[GameDay XII] DM Carbide's CORE Year of the Shadow Lodge (T8-9) (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

Charvion is finishing an answer to a middle-aged merchant when Khellek's trained voice cuts through the roar. He looks up at the historian, a slight smile on his face, and replies, his words echoing strangely, "Bound by the Last Azlanti, caught between here and there when Aroden's hand fell on the Brazen Arch."

In response to Bella, Charvion shakes his head slightly. "Of the future the spirits know naught--their eyes and ears are on the past and present. In the present, there is one for you, but you must be strong and capable. Seek for them in Galt."

Ibaz' question silences everyone in the Irorium, a silence broken by a collective gasp. Charvion looks like he's trying to say something, his mouth working, before he manages to choke out, "Next question!"

**House GM Announcement**

A low, droning horn suddenly rises over the cacophonous throng. Soon after, it is joined by a second horn, then a third, then dozens. A moment later, the more perceptive spectators notice small black dots appear on the horizon.

A massive black dragon dives through the center of the Irorium, spewing gouts of acid onto the arena floor. She heads straight for the small stage where Charvion stands within the cage. Striking with both claws, she plucks the artifact free from the base, shattering the stage and sending remnants of the mock ruins everywhere. The creature lifts into the air, with Charvion clinging to the bars and screaming in terror. The great beast continues her flight, winging off toward the Grand Lodge. A few short moments later, rattling explosions shake the city, and a shimmering column of pale, silvery light shoots up out of the grounds of the Grand Lodge and into the night sky.
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GMs, please begin the Dragon Attack encounter.

Multiple smaller black dragons drop from the sky in the wake of the largest one, some strafing the crowd with streams of acid and others landing and offloading swarms of goblins. One of the former focuses its attention on the party, flashing through the air towards the group.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Before anyone can react it exhales a line of acid that catches Ibaz and Bella. Take 26 points of acid damage, with a DC 17 Reflex save for half damage.

Everyone can act! The dragon is 30' over the party and downrange. Once the tokens are on the map I'll place the dragon.

Reflex DC17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Ibaz avoid completely the burning acid! Evasion for the win!

Bella, initially poised to applaud the breathtaking theatrics of the colossal, lifelike dragon's audacious feat, abruptly freezes in terror.
"Uh-oh... I don't think this is part of the show."
Her admiration turns to sheer horror as a sinister procession of smaller black dragons follows in the wake of the behemoth. With dreadful precision, some unleash streams of corrosive acid upon the hapless crowd, while others land and disgorge hordes of frenzied goblins.

Bella's exuberance turns into a blood-curdling scream as one of these smaller dragons swoops perilously close, locking her directly in the path of its corrosive breath.
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
"Owwww! It burns!!!"

I can make those know(history) checks in my sleep just about.

Khellek twists his head to listen to the horns. "My...These sound like ancient hunting horns. More precisely they are Ulfen Linnorm horns, used in the Land of the Linnorm Kings to hunt dragons..."

"Quick! Take cover!" he calls out. "We are pathfinders. Ready your weapons and your spells! There are children to protect. And their parents!"

Casts haste (useful bonus to future reflex saves!) and then IC +2 to hit, damage and saves vs fear.

Silgil is taken by surprise as his focus is on the cage when the dragons arrive. His ability to hyper-focus working against him, it isn't until the cage is ripped apart that he bolts upright with a "whaa!" his usual pendantic dialog replaced with a guttural moan of confusion.

@DM Carbide - Is there cover under the arena? I am thinking about casting and then riding Shaggy to safety. :)

"I was already killed in an explosion from a necklace of fireballs on my last mission!" Bella bellows, her frustration palpable.

"I'm not letting a dragon take me out this time!!!" she asserts defiantly.

Shaking off the searing pain from the burning acid, Bella swiftly assesses the dire situation. Her mind races, trying to recall every bit of knowledge she possesses about black dragons.
Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Bella's eyes scan the chaotic scene, dragons swirling in every direction. She murmurs an incantation, and suddenly, dove-like wings unfurl from her back. With newfound grace, she takes to the air and swoops above her teammates on the arena floor, determined to level the playing field against the winged adversaries.
Casting fly.

There's no cover under the arena--as far as I can tell from the description, this isn't like a modern stadium, with readily accessible spaces under the seating. There are tunnels out to the gates, but they're currently full of fleeing people. Sylvester's best bet for cover would be to take the stairs from the mezzanine down to the field seats and get under the mezzanine overhang (the rearmost two rows of field seats are under the front of the mezzanine). The only way to the arena floor, AFAICT, is through the service exit.

@DM Carbide - Considering that Shaggy has 140 feet of movement (with Haste up and a double move) he should easily be able to get them under cover. I assume that I have moved them to the right position but if not please let me know.

Sylvester is able to easily steer Shaggy with his knees only and maintain his concentration while he throws a ball of fire up into the sky to attempt to scorch the black dragon.

Both ride check and concentration check will automatically succeed.

Fireball, Reflex DC 19 for half damage, dragon bloodline: 6d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 3, 3, 3, 1, 3) + 6 = 25

The curious gnome tries to remember what he may know about the black dragon.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon
Silgil
Bella-acted
Ibaz
Sylvester-acted
Khellek-acted

Everyone waits for Khellek to act, and the bard boosts the party's capabilities with spell and inspiring rhetoric. Bella rises into the air, while Sylvester hurls fire at the attacking dragon and retreats under cover. The dragon manages to avoid the worst of the fireball.

Sylvester recalls nothing useful about the creatures, while Bella remembers the basic abilities of dragons--preternatural toughness, and resistance to whatever energy is embodied in their breath weapon.

Silgil and Ibaz to go!

Black dragon: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken: 12

Silgil has mostly pit spells, web/tentacle spells, and acid spells, and even an acid pit spell, none of which are a good idea in this case. fotunately there is always the old standby and he lets fly with a magic missile spell.

force damage: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4, 4, 4) + 4 = 20

kn arcanea: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31, special attacks, special defenses, spell-like abilities, resistances

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon
Silgil-acted
Bella-acted
Ibaz
Sylvester-acted
Khellek-acted

Silgil, this is clearly a young dragon, not anywhere near its full growth. It already possesses the acidic breath weapon already encountered by the party; it's immune to acid, paralysis, and sleep; and it moves easily through the swamps where it typically lairs. The magic missile spell inflicts considerable damage on it.

Black dragon: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken: 32

Khellek, considers amongst the chaos, everything he too knows about dragons. It's probably quiet a bit. All that ulfven lore from his time in the frozen north.

"Did I tell you about the winter I spent with the Kellid people. Related to the Ulfen, but don't tell either of them that!"
know(arcana)(loremaster T10): 10 + 30 = 40

immunities, resistances, weaknesses, special attacks, special defences, anything else the GM thinks would be useful!

No new information beyond what Silgil learned. Ibaz, still waiting for you to act.

Ibaz delays, waiting for the dragon to come in reach.

Round 2 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon-acted
Silgil
Bella-
Ibaz
Sylvester-
Khellek-

The dragon goes after the one who's done the most damage to it, flying across the bleachers and stooping to bite at Silgil. Its jaws close on the dwarf for 12 HP.

Everyone can act!

Black dragon: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken: 32

Bella calls out a prayer to Desna to embolden her allies. A burst of silvery light envelopes her friends, enhancing their strikes and bolstering their resolve.
Cast bless. +1 atks & saves vs. fear.

With graceful determination, she flies away from the bleachers, keeping well above the arena floor. Readying her crossbow, she maintains a strategic advantage, poised to strike from a position of tactical advantage.

Not sure how far above the arena floor Bella's spot on the bleachers were, but she just flies straight forward, maybe increasing in height a little bit so she's well above the arena floor and just a little higher that the dragon. (If that makes sense. I can draw a cross section schematic if needed.)

Note the +1 to hit from bless stacks with the +2 from inspire courage and +1 from haste. the +1 to saves vs doesn't stack with the +2 to saves vs fear from IC. Luckily this dragon doesn't seem to be big enough to have a fear aura.

The scholar keeps up his words "And remember, the Society has faced dragons before, and still stands. Which is more than can be said for those dragons..."
Maintain IC

As he talks, he moves forward, reaching out to Ibaz. "You can do this Ibaz, I have every confidence in you."

Extended heroism on Ibaz. An extra +2 to hit, that sadly doesn't stack with the bless, but overwrites it. So you have a total of +5 to hit at the moment, and everyone else +4, but yours will last for the next few hours.

Sorry, my internet went done yesterday, right when i was posting… and where i lived my phone doesn’t work well. I had to get outside to get good reception. Finally after may tries, i find a spot where i can post.

Thanks old man! says Ibaz when the bard improves his ability with his spell.

Waiting for the right opportunity, Ibaz jumps at the dragon, wrestling it!

Grapple, IC, Heroism, Haste: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 9 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 32

Get here little one!

Sylvester uses Shaggy's superior mobility to continue his hit and run campaign. He darts out with his dog and casts a trio of mystical bolts at the dragon and then rides back to his original covered position. The experienced rider is able to guide Shaggy using only his knees.

Both ride check and concentration check (for casting while Shaggy is moving) will automatically succeed.

Magic Missile, CL 6: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2, 3) + 3 = 12

In the heat of the moment finding himself in physician contact with a hereditary foe, reverting to old habits picked up from his militia days, Silgil reflexively reaches for his battle axe and finds a staff instead. For a moment hi is reliving the days of his youth, but he quickly pops out of it and remembers his new-found training at the hands of The Society. Bringing his staff of fire into play he blasts the creature with a DC 16 burning hands spell.

fire damage: 5d4 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 2, 4) = 10

reducing the false life to 4/16 to account for damage taken. Must say it is rewarding to see the false life HP actually being used!

Bella cringes in shock as Silgil casts a cone of flame from his staff to engulf both the dragon and Ibaz.

Sorry about that. Forgot to take the 5' step. Naturally, Silgil will avoid catching Ibaz in the cone!

Khellek boosts Iboz' comdice]bat prowess, and the adept immediately takes advantage of that by grabbing the dragon. Even wrapped up, the dragon somehow manages to avoid some of Silgil's spell, but can't evade Sylvester's force missiles. Bella goes for a tactical advantage, although with the number of other dragons in the air it may be an error.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon-acted
Silgil-
Bella-
Ibaz
Sylvester-
Khellek-

The dragon gives Ibaz its undivided attention, clawing and biting the half-orc while buffeting him with its wings. Even operating at a disadvantage because of the grapple, it still savages him severely. Ibaz, take 45 HP.

Party up!

Black dragon: AC 21 T 12 FF 19 HP taken: 49 (grappled)

"You have this Ibaz." calls out Khellek.
"Are you sure you have no ulfen ancestors? That is a feat worthy of them!"

The elderly scholar quickly casts a spell and then advances to Ibaz and touches the brave warrior.

CLW: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

"No dying on my Field Trips" he reminds the warrior. "The paperwork involved is... well.. its just NOT worth it."

Casting outside of AOO range and then advancing to actually deliver it.
Maintains IC for everyone.

Sylvester and Shaggy race out again. He unloads yet another salvo of magic missiles at the dragon before returning to his sheltered position.

He yells out to Ibaz.

"Just punch him!"

Magic Missile, CL 6: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 3, 1) + 3 = 11

Both ride check and concentration check (for casting while Shaggy is moving) will automatically succeed.

It is a good thing that we are playing Tier 5-6 or Ibaz would have probably be unconscious (or worse).

Not so much; T8-9 has the same young dragon, along with the possibility of some more capable goblins. OTOH, T10-11....

Round 3 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon-acted
Silgil-
Bella-
Ibaz
Sylvester-acted
Khellek-acted

Khellek cures some of the grievous damage inflicted by the dragon, and Sylvester blasts it again with magical force.

Silgil, Bella, and Ibaz to go!

Black dragon: AC 21 T 12 FF 19 HP taken: 60 (grappled)

People please do some damage so that that dragon goes down this turn. Ibaz is pretty beat up. :)

Provided the beast does not go down from Bella and Ibaz attacks, Silgil will unleash another volley of MMs.

force damage: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3, 2, 1) + 4 = 11

With determination etched on her face, Bella watches Ibaz's struggle, her concern evident. Calling out to Desna, she channels divine energy, summoning a magnificent starknife forged from pure force. It crackles and pops, its ethereal glow reminiscent of a dazzling firework as it spins.
Cast spiritual weapon.

With a focused gesture, Bella directs the spectral blade towards the dragon ensnaring her friend Ibaz. The brilliant force weapon slices through the air with precision, aimed squarely at the heart of the perilous threat.
spiritual starknife, bless & IC: 1d20 + 9 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 4 = 16
force slashing & IC: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 1 = 11
*Picard facepalm*

Is damage from inspire courage +1 or +2?

Ibaz smiles but continues his strategy, this time immobilizing the dragon with his feet.

Grapple (Pin): 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 2 + 1 + 1 + 5 = 32

Then, he gets a rope from his backpack.

CMD29 vs Grapple

Bonus damage from IC is +2

Silgil nearly kills it outright with his spell, but Bella can't finish it off. Ibaz somehow manages to immobilize all five of the dragon's attacking limbs, though.

OK, I can't find anything in the grapple rules that would allow Ibaz to maintain the pin with his legs and free up his hands. Have I missed something?

Round 4 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Black dragon-acted
Silgil-
Bella-
Ibaz
Sylvester-
Khellek-

The dragon is unable to escape.

Everyone can act!

Black dragon: AC 21 T 12 FF 19 HP taken: 71 (pinned)

With a sigh, Khellek draws Bessie, steps up to the dragon and pulls his trigger. "Why... why would you attack Absalom?"

attack, IC: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 2 = 14
damage, IC: 1d8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 2 = 11

Even as he does so, he is talking. "Remember my students, even the greatest foe has weaknesses, if you know how to exploit them."

I suspect even grappled, that won't hit. Oh well. Bessie was looking forward to getting a dragon inscribed on her. IC is still up for everyone though

@DM Carbide - It is legal (and actually an option) to attempt to tie up your opponent with a rope after pinning them although in this situation it is far better to actually do damage with the grapple attempt then attempt to tie up the dragon.

Sylvester waits for the rest of the team to finish off the dragon and will jump into action only if necessary.

My character will act only if the dragon is not already down at the end of the turn. I have burned through enough spells in this encounter. :)

**House GM Announcement**

The attacks die down, and all serious threats are driven out of the Irorium and onto the streets. The eerie pillar of light still shoots skyward from somewhere on the Grand Lodge’s grounds, and the citizens of the city stand in dumb awe of the spectacle. A group of Pathfinders, badly injured from the fighting, call to you as they limp along. "Hurry, get to the Lodge! It’s under attack!"

Getting there is easier said than done. Plotting a course toward the Grand Lodge proves simple enough, given the immense pillar of light streaking up into the night sky. The streets, however, are choked with panicked and fleeing citizens. Your race through the Foreign Quarter to the Grand Lodge brings you to a large market. Collapsed buildings, broken tents, and piles of debris torn from other nearby structures form a crude but effective-looking barricade across the center of the market square, blocking your progress.
______________

GMs, you may begin the Fire in the Streets encounter.

The spiritual starknife buzz-saws down onto the dragon...
spiritual starknife, bless & IC: 1d20 + 9 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 4 = 20
force slashing & IC: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6

The dragon goes down.

You'll have two rounds for spellcasting and other preparations before you have to move on.

How long is it likely to take us to get to the lodge from here? If less than an hour, then Khellek will use heroism on himself and Sylvestor.
Otherwsie two taps of CLW on Ibaz

Ibaz casts False Life on himself.

False Life: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

He draws his own wand and give it to Khellek. If you need, you can use mine.

@DM Carbide - Khellek makes a fine point. How far/how long will it take to get to the grand lodge?

Under normal conditions, it takes less than twenty minutes to walk from the Irorium to the Grand Lodge; they're both in the Foreign Quarter.

Bella casts longstrider on herself, then channels positive energy to heal herself and her friends.
"Save those wand charges, friends."
Positive healing: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 5, 1) = 14

Bella is back to full hp.

Silgil replenishes his magic missile spells with pearls of power.

Positioned behind the barricades are a pair of goblin dogs, a trio of goblins, and a tall, slender human woman wearing a breastplate. They do not look friendly; the goblins titter as they ready their bows.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Goblins-acted
Human-acted
Sylvester
Silgil
Ibaz
Goblin dogs
Khellek
Bella

The woman casts a spell.

Then the goblins loose a flight of arrows at the party. One misses Ibaz, but the other two hit Bella and Sylvester for 3 and 4 HP, respectively.

Sylvester, Silgil, and Ibaz can act!

Woman: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken: 0
Goblin dogs: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken - Blue: 0 Yellow: 0
Goblins: AC ? T ? FF ? HP taken - Red: 0 Yellow: 0 Green: 0

spellcraft: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Silgil places a 30' deep DC 19 Pit under the caster and moves forward a bit..

So Ibaz, Khellek and Sylvester all have extended duration heroism on them at the moment.

Spellcraft DC16: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 = 16

She’s a cleric of some sort!

FYI Ibaz has Deflec Arrow

Ibaz moves closer to the archer while drawing a wand and then, activates it and taps himself Shield +4 AC

@Khellek - Thanks! :)

@DM Carbide - Are there civilians in the marketplace or only these baddies? I will take my turn when I get an answer. :)

Sylvester winces in pain and a degree of disbelief as an arrow grazes his body. He listens as the caster completes her spell and with Khellek's enchantment he figures it out.

Spellcraft DC 16, Heroism: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 = 17

"Ah, a Bless spell."