You would think most parents would want harder teachers. I mean as a kid I sure didn't but I know I would have appreciated it more later on in life.
Well, no one was concerned that I was too hard. They were just concerned that their kid wasn't doing well in my class.
Most of the parents who came in had the type of kids who got all or mostly As in middle school without really trying and now they're getting a B-C in my class. I just reassured them that, first of all, a lot of kids are in the same situation. Kids at that age (freshman, so 14-15) just haven't learned how to study yet or prepare for a test because they probably haven't needed and have gotten by on their natural intelligence. But we cover so much material in my two bio classes and the tests are so tough that no one really gets an A on all the tests unless they've put in at least a little time studying their notes and looking over the book on their own time.
So I gave the parents a few tips to make sure their kid is taking and studying their notes (they get fill-in-the-blank notes to follow along with during lecture) and I reminded the parents of a few things like test retakes, which are allowed but only a few students have actually taken advantage of. Especially after hearing that last bit, the parents felt a lot better and were ready to go home and whip their kids into shape and I've had a few more kids than usual asking me about test retakes this week, haha!
And yeah, even if the kids don't like that I'm the hard teacher (although really none of them complain to me, I just know I've got that reputation already) I'd much rather be the tough teacher that actually teaches you things than the blowoff teacher who just wastes your time. It might be fun when you're a kid but some day you'll probably wish you'd actually learned something in that class.
1. Yes, I'm still around. I am just taking a break from GMing as I have moved back near my family to work on the family farm and for some crazy reason I moved back right before planting season so I've been working 50-60+ hours per week. I'll get back to GMing eventually though.
2. Check out the new link at the top GM Hmm put together with info about PbP Events and Conventions. Now you no longer need to search endlessly for dates and announcements about future events!
"A job well done..." comments Vanya before adressing lady Qualstair:"So you are staying at the Frisky Unicorn my Lady, right? I suggest you check on your cook more closely... His last attempt at pleasing your palate almost got the place torn in half and an happy family of pseudodragons almost losing their eggs!" concludes the Taldan rogue (and occasionally pirate) allowing a bot of scorn to enter her voice.
Thanks for running! Looking forward to be playing with you again sometimes in teh future!
"Oh really?" Lady Qualstair asks. "Well, thank you for the tip. I will have to speak with him about his habits in that case..."
Hastard misses his target but luckily his boar is able to tear its tusk into her leg and open up a heavy wound. Abaal then moves behind her and smacks her right in the temple with the flat of his blade, sending the would-be assassin toppling to the ground unconscious!
Out of combat!
"Oh my, what heroism!" the noblelady with Zeeva speaks up loud enough for the crowd to hear. She swiftly moves forward to shake your hands, heedless of the blood and carnage. "Let it never be said that Lady Qualstair is ungenerous to those who do her a service!" She removes her very own necklace of yellow garnets and black onyxes (worth 400 gp) and hands it over as a show of thanks. "Please, please, it is very little for saving my life but I insist you take it!"
Zeeva Foxglove follows behind offering her own thanks. "It seems you may have mastered or at least diverted fate after all. I am once again in the Society's debt. But we really must wake this assassin up and take her to the authorities."
Zeeva casts a small healing spell on Goldtooth after her hands are tied and secured. Foxglove asks Goldtooth why the Yellow Prophet frightened her during their initial reading. Goldtooth laughs off Foxglove’s fears, declaring, “Dark fates and prophecies. All just part of the game.”
Zeeva turns back to you and comments, "Well, but the fates are not all bad. Certainly they seem to have worked in your favor. Please allow me one more reading for you all. I have a sense it will be good."(In essence, you earn a boon!)
Thanks everyone for playing! I hope you all enjoyed the scenario despite its much slower pace. And I apologize again for that. I did not anticipate that it would move so slowly or take so long when I first started it. If I had known I probably would have either not started it or at least warned you a little better in advance. I'm taking a break from GMing PbP for a while as it is not really conducive to my return to farming (what with long hours and not much time on the computer anymore). I'll still be around though so I look forward to playing with you all more in the future!
I'll get the game reported and your chronicles sent out tomorrow. Thanks again!
Warden quickly snuffs out the fire before it can get too far! Fimfinkle's spell sends a couple innocent bystanders toppling to the ground but luckily they're not too hurt.
As the crowd moves away, Hastard suddenly feels something from behind and realizes that Goldtooth had darted through the crowd and somehow bounced up behind him without his noticing!
Yeah, that 11 day Prince of Augustana was after our reboot and pep talk but we obviously haven't been able to keep that pace up. It's a nice lofty goal though, as we've already been at this for 2 years and still have a long way to go to level 19 or 20.
If you want to run something else, that's fine with me. I played Tome of Righteous Repose just a couple months ago and to be honest I didn't care for it. Kind of a boring dungeon crawl, but maybe that's because the GM wasn't that great and just kind of skimmed over everything to get us to the fights.
Sorry, forgot to mention how to put out the fire(s):
fire fighting!:
A PC can extinguish a 5-foot square with a successful DC 15 Survival check; for every 5 points by which the check exceeds the DC, the PC extinguishes 1 additional adjacent square. Casting create water has a 50% chance of extinguishing a square, while higher-level spells with the cold or water descriptor extinguish 1 square per spell level squared (1 square with a 1st-level spell, 4 squares with a 2nd-level spell, and so on) unless the spell specifies otherwise.
And making a check is a standard action of course.
Fimfinkle hasn't posted yet and some of you still have a standard left if you wanted to do anything else this round before I move on.
Everyone parts, pushing and shoving away as Abaal and Fimfinkle barrel through the crowds and violence erupts in the marketplace.
The crowds have now cleared in your general area such that it is no longer difficult terrain.
With a cry of “Qadira shall dance on your ashes!", the disguised Jaelle Goldtooth steps away from Warden and Hastard and pulls out a small tube from under a fold of cloth. She pulls something to light it and throws the small firework at the stand between the two Pathfinders. Instantly there are sparks and a gout of flame as the crates and goods start catching on fire!
Bluff:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29 You have to beat her Bluff with a Sense Motive check, otherwise she jumps into the crowd and is hidden so you'd have to spot her again before you can aim at and attack her. Stealth:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Oh, and of course the fire will spread if unattended!
Initiative:
1. Warden, Fimfinkle, and Hastard
2. Jaelle Goldtooth (19 dmg)
3. Vanya and Abaal
Accessing or assessing? And does that mean you are holding or just waiting for me to update? Feel free to take an action for this round yet, Abaal.
Vanya vanishes to cut through the crowd and Warden follows behind the people being mysterious pushed aside. Although Goldtooth is trying her best to get away after a failed assassination attempt, Hastard and Nord catch up with her and Hastard's lance smacks her hard enough to break some bones!
Initiative:
1. Warden, Fimfinkle, and Hastard
2. Jaelle Goldtooth (19 dmg)
3. Vanya and Abaal
Zeeva and her noble acquaintance watch in alarm as you rush towards them. The crowd starts to turn in your direction to watch the commotion. Jaelle, however, turns and continues to push her way through the crowd. Along the way you note that she pulls out a card from her pocket, glancing at it and smiling with her shining golden teeth....
Initiative:
1. Warden, Fimfinkle, and Hastard
2. Jaelle Goldtooth
3. Vanya and Abaal
Luckily your shouts and warning are finally heard above the crowd and Zeeva and her guest look at you in alarm as the Qadiran woman turns back and snarls in your direction, revealing her famous golden teeth. She throws back a fold of cloth to reveal a short sword strapped to her hip...
Based on a post he made in another game, I think we've lost Libertus. He's taking a break from PbP and PF for a while. But we'll continue on anyways!
Zeeva and the aristocratic woman are still talking, looking out over the various stalls and crates in the marketplace. The market is crowded and loud and they neither hear nor notice you yet.
DC 22 Perception:
You see a Qadiran woman standing on the north side of the blondberry crate quickly splash a vial of liquid onto the berries when Zeeva and the other woman are not looking. The woman then moves quickly through the crowd to the north. (15' north of the crate - I'll add her to the map after someone points her out.)
Abaal: Please try to keep the OOC chatter to a minimum in the gameplay and instead use your posts for in-character descriptions and dialog that moves the game forward. Feel free to use the Discussion thread for whatever you want though. Thanks!
The party decides that the doomsayer's words are not worth hearing and instead rush past him toward the Green Market.
Customers from every district of Korvosa and beyond crowd the kiosks and surround the stalls that comprise the Green Market. Along with its vast selection of imported and domestic produce, clothing, jewelry, and wine, the high-roofed, barn-like building boasts several impressive features, including a central fountain, an indoor green park at its northern end, and numerous glass skylights that can be accessed and opened with ladders and extending poles.
The market is so crowded that everything is essentially difficult terrain for the purposes of movement. Also, the crowd provides cover.
Straight ahead through the crowd you catch a glimpse of Zeeva Foxglove speaking with an elegantly dressed aristocratic-looking woman. They are standing before a crate of blondberries sampling the fruit and speaking with each other.
DC 26 Perception:
You spot a Qadiran woman approaching the crate of blondberries with a small vial in her hand.
Yeah, as in they are not the usual 'legitimate' fliers or advertisements for the Green Market.
Piecing things together and feeling reasonably certain that some type of assassination or poisoning is going to happen at the Green Market, you rush across town to Zeeva's bustling marketplace.
Along the way the only thing to catch your interest is a strange half-orc street preacher prophesying blood and destruction in Groetus’s name from the top of a barrel. Most passersby dismiss his lunatic screeds—yet while the doomsayer is unquestionably insane, something interesting happens as you pass.
"Blood!" shrieks the raven perched on his shoulder. The wild-eyed half-orc clad in bloody rags and rusty chains leaps down from his barrel into you paths and holds out his hands. "Please! Please! Allow me to offer you a smear of what the future wreaks. I see disasters past, but more yet to come for you all. Let me read your fortunes in blood and tell you what is to come!"
If you will not offer your own blood, he will use his own if you agree. Or you can just push past, up to you guys.
Jane and Anuum continue to wound the snake from afar as Kel decides to keep the Bold Strider up and fighting, which is a wise move as Karina uses the newfound energy to finally punch the xacarba into submission!
The monolith drops the snake to the ground and stands still as you rush to put the warding discs in place. Once you have put the four warding discs into their proper places, the panels fuse into a single piece. At the same time, a wave of magical energy washes through Starwatcher Tor, automatically dispelling any ongoing spell effects created by the xacarba (like the mind control on the archaeologists) and pushing the xacarba back into the central chamber along with the Azlanti monolith.
The doors immediately begin to repair themselves and as they seal themselves again you see the monolith taking hold of the serpent's neck and squeezing it for good measure.
After being freed from the xacarba’s charm, Juliet Dias and the other archaeologists thanks you profusely for coming to their rescue. Additionally, she shares some of her Azlanti research notes with you. Unfortunately, with the xacarba imprisoned, the intelligent flail Slitherbane goes mostly dormant.
[ooc]And that's it, folks! Thanks for playing and thanks for being patient! I hope you all had fun with it despite my frequent absences and slower-than-usual updates. I will try to get the game reported and chronicles sent out tomorrow night. Thanks again!
The lead actor leaps down from the stage to join Bellowskin as he offers you his coin and his thanks.
Vanya Kaleth wrote:
"But enough of that. I've got a few questions for you: do you know anything about a shady fortuneteller called "lady Goldtooth" or somesuch? And... is it possible you happen to know something about harrow cards and the "yellow prophet" in particular?" finishes Vanya telling the actors about the strange circumstances of their search
The lead actor becomes quite gruff and evasive when Vanya mentions a fortuneteller. When pressed a bit more, he admits, "Actually, I just sold another pouch of our mask powder to a Varisian fortune-teller. She kept asking if the magic could make her appear Qadiran...."
Unfortunately, neither Bellowskin nor any of the actors can give you any insight into the cards that you haven't discovered already.
Sorry again! Planting season is killing me. I worked 15 hours yesterday. Ugh!
Hastard charges in and spears the giant bug-like creature through with his spear, sending dark ichor spilling onto the ground at the foot of the stage!
Warden and Libertus have trouble breaking through the other ankheg's exoskeleton but Vanya finds its weak points and quickly bleeds the thing, sending it crumpling to the ground!
Out of combat!
The man in the tophat comes rushing up, saying, "Oh my! I am forever in your services, all of you! My name is Bellowskin, by the way. Here, let me give you something for your trouble." He reward you with a pack of “mask powder” (dust of illusion).
Additionally, the lead actor who was cut on the arm shyly offers his lucky coin, which he says, “helps me remember my lines, sometimes.”
(It is a coin of the untrodden road).
@Kel: The boon was triggered if you want it to have been (ah, English verb tenses!)
Anuum and Jane continue to pelt the snake with missiles, which are slowly hurting it! Karina suggests just killing the thing, although it still looks rather intent on killing the lot of you. Luckily Karina hits it hard and Kel then channels quickly to keep the party alive.
The snake is not impressed with this decision by the party and, unable to reach Anuum and Jane and apparently seeing Karina as the bigger threat, continues to focus its attacks on the Bold Strider:
Oof! It took 59 days for me to run that one. I'm really sorry about that, everyone! I was the one that was originally urging for a faster pace with this group and that scenario should have been quicker but real life got in the way a little bit.
I'm still dedicated to sticking with this campaign but in the future I'm going to be more selective about when I GM. In retrospect I really shouldn't have volunteered to run when I was in the middle of going back-and-forth from WI to IN and now that I'm back in IN for good, it's the middle of planting season and I've been working 10+ hour days since I've been back and I even put in a 15 hour day yesterday. That type of schedule just doesn't work well with PbP, especially as a GM. But I'll power through, I might just be a little quiet and slow during the busy seasons.
I'll send chronicles out and get the game reported tomorrow night if I'm not home too late, but feel free to get the next scenario rolling if you want.
With a bit of Desna's luck guiding his trident, Paeter puts down the worm and sends a pile of a oozing worm flesh flowing onto the ground to spoil the temple even further.
With a bit of searching in the temple, you find the Testament of Geb in a pile of rubble behind where the altar formerly stood. Once you find it, you are free to use Ambrus Valsin’s magic token to return to Skyreach. Unfortunately Joktan Heth was too far gone to be saved and the bugs that made up his body will be insufficient to bring him back to life; however, Syrak's body can be transported back to Absalom with the magical transportation button and there he can be fixed according to his wishes.
--------
You return safely to Absalom, drink from the Chalice of Undeath, and are restored to your living forms. The Testament of Geb is sent to the Vaults for safe keeping, after extensive research by some of the most esteemed necromancers of the Spells. A day or so later, you hear rumors among your fellow Pathf inders that Joktan’s body has been found in the Puddles district, the apparent victim of a mugging. He is eulogized in a special ceremony at Skyreach and a section of the Vaults holding a number of necromantic artifacts is renamed in his honor.
Venture-Captain Valsin thanks you for your service to the Society and warns you never to speak to anyone of the true fate of Joktan nor of the existence of the Testament of Geb, “for the Society’s sake.”
And that's it! Thanks for your patience everyone! I'll get the chronicles sent out tomorrow, it's rather late and I've had a long day of work.
I'm back with new internet and a new house! Thanks for being patient!
Abaal is quite sure these are magical beasts called ankheg. Other than their ability to spit acid, they are rather unremarkable and more akin to giant vermin attracted to and able to sense from far away the scent of blood.
Deciding this is a foe worth vanquishing, the Sword of Katapesh charges in and puts his sword though the one on his left! Fimfinkle offers a blessing over this wanton violence.
The ankhegs are ready for food now, having caught the taste of blood from the man on stage and lunge at the prey presenting themselves.
I'm back! Internet is up and running at the new house, which is starting to look like a livable house!
Fendahl's lion ally bites the assassin but doesn't grab ahold of him! Fendahl then takes on the power of the wind itself to fly up to the devious blue div.
Braugher then easily takes down the assassin, leaving Algor to finish off the wasp swarm and the others to move in on the blue div.
It seems that with the false assassination thwarted and with mischief already managed, the div has no more interest in fighting and only makes another flying withdraw from Fendahl's windy shape.
Assuming you either let it run away or chase it down and beat it senseless, which you could easily do.
Upon thwarting the staged assassination and defeating the assassin Kitio Aspenthi, you have stymied the last of Prince Zinlo’s schemes to instigate war, expand his territory, and perhaps eventually entirely unite Thuvia by force. Even if these turn of events might have ultimately resulted in benevolent rule, the process would have sparked a civil war, ended countless lives, caused untold upheaval, and made the Aspis Consortium even richer in the process.
Once it’s clear that Prince Zinlo has not died, the people of Aspenthar remain shaken by the recent events but are able to recover. The Sun Orchid Festival concludes with a more subdued tone. Princess Ziralia begins quietly pressuring Prince Zinlo to abdicate or at least surrender all of his military aspirations to expand his territory.
By defeating Kitio, you have also neutralized the very man who led the Korholm Agenda against the Grand Lodge. This blow effectively shatters the Korholm Agenda. A few dozen lone wolves throughout the Inner Sea region might still harbor dreams of reviving the faction or doing the Society harm, but their support network is no more. Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus predicts that beyond a few exceptional operatives, mopping up the Agenda’s survivors should pose little difficulty.
And that is it for Ageless Ambitions! I apologize again for the delays and absences; I think most of you have played with me before so you know that is not usual in my games but this turned out to be a tough time for me to keep up with PbP with traveling between states and moving into a new house. But I hope you all enjoyed it nonetheless!
I will get the game reported and send out chronicles tomorrow night. Thanks again to everyone for playing!
Ok, I'm back with internet up and running at the new house!
Good catch, Kel! It mentions bonuses against the xacarba from elsewhere but points out Slitherbane as example and I completely forgot about the water too.
retcon:
Let's go back and redo some things: Kel would have been grappled here but escaped here so let's redo the maintain/constrict from here.
tail slap on Kel:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 damage:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 grab if hit:1d20 + 35 ⇒ (14) + 35 = 49 constrict damage if grappled:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
[ooc]So instead of 14 damage from maintain/constrict, Kel gets hit again for 13 damage. I'm guessing Kel still would have channeled but if you want to retcon you can.
Let's assume Kel got another liberating command after that: Escape Artist:1d20 + 1 - 4 + 10 + 30 ⇒ (7) + 1 - 4 + 10 + 30 = 44 Not good enough so the maintain/constrict from here still stands.
The only thing that might change is Karina's action from last round since she wasn't grappled. If Karina wants to change, she can but I'm going to move into the next round to keep things moving.
Karina hits the xacarba, but only twice! Recognizing that Karina is quite mobile and also the biggest threat for having slotted one of the discs in place, the xacarba focuses on the Bold Strider:
Heads up: Our internet at the old house in Madison is being shut off some time tomorrow and we are moving back to Indiana on Saturday but won't have internet in the new house until Tuesday at the earliest. Sorry in advance if I disappear for a while but I'll try to get back on as soon as I can.
Heads up: Our internet at the old house in Madison is being shut off some time tomorrow and we are moving back to Indiana on Saturday but won't have internet in the new house until Tuesday at the earliest. Sorry in advance if I disappear for a while but I'll try to get back on as soon as I can.
Heads up: Our internet at the old house in Madison is being shut off some time tomorrow and we are moving back to Indiana on Saturday but won't have internet in the new house until Tuesday at the earliest. Sorry in advance if I disappear for a while but I'll try to get back on as soon as I can.
Heads up: Our internet at the old house in Madison is being shut off some time tomorrow and we are moving back to Indiana on Saturday but won't have internet in the new house until Tuesday at the earliest. Sorry in advance if I disappear for a while but I'll try to get back on as soon as I can.
Oswin starts moving towards the remaining div, which turns and leaps into the air, taking flight away from the enclosing Pathfinders and landing on top of one of the buildings to the south. Withdraw so no AoO from Fendahl.
Unsure of where Braugher is, the assassin fires anyways, taking on the biggest target: Oswin!
Will provoke from Braugher.
The final swarm moves against their genocidal foe, Algor.
swarm damage on Algor:2d6 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4 DC 13 Fort save against poison (once at time of damage, again at the end of your turn if you fail the first); deals 2 Dex damage; lasts 4 rounds and 1 save is needed to cure
Initiative:
1. Braugher, Fendahl, Oswin, Tico, Algor, and Owyn
2. Assassin (43 dmg, faerie fire) and Div (14 dmg)
Anuum tries again to tear into the xacarba's mind but it does not seem much worse off than it did before and although Jane's missiles wound the snake, it still looks quite healthy.
Kel continues to heal himself in hopes of staying alive long enough that the others get the discs in place.
Initiative:
1. Jane, Anuum, and Karina
2. Xacarba (47 dmg, sickened) and Monolith
3. Kel
Libertus swings his weapon at the bug as it emerges from the ground but discovers that its chitinous exterior is quite hard. In fact, Vanya and Warden struggle to break through and cause damage as well.
Initiative:
1. Libertus, Warden, Fimfinkle, Abaal, and Vanya
2. Big Bugs!
3. Hastard
Algor tries to take out the invasive species by breathing fire onto the warms, decimating one of the populations but leaving the other struggling along with just enough members left to do some damage. Tico follows Algor's advice and burns away another population of wasps.
Meanwhile Braugher decides that he does not like being stuck with arrows and so turns invisible.
Initiative:
1. Braugher, Fendahl, Oswin, Tico, Algor, and Owyn
2. Assassin (43 dmg, faerie fire) and Div (14 dmg)
Kel continues healing as Karina shoves one of the discs into place.
Still have one more disc in the other room and the light disc is misplaced I think so it needs to be moved to the correct slot.
The monolith holds the xacarba in place but is not able to do anything to stop its flailing tails, one of which is content to try to squeeze the life from Kel:
"Out of curiousity, how would you make one of us look the part? For example, makeup wouldn't make me taller."
Pulling out a wand of CLW, he looks to his companions. "Would one of you be able to use this on the poor soul?"
The man in the top-hat removes his hat and a makes a short bow of his head before replacing it. "Never mind, the matter is over! Yes, go heal the man if you can and then I won't have to bother training you I suppose. But never doubt the wonders a little makeup, some stilts, and a good costumer can-"
But the man's words are cut short but a rumbling from beneath your feet as suddenly the ground on either front end of the stage bursts open in a spray of rocks and dirt. The bug-like monsters that scuttle out of the holes on six legs have a noxious green ichor drooling from their clacking mandibles.
Fendahl leaves the others to clean up the furry div. Kirrah's claws are not wholly effective, but Owyn's sword cleaves the div in two in one heavy swing. Fendahl's attack luckily disrupts the blue div's spell.
Initiative:
1. Braugher, Fendahl, Oswin, Tico, Algor, and Owyn
2. Assassin (43 dmg, faerie fire) and Div (14 dmg)
Fate may have given Vanya some insight into this place. She can make a Knowledge (engineering, history, local, or nature) check with a +2 luck bonus (and can make the check untrained) to see if she knows anything interesting about this site.
DC 15:
Pillars and buttresses near the auditorium’s wooden base suggest that the theater is ingeniously secured above a wide depression in the ground.
DC 20:
The hole must be the fabled Kendall Vault, a cave complex from which subterranean creatures have been rumored to emerge.
DC 25:
The presence of the Vault explains the rule that contests held at Kendall Amphitheater must be bloodless, since burrowing predators would be drawn to the scent.
You rush into the building, finding that none of the doors are locked. There are storage areas backstage and winding hallways but you hear the noises of combat growing louder from straight ahead so you push through to emerge in the amphitheater proper. You stand on the stage looking out, with two pillars on either side holding up the roofing structures above.
You see a group of 12 performers scrambling about the stage, rehearsing several scenes at once. Two flamboyantly battle with rapiers in the center of the stage and the others stage fights all around them. A man nervously tugging at his white top hat stands off to the side watching.
As you near the stage, the pseudodragon on Abaal's shoulder lets out a screech in alarm at the violence going on ahead. This attracts the attention of the man with the white top hat, who spots you and leaps up, shrieking “Closed rehearsal!”
This startles the stage combatants, and causes one of the duelers in the middle to slip, his sword grazing the other’s arm. The man in the top hat shouts in frustration and says, "What an utter disaster! Maximos’s sword arm is the only stageworthy part of
the buffoon!” The man, who must be Maximo, scoffs and puts his hands on puts his hands on his hips, a small amount of blood running down his shirtsleeve. The ensemble quarrels over how they’ll adapt before the man in the tophat looks back and says to you all, "Well, you've all started this mess! Who are you and which one of you can put on some makeup to take Maximo's place? Hurry up, we've got to keep this rehearsal moving."
@Owyn: Not to be too meta, but you were warned about three disruptions and this is the third disruption so my suggestion is smite away!.
Moved Tico over to Oswin.
Tico rushes over to Oswin and blesses his weapon against the divs.
Algor puts his rhetorical skills to work to try to usher the people from the plaza to keep them safe. He seems to have some sort of captivating skill that grabs their attention and they start to rush down the alleys, nearly completely dispersing into the city and away from the action.
---
Obviously more confident in his skills with a bow than hand-to-hand combat, the assassin steps back from Braugher and fires three arrows at the tengu!
Meanwhile the swarms, deprived of helpless citizens to harass, move against the party!
swarms:
swarm damage on Algor:2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3 DC 13 Fort save against poison (once at time of damage, again at the end of your turn if you fail the first); deals 2 Dex damage; lasts 4 rounds and 1 save is needed to cure
swarm damage on Tico and Oswin:2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8 DC 13 Fort save against poison (once at time of damage, again at the end of your turn if you fail the first); deals 2 Dex damage; lasts 4 rounds and 1 save is needed to cure
swarm damage on Fendahl and Owyn:2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3 DC 13 Fort save against poison (once at time of damage, again at the end of your turn if you fail the first); deals 2 Dex damage; lasts 4 rounds and 1 save is needed to cure
@Karina: Yes, that was me! That was a hilarious scenario and it's one of the reasons I took reckless infatuation for Ali.
@Karina again: Also, I just noticed that its three tails act independently not just of its head but also from each other, which means it can still make AoO even with one tail grappling Kel. Just a heads up to everyone. Since it was my mistake on Karina's movement last turn I'll let it slide.
@Kel: I went back and checked and I don't think you were skipped. You go after the xacarba so this should be your first action of the combat (round 1 for you, starting round 2 for the other three PCs).
Kel tries desperately to break free of the xacarba but its hold is tight. She is able to channel energy into the room and heal herself and the others though.
I think I'm doing that right but someone correct me if not, I haven't dealt with constrict damage in a while (actually forgot about it when the grapple was initiated but again it was my mistake so I'll let it slide). But I think he should get the damage associated with maintaining the grapple and then the constrict damage in addition to that.
Quote:
Constrict (Ex) A creature with this special attack can crush an opponent, dealing bludgeoning damage, when it makes a successful grapple check (in addition to any other effects caused by a successful check, including additional damage). The amount of damage is given in the creature's entry and is typically equal to the amount of damage caused by the creature's melee attack.
The xacarba tries desperately to keep Karina from putting the discs in place.
Dorvhan's starknife still isn't able to hit the ghoul worm and Syrak is looking pretty bad. Fortunately Paeter and Pandoor are able to hit the worm but it doesn't seem enough to bring it down yet.
The worm throws Syrak up into the air, opening its maw wide for the large palasorc and then swallowing him whole!
bludgeoning damage:2d6 + 10 ⇒ (5, 6) + 10 = 21
Sorry.... we really need to stop killing each other!
@Karina: As Anuum noted, you can only grab one of them.
@Anuum: You might not be threatened by the xacarba, but to your dismay you'll still need to defensively cast within 30 feet of it! I'll roll since you didn't know:
conc:2d20 ⇒ (15, 9) = 24 Will:2d20 ⇒ (18, 3) = 21
Anuum casts a spell which seems to make the xacarba uncomfortable. This time Jane is able to reach into the serpent's mind and cause some lasting damage.
With the flickering disc in hand, Karina flies past the monolith-snake grappling match, ready to put the flickering disc into the right location.
I moved Karina to the starlight panel since she seems to have figured out the riddle and has the faerie fire disc in her hand.
Initiative:
1. Jane, Anuum, and Karina
2. Xacarba (13 dmg, sickened) and Monolith
3. Kel
@Fendahl: yeah, we'll say it spends this round pacing and looking for a way down, ending by backing up to get a running start to leap to the next building on the next round.
Fendahl rushes in to protect his lion ally, his blessed scimitar cutting through the div better than Kirrah's claws.
Braugher decides to chase down the assassin, although the man is too quick and steps aside to avoid the helm-blow at the last second.
Oswin continues to prepare himself as Owyn starts hacking into the furry div.
@Tico: Owyn is already smiting that div and bypassing DR so the align weapon won't do much for him right now. Of course, it will help against the other div if Owyn doesn't want to use another smite on it but I just wanted to double-check that that's what you want to do since it's not having an immediate effect.
Located in Cliffside near the South Shore district, the Kendall Amphitheater is an architectural jewel in Korvosa’s crown. A multitude of people generally flock there to see plays, musical events, or non violent competitions. Right now, however, you find the Amphitheater’s many doors closed but unlocked.
DC 15 Perception:
You can hear indistinct shouting and the sounds of combat emerging from within.
Kel and Jane prepare the party just before the golem bashes in the door. Anuum is not able to slow the snake-creature's movements and unfortunately Jane is distracted and is not able to get her spell to work. In fact, Jane's fumbled magic is somehow turned back against her and she feels her own mind being probed!
Jane's mind thrust is redirected back at her!
Karina boldly pushes though the snake and monolith. The monolith tries to keep its grip on the snake but, being such a large creature, it throws its tail in her path as she runs through.
tail slap:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22 damage:1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 I don't think that hits so no grab thankfully! And I know a grappled creature can't normally take AoO but this thing has some special abilities, etc.
In the room beyond though, Karina can easily see the other two warding discs in the corner: one of them is so bright she can barely look at it (daylight) and the other is flickering and tinkling (faerie fire).
The monolith keeps a tight hold on the serpentine creature's head, silently standing in place and keeping the xacarba's jaws held shut. Still able to swing its tails independently from the rest of its body, it tries to strike the Pathfinders!.
Paeter slowly works forward, keeping his defenses up as Syrak stands back and hits the worm hard. Unfortunately Dorvhan's starknife is not able to break through the worm's rotten skin.
The worm lurches forward to attack the one who hurt it: Syrak!
bite:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30 damage:2d6 + 7 ⇒ (1, 3) + 7 = 11 grab:1d20 + 22 ⇒ (20) + 22 = 42 DC 18 Fort save against ghoul fever (1 day onset)
slam:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22 damage:1d8 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 DC 18 Fort save or paralyzed for 1d6 ⇒ 6 rounds.
Initiative:
1. Syrak and Paeter
2. Worm (31 dmg)
3. Pandoor and Dorvhan
