared seeing the gruesome sight of Kka being eviscerated around the corner. He starts the second phase of his plan, filling the room with fire directly. A thick wall of flames cuts the room in two.

◆◆◆ Wall of Fire

4d6 damage every turn its in there! Though that's not as much as Kka's blades.

"No!" Lough looks down at his friend, and out of his mouth crawls his spider friend, who begins wrapping Kka into a little bird-shaped cocoon, occult curative magic seeping through the silvery threads...

◆) Raise Shield
◆) Life Boost (Provoking the Gug?!)
↺) Shield Block! (If 46 or less)
◆) Strike
↺) Shield Block or Reactive Strike (if remaining somehow?)
☑□□□) Life Boost (+8 HP to Kka start of turn)

Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 262d6 + 7 ⇒ (4, 4) + 7 = 15
Hero Point!
Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 242d6 + 7 ⇒ (2, 6) + 7 = 15

"Alright, Gug" Lough looks for an opening: finds none.

Kvit starts roasting the gug by trapping it in the room with a curtain of fire.
Lough heals Kka through his spider companion.
Reaction gug: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (14) + 23 = 37
Bite damage: 2d12 + 13 ⇒ (9, 12) + 13 = 34
That's just about a crit! And since Life Boost has the Manipulate trait, the spell gets interrupted! No healing for Kka.
Also, that's a ton of damage for Lough. 68 damage means he's at 2 HP.

Lough 2/92
Kvit 55/48
Kka 0/83, Heroism, Dying 1
Gug, 82 damage, 1d8 persistent bleed
Cherry Berry 78/78

"Good attempt Lough! I'll help too."

◆◆◆) Healing Level 4: 4d10 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 6) = 14
Using Selective Energy to Exclude the Gug. This will heal all of us.

The way I read it, Kka got 8hp from Lough and 14 more from Cherry, so now at 22/83. Definitely not enough to survive another rending (or even an average single strike from the Gug), but better than nothing.

When the Gug turns on Kka, she gulps. "Uh, oh."

Her worst fears are realized as the Gug tears into her and rips her apart. Fortunately, it happens quickly, and there isn't much time to feel the effects before she finds herself floating in darkness.

[Libi...?]

But before she can fully form her thoughts, she is whisked back to reality and finds herself looking up at the Gug's groin from flat on her back. Though alive and breathing again, she still isn't feeling great. "<groan!> Ugh! We're baack to this again? I think I liked it better when Fuìn waas still in the picture." Knowing that her time on this planet was soon coming to an end, she decides to give it all she has before heading back to the warm and comforting embrace of death.

Gripping her swords, she jumps to her feet and slashes away at the Gug knowing that it may well be the last thing she does in her life.

Action 1 (◆): Stand

Action 2 & 3 (◆◆): Double Slice
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Wounding Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Sneak Attack, Gang Up and Heroism vs Off-Guard Gug.
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Ghost Touch Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Gang Up and Heroism vs Off-Guard Gug.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 37 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + (1) + 4 + 2 = 9 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12 precision slashing damage
+1d6 persistent bleed damage

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 29 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + (3) + 4 + 2 = 10 slashing damage

Lough kneels in pain, barely alive, spitting blood from his mouth - a couple teeth eject themselves from the force - but he rises again.

”That all ya got, Gug?”

The way I read it, Kka got 8hp from Lough and 14 more from Cherry, so now at 22/83. Definitely not enough to survive another rending (or even an average single strike from the Gug), but better than nothing.

Sadly, no. Reactive Strike says that if the strike is a crit, it interrupts the action. So no healing for Kka, I'm afraid.

Cherry Berry channels healing energy into Lough and Kka, waking Kka up again.
Kka wakes up from her dirt nap and slashes twice at the gug, critting once and hitting once more!

The gug begins engulfed in flames.
Fire damage: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 1, 3) = 7

The gug does not like being on fire. It lashes out at Lough, but not in an attempt to down him. Instead, it tries to clear the way through a Reposition!

Athletics vs Lough: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (2) + 23 = 25
The gug just barely manages to shove Lough out of the way, putting him right next to the wall of fire. Then, he tries to Reposition Kka out of the way!

Athletics vs Kka: 1d20 + 23 - 5 ⇒ (13) + 23 - 5 = 31
That's exactly a crit, and he drags Kka 10 feet out of the way. He then Steps 5 feet so he is out of the harmful fire.

Bleed: 1d8 ⇒ 1
flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 2

Lough 16/92
Kvit 55/48
Kka 16/83, Heroism, Wounded 1
Gug, 121 damage, 1d8 persistent bleed
Cherry Berry 78/78

Everyone is up! The gug is off-guard for a round due to Kka's crit! It's definitely bloodied now.

Kvit grins, feeling an unexpected bit of triumph as he makes the huge thing dance around the fire instead of attacking his... friends? Companions at least, sure.

He realizes he can't do much to it directly, but the more distraction he can provide to Lough and Kka the better.

The sound of grinding stone echoes amongst the flames and sounds of combat. Huge stones from the surrounding area pull themselves together near the Gug. Another stone statue created directly in the flames, oblivious to its predicament.

It strikes out at the Gug and retreats, trying to draw its ire.

fist: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31Bludgeoning: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Kvit: ◇ Drain Bonded Item ◆ ◆ ◆ summon construct H+3 Animated Statue

Statue: ◆ strike ◆ stride

You'll have to roll for concealment, though. Wall of Fire says one side is considered concealed to the other side.
DC 5 flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 10

Kvit summons a stone friend that bashes through the wall of fire to bludgeon the gug, with great success!

The gug, suddenly surprised at an attack from behind, reaches through the curtain quickly to rend the stone statue to pieces.

Claw: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (12) + 23 = 35
Flat check: 1d20 ⇒ 11
Slashing damage: 2d8 + 13 ⇒ (5, 2) + 13 = 20
Wow, the statue would've barely survived if its hardness had worked.

Lough 16/92
Kvit 55/48
Kka 16/83, Heroism, Wounded 1
Gug, 143 damage, 1d8 persistent bleed
Cherry Berry 78/78

Lough, Kka, and Cherry Berry are up! The gug has used its reaction, and it looking heavily damaged now.

When the Gug starts getting handsy, Kka reacts. "Whoa there fella! Least you could do is buy a girl some dinner first." She then lashes out with her swords before dropping one them and tucking in some of her still dangling intestines with her now free hand.

Action 1 & 2 (◆◆): Double Slice
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Wounding Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Sneak Attack, Gang Up and Heroism vs Off-Guard Gug.
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Ghost Touch Shortsword) with Thief Racket, Weapon Specialization, Gang Up and Heroism vs Off-Guard Gug.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 35 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (6) + (4) + 4 + 2 = 16 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7 precision slashing damage
+1d6 persistent bleed damage

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 19 vs Off-Guard

Use them or lose them. Kka's about to go down again, so I'm burning a Hero Point on a reroll.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 34 vs Off-Guard
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + (2) + 4 + 2 = 12 slashing damage

Action (◇): Release: [+1 Striking] Ghost Touch Shortsword.

Action 3 (◆): Battle Medicine (Medic Dedication & Assurance:Medicine) on Kka vs DC 20 (Expert)

Assurance: Medicine (Battle Medicine) expert vs DC 20: 10 + 13 = 23
Battle Medicine Healing vs DC 20: 2d8 + 10 + 5 ⇒ (6, 7) + 10 + 5 = 28 hit points healed

Grinning menacingly as the leshy's energies repair the damage, Lough braces and digs in some more!

◆) Raise Shield
◆◆) Snagging Strike x2
↺) Shield Block (If it will keep Lough standing without breaking his shield) or Reactive Strike

Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 252d6 + 7 ⇒ (5, 4) + 7 = 16
Hero Point!
Slag Claw (slash, magic, cold iron) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 302d6 + 7 ⇒ (1, 4) + 7 = 12
Living Hair (blunt, agile, disarm, finesse, trip) w/ MAP (-4) vs Gug: 1d20 + 18 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 18 - 4 = 312d4 + 7 ⇒ (2, 3) + 7 = 12

Kka slashes twice at the gug, and it finally keels over after her second stab. The animated statue does a little victory dance, then is immediately incinerated by the wall of fire.

Kka hasn't used her Battle Medicine, and Lough kan keep his Hero Point. There is no loot in the room.

Looking through the room where the gug used to meditate, it seems like it used to be used as an isolation chamber. The pointy spikes are spaced far enough apart that you can stand, but sitting or lying down will cause them to stab you, never allowing for a comfortable resting position.

As the gug finally expires under her sword strokes, Kka slumps to the ground in a mixture of exhaustion and exhilaration. The spikes push into her, but she's too tired to care. On the floor nearby, she spots what appears to be one of her kidneys. "Oops! I think I'm going to need thaat." She picks it up and pushes it through the gaping wound in her side. "Thaat's more or less the right spot for it."

After catching her breath, she begins the now habitual process of patching everyone up. She then gives the gug's body and the room a quick search and is disappointed by the result. "Thaat's just great. Thaat thing nearly kills us all and we've got nothing to show for it." She frowns. "Whaat was it doing here anyway?" She resigns herself to the fact that she'll probably never know. "Doesn't maatter. This plaace is full of weird things."

Once everyone is ready to move on, Kka moves back out into the large hallway and checks the other doors.

Activity: Search with (Perception +16) - SECRET

Kvit is relieved when the thing collapses. He floats along the floor, using his staff as a barge pole to pull himself along. He doesn't bother getting down, as it's obvious nothing of interest is in the room. He gives Kka an odd expression as he watches her medical treatment. He considers how much of the abomination physiology might be transferable. There had been enough blood and viscera exchanged from both sides, it wouldn't surprise him if that wasn't even her kidney. He stares at her for a minute deep in thought and concern.

"Well, we gained nothing, almost died, but at least this thing won't have the chance catch us at a bad time."

He pokes at a bit of rubble from the statue. "I'm liking this, kept the thing distracted that's for sure."

"That was a very strong creature, wasn't it?"

Seeing Kka at the north door, "Whenever you're ready, I know you were mortally wounded just a few minutes ago." He says it with a strange inflection, like he is suspicious of something.

Kka inspects the northern door. It seems safe, so she opens it.

This plain stone chamber has two double doors, one on the north wall and a second on the south wall. Tiny carvings cover the east and west walls.

A giant demonic skeleton occupies this room. In a flat, emotionless voice, it calls out, "Halt. No further. I am bound to let no one in or out of this room unless they have my specific permission to do so. And the vetting process is a rigorous and arduous task. Make sure you are prepared before beginning."

Without a pause, it immediately starts questioning you.

"Who are you, if you are no one? When your soul is consumed, do you consume yourself?"

You feel oddly compelled to answer, like your brain is twitching to give an answer, any kind of answer at all.

"Meh, so so" Lough shrugs to Cherry, before walking into the room with the giant demonic skeleton.

"Look, bones, I'm Lough, and these folks here, well, we have obtained permission to move about this room as we please by the Otarionic Decree" he quickly makes up a name that tries to sound both important and ominous "I can show you what we have in writing"

He takes out the Whispering Reeds and casts Vision of Bones (aka Phantasmal Killer)!

Deception (Master) vs Bones: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

Vision of Bones (Mental) vs Will DC 22: 8d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 4, 6, 4, 1, 1, 3) = 24

Kka sighs when she spots the bony demon. When it starts going on with its philosophical questions, she rolls her beady red eyes in an exaggerated manner. "Look, bub. It's been a long day and I've already been torn apaart once, so I've got no time for whaatever BS you're putting out right now. So..." She pauses as the realization of what Lough is doing sinks in. "... uh, soooo, prepare to die, I guess."

Kvit holds up a paw, "Uh, I don't think that's good -"