Takemiryu's page

Takemiryu takes a few quick steps back as soon as Auldegrund starts crying out and spontaneously combusting. He looks at his silver dagger in surprise. "Wow! This is quite a versatile weapon." He wipes the blood off it and returns it to his belt. "Not sure what all the horns and chuckling was about there though. Oops. Better take care of this bleeding before we go on."

Persistent Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 bleeding damage
Persistent Damage Recovery Flat Check vs DC 15: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Persistent Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4 bleeding damage
Persistent Damage Recovery Flat Check vs DC 15: 1d20 ⇒ 18

"Much better. Nothing that a few days rest won't cure." He kneels down and loots whatever equipment of Auldegrund's survived the flames. He looks about. "I think we're almost done here. A quick search of the remaining rooms and we can leave this cursed place to rot."

I assume there isn't anything of particular interest left for us to find, so that's a wrap for me. My thanks to the other players for putting up with the curious kitsune.

Got the chronicle and it looks good. Thanks for running us through it.

If it is a +1 Striking Silver Dagger, then the damage from the last strike should have dealt an extra 1d4 of damage, like this:

Dagger Extra Striking Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Takemiryu watches Auldegrund as the dwarf scampers away and then fires an arrow back at him. "Uf! That smarts. Not very friendly of you. Aren't you supposed to be our host?" Suddenly, the arrow wound doesn't seem to hurt as much. He looks around and sees Jaithe casting. "Thank you, Jaithe. That really hit the spot." Turning back to his opponent, Takemiryu holds up his new dagger and says, "And thank you for leaving this lying around. Very convenient it has turned out to be. Let's see what more it can do." And without further ado, he closes with Auldegrund again and keeps stabbing.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

Action 2 (◆): Strike (+1 Striking Silver Dagger) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Auldegrund (prey)

Dagger Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Dagger Damage: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 3) + 4 = 10 piercing silver damage

Action 3 (◆): Twin Takedown
- Action: Strike (+1 Striking Silver Dagger) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Auldegrund (prey)
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP2 vs Auldegrund (prey).

Dagger Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 11 - 2 = 28
Dagger Damage: 2d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2) + 4 = 8 piercing silver damage
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 6 ⇒ (15) + 11 - 6 = 20
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 piercing damage

Takemiryu then looks down at the arrow sticking out of his now profusely bleeding side. "Oh no, this won't do at all." He makes some effort to stanch the bleeding...

Persistent Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6 bleeding damage
Persistent Damage Recovery Flat Check vs DC 15: 1d20 ⇒ 7

...but doesn't do a very good job of it and the bleeding continues

So -20 hp from the arrow, +13 from Jaithe's Soothe, -6 from the bleeding (ouch!) is a net -13 hp of damage this round with 1d6 persistent bleeding still in progress.

Takemiryu drops his sai and charges the dwarf. As he closes, he whips out his new magical silver dagger and stabs out twice at Auldegrund. "Let's see what this sharp little fellow can do." Adding insult to injury, he also gives him a jab from his trident looking for a weak spot (AKA crit hunting).

Action (◇): Release - Drop sai

Action 1 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

Action 2 (◆): Quick Draw
- Action: Interact - Take Magical Silver Dagger in hand
- Action: Strike (Magical Silver Dagger) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Auldegrund (prey)

Dagger Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 +X for potency rune?
Dagger Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 piercing silver damage +X for striking/property runes?

Action 3 (◆): Twin Takedown
- Action: Strike (Magical Silver Dagger) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Auldegrund (prey)
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP2 vs Auldegrund (prey).

Dagger Attack: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 10 - 2 = 26 +X for potency rune?
Dagger Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 piercing silver damage +X for striking/property runes?
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 6 ⇒ (3) + 11 - 6 = 8
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 piercing damage

I don't know what the magical properties of the dagger are. I'm guessing at least +1 Potency, but it could also (pretty please) have a Striking rune and Property runes that might affect the amount of damage inflicted.

Takemiryu watches as Auldegrund transforms into a devil. "Uh oh. I have a bad feeling about this." He fingers his new ring and hopes it brings him luck, or at the very least a little protection against the dwarf's fiery attacks.

Based on this post, I'm going to assume it is a Ring of Fire Resistance giving Takemiryu fire resistance 5.

Takemiryu looks on with satisfaction as his words hit home and a tinge of fear appears in Auldegrund's eyes. Unfortunately, it isn't enough to stop the dwarf from seriously skewering Zerryd. "Ouch! That's going to leave a mark. Medic!" He turns to Kellsti. "Now may be a good time for some of that healing of yours."

Knowing that his intimidation will no longer work, he continues throwing his trident at their evil antagonist before moving up into better position to take the heat off Zerryd and possibly provide him with flanking in the future.

Action 1: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 piercing damage

Action 2: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 3 ⇒ (16) + 11 - 3 = 24
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 piercing damage

Action 3 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

GM, it looks like Zerryd ninja'd you there. You may want to go back and take care of his post first.

Takemiryu yells out across the room at Auldegrund. "Did you like the snare? That was one of mine. I use them to slow down my prey before I go in for the kill. And kill it will be, you devil-loving piece of treacherous scum. Prepare to die!" He glares menacingly at the dwarf before launching his attacks.

Action 1 (◆): Demoralize vs Auldegrund
Intimidation (Demoralize): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26 vs Auldegrund Will DC

Action 2: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30 vs (possibly) frightened
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

Action 3: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 11 - 3 = 25 vs (possibly) frightened
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

I see that I mentioned Takemiryu taking his trident and sai in hand before waiting for Auldegrund. I meant for him to take the magical silver dagger we found earlier in hand instead. It's no big deal if it's too late to fix this; I'll just have to burn an action to switch weapons if Takemiryu ever gets close enough to Auldegrund to use it.

Takemiryu replies to Auldegrund. "It was entirely our pleasure. We had little else to do after ransacking your operation here anyway, and we were eager to provide our new employer with a warm welcome."

And without another word, he throws his trident twice in quick succession at the figure in the doorway.

Action 1 (◆): Hunt Prey vs Auldegrund

Action 2 (◆): Strike (+1 Sai) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

Action 3 (◆): Strike (+1 Sai) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Auldegrund (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 3 ⇒ (4) + 11 - 3 = 12
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 piercing damage

Takemiryu takes his position at the end of the table so that he is the first thing that Auldegrund sees when he comes through the door. He has his trident in one hand and his Sai in the other. "I'm ready."

On the road, so can’t do much. I see talk of moving the snares but they cannot be moved once set. A snare is built within a single 5-foot square. Once constructed, it can’t be moved without destroying (and often triggering) the snare. Takemiryu has no more prepared snares.

Tomorrow (Saturday) morning (Central European Time: UTC+1) I will be leaving Spain and driving to Italy where I will be living for the next several months. If all goes according to plan, the trip should take about 3 days, with me getting there sometime on Monday evening. I will not be totally incommunicado during this time and will try to post at least once a day. But if you find that I am not as responsive as usual, you will at least know why.

Takemiryu looks about at the others and shrugs. "Sure, why not. I'll take the antidote. You never know what Auldegrund has up his sleeve, though if what we've already seen here is anything to go by, I'm betting he's more fiery than poisony."

<Glug, glug, glug> "Ahhh. That hit the spot."

Takemiryu ponders the situation. "Having sent his hunters in first, Auldegrund is likely to be alone now, so it's four against one. Perhaps it might be best to take him in a more open space like this room, or the larger cavern back there, where we won't get in each other's way. We can also spread out so he can't concentrate his attacks and is easier to flank." He looks down at his still intact snares. "Maybe his eyes won't be as good as those of his hunters and he'll step into one of these too."

After the last cultist goes down, Takemiryu enters the main room and wipes off his trident on the fur of one of the stuffed bears. "That went rather well I thought. If Zerryd had managed to avoid that magical arrow we would've had a clean sweep. Let's have a look at that wound, though I'm not sure how long we have before Auldegrund shows up. I assume he isn't far behind this lot."

After a quick look at the wound, he steps back and pats his pockets. "I doubt we have time to treat that properly. Here!" Takemiryu pulls out one of the the healing potions they'd found in the back room and hands it to Zerryd. "It's probably best if you drink this so we don't waste time."

Takemiryu fails to demoralize yellow, but delivers a decent hit to red.

I'm a smidge confused. Did you mean 'yellow' instead of 'red'? Because based on this post, and the fact that red was off the map, I had Takemiryu targetting yellow. Whoops, I just checked my last post and I did forget to change 'Red' to 'Yellow' on the Strike after copy-pasting, so perhaps that is the source of the confusion. Sorry about that.

Takemiryu watches as the cultist he'd just attacked makes a run for it rather than face him in combat. "How disappointing. Not quite the brave hunters we'd been led to believe." When the other cultist shoots at him, the kitsune is ready and moves his head slightly to let the arrow fly harmlessly past him. "Now that's more like it. Hold on! Where are you going? The dance has only just begun." He chases after the fleeing cultists. With Zerryd in the way, he stops at the door. It is enough; he can clearly see both cultists and launches his trident at them.

If Yellow still stands, then he'll target Yellow. Once Yellow goes down, he'll switch to Green.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

Action 2: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Yellow/Green.
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 piercing damage

Action 3: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) and MAP1 vs Yellow/Green.
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (16) + 11 - 5 = 22
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 piercing damage

With the first cultist down, Takemiryu can barely see the next one down the hallway for a clean shot. The next cultist is also a little further away than he would like (read: greater cover and 2nd range increments are hard to hit with). He shrugs and sprinting past his friends, plunges into the hallway screaming like a banshee to deal with the miscreant more directly.

Action (◇): Delay: Until end of Jaithe's turn.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

Action 2 (◆): Demoralize with Intimidating Glare vs Yellow
Intimidation (Demoralize): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 vs Yellow Will DC

Action 3: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Red.
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 piercing damage

It's beginning to look like a conga line in here.

Takemiryu waits with trident at the ready for the hunters to come through the door. As soon as the door opens and the first is about to enter, he takes a deep breath and prepares an almighty roar to shake the man in his boots...

Action 1 (◆): Demoralize with Intimidating Glare vs Red
Intimidation (Demoralize): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9 vs Red Will DC

...but all that comes out is a high-pitched squeek, followed by a coughing fit as the ranger tries to dislodge his own tongue from his throat. Still coughing slightly, he tries to cover his embarrasement by throwing his trident repeatedly at the hunter .

Action 2: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Red.
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 piercing damage

Action 3: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) and MAP1 vs Red.
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (14) + 11 - 5 = 20
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

I've added my PC Mandoo's info to the sign-in sheet. Here is Mandoo's (level 2) Earn Income roll:

Warfare Lore (Earn Income) vs DC 14: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

According to this table that's a success good for 4sp.

When Takemiryu hears one of the hunters mention the now wide open peep hole, Takemiryu whispers, "Uh oh. I forgot they can see in here now. We better leave this room and follow Zerryd so they don't know exactly where we are. Probably best not to split up anyway." And without waiting for any replies, he heads out the door after Zerryd.

Perhaps now would be a good time to position our tokens. I've moved Takemiryu into position in the bear-trap area at the end of the hallway.

Hearing the entrance of the hunting party, Takemiryu moves to the still intact southern peephole and looks out into the main hall. He whispers "Looks like my snares were not as welcoming as I'd hoped. There are three of them. I don't think Auldegrund is among them. Should we engage them in the main hall or try to find a more advantageous position from which to attack?" He pauses as he goes over the map of the lodge in his mind. "We may do better if we try to catch them in the short hallway leading from the main hall to the room with the bear trap. Too bad we didn't lock some of those doors behind us to slow them down."

Mental Note: Snares are useless; especially true when your prey rolls nat-20s for Perception.

When Takemiryu hears that his new ring protects him a little against fire, he does a quick jig of excitement. "How perfect is that? Fire's my thing after all." he flicks his center tail and a small ball of fire shoots out from it and flies harmlessly out the door and into the arena. "Cool eh? Not always. Being the owner of a perpetually smoldering tail has its blistery downside. I'm hoping this ring will help with that." He admires the ring with a newfound excitement.

When Kellsti says that the flasks are healing potions of some sort, Takemiryu says, "good enough for me," and pockets one of them.

Takemiryu enters the room and makes straight for the key on the desk. He picks it up. "Finally got you, you elusive key, you." When Zerryd comes over and wants to have a look, Takemiryu scoffs. "I didn't think you had any use for such things. No self-respecting rogue would use a key if I recall correctly." But he's clearly joking and gladly hands the key over to the Strix.

Ignoring the boring books and scrolls, he catches sight of the fancy ring. "Oooo. I like the look of this." He slips it on his finger and examines it more closely. "It matches my fur perfectly." Pleased with his new bauble, a thought strikes him. He frowns. "I hope it isn't cursed or something; Auldegrund wouldn't keep cursed items lying around the place, would he?"

The curious kitsune then stands aside to let Zerryd work the lock on the desk, and instead makes a circuit of the room. He scrunches his nose at the mounted heads. "There by the grace of the gods go we, eh?" he mumbles to himself. Coming around to the ice cabinet, he gives each drawer a tug to see if they will open for him. If any do, he will examine their contents closely before continuing his search of the room.

Activity: Search (Perception +8) - SECRET

Takemiryu watches as Zerryd tries to pick the lock. "I hate to bring this up yet again, my friend, but perhaps you could try the key we found? Actually, now that I think about it, there's a key on the desk in the office. Nearly cost me my soul if I remember correctly. Maybe it's the one that lets us out the front door."

If all that is basically true, let's let the Curious Kitsune choose. :)

Aaaaand... the Curious Kitsune chooses the nearest door instead.

"Hold up a moment while I tend to this stinger wound." He pulls out his herbs and berry extracts and gets to work.

Activity: Treat Wounds (Natural Medicine) on Takemiryu vs DC 15
Nature (Treat Wounds) vs DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Treat Wounds Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (7, 5) = 12 hit points healed

Takemiryu looks around the cavern. "Seems like we've pretty much explored this place. Only the devil office to ransack before we head back to the main hall to see where the other doors lead."

He heads over to the door leading into the office. He gives it a good looking over but doesn't touch it. "Uh, Zerryd? I believe this is more your line of work."

The ranger takes his new silver dagger in hand, just in case.

Takemiryu turns the dagger left and right to examine the runes and the carvings on the handle.

Activity: Identify Magic (Arcana +0) - SECRET

Does anyone have decent Arcana to do an Identify Magic on this thing?

"If nothing else, the silver might prove useful if we run into any more devils."

He tucks it into his belt next to the Sai for easy access.

Noticing the shiny thing at the end of the tunnel, Takemiryu says, "What's that I see down there? Hold on. I'll go find out."

Action: Change Shape - Transform into Tiny fox Pest Form

He moves stealthily into the crawlspace with his eyes peeled for any more imps. When he gets to the shiny thing, he transforms back into his humanoid form and examines it. If it's portable, he stows it and turns back into his fox form to get out of the tunnel before once again turning back to his human form and showing whatever he found to the others.

Action: Change Shape - Transform back into normal form

In Pest Form, Takemiryu has an AC of 19 (=15+level), which means that the imp's strike was barely not a crit. He also has Weakness 5 to physical damage. So by my calculations, the bottom line is that Takemiryu took 8 (=1+5+2) hit points of damage from the imp's attack

The little fox emits a high-pitched wail as the imp's sting hits home. He feels the effects of the stinger's poison...

Fortitude Save vs DC 16: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

...but apparently not enough of it got into his system to affect him.

Takemiryu moves away from the imp to put more space between them.

In Pest Form, Takemiryu has a speed of 10 feet, which given that this is difficult terrain means he can step one square.

Action 1 (◆): Step

He then decides that perhaps being a small defenseless animal isn't the best way to deal with this problem, so he transforms back into his humanoid form.

Action 2 (◆): Change Shape - Transform back into normal form

Quickly taking the trident in hand, he flings it at the nasty little creature that attacked him.

Action 3 (◆): Quick Draw
- Action: Interact - Take +1 Returning Trident in hand
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Red Imp.
Trident Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28
Trident Ranged Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 piercing damage

Takemiryu looks at the crawlspace and isn't concerned. "Hold on a jiffy. I'll just have a quick look." As before, his form seems to twist in on itself as he shrinks in size until only a tiny fox remains.

Action: Change Shape - Transform into Tiny fox Pest Form

He moves stealthily into the crawlspace with his eyes peeled for any potential enemies.

Action: Sneak with Pest Form (Stealth +10) - SECRET

In Pest Form, Takemiryu's Acrobatics and Stealth modifiers are +10, and he has Low-light vision and imprecise scent 30 feet.

Takemiryu looks at the elevator and decides that using such a contraption is far more likely to kill him than taking fate into his own hands. "I believe I can handle this without assistance" (to paraphrase Custer at Little Bighorn). He proceeds to make the attempt unaided.

Athletics (Climb): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

I'll assume that's good enough.

He clambers up the slope without apparent difficulty. He looks back down at his pennate companion. "Come on up, Zerryd; it's not that hard. Won't those wings of yours save you if you fall?"

He leaves the Stirx to get himself out while he goes over to investigate the little cave passage he sees leading off from the main cavern. "I wonder what's in here?"

Just so we are keeping track...that is two encounters that our curious Kitsune started by going into places alone. ;P[/ooc]

He he he. Curious Kitsune. I like the sound of that.

Takemiryu brushes the stone powder of the shattered statues from his fur. "This place is full of little surprises. Now let's go see what this cage is all about." And off he goes to examine the cage-like construction he saw earlier.

Looks like the lions are getting all the bad attack rolls and we're getting all the good ones... better than the alternative I suppose.

Seeing little reason to hold back, Takemiryu switches to hunting the remaining animated lion statue and then unleashes a flurry of attacks at it.

Action 1 (◆): Hunt Prey vs Green Lion

Action 2 (◆): Twin Takedown
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Green Lion (prey).
- Action: Strike (+1 Sai) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Green Lion (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 piercing damage
Sai Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 11 - 2 = 17
Sai Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 piercing damage

Action 3: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP2 vs Green Lion (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 6 ⇒ (2) + 11 - 6 = 7
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

Now I just have to work on improving my damage rolls.

"Uh oh! Lion statues ahead and they don't look friendly." He focuses his attention on the nearest of the animated statues, then throws his trident at it and retreats to a more defensible position.

Action 1 (◆): Hunt Prey vs Red Lion

Action 2 (◆): Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Red Lion.
Trident Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Trident Ranged Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage

Action 3 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

Early tomorrow PST (UTC-8) I will be catching the first of several flights that will take me from San Diego back to Spain (UTC+1). All told I will be some 24 hours either in the air or stuck in airports... and that assumes that everything goes according to plan. If flights get cancelled/delayed/rescheduled etc., then it could take me 2 or more days to get back. I will not be completely incommunicado during this time and may well be able to post, but I thought I'd warn you so that if you do not hear from me you'll have some idea of what's going on. Once back in Spain my posting hours will change accordingly and my overlap time with North America will tend to be from early morning through mid-afternoon.

Takemiryu's eyes light up when he sees the Specialist Snare Kit. "Ooo, how Nice. I've been saving up for one of these." Knowing that it is of little use to the others, he takes it and drops it into his backpack. "You better take possession of those scrolls Kellsti. I'm pretty sure none of us can use them anyway. We'll consider all this as compensation for the truly terrible welcome we've received so far."

The ranger takes a closer look at the painting...

Crafting vs DC 20: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

...but art and religious iconography are not his forte, though there is something about the work that sends shivers down his spine.

He too then looks down into the pit. "Looks more like a pen than an arena. Look over there; isn't that a cage? Let's go have a closer look." He then sheathes his weapons, scrambles down the side of the pit, and takes them back in hand at the bottom.

Athletics (Climb): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

By my count we should all be at full health and ready to go.

Takemiryu points to the hole in the eastern wall and muses. "Perhaps now that the devil has been banished I should have another look in that back room? There's a door leading out the other side and a desk with a key and other material on it. Looks like it could be Auldegrund's inner sanctum from which he keeps an eye on the goings-on in the main room." No sooner does he say this that a shiver runs through him. The thought of being trapped in that room alone with whatever other dangers it might hold suddenly held little appeal to him. "Then again, perhaps not. I suspect that Zerryd's door there probably leads to it eventually, so with a little patience we'll get there in good order."

As they prepare to head through the NE door, Takemiryu makes a snapping noise with his tails. He'd just remembered what Dorlivin had said about Auldegrund coming through the locked main door upon his return. "Hold on fellows. Before we leave this room, let me set a few small surprises to welcome Auldegrund and his friends when they come in later."

Takemiryu has his usual 3 Biting Snares and one Stalker Bane Snare that he crafts during his morning preparations.

The ranger starts pulling out the snares he'd prepared that morning and sets them out in the room, hiding them as best he can. "Please note where I've placed these snares. It would not do for one of us to accidently step onto them, especially those..." He points out the locations of the Biting Snares. Indicating the Stalker Bane Snare snare he placed near the NE door, he says, "That one is fairly harmless, but it makes a different sound when triggered. It should let us know when Auldegrund is about to head into the back area after us."

I have marked the Biting Snare squares with green donuts and the Stalker Bane Snare with a red donut. A simple Leap action should allow us to clear these squares without triggering them. Unless otherwise specified, please assume that this happens automatically if we find ourselves back in this room.

Takemiryu stands after laying down the last snare. "Very well. My preparations are complete. Let's proceed." He grips his Trident in one hand and the Sai in the other before heading through the NE door.

We haven't specified a marching order. I suggest the following (from front to back): Zerryd (Avoid Notice with Trap Finder), Takemiryu (Scout), Jaithe (Avoid Notice/Repeat a Spell [Shield]), Kellsti (Search).

Takemiryu pulls out his herbs and berry extracts and gets to work on Kellsti. He puts together a poultice and applies it to the kobold's wound.

Activity: Treat Wounds (Natural Medicine) on Kellsti vs DC 15
Nature (Treat Wounds) vs DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Treat Wounds Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (5, 8) = 13 hit points healed

I assume that despite the persistent bleeding having ended, that healing magic still requires a DC 21 counteract to affect Zerryd's wound and that Kellsti's spells and Healing Potions fall into that category. Fortunately, Takemiryu's Natural Medicine is not magical.

Now that the bleeding has stopped, Takemiryu reclaims his belt and throws together another poultice that he applies to Zerryd's wound.

Activity: Treat Wounds (Natural Medicine) on Zerryd vs DC 15
Nature (Treat Wounds) vs DC 15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Treat Wounds Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (6, 5) = 11 hit points healed

That's a crit, so double the healing. That took 20 minutes total. If it takes Auldegrund more than another hour to arrive, Takemiryu can get in one more round of Treat Wounds before he shows up.

Takemiryu lets out a breath of relief when he sees Zerryd banish the devil, but his mood quickly darkens when he watches the Strix bleeding uncontrollably from the fiend's slashing attack to his leg. He rushes to Zerryd's side and pulls off his belt as he watches Kellsti try to staunch the bleeding.

According to the Persistent Damage Rules, only one attempt at assisted recovery is permitted per round, so Takemiryu will wait until the next round to make his attempt to assist the recovery.

Takemiryu watches to see if Kellsti's efforts bear any fruit. If the bleeding persists, The kitsune moves in and uses the belt as a tourniquet to cut off circulation to the wound and give it a chance to clot.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Takemiryu and Kellsti may act before the devil. I reset his position and Dorlivin's. I cannot remember where Zerryd was though.

I returned Zerryd, Jaithe and Kellsti to their original locations when the devil teleported in. I may be off a square or so, so tweak as needed.

My turn remains unchanged from the one I posted, though now I don't have to worry about AoO. Phew!

I'm a little confused about turn sequencing (see discussion post), but I'll post now assuming that gets cleared up.

Takemiryu blanches when the devil teleports into the main room. He looks over at the 8 inch opening he'd just gone through twice. He considers transforming back into his fox form and making a run for it that way, but decides against it. "Without me the rest of them are doomed. Plus I don't think I can get far enough away from here to avoid the same fate." "Okay friends, let's take this fiend down." Gulp!

The ranger quickly moves into a better position from which to attack and snatching up his trident throws it at the devil while simultaneously freeing the sai from his belt.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (25 feet)

He takes a path that avoids entering the 10' range of the devil (if at all possible)

Action 2 (◆): Quick Draw
- Action: Interact - Take +1 Returning Trident in hand
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) vs Devil.
Trident Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Trident Ranged Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 piercing damage

Action 3 (◆): Interact - Take +1 Sai in hand

I'm a little confused. It looks like the devil just got his full round 2 turn, but Takemiryu and Kellsti didn't get their round 2 turns first, which they should have since based on this post, it looks like they come before the devil in the initiative sequence.

Here is a summary of round 1:

Takemiryu - move back to main room
Kellsti - join rest of group
Devil - teleport into main room
Dorlivin - move & attack
(↺) Devil - AoO on Dorlivin
Jaithe - telekinetic projectile
Zerryd - recall knowledge

Now we should be starting round 2, but the devil appears to have gotten a full turn in before Takemiryu or Kellsti. I believe that Takemiryu and Kellsti should have gotten their turns in first in round 2 with the devil having expended his AoO.

Summary of round 2:

Takemiryu - ???
Kellsti - ???
Devil - kills Dorlivin, move and attack Kellsti
Jaithe - sanctuary on Kellsti
(↺) Devil - ???
Zerryd - ???

Or... maybe I've messed up somewhere.

I'd forgotten about Dorlivin. I guess it's a good thing Takemiryu brought the devil into the main hall so we could use the dwarf as a meat (uh, snow) shield for a couple of rounds.

I really hope the GM stops rolling like he has been (17, 20, 20) or we're not going to last long. Also, note the +15 to hit with the Glaive; it means that it only has to roll a 6 to hit Takemiryu and Zerryd (75% chance), and a 16 for a crit (25%); it's even worse than that for Jaithe and Kellsti.

Can we tell how much resistance the devil had to Dorlivin's hammer attack?

Zerryd recalls that it is Barbazu devil. Immune to fire. Resistant to physical damage, except silver, and poison. Weak to good.

This is a little ambiguously worded. Is the devil resistant to poison damage or is it (like silver) an exception to the physical resistance?

Level 4 characters like us?

Sort of. I miscounted. Turns out there are only 5 of us; levels: 3, 3, 4, 5, 5. The two level 5s are the frontliners. One went to dying, the other one went down to single digits. The level 3 medic brought back the dying frontliner but paid a high price and immediately went to dying on the remaining devil's next turn.

My Investigator PC also ran into one of these guys about a year ago which almost resulted in a TPK; only his running around applying Battle Medicine to the fallen kept it from turning out that way.

As a player, I cannot un-remember what I know about this creature, but except for telling you he's tough, I won't spoil it any further. Now let's go kick some fiendish butt!

Thank the gods for high initiative rolls.

Takemiryu freezes momentarily as the devil appears out of nowhere. "Oh for fox sake! This is bad. Really, really bad." Unfortunately, in his current tiny animal form, he's a sitting duck, uh... fox.

The tiny fox takes two heart beats to give the devil an expert hunter's examination before quickly turning tail and hopping back through the hole. No sooner do his little paws hit the ground that he returns to his normal form.

Action 1 (◆): Hunt Prey vs Devil

Action 2 (◆): Stride (10 feet)
Acrobatics (Squeeze): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Action 3 (◆): Change Shape - Transform back into normal form

He looks visibly shaken by the whole ordeal. "Turns out that wasn't such a good idea. We now have a devil to deal with in the other room, though I suspect it won't stay put there for very long. We best prepare ourselves to face it."

My sorcerer PC (Jayma) and her colleagues in a different PbP adventure just took down two of these guys, but not before three of the six members of the team took hits, with two of them going to dying. As tough as it was to kill the devils, that turned out to be the easy part. We then spent the next several rounds desperately trying to keep all three from going to dying 4, which was not. at. all. easy. We managed it barely, and with some generous leniency from the GM.

TL;DR: I have a bad feeling about this.

Takemiryu rolls his eyes at Zerryd's antics with the locks. "Use the keys already. We don't have all night."

Looking through the now larger opening, Takemiryu sees a room with what looks like a summoning circle, a door leading out, and a desk with a heavy metal key on it. He relays what he sees to his companions. Takemiryu then considers the 8 inch opening and the key on the desk inside.

Does Takemiryu believe that he can move/squeeze through the 8 inch opening in his Tiny fox Pest Form? Does he believe that he would be able to retrieve the key from the desk and return with it through the opening? The following assumes he does. Ignore if not the case.

"The key I see on the desk may be useful. Maybe it opens the door that Zerryd couldn't unlock. Hold on a minute; I'll go get it."

Action: Change Shape - Transform into Tiny fox Pest Form

Those watching, notice Takemiryu's form begin to contort and shift. His clothing and all his equipment is slowly absorbed into his body as it shrinks in size until only a tiny fox remains. He then squeezes through the opening and darts across the room to the desk. Putting his head through the loop holding the key, he returns to the hole and squeezes back through.

In Pest Form, Takemiryu has an Acrobatics modifier of +10 and an Athletics modifier of -4. Using the Bulk Limits rules, that suggests that while in Pest Form, the fox's bulk limit is (5-4)=1 bulk without penalty and up to (10-4)=6 bulk encumbered, so unless this key is unusually large or heavy, he should be able to carry it.

Action: Squeeze - Squeeze into the back room
Acrobatics (Squeeze): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

Action: Squeeze - Squeeze back into the main room
Acrobatics (Squeeze): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Takemiryu moves his arm around to exercise his shoulder. "Very good, Kellsti. It's as good as new."

Finding the peep holes hidden in the wolf heads, he says, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? Looks like there's something on the other side of this wall." He tries looking through the peep holes into the adjoining room. He then pulls on the wolf heads to see if they will come free and give him better access to the holes.

Seeing that Zerryd managed to disable the trap, he says, "Nice work Zerryd, now can you get it unlocked as well? How about those keys we found on the fake Auldegrund? Maybe they opens these doors."

Takemiryu pokes at the pile of snow next to him with the tip of his trident. "A simulacrum, you say? Most impressive indeed." He then looks up at Dorlivin. "Do you have any idea of how long we have before the real Auldegrund gets back and what the makeup of his hunting party might be? We will need to search this place thoroughly and then prepare for his return."

Indicating the door they entered, he says, "Looks like we won't be getting out of here that way until morning, but I'm in no hurry to leave. I suspect that this is not the first time this Auldegrund fellow has arranged for a special hunt, but we should definitely make sure it's the last."

When Kellsti offers to do some healing, Takemiryu takes her up on the offer. "Thank you Kellsti. Vorlindi may just have been a simulacrum, but his hammer worked just like a real one." He shows the cleric the damaged area of his shoulder. While the cleric ministers to his wound, Takemiryu continues. "When Auldegrund and the hunting party returns, what entrance are they likely to use to enter the lodge? Is it the entrance we came through or is there a back door to this place they'll use?" The ranger is hoping to use his snares to provide a special welcome for Auldegrund and his friends.

I'm a little confused about this "northwestern" door mentioned in the description. There are several doors in this room, but the one corner that specifically does not have a door is the northwestern corner. Did you mean the northeastern corner door (the one that Dorlivin is standing in front of) or is it one of the other ones?

Takemiryu points to the door Dorlivin indicated was trapped. "That one is magically trapped, is it?" He turns to Zerryd. "That sounds like it's right up your alley, Zerryd, no?" He points to the three remaining doors in the room and asks Dorlivin, "Where do those other doors lead?"

Since there is no kitchen in this room, I'm assuming that the food and drink was brought out of one of the side rooms. Which door was used for this purpose?

Once patched up by Kellsti, Takemiryu will do a careful circuit of the room looking for anything unusual or out-of-place.

I'll switch Takemiryu's exploration mode to Search (Perception +8)

I just realized that. Sorry, I missed the part where he was taking Auldegrund's blows. I'll heal him on my next turn.

Apologies for that.

The GM still hasn't processed your post. Perhaps he will let you change the target of your spell before he does so.

Takemiryu manages to avoid most of the hammer blows from Vorlindi, but one unfortunately slips past his defenses and clips him on the shoulder. "Ugh! Nice one. Now it's my turn. Prepare to die!" He glares menacingly at the dwarf before launching his attacks.

Action 1 (◆): Demoralize vs Vorlindi
Intimidation (Demoralize): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 vs Vorlindi Will DC

Action 2 (◆): Twin Takedown
- Action: Strike (+1 Returning Trident) with Hunter's Edge Flurry vs Vorlindi (prey).
- Action: Strike (+1 Sai) with Hunter's Edge Flurry and MAP1 vs Vorlindi (prey).
Trident Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
Trident Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 piercing damage
Sai Attack: 1d20 + 11 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 11 - 2 = 24
Sai Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 piercing damage

Assuming Vorlindi goes down, then ...

Action 3 (◆): Hunt Prey vs Auldegrund (if still standing) or Dorlivin

If Vorlindi is still standing, then do the following instead:

Seeing Jaithe beating on their unexpected new ally, Takemiryu echoes Zerryd's sentiment. "Uh, Jaithe? It would probably best to concentrate on attacking our proven enemy rather than our unlikely new friend. We may need his help later."