GM Silversong's page

Sorry for the protracted period of silence. I've come to terms with the fact that I have less time to devote to my games and less interest in them in general. As a result, I'm going to end this campaign. I'll move it to inactive later this week.

It was fun gaming with you all while it lasted, and I hope to see you folks in other games throughout the forum.

* * * * * * * CAMPAIGN RESTART * * * * * * * *

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Betweens Caldariel's melees attacks and volleys of magic missiles from Falina and Jolena, the remaining minions are put down. Jolena sends one at the caster, but it is blocked by an invisible spell, likely shield. The leader turns its attention to the younger Solstine. Though Carli swim-dodges the thing's teeth, each of its claws tears into her. A new cloud of blood spreads in the water and another human heroine floats motionless. The skum caster grins and swims the short distance to Caldariel, his next intended victim....

Jessibel's healing wand is able to bring Carlissa back to consciousness, however, and Jolena implores her sister to drop back, offering her a healing potion from her own stash.

T'chazzar likewise heals himself (fully, it appears) and swims up behind the skum caster, flanking opposite Caldariel.

CALDARIEL (flanking opposite T'chazzar) and FALINA are up!

Let's finish up this combat before introducing the new Silver Ravens to the group.

...and I missed the restart date.

At this point, I'll give a new update. I'm NOT ready to give up on this game. I plan on putting in a few hours of game prep on my schedule for today at the very least.

Would you folks be OK with a fairly hard new goal of a Monday, August 21st restart date? I could try to restart earlier, but I have a medical procedure scheduled for next Wednesday, and between prep beforehand and recovery afterward...next week as a whole will be VERY iffy.

8/21 would be a saner and less stressful goal for me. Sound OK with everyone?

Just be aware that I will be gone Wed through Sun next week due to Gencon.

In light of this (not to mention the fact that I'm still running behind where I need to be to get this game restarted), I'm going to delay the game's restart date to Monday, August 7th.

I think I mentioned this previously, but after the current boss fight we'll be transitioning into the AP's next adventure and folks should be ready to level-up to 7th level.

Quick Update: Heard from Caldariel's player and they're still interested in continuing the campaign, though real-life issues have cut dramatically into their time. Same here, though I've at least started looking over Jaxon and Clover.

I think my new game plan is to aim for a campaign restart early next week, Tuesday at the latest, but Monday if RL doesn't pile a lot on my plate that day (and it might).

Out of interest who are the current prospective players?

Possibles are Jaxon & Clover, pending GM approval.

Arani seems to be in.

What is the status of Caldariel, Falina, Jessibel & T'Chazzar?

Arani: IN (but PC was killed in current battle; plan is to have her resurrected.

Falina: IN (playing a tiefling sorcerer).

Caldariel: IN (playing a multiclassed tiefling battler/out-of-combat healer; just back from trip to China and experiencing computer problems).

Jessibel: OUT (my former PC under a different GM; will revert to an NPC role).

T'chazzar: OUT (dropped out of the campaign).

Plan is to look over Jaxon and Clover today and (hopefully) figure out how exactly they'll be introduced into the campaign.

Sorry for the silence--ridiculous weeks-long string of humidity (and some above-average heat to go with it) has sucked the life out of me, plus real-life issues are eating up my time as well. It looks like the humidity's around for another week, but I'll try to get in the occasional post at least.

Still haven't looked at Jaxon or Clover; maybe on Wednesday?

I did some investigation this morning and discovered that Grumbaki's dealing with a dead computer, so it might be a few more days before we restart for real.

As for the atmosphere in Kintargo.... If I had to choose one word, it would be uncertainty. The loyalists to House Thrune are still fairly vocal, but there have been some bumps in the road (most caused by the upstart rebels, both the Silver Ravens and other lingering factions). A lot of citizens are unhappy but unwilling to take a stand. There are whispers that the new lord-mayor is being resisted in places, but no overthrow seems imminent.

As for Hell's Rebels 'canon,' there are a few changes so far in this campaign. First, the halfling Laria Longroad, owner of the Long Roads Coffeehouse and rebel sympathizer, has been forced to flee Kintargo. This is mainly due to being ratted out by the imp, Blosodriette, who is still at large in the city.

Another unresolved issue is that the new Silver Ravens are apparently being investigated by a woman of Tian descent. Her motives are still unclear.

I'll be taking a closer look at Jaxon and Clover over the next few days.

@Grumbaki: Please let me know when you're back from China and ready to continue the campaign.

I'm fine with it. I mean that's the point of rolling right? Luck of the draw.

True. If I couldn't live with whatever I rolled, I shouldn't have rolled in the first place.

Going forward, though, I think I'll drop the boons. Too much extra effort.

Dang--you hit the good one!

1: 25 point buy
11: -2 to one stat, +2 to another. (No stat may be below 6 or above 20 after racial adjustments)

Before I give an official OK, I'd like to hear from other players to make sure they're OK with a new player getting a 25-point buy PC when theirs are only 20-point buys (plus whatever boon they rolled).

Wealth By Level suggests a 7th-level PC should have 23,500 gp in equipment and gold.

This is a good place and time to announce that once the party's dealt with the skum caster in the flooded tunnel (and maybe with any other threats yet to be encountered down there), I'll be leveling everyone up to 7th-level. While you level up, do an inventory to make sure your character is at least in the ballpark figure listed above (23,500 gp). If not, pick out additional gear to get you up near that threshold and I'll come up with some in-game way that you came into possession of the new stuff.

Yeah, the first 2 rolls were not really applicable (allowing your PC to be from areas of Golarion not on the original GM's list). Which brings us to the third....

14: You can use Words of Power spellcasting (Ultimate Magic) instead of normal spellcasting if you are a spellcaster. (Honestly, I'm not keen on learning a new subsystem at this point. How about a bonus non-combat or teamwork feat? Those shouldn't be too overpowering (I hope!) Also, there might be some other boons from the Hells Rebels organization subsystem forthcoming.

Oh, also I've mention of a boon thing of some sort. What's up with that?

Ah, almost forgot about that. Roll me 3 1d30s (Yes--1d30s). I'll get back to you about the results (or lack thereof).

Origins won't be a problem, as we'll still be on break then. I'll try to recruit a couple of people, maybe from the other game I run on these forums.

If any of you know a player who might be interested and a good fit, have them shoot me a PM.

I was hoping to finish up the skum fight before Grumbaki headed off to China, but that didn't happen. I think I'll put the game on hiatus until after the Independence Day holiday (7/4) and look into adding a couple of players during that downtime.

@FALINA: Can you commit to posting at a faster rate (say, every other day or so)?

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Seeing T'chazzar heal himself some, Falina decides that the drow can probably finish off her nearby foe...if she at least wounds it some more. Taking a chance, the sorceress tries to swim out into the middle of the cavern, hoping to semi-surround the spellcaster for the anticipated final showdown, before blasting the minion with a barrage of three magic missiles. Unfortunately, her opponent seems to be expecting the move, and despite being slowed, it jabs her in the shoulder with its trident before Falina can get out of range (7 piercing damage). Her vengeful magic strike hits hard, hard enough to knock the skum unconscious! The sorceress tells T'chazzar to accompany her in limiting the spellcaster's escape options.

But the skum leader isn't thinking escape...not yet, at least. Drawing a wand, it points at Jessibel and a lightning bolt streaks toward the approaching bard. Jessibel performs an impressive twist to somehow dodge the attack, but the Solstines aren't quite so lucky, taking a partial hit from the attack (11 electricity damage each). The caster scowls a bit at Jessibel's escape and swims back 5 feet.

Caldariel's foe tries its best to rip into the tiefling, but all its attacks miss.

T'chazzar again uses his lay on hands ability to further heal himself before positioning himself in front of Falina. Jessibel tries to use the healing wand on Arani and is horrified to see it has no effect. "She's gone!" the bard cries out in horror. The Solstines react in opposite ways: the older Jolena hesitates to consider her options (including how badly the lightning bolt hurt her); Carlissa swims forward with her teeth clenched in anger and violence in her heart, stabbing at the caster in an attempt to avenge her heroine and role model. Her attack misses badly, and the murderous skum leader begins sizing up his likely next victim.

CALDARIEL and FALINA are up! (As is JOLENA, but I just realized I never finished her stat block, esp. spells in her spellbook.)

@Grumbaki: China...niiiiice! Enjoy your trip.

I figured I'd check in to address the state of the game, since T'chazzar's player has quit.

My initial thought was to end the game after this encounter. With the computer problems and slow posting rate of Falina's player, it seems like we're down to two dedicated players (and one living PC, with the Arani debacle). If Falina's player can commit to a post every couple of days or so, however, we'd be at three strong and could recruit a couple new players from folks we already know on these boards. Jessibel would revert to NPC mode and likely join the Solstines in a new rebellion team.

Thoughts?

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Caldariel does a good job of temporarily suppressing the shock he feels at Arani's swift and sudden death, taking out another minion and putting the first wound on a second. The noblewomen reinforcements have apparently eliminated the skum that had cut them off, as all three swim quickly into the submerged dock chamber. Jessibel swims toward Arani while drawing the healing wand with her buckler-arm hand, telling the Solstines to help Falina. Meanwhile, T'chazzar sheathes his offhand blade, uses his healing powers to lessen his own grievous wounds, and then swims over to engage the skum threatening Falina.

FALINA is still up before the skum caster and his final two minions get to act.

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Caldariel ends another skum soldier with a mighty strike and then swims close to the caster to complete his attack routine. His second attack is awkward and misses, but the horned headbutt seems destined to hit...until the skum leader isn't quite where it seemed to be--apparently, it has again cast displacement in preparation for the rematch!

T'chazzar, still gravely wounded, opts to try to finish off his wounded foe rather than heal himself. The gambit pays off--barely--as his third strike finds the creature's black heart. He swims back a bit to give himself a bit more space should another foe decide to target him.

Falina dodges a slow and predictable opportunity attack from her foe before blasting it with a volley of magic missiles. Back to the north (likely unseen by your party), Carli and Jessi flank the not-slowed skum and stab it with their rapiers. Both hit but do minimal damage. Luckily, Jolena swims forward and blasts it with 3 magic missiles, putting it close to death's doorway. Jessi deftly dodges the skum's counterattack. Alas, the beast has succeeded in slowing the arrival of reinforcements....

The spellcaster opts to use claw and tooth against Arani while it still has the ranger flanked. Its teeth find her throat and it shakes her violently; then its twin claws rip into Arani's midsection. The caster then takes a 5-foot swim away from Caldariel, but the damage is already done: Arani floats lifeless in the water in a cloud of her own blood.

The other skum, slowed as they are, can only reposition to better attack next round.

Thanks in no small part to a confirmed crit with its bite, the skum spellcaster has just sent Arani right through negative hps to instant death. Wonderful. CALDARIEL and FALINA (and the NPC gang) are up.

I've allowed folks to switch out characters mid-campaign before; we could do that again if you'd like.

We're likely a bit behind in terms of Wealth by Level, between having 5 PCs for most of the campaign (when technically the baseline's 4) plus the player turnover has likely cost us a bit as well when departing PCs took their stuff with them. Also, the 2nd adventure in this AP is notorious for being stingy with the loot until the PCs hit the Lucky Bones...which you're doing now.

If I'm not mistaken, it seems to me that the agreed-upon loot system was to give gear to whoever could make use of it (keeping an eye on things to make sure one or two PCs weren't getting the lion's share) AND then equally dividing up the gold from sold loot amongst ALL PCs. Maybe I'm wrong about this....

But if I AM right, everyone should've gotten almost 4,800 gp in THIS POST alone. And since T'chazzar got his magic chain shirt and ring of protection in that same distribution, and one of his magical mithral shortswords from party treasure since then, he should've been easily able to afford his other magic short sword and the rest of his equipment just from that distribution and have a decent amount of gold left over. This would also seem to imply that he received nothing from all the other treasure divvies going back to the start of the game, which isn't (or shouldn't be) true.

I'm thinking there's an accounting error somewhere. Or a distribution or three were missed. Or maybe the gear T'chazzar claimed recently DID come out of his share...but that doesn't explain why he had next-to-nothing in treasure for years.

Maybe we should do some sort of accounting check at the end of this adventure, assuming we all want to go on.

@T'chazzar: Are you still with us or out for good?

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Caldariel punches his newest foe hard in the throat with his mailed fist, causing it loads of distress but not quite killing it...until his follow-up attack also connects. T'chazzar fares well also, scoring two hits to dispatch his wounded enemy before scoring a third on his other foe. He swims away a bit but is followed by a greatly-slowed fish-man, who misses with a weak trident jab.

Meanwhile, Arani waits until Falina has cast before trying to swim away from the skum that crept/swam up on her, dodging all opportunity attacks save one that grazes her shoulder (4 points piercing damage). She, in turn, grazes the skum caster with an underwater bolt. Her target reacts by pointing again (this time at the skum still threatening T'chazzar) and then swimming up to and past Arani as she prepares to reload. Its teeth dig into her the flesh of her leg painfully (12 damage).

Falina's spell may well have turned the tide of the battle, however: All but the farthest skum fall to her slow spell. The unaffected one turns to engage your reinforcements. It stabs at the light-bearer, Jessibel, but misses. The other slowed skum can only reposition themselves, closing on the intruders.

SILVER RAVENS are up!

To confirm, I'm unaware of the 4 behind me, is that correct?

You WERE unaware when they closed in. Now your PC is very aware of them.

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

T'chazzar swims forward, close enough to engage the familiar skum spellcaster. At the same time, Falina swims forward as well. Remembering that the last time the Silver Ravens fought this spellcaster he had a shield spell that negated her magic missiles, the sorceress instead blasts his nearest bodyguard.

As some of you feared, the first two sentries have indeed led your party into an ambush: Two more skum swim out from underneath the sunken dock to engage and stab at Caldariel and T'chazzar with their tridents. Even worse, four more of the creatures squeeze out of one of the narrow openings in the wall of the previous chamber and get the drop on Arani! Fortunately, due to their efforts to be stealthy, these four are unable to attack at the moment, but they swim up to the ranger unnoticed.

The spellcaster points at his bodyguard before unleashing its teeth and claws on T'chazzar. All three attacks--likely aided by some buffs, due to the damage they inflict--leave the drow paladin in dire straits (29 damage total). The caster glubs something to his two nearest underlings before making a 5-foot swim along the wall to the southeast. The skum bodyguard he pointed to a moment earlier also manages to stab T'chazzar (5 piercing damage), but fortunately its secondary attacks fail to connect with the badly-wounded drow.

The only other skum to get an attack this round barely misses Caldariel.

SILVER RAVENS are up! (Topside reinforcements still awaiting orders.)

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

The combination of a second crossbow bolt from Arani and a swimming spiked headbutt from Caldariel and his helmet is more than enough to leave one of the skum twitching, bleeding, and dying in the water.

FALINA and T'CHAZZAR are still up.

I think that I can charge the enemy to the right with swim speed? Can I get confirmation before taking an action?

Yes. No problem. Having a Swim speed also allows you to make a 5-foot step, when applicable.

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

"Understood," comes Jessibel's reply to Arani's message.

T'chazzar and Falina swim after Caldariel, but the elf-tiefling outpaces them a bit, thus he's the first to enter the submerged dock cavern and see that the two skum sentries have indeed tried to lead your group into an ambush of sorts (though T'chazzar's superior darkvision spots the trap moments thereafter): The familiar skum sorcerer lurks in the mouth of a narrow tunnel to the southwest. It swims out a bit before casting a spell, the effects of which are not immediately apparent.

SILVER RAVENS are up!

The skums' speed is only 10 feet faster than the lightly-armored members of the party (which, I believe, is everybody). If they continue to swim away, well, you guys get to explore the parts of the complex you haven't seen yet without getting damaged by them; if they attack at range with their tridents, they're left with only their claws. Skum have an Intelligence of 10, so they're not stupid: If one of their advantages is Swim speed, they'll use it. That goes for ambushes, too.

Falina and T'Chazzar still up; Caldariel's token not yet moved on the map.

THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Arani's shot barely clips the paddling claw of the second skum before it swims out of sight to the left (from the PCs's point of view; right on the map); the first one swam in the opposite direction. In any event, you've got no targets to attack. The question seems to be: Fast pursuit or a more cautious one?

Jessibel and the Solstine sisters are still at the top of the shaft awaiting orders.

SILVER RAVENS are up!

INITIATIVE ORDER/CONDITIONS: Combat Round 1 (Bolded may act/post)
Skum Reinforcements
---Skum #1 (uninjured—20/20 hp)
---Skum #2 (slightly injured—19/20 hp)
Carlissa Solstine (??/??; WB/TotS—3 mins.)
Jolena Solstine (??/??; WB/TotS—3 mins.)
Jessibel (45/45; BP 16/16; WB/TotS—3 mins.; topside)
T’chazzar (40/40; WB/TotS—3 mins.;)
Arani (47/47; WB/TotS—3 mins.; darkvision 3 hrs.; gravity bow—3 mins.)
Caldariel (51/51; water breathing, touch of the sea—3 mins.)
Falina (31/31; ; WB/TotS—3 mins.; mage armor--6 hours)

RETURN TO THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

Jessibel casts a message spell (affecting Arani, Caldariel, Falina, T'chazzar, and Jolena) and waits at the top of the shaft with the Solstine sisters. Below, all seems silent. Only Arani spots two shadowy forms hiding behind the two farthest pillars in the watery chamber until the pair of skum sentries break cover and swim quickly back to the cavern with the sunken dock in it. (You realize that the things swim a bit faster than your group is able--40 ft. speed compared to your 30 ft. base.)

ARANI gets one action in the surprise round, but not until after the skum swim off to the south. The pink lines on the map show their escape path.

RETURN TO THE RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (20 Desnus)

The Silver Ravens--this time with two potential junior members, the Solstines Sisters, in tow--return to the gambling hall ruins, trigger the capstone seal above the shaft that leads to the flooded tunnels, and prepare to carefully descend into the first flooded chamber.

Pausing to allow additional buffs or tactics before entering the water. Jessibel and the Solstines do not have darkvision and will need to rely on a light spell or two. Arani lacks that as well but has some potions of darkvision. Perhaps leave the 3 ladies in NPC mode above after Jolena casts water breathing and touch of the sea on folks? Maybe everyone else scouts ahead without the light spells immediately giving away your arrival? Jessibel could cast a message spell so you can call in reinforcements if/when needed.

Let me know any preparations and feel free to tweak positioning on the Roll20 map. I'll likely restart things for real on Monday.

Oops--I messed up. I added a treasure trove to the Loot List that you hadn't quite acquired yet...stuff from the room with the halfling ghost that messed up Jessibel a bit and wanted part of your living spirits if you lost a bet against it. I crossed that temporarily off the treasure list; doing so removes the circlet of persuasion from play for the time being.

Sorry for the silence/hiatus. I'm gonna consider that a sort of 'spring break' for myself. Hopefully, Falina's and T'chazzar's players have gotten their computer issues straightened out fully by now.

KINTARGO (ARGO ISLAND {Southern Half of the City} (Desnus 17 through ???))

Topside, as the discussion turns to collected treasure and possible sale of some of it, Jessibel tries to ID the magical bottles found in the barrels in the sunken dock chamber...but without success. She seeks out her frenemy, Sabrina Sarini, to help with that small task, but again there's nothing but frustrating failure. Perhaps the Solstine wizard, Jolena, can be brought into confidence to solve this riddle?

Between Jessibel's spells and Caldariel's more mundane healing, the group's soon back to full strength. Now it's just a matter of gaining the ability to move better underwater.

I made some (poor) Spellcraft checks offline, and it actually took three days--plus the inclusion of Jolena--to ID the bottles as a pair of bottles of air (value: 7,250 gp/sell value 3,625 gp each).

Unless anyone objects, I think what we should go with here is to have someone buy a wand of touch of the sea that Jolena can wield. As part of the deal, Jolena will ask to accompany the party for the return to the Lucky Bones and be a part of the rebellion going forward. (Her younger sibling, Carlissa, will also demand to come along and join the rebellion as well.)

In game terms, the Solstines and a few other NPCs would become a Team (Freedom Fighters, perhaps, with the ultimate goal of becoming Spellcaster maybe?) under the Rebellion/Organization System, once I restart that.

If you want to get the bottles IDed, that'll take 3 days; we can probably do the treasure split after the next excursion into the flooded tunnels, selling off just enough stuff to buy the wand.

Sound good? I think I'll just go with whatever the first player chimes in with to get things moving again.

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

Proverbial tails tucked between their legs, the Silver Ravens temporarily concede defeat and leave the flooded tunnels to regroup and plan for better dealing with the skum spellcaster and other potential water-savvy threats.

THE TOOTH AND NAIL TAVERN (Old Kintargo; 17 Desnus)

With Setrona Sabinus's tavern being the closest safe house to the ruins of the Lucky Bones, your party heads there to discuss potential next steps. Setrona's cousin--the Hellknight of the Torrent lictor, Octavio--is in a makeshift meeting room in the tavern's cluttered cellar, and he seems a bit upset at your party's failure. "Great--because of your poor planning, It looks like I'll be returning a chargeless wand to the good guardians of the Shrine of Saint Senex!" he fumes. "Good planning is essential to any mission, and it appears...."

At that moment, his cousin Setrona arrives, bearing a tray of empty steins and a pitcher of ale. "Did you suggest that they have some magical ability to better move underwater?" she asks her cousin, the short woman showing absolutely no fear of her rather grim and imposing relative. "Well, no...but." As your party details the frustrating fight against the spellcaster, she asks the lictor, "And does your magic halberd grant you reach so you'd be able to strike that spellcaster each time it swam back a ways?"

"Again, no, but that's not my point," the lictor retorts. Setrona defends your group expertly and mercilessly to the point where her cousin actually sighs, admits she's right, and apologizes to you all. "What I was trying to say was that we've all got limited resources to work with, and every little bit wasted hurts, especially with trade restricted so badly under Barzillai Thrune's thumb. A second foray into the flooded tunnels will use up the last of the charges from the wand of water breathing I borrowed from the shrine's guardians. That, in turn, limits what they can do in their own duties, and...."

"And they'll find a way to adapt," Setrona cuts in before asking what sort of food the party would like and if anyone wants something other than ale to drink. "We all do our part," she comments. Then her eyes light up a bit. "Hey--doesn't that naval captain owe you folks some favors? Maybe you could cash one or more of those in, eh?"

OK...what do you folks want to do now? The simplest solution seems to be the spell touch of the sea, which grants a 30 foot swim speed. Its biggest problem, however, is its duration (1 minute/level), so a potion or tap from a wand at its lowest CL would last only a minute. An added problem is that neither a bard nor a ranger has that spell on their class lists, so only Falina could use such a wand if purchased. Not a big deal if she can anticipate when a battle's likely to take place, but if she needs to do it (or renew it) during a fight, that'd take her magical arsenal out of the fight for multiple rounds as she tapped folks with the wand.

Another possibility would be to pay for scrolls of touch of the sea and/or water breathing for your NPC wizard/ally Jolena Solstine to add to her spellbook; then she could accompany the party to the Lucky Bones again (blindfolded again?) and cast spells on the party there. She doesn't have enough spell slots to cast touch of the sea more than once per PC, but her CL (and the spell's duration) would be higher (CL 4th or 5th; I haven't done a full statblock on her yet).

Prices and Availability: I'd rule that potions of touch of the sea and a fully-charged wand of touch of the sea (CL 1st) would be immediately available (respective prices: 50 gp and 750 gp); getting them at a higher CL (say 3rd) would be a special order, taking time and costing 150 gp per potion or 2,250 gp for a fully-charged wand.

The party also has 9 unused favors from Captain Cassius Sargaeta for rescuing his lover, Marquel Aulorian. One use of a favor is a gift with a value up to 2,000 gp.

Lastly, I urge everyone to take a look at the Loot List under the Campaign Tab. Looks like there's plenty of sellable loot that can more than pay for potions and/or wands. Also, there are some decent items worth claiming. I know Jessibel would like the circlet of persuasion.

Let me know your thoughts on this matter.

...and 1 vote for leave, resupply, and return.

Do I have a clear shot at him?

Nope; by the time you've reloaded and aimed, he's long gone. (He's got a swim speed of 40 feet.)

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

Still slowed (but no longer blinded; Caldariel threw that off a couple posts back) the elf-tiefling's unable to deliver a successful strike as the skum caster again swims away. Gritting his teeth, Caldariel begins a slow pursuit.

I moved Caldariel on the map.

1 vote for pressing your luck ("C'mon--no Whammies!") and continuing the battle.

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

After Arani's bolt comes close and T'chazzar scores a decent hit with one of his blades, the skum caster decides it needs to put some distance between itself and the adventurers. T'chazzar scores a second hit on the fleeing sorcerer despite its displacement spell, and Caldariel sees an opening (AoO) as your foe swims back west, then up toward the ceiling, then north--the way you entered the flooded tunnels.

The pink dotted line shows its intended path.

This might be a good place to reassess. If the party wants to leave to get some magic that'll enable them to swim (and thus fight better underwater) and then return, that's on the table. It could also pursue, explore the west and/or east tunnels, wait for the slow effect on Caldariel to expire while Jessibel cleans off the glitterdust particles with a prestidigitation spell, or something else. Give me your vote!

And hopefully Falina will be back online to rejoin us sooner rather than later.

Right? With slow I don't think he can 5ft step and attack

Yeah. I figure his best bet would be what used to be called a partial charge, but even that's almost impossible in this fight with all its requirements (need to move at least 10 feet, in a straight line, shortest route to target, etc.).

Also, given my ruling that walking underwater is the equivalent of difficult terrain (like moving in a bog), T'chazzar can't do a 5-foot step/full attack combo. But I used his second hit for his AoO (see next post).

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

Jessibel takes Caldariel's advice to heart...but not into her brain. The bard bottom-walks north of the skum, but at the last moment drops her rapier and tries to grapple the thing! It's a brave thing to try, but the skum isn't truly unarmed. It bites Jessi in the neck as she goes for the grapple, and her blood further clouds the water (9 damage); as a result, she's unable to get a hold on the creature.

"It's got a displacement spell on it now!" she gasps through the pain.

FALINA, T'CHAZZAR, and ARANI are still up.

Good luck with the fix. I'll keep botting Falina (though I'll probably expend some of her resources in the hopes of ending this fight soonish).

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

T'chazzar fights off the potential blindness of the skum's latest magical attack, but the now-golden drow's still unable to connect with his retaliatory strike. Meanwhile, Falina sashays across the cavern floor like some slow-motion model, positioning herself for a potential spell strike against the opposing spellcaster.

Again the skum swims just far enough away to allow itself to cast another spell. Its form shimmers briefly, but that's the only visual effect from the casting. The thing's toothy maw opens and it glubs a few taunting words at your party.

SILVER RAVENS are again up.

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

The skum caster's latest spell slows Caldariel to a crawl. The fish-man flashes a toothy grin that turns to a grimace an instant later when T'chazzar's blade clips his flesh and then Arani's wayward bolt eliminates his last mirror image. Falina fires a single magic missile from her wand at the monster and isn't particularly surprised when it fails to penetrate an invisible shield spell protecting their foe. She alerts the others to the spell's presence and plots her own next move.

The caster repeats its super-annoying 5-foot swim to again put some room between itself and its foes, then casts a spell that fills a 10-foot-radius sphere of water with sparkling gold particles that coat Caldariel, T'chazzar, and Jessibel and threaten to get in their eyes to blind them! (Will DC 16 or gain blinded condition for at least the current round; no SR applies. If you fail, you may repeat the save at the end of your character's turn.)

Indeed, Jessibel immediately gives a cry but then regains her composure and continues her inspirational song. Having recognized the spell that's affected Caldariel, she tells him that she can't see to attack but can still use her healing wand on him...if he can come toward her voice.

Since I forgot about T'CHAZZAR's SR (Again!!), I used his first roll for his attack instead. I also botted Falina for this round to let her know that magic missiles won't be a part of the solution here, as the skum caster has shield up and running. I figure better to use a charge from a one-missile wand for that bit of knowledge than to waste a spell otherwise.

ALL SILVER RAVENS are up!

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

With enemies closing in on it, the skum spellcaster (with its lone remaining mirror image) again executes a five-foot swim to give itself some distance, positioning itself under the dock before casting another spell. Jessibel pursues, but her stab attempt doesn't come close enough to even pop the last fake caster. The bard continues to inspire courage, however.

Everyone except ARANI (just out of range) must succeed on a DC 17 Will save. If you fail, read the spoiler below for the effect(s).

ALL SILVER RAVENS are up!

I thought I got a crap swim roll and moved half speed for my full turn.

That was the previous round. And, RAW, it looks like trying to swim simply for its rate of speed is worthless (unless you have an actual swim speed): you can automatically move at half speed along the bottom whereas you need to make a successful Swim check to move half that again (one-quarter your speed as a move action, one-half as a full action). Not sure that's realistic, but it seems to be RAW.

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

Arani's latest bolt catches nothing--neither skum nor mirror image--but Caldariel's blow eliminates a fake target, leaving the spellcaster only one remaining.

FALINA and T'CHAZZAR still up; both will be botted tomorrow if no actions are posted.

RUINS OF THE LUCKY BONES--FLOODED TUNNELS (17 Desnus)

Arani's shot misses the skum spellcaster, but it comes close enough that it eliminates one of its mirror images (leaving two false images active). The other members of the party move to engage the creature again.

The skum decides to stand and fight (for the moment, at least). Its teeth and one of its claws find Caldariel's flesh, further wounding the elf-tiefling (2 hits; 17 damage total). Then the creature (and its two remaining mirror images) effortlessly swims five feet away from Caldariel and Jessibel to put some distance between itself and its foes. The bard casts a healing spell to undo the damage just inflicted upon Caldariel (17 hp healed, so it's a wash between damage and subsequent healing) and then moves a bit to keep the pressure on the skum.

ALL SILVER RAVENS are up! Jessibel's lingering IC +1 buff has expired, though she might restart it next round (unless she's forced to heal again).

After this fight, I believe I'll have Jessibel suggest exiting the flooded tunnels so the party can get some sort of magic that allows them to swim. I had a brain fart back before the party entered the flooded chambers, wrongly believing that touch of the sea had a range of 'personal' and couldn't be made into potions or wands. (Maybe I was thinking of alter self?)

In my defense, no one else came up with a workable solution either, but I think it's become clear this whole 'slog along the bottom' bit isn't working well.