GM Jhaeman's page

Xylian opens fire on the thick mass of undead, draining his hailcannon dry but making a sizable dent! Meanwhile, Zharis activates her jump jets to escape the balcony and the wraith, jewel in hand!

@Xylian: It looks like your weapon would get 7 shots before running out of ammo, and three of them hit. The mass is still intact, but only just barely.

Zharis, you get hit by an AoO from the wraith and take 14 F, but you make it back safely (and dramatically!) to the others.

Tulgram is up.

Ah, okay. Goran, I rolled your first healing for rebuke death below. It's not enough to get the chief conscious (he was pretty deep into negatives). Because it can only be used a fixed number of times per day, do you want to keep using it until he's conscious or change your mind?

Goran's rebuke death # 1: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Vindex turns the corner!

Relgar is up.

Gil-Oloth *almost* manages to get into the computer, but the swaying of the magnet causes her to tap the wrong key at a crucial second! Across the room, Meglos lands two powerful blows one of the rat creatures, almost knocking it down!

Gil-Oloth, you literally failed by 1. Keep trying!

Both of Meglos' attacks hit Yellow. One more of that power would drop it.

Phil and Z Data Z are up.

Initiative (Round 3)

Kneepuncher
Ratspawn
Meglos
Gil-Oloth (stuck on magnet*)
Z Data Z (stuck on magnet*)
Phil (stuck on magnet*)
Magnet

Bold should go!

The mounds are difficult terrain.

*You are stuck on the magnet. On your turn, as a standard action, you can attempt a DC 29 Athletics check to wrest yourself away from the magnet, dropping to the mound below Position # 3.

Kneepuncher twists and turns, trying to land a blow on his monstrous foe, but can't quite get the right angle! The ratspawn tries to keep hold of him and gnaw at his arm, but the warrior slips free!

Meanwhile, the other one goes after Meglos!

Both of Kneepuncher's attacks missed.

Yellow and Black each take 5 F from Meglos corona.

Yellow tries to maintain the grapple and use its Gnaw special ability. Result: Failed! Kneepuncher is no longer grappled.

Black tries to bite Meglos. Result: Natural 1 misses.

Initiative (Round 3)

Vindex
Relgar
Lionfish
Zarjkil
Igor
Arioch
Davor

Bold should go!

The walls of crates are 10' high. They can be climbed with a DC 15 Climb check. You can see to the other side of crates if the wall is no more than two squares wide.

When Scraps drops the package of grey dust, a bright flash fills the center of the warehouse, but the pirate standing over the bound woman manages to cover his eyes just in time!

Yellow made the save vs the flash powder.

The dying chief is quickly searched.

Sorry, did someone stabilise and heal a particular lizardfolk? The chief is still alive (though only for two more rounds before reaching negative Constitution).

INITIATIVE (ROUND 4)

Wraith
Zharis (two Fort saves*)
Xylian
Tulgram
Lurkers
The Mass
Hani
Jin

Bold should go!

From the thick orange line all the right to the wall of fire is essentially a mass of burning undead that is 7' high. You can enter these squares, but they count as 3 squares of movement (and obviously, there may be consequences from the heat).

*Please attempt two DC 14 Fortitude saves. If either fails, you are on fire. At the beginning of your turn, you take 4 F. At the end of your turn, you can attempt the save again to end the condition.

Up on the balcony, the guardian of the sphere rages and tries to stop Zharis from escaping!

The wraith does a full attack. Result: Both attacks hit. Zharis, you take 10 F and 11 F (bypassing fire resistance). Please attempt two DC 14 Fortitude saves vs a curse effect. If you fail either one, you have the burning 2d4 condition.

Jin's singing disk tears through the mass of flaming undead, cutting many of them in half!

Jin's attack deals some hefty damage to the mass.

@Meglos: Thanks. If I don't note the results of the rolls in Gameplay when I describe their turns, just remind me again.

Arioch and Davor start going the long way around . . .

Zarjkil and Igor are up.

It's touch and go for a few seconds, but Goran manages to fight off the toxin in his bloodstream!

Okay, the poison is cured (a timely natural 20!) and we are off Initiative.

Hani gets ready for trouble!

Jin is up.

@Davor: Nope, they're not difficult terrain. They are actual obstacles that are impassible unless climbed over.

Initiative (Round 3)

Kneepuncher (grappled**)
Ratspawn
Meglos
Gil-Oloth (stuck on magnet*)
Z Data Z (stuck on magnet*)
Phil (stuck on magnet*)
Magnet

Bold should go!

The mounds are difficult terrain.

*You are stuck on the magnet. On your turn, as a standard action, you can attempt a DC 29 Athletics check to wrest yourself away from the magnet, dropping to the mound below Position # 3.

**You are grappled. You are restrained by a creature, effect, or trap. You can’t move, and you take a –2 penalty to your Armor Class, attack rolls, Reflex saving throws, initiative checks, and Dexterity-based skill and ability checks, except those made to grapple your opponent in turn or to escape a grapple. In addition, you can’t take actions that require two hands (or other limbs) to perform. You can’t make attacks of opportunity. You can’t use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling you, even if a special ability allows you to hide when you normally couldn’t. If you become invisible, through a Spell or other ability, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to your check to escape being grappled, but you receive no other benefit.

The massive magnet dangling from the ceiling continues on its usual track across the room.

The magnet (and those stuck to it) is now at Position # 3. As it gets there, it releases a magnetic pulse, but no one who is not already stuck to it is within range.

Stuck to the magnet, Phil tries to help his allies by shooting an icy ray at the attackers, but can't get the right angle. But Meglos certainly does, landing a crushing attack on the rat-monster grappling Kneepuncher!

Phil's attack missed.

Meglos' attack hit Yellow.

Initiative (Round 2)

Vindex
Relgar
Lionfish
Zarjkil
Igor
Arioch
Davor

Bold should go!

The walls of crates are 10' high. They can be climbed with a DC 15 Climb check. You can see to the other side of crates if the wall is no more than two squares wide.

One of the pirates rounds the corner only to get knocked down by Vindex. As the pirate struggles to his feet, the Chelaxian hits him again, and this time he stays down!

Blue gets knocked down by Vindex's readied action and then knocked to negatives from the AoO. White and Yellow maintain readied actions.

Initiative (Round 3)

Rogarch
Goran (need Fort save vs poison)*
Ting
Candledark

Bold should go!

*Goran, please attempt another Fortitude save vs poison. If you succeed, that's two successful saves in a row and you are cured. If you fail, you take 1 Constitution drain and we'll stay on Initiative.

INITIATIVE (ROUND 3)

Wraith
Zharis
Xylian
Tulgram
Lurkers
The Mass
Hani
Jin

Bold should go!

From the thick orange line all the right to the wall of fire is essentially a mass of burning undead that is 7' high. You can enter these squares, but they count as 3 squares of movement (and obviously, there may be consequences from the heat).

The mass of flaming undead continues slowly surging forward!

Z Data Z and Gil-Oloth are pulled up into the air and caught by the magnet! Gil-Oloth steadfastly continues her work, but hacking through the computer's firewalls is difficult.

@Gil-Oloth: You don't manage to get access to the magnet with that result, but you can try again next round.

@Meglos: You posted dialogue--did you take an action this round?

Phil (and maybe Meglos) are up.

Initiative (Round 2)

Vindex
Relgar
Lionfish
Zarjkil
Igor
Arioch

Bold should go!

The walls of crates are 10' high. They can be climbed with a DC 15 Climb check. You can see to the other side of crates if the wall is no more than two squares wide.

Suddenly a strange half-orc bursts into the warehouse and skewers one of the pirates with a trident!

Davor's attack hits and drops Red.

Thanks!

That puts us at six PCs, so we'll stick there.

@Davor: Great, you're in! Please head over to Gameplay, assuming you just received a letter with the essential details from V-C Heidmarch and tracked down the warehouse, only to find a battle there ongoing.

Would anyone like to jump into # 4-15: "The Cyphermage Dilemma" with a Level 1 PC (either custom or pre-gen)? They've just started the first encounter, and we've realised the APL is just a *smidge* too high to qualify for low subtier, which will create some problems. Recruitment thread is here.

I think what I'll do is see if I can get someone to jump in with a Level 1 PC, since we only have 5 players. That will bring the APL down just enough that we can stick with low subtier.

Xylian deploys his fire extinguisher, but the roaring wave of flaming undead are completely unaffected!

Tulgram is up.

Goran chugs the antitoxin, but his belly is still painful and tightly constricted!

@Goran: You have now made one save, but the poison is still acting.

So everyone, we *are* staying on Initiative as we have a round-by-round situation (no one acts twice before everyone gets a chance to act once). Candledark is up, and then I'll post the Initiative order for Round 3 (Rogarch and Ting, you'll be able to take your actions then).

Igor's target manages to parry his morningstar!

Igor's attack misses.

@Relgar: Hm, you're right. Somehow we're .1 too high. I thought we had worked it out for low-tier in the Recruitment thread, but apparently not. Well, I don't want to change an encounter mid-stream, but I'll have to make the adjustments moving forward. We may have to pause after this, as I have everything prepped for low-tier.

Arioch is up.

Initiative (Round 2)

Kneepuncher (grappled)
Ratspawn
Meglos
Gil-Oloth (need Athletics check**)
Z Data Z (need Athletics check**)
Phil (stuck on magnet*)
Magnet

Bold should go!

*Phil, you're stuck on the magnet. As a standard action, you can attempt a DC 29 Athletics check to wrest yourself away from the magnet, dropping to the mound below Position # 2.

**Gil-Oloth, and Z Data Z, at the beginning of your turns, please make a DC 29 Athletics check or your weapon is pulled from your grasp and up onto the magnet overhead; if you fail the check by 5 or more, your yourself are also pulled onto the magnet. Creatures wearing no armor are immune from being pulled onto the magnet, while those wearing heavy or powered armor take a -2 penalty to the Athletics check. (Creatures with mainly organic weapons or armor might receive a +4 bonus to their check at my discretion).

Suddenly, from each of the western garbage mounds, a pair of horrendously oversized rats that mockingly stand upright like a humanoid emerge and try to bite Kneepuncher!

The first one misses, but the second one hits. Kneepuncher, you take 27 P and are now grappled.

No one made the Perception check I rolled on arrival to notice these.

Gil-Oloth manages to boot up the computer, but Phil is pulled off his feet and slammed into the magnet above! Meanwhile, Kneepuncher keeps his feet and examines the alcove to the west.

@Gil-Oloth: Got it. You're able to access the computer, but it will take 1 minute to fully boot up and open the hatch you need. During this time, you can attempt to hack in again to take control of the magnet, but the hatch opening can't be sped up.

@Kneepuncher: This must be a crucible. It's an enormous bowl 30’ wide and 30’ deep filled with a roiling red nano-acid.

Ran out of time to describe the next bit, but will post again in the morning.

Initiative (Round 1)

Vindex
Relgar
Lionfish
Zarjkil
Igor
Arioch

Bold should go!

The walls of crates are 10' high. They can be climbed with a DC 15 Climb check. You can see to the other side of crates if the wall is no more than two squares wide.

"It's a raid!" shouts one of the men. "Go, I'll watch the prisoner!" shouts another.

Red draws his cutlass and does a move action (not having a +1 BAB is sad!). White does a move action to the nearest stack of crates to take a look and readies an action. Blue draws a cutlass and moves towards the sound of violence. Yellow draws a cutlass and stays with the prisoner, doing Total Defense.

The surprised pirate reacts instinctively, stepping behind a crate to shield himself from the worst of Relgar's powerful arc of conjured fire! Still, the man is badly burned and in obvious pain, and can't duck before Vindex literally decapitates him!

Black made the save and takes half damage from the burning hands. The game unfortunately doesn't really explain what it means by "flammable materials" (anything will burn if it gets hot enough), so my rule of thumb is "if a lit match would instantly set it on fire (things like oil-soaked rags, dried grass, gas, etc.) than a magical fire spell will as well". From the description, it sounds like this place is pretty damp, so no raging inferno . . . yet!

Vindex's power+sneak attack is enough to take Black from positive hit points to past negative hp equal to Constitution with one swing.

@Gregor: We'll say the ceilings are 20' high.

A painful burning starts in Goran's belly.

@Goran: Whatever is going on has an onset time, so there are no mechanical effects yet. On your turn, you need to attempt a second DC 16 Fortitude save. A character can attempt the save at any point during their turn, so you can drink the antitoxin first (subtract it from the gear list, of course) and apply the +5 bonus to that save and all subsequent ones for the next hour. We will stay on Initiative.

Candledark and Goran's second saving throw are up.

Zharis bravely reaches into the sphere of utter darkness. Feeling warmth emanating from a solid object, she pulls it free to reveal a jewel-like, flame-shaped ornament!

Xylian and Tulgram are up.

Initiative (Round 2)

Kneepuncher (need Athletics check)
Special
Meglos (need Athletics check)
Gil-Oloth (need Athletics check)
Z Data Z (need Athletics check)
Phil (need Athletics check)
Magnet

Bold should go!

The huge magnet on the ceiling moves along a set track, pulling valuable materials towards it!

At the end of the round, the magnet moves from position # 1 on the map to position # 2 on the map. At position # 2, it creates a pulse that attracts valuable materials. All creatures within 40’ (which I think includes all of you this time) must make a DC 29 Athletics check or your weapon is pulled from your grasp and up onto the magnet overhead; if you fail the check by 5 or more, your yourself are also pulled onto the magnet. Creatures wearing no armor are immune from being pulled onto the magnet, while those wearing heavy or powered armor take a -2 penalty to the Athletics check. (Creatures with mainly organic weapons or armor might receive a +4 bonus to their check at my discretion).

Okay, it looks like hacking the computer is a full action and no one started their turn adjacent (for Z Data Z, dropped off in the middle of the room) or within remote hacking range (for Gil-Oloth) anyway. Gil-Oloth, you'll be able to use your turn next round to try it if you wish.

On cue, Arioch throws the door open! A startled pirate looks up--"What the--!"

Initiative (Round 1)

Vindex
Relgar
Lionfish
Zarjkil
Igor
Arioch

Bold should go!

The walls of crates are 10' high. They can be climbed with a DC 15 Climb check.

Rogarch's conjured snowball hits the the warband chief right in the face, sending him reeling to the ground! Dusan runs after Ting, shouting incoherently.

The chief is dying. Although combat is over, we technically need to stay on Initiative until Goran's Fortitude save is rolled so we can see if we need to deal with poison on a round-by-round basis.

Before we proceed, quick clarification: Z Data Z, do you have a remote hack ability or equivalent? And Gil-Oloth, are you making the attempt on your own or doing Aid Another?

Arioch goes to work on the flimsy lock on the side door. Whoever installed the lock should get a refund from the manufacturer, because it almost falls apart in the half-orc's hands!

Okay, the door is unlocked. Please finalise your positions and tell me when it is opened.

@Arioch: I live Down Under, so no bears or mountain lions. I did see one lizard and endured a cavalcade of possums snooping around all night, but this were-croc came back in one piece :)