GM Jhaeman's "Dawn of Flame, Chapter Four: The Blind City" (Inactive)

Game Master Jhaeman

Initiative (Round # 6)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Fiery Skeletal Figures
Xylian (Fort save needed)
Zharis

Bold should go!

Zharis, who had been watching, sees the Shambler move and then go invisible, and she too steps forward and slashes at the square where it last was.

Attack (Claws): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Piercing Damage: 1d3 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Zharis' claws cut through empty space, but Xylian manages to land a solid blow on one of his opponents! The burning skeleton collapses into a pile of charred ash.

Zharis didn't hit anything. Xylian (posting in the Discussion thread) hit and destroyed White. Xylian's second attack missed.

Hop's voice suddenly carries over your comms: "What in tarnation! Pards, we done got a sitcheration here! Some monster's a tearin' at my innards!"

Initiative (Round # 7)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Fiery Skeletal Figure
Xylian (Fort save needed)
Zharis

Bold should go!

Hani comes around to flank the flaming skeleton.

to hit with flanking bonus: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 2 = 19
damage: 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Zharis realizes that instead of disappearing, the Shambler must be able to teleport. Why oh why didn't she buy that anti-teleportation upgrade? I mean, yeah, it cost more than she could afford, but she could have begged her father for the money. Now they were going to pay for her silly pride...

Be there forthwith, Hop. Hang in there.

Not my turn yet, so not moving, but will rush to Hop's aid when that time comes.

Some monster's a tearin' at my innards!"

Proog isn't a monster =(

Hani almost punches through the back of the of the skeletal abomination and Tulgram crushes one of its kneecaps with his capture pole!

Hani's attack hit.

Botting Tulgram as doing a melee attack. Result: It hits. Gray is almost down.

Jin is up.

Jin moves towards the ship.

Undeterred by its companion's destruction, the monster continues its assault on Xylian! But the scientist's new armor is too thick for its blows to penetrate!

Gray attacks Xylian. Result: Attack misses.

Initiative (Round # 7)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Fiery Skeletal Figure
Xylian
Zharis

Bold should go!

Zharis runs flat out for Hop and starts cycling through the airlock.

Hurry, hurry she mentally urged it. They were probably after the tablet, which they couldn't get because she had it... but there were plenty of other ways to ruin the ship and prevent them from leaving, and the top priority was stopping them.

...She did pause and make sure that her expression was sufficiently panicked for the camera though, since she couldn't speed things up.

"I can handle this one." Xylian tells Hani and Tulgrum. "Ensure my proog is unharmed." The proog, which could be any small item in the ship, is probably fine. Xylian doesn't even know where it is most of the time. It may well still be on the Burning Archipelago.

Full attack calcium boi.
Robofist 1 vs KAC (Flanking): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 17
P Damage 1: 1d10 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 = 16

Robofist 2 vs KAC (Flanking): 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 17
P Damage 2: 1d10 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 = 16

As Zharis sprints for the ship, Xylian throws haymakers at the skeletal monster--but he's still getting use to the new armor, and can't quite connect!

Unfortunately, both of those attacks would have hit EAC, but *just* miss KAC.

"Whoa Nellie! It's bustin' up the workshop but good! I'm itchin' like a hound at a tick party!"

Initiative (Round # 8)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Fiery Skeletal Figure
Xylian
Zharis

Bold should go!

@Jin and Zharis: It takes a move action to open the outer airlock door and another move action to close the outer airlock door, and then a final move action to open the inner airlock door. Right now, the outer airlock door is open and Zharis is inside it. The interior of the Sun Diver will be on Slide # 3. As you can see, the airlock opens onto the engineering deck. Getting to the tech workshop deck requires climbing about 30' up a ladder.

EAC is for losers.

"Let's finish this thing off, then we can join the others! I think we have it on the ropes!"

Hani swings.

to hit with flanking bonus: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 2 = 28
damage: 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Hani uses his move action to get that +1 AC bonus, unless he kills it, in which case he moves toward the ship.

Ash and embers spray everywhere as Hani lands another powerful blow, but somehow the abomination still stands--but only for a split second before Tulgram's capture pole crushes its skull!

Hani's attack hits, but DR is just enough to keep it in positive HP.

Botting Tulgram as doing a melee attack. Result: It hits, and Gray is destroyed.

Jin is up.

Jin moves inside the airlock and shuts down the outer door.

Initiative (Round # 8)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Xylian
Zharis

Bold should go!

@Jin and Zharis: It takes a move action to open the outer airlock door and another move action to close the outer airlock door, and then a final move action to open the inner airlock door. Right now, you're both inside the airlock with the outer door closed. The interior of the Sun Diver will be on Slide # 3. As you can see, the airlock opens onto the engineering deck. Getting to the tech workshop deck requires climbing about 30' up a ladder.

Xylian moves back to the ship!

Unfortch, Xylian's 25 speed isn't enough to reach the ship in a single move and open the door. RIP in Pisces. Double move back to ship.

Zharis opens the inner airlock door.

She goes in, climbs 10 feet up the ladder and then triggers her Jump Jets to take her the rest of the way straight up, grabbing the top of the ladder at the end of the flight and then continuing into the room to confront the Shambler that is TEARING APART THEIR SHIP!

Calm, calm she reminds herself, extending her claws.

Her camera drone follows along behind, getting some exciting action shots.

At first I forgot my jump jets, and was wondering how I was going to get out of the way for Jin, but then I remembered, thankfully, since it solves what would have been an awkward situation with him trying to get past me on the ladder.

Even a relentless planar explorer like a dimensional shambler can be caught off guard when a pahtra rockets up the hatch, ready to do battle! It instinctively quails back, arms upraised to avoid the danger.

The shambler does total defense and a guarded step back. It'll be ready to fight again next round, though!

Initiative (Round # 9)

Dimensional Shambler (total defense)
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Xylian
Zharis

Bold should go!

The outer airlock door is closed, but the inner airlock door is open.

Jin climbs up into the room with the teleporting monster.

Zharis circles around the shambler, then steps in and attacks.

Attack (Claws): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Damage: 1d3 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15
Critical Hit Damage: 1d3 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Zeep zoop, cycle the airlocks.

So, action to close inner airlock, action to open outer airlock?

Hani hurries to catch up with Xylian. He'll follow him into the airlock when it cycles.

As Jin joins her in the room, Zharis darts in and claws the shambler before it can react! The monster looks badly hurt, and starts shimmering and becoming more and more transparent!

Meanwhile, Xylian, Hani, and Tulgram squeeze into the airlock.

Zharis's attack hits, of course--good time for a crit!

Botting Tulgram as joining the others in the airlock.

The shambler is trying to plane shift away, which for it takes a full action. Zharis, you get an AoO. If you hit, the spell automatically fails, otherwise the creature slowly disappears (in a way different than the quick flash of light it used to disappear last time). We'll wait to see the result of the AoO before determining if another round of Initiative is necessary.

Darn, I was hoping that he was close enough to die from that much damage after running from us before. :)

Attack (AOO): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Damage: 1d3 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Zharis' claws slash the monster in the chest! It stumbles from the pain, and falters in its spellcasting! Somehow barely standing, it's clear that this will be a fight to the death!

Zharis' attack hits, disrupting the spell. Unfortunately, DR is enough to keep it alive with a handful of hit points. We will continue with Round 10.

Apologies for the slow posting this weekend--I caught a bug (or, as my wife says, I have the sniffles and am a sook) and have been mostly couchbound.

@Zharis: This monster actually has two thresholds of morale conditions--one for when he's at half hp (wreck the ship) and another when he's at 25 or fewer hp (plane shift away).

Initiative (Round # 10)

Dimensional Shambler
Hani
Jin
Tulgram
Xylian
Zharis

Bold should go!

@Hani, Tulgram, and Xylian: You're all in the airlock (Slide # 3), and the first one of you to go can expend a move action to open the inner airlock door to Engineering. You'll then need to ascend the thirty foot ladder in the middle of that chamber to get up to the Tech Workshop where the others are.

Zharis attacks the Shambler again, still furious that it was going after Hop (and underneath scared that it could just teleport around and attack whatever it liked... the fear of not being able to control the situation further fueled her rage).

Attack (Claws): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Damage: 1d3 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Xylian opens the airlock, but allows the others to mount the ladder since his powered armor is l0rge.

Jin approaches and attacks the beast:

Aurora Storm Doshko vs. EAC: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27
Electricity damage: 2d8 + 14 ⇒ (6, 2) + 14 = 22

Zharis' rage-fueled attack tears out the shambler's chest, and Jin electrifies the remains for good measure!

"Thanks pards! That surely was a fearsome thing! Jes' lucky I reckon it don't know a workshop from a cockpit, or we mighta done been strandin' here!" says Hop.

Although the tech workshop has suffered some damage, it's nothing a few hour's repair can't put right.

Good work! We are off Initiative. You got to the shambler fast enough that it didn't move on to more critical areas of the Sun Diver. The tech workshop is unusable at present, but four hours and 100 UPBs can repair it.

Maybe we should clean up here, repair this and the siccatite damage, and be ready to take off again fast. Then we can try exploring again, knowing that we're prepped for escape. What do you guys think?

Body disposal of the shambler... his displacement ability was magical, so the hide isn't super valuable like a displacer beast would be, right? Anything like claws and teeth we could keep for sourvenirs perhaps, but overall, can we dispose of it in our recyclers here, or do we need to dump it out the airlock?

I'm not aware of any particular value to dimensional shambler hide. I'm happy to assume your ship has a waste disposal unit to take care of it.

Zharis takes the claws and teeth in case the DSI wants to examine them (and she waits for Tulgram to take samples if he wants to), then she disposes of the body, hoping the recycler can handle it.

Jin takes ten to recover his mangled body.

Just before the body is disposed of, Tulgram takes a genetic sample for further research.

There's no game effect, but I offer high-quality botting services :)

Does anyone else want to take a 10 minute rest and spend 1 RP to regain stamina? Anything else you'd like to do?

Xylian cycles back through the airlock to the ship exterior. "That is an efficient course of action, Zharis. I am content with the performance of this armor, but I will need a few minutes to repair it. I will check the body of what I assume to be a staff member employed at this prison before exiting from this armor." He radios from the landing pad. He returns to the scene of the battle to see if any useful information can be had.

Go back outside to check the skele-bros and the verthani and... whatever else might be out there.

Perception just in case: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15

Xylian returns back to the plaza where enormous circles ringed with runes cover the enormous fitted black stones. He carefully investigates the corpse of the verthani woman.

"Unfortunately the body of the deceased did not hold any clues as to the situation here. No form of identification." Xylian says upon returning to the ship. " I assume they are a guard of some sort, killed by the prisoners that dwell here. But this is not a guard station; no facilities for personnel here. Strange. I will begin repairs to the ship."

Oooh a jetpack ^_^

Are you telling us what you found? I just need to know whether to add stuff to the loot list or not; no guilt / pressure.

Thank you, Xylian. I just want to make sure that we're ready to fly if something else goes wrong. If all the creatures here can teleport, we're in for quite a challenge.

After disposing of the beast, Zharis washes up and comes out with an MK2 serum of healing (from the "keep" section of the loot log... yellow vial) and hands it to Jin.

This might help. Found it in storage. Drink up. There are a few more of various sizes in there if you need more.

hit points back: 3d8 ⇒ (7, 3, 3) = 13

Removed that vial from the loot log. There are a few others on the "keep" page that you could use if you want. The ones we bought for Tulgram to use are on the first page, but the keep page has some stuff that we have mostly overlooked since we moved it there.

As Jin wounds are magically healed, Xylian starts to repair the damage inflicted by the dimensional shambler.

After 4 hours' work, the tech workshop is again fully-functional. (please deduct 100 UPBs for that, and I suppose technically you should also deduct 14 UPBs for food from the culinary synthesizer during the trip here).