Iskandria: Land of a Thousand Ziggurats

[Hammurabi]

Spinning his mighty halabard above his head in a wide arc, Hammurabi sends it crashing into the side of the foul undead occupying "e 6" "Foul beast of the Abyss mighty coutal will send you to rest" Hammurabi is fearful of casting a spell due to his unregistered status, not for what may become of him, but for putting his new commrades at risk....

Attack, 18; damage 12.

[Bedu the Barber]

Bedu looks in horror at the disappearing Sister and missing Tanish.

"We need our best spells and blows, or this Cerulean will take us in for torture. There is no going back now. Fight hard or all face capture."

DM question could Tanish have gone for help, a patrol or watch station nearby. If so how long do we have before more arrive?

[DM Iskandria]

Bedu the Barber wrote:

DM question could Tanish have gone for help, a patrol or watch station nearby. If so how long do we have before more arrive?

Knowledge (local) DC 10:

Spoiler:

A Crimson Legion post isn't *too* close by, as far as you know. If Tanish went to get reinforcements, you should have at least a few minutes before they arrive.

Sense Motive DC 20:

Spoiler:

It's probably unlikely Tanish went for help. There's already a Cerulean Sister here with Crimson Legionnaires, acting in an apparently official capacity, although they are not usually accompanied by animated undead on the streets. If reinforcements were easily available, they would probably already have them with them. In other words, what you see is *probably* what you get.

[Skittle Beck]

Skittle lets out what sounds like a growl, and quickly tries to move around the skeleton Indo struck down and toward the wall to get at the hobgoblin archers, while avoiding the reach of the nearest zombie.

(Acrobatics1d20=16+7=23, Climb 1d20=1+7=8)

[Bedu the Barber]

Bedu will wait for the first few actions (including the skellies) to be resolved before doing his actions, DM.

[Lotus]

Same for Lotus.

[Bedu the Barber]

Knowledge (local)=27, Sense Motive=14

Bedu still keeps half an eye and ear out for more bad luck arriving. The Fates have not been kind to us this day.

[DM Iskandria]

Round 3 (in progress):
The skeletal wolf bites Indo again (5 pts of damage), while the skeleton next to him slashes the tribesman with its scimitar. (4 pts of damage) The other skeleton jumps down off the crates, but Hammurabi brings his glaive crashing into it, shattering it in a shower of bone fragments. Skittle scrambles on top of the low roof at the side of the alley, dodging past the zombie to reach the Crimson Legionnaire on the other side.

Bedu's up, followed by the rest of the bad guys, then the rest of the party.
Updated map

[Bedu the Barber]

Bedu nips past Lotus and keeps away from Indo's dangerous skeleton attacker by hiding among the barrels (B5). Then he calls on the healing power of his magic to help Indo.

Healing touch of the barber=9pts

"I shall have to draw my sword and fight soon."

Five rounds of bardic inspiration including this one.

[DM Iskandria]

Round 3 (continued):
Bedu moves forward and lays a healing hand on Indo. As Skittle runs towards them, two of the Crimson Legionnaires fire their crossbows at the gnome. The first one misses, but the second bolt slams into Skittle's neck, followed by a gout of blood. (Critical, 7 pts of dmg) The third Legionnaire steps back and fires his crossbow as well, but the close proximity throws off his aim and he misses. He drops his crossbow and draws a flail.

One of the zombies turns to face Skittle, clubbing the gnome from behind. (4 pts of damage) The second zombie swings wildly at Indo and misses.

Lotus, you're up! Updated map

[Skittle Beck]

DM Iskandria wrote:

Round 3 (continued):

Bedu moves forward and lays a healing hand on Indo. As Skittle runs towards them, two of the Crimson Legionnaires fire their crossbows at the gnome. The first one misses, but the second bolt slams into Skittle's neck, followed by a gout of blood. (Critical, 7 pts of dmg) The third Legionnaire steps back and fires his crossbow as well, but the close proximity throws off his aim and he misses. He drops his crossbow and draws a flail.

One of the zombies turns to face Skittle, clubbing the gnome from behind. (4 pts of damage) The second zombie swings wildly at Indo and misses.

Lotus, you're up! Updated map

Crap, I thought I finished my move another square down the alley, out of reach of the zombie, and that I would have gotten my attack in before the hobgobs, no? And a critical? Damn. I've been trying to play Skittle a little reckless, but ouch, I didn't mean for him to get clobbered that bad.

[Steven T. Helt]

After this fight, we might get close to a level. That'll help a lot.

We just have to find the Sister and deal with her.

[DM Iskandria]

Skittle Beck wrote:

Crap, I thought I finished my move another square down the alley, out of reach of the zombie, and that I would have gotten my attack in before the hobgobs, no? And a critical? Damn. I've been trying to play Skittle a little reckless, but ouch, I didn't mean for him to get clobbered that bad.

That's one of the reasons I put grid numbers on this map. :) If you want to end up in a particular square, give me the grid coordinates (and make sure you have the movement to get there!). In Skittle's case, it took a move action to climb on the "roof", then move to the end next to the hobs.

[Lotus]

Drop crossbow, draw shortsword. Move to E6 to set up flank with Indo.

Seeing the big man assaulted from multiple sides, Lotus drops her crossbow to the ground and draws out her masterwork shortsword. Let's see how fine an edge this blade really has. She then moves to the opposite side of the nearest skeleton fighting Indo.

Can Skeletons (undead) be sneak attack damaged in Beta? I'm too lazy to look it up :-)
Dodge on the Zombie in D7

[French Wolf]

There is a sidebar that says it works on most things. They must have a weak spot rather than the rogue striking for vital organs, i.e. elementals, oozes and ghosts are immune.

[Skittle Beck]

DM Iskandria wrote:

Skittle Beck wrote:

Crap, I thought I finished my move another square down the alley, out of reach of the zombie, and that I would have gotten my attack in before the hobgobs, no? And a critical? Damn. I've been trying to play Skittle a little reckless, but ouch, I didn't mean for him to get clobbered that bad.

That's one of the reasons I put grid numbers on this map. :) If you want to end up in a particular square, give me the grid coordinates (and make sure you have the movement to get there!). In Skittle's case, it took a move action to climb on the "roof", then move to the end next to the hobs.

Ah, I wasn't thinking of the climb as a separate move action. My bad.

Skittle, badly wounded and bleeding profusely, reverses direction and drops back down off the northside of the 'roof' and will use his attack against the zombie.

Sneak attack under PF rules works against anything with a discernible anatomy. So, most undead are fair game, oozes and gel cubes, and ethereal undead such as ghosts, etc., are not. At least, that's my understanding.

[DM Iskandria]

Lotus wrote:

Drop crossbow, draw shortsword. Move to E6 to set up flank with Indo.

Seeing the big man assaulted from multiple sides, Lotus drops her crossbow to the ground and draws out her masterwork shortsword. Let's see how fine an edge this blade really has. She then moves to the opposite side of the nearest skeleton fighting Indo.

Can Skeletons (undead) be sneak attack damaged in Beta? I'm too lazy to look it up :-)
Dodge on the Zombie in D7

I'll need an Acrobatics roll to get past the skeleton at D6. And are you going to attack this round?

And as the others said, sneak attacks should work against most undead, at least in Beta.

[DM Iskandria]

Skittle Beck wrote:

DM Iskandria wrote:

Skittle Beck wrote:

Crap, I thought I finished my move another square down the alley, out of reach of the zombie, and that I would have gotten my attack in before the hobgobs, no? And a critical? Damn. I've been trying to play Skittle a little reckless, but ouch, I didn't mean for him to get clobbered that bad.

That's one of the reasons I put grid numbers on this map. :) If you want to end up in a particular square, give me the grid coordinates (and make sure you have the movement to get there!). In Skittle's case, it took a move action to climb on the "roof", then move to the end next to the hobs.

Ah, I wasn't thinking of the climb as a separate move action. My bad.

Skittle, badly wounded and bleeding profusely, reverses direction and drops back down off the northside of the 'roof' and will use his attack against the zombie.

Sorry, I guess I still wasn't clear. It took two move actions to get to A8 (climbing is at quarter speed, so it took one move action to climb up 5 feet to the top of the roof, plus another move action to get to there. I thought you understood that, since you didn't include an attack roll in your last post.

So Skittle can take the above action next round, but you'll need to make an Acrobatics roll to get past the zombie without provoking an AoO. On the plus side, you'll get to go before the zombies and Legionnaires!

[DM Iskandria]

Round 3 (even more continued):
Lotus dodges past the skeletons, climbing atop the crates to flank them with Indo.

"I shall show these abominations the light!" Liet vows. "Hang on just a little longer, Skittle," he tells the gnome. "I'll get to you as soon as I can." Liet channels another burst of positive energy. (4 pts of healing) The skeletons and zombies stand firm as the energy washes over them, but the wolf skeleton crumbles to dust. Liet runs up behind Skittle's roof, stopping just before he reaches the zombie.

Indo, you're up!

[Skittle Beck]

DM Iskandria wrote:

So Skittle can take the above action next round, but you'll need to make an Acrobatics roll to get past the zombie without provoking an AoO. On the plus side, you'll get to go before the zombies and Legionnaires!

acrobatics (1d20=2+7=9)

[Indo Ninzarbi]

Lotus, if you have a BAB of +1 or better, you could attack that skeleton you're flanking. Draw the weapon during your move. I think you'd need acrobatics to get past him without an AoO,

Indo looks past the zombie before him, frantically trying to make out footprints or otherwise divine the Sister's location. Not really, though. He's fighting this turn. : )

Almost as an afterthought, he brings his sword down on the zombie next to him. If it falls, he sidesteps into its square.

Must...get...to...Sister... (1d20+6=24, 1d8+4=10)

[Lotus]

Rob wrote:

I'll need an Acrobatics roll to get past the skeleton at D6. And are you going to attack this round?

And as the others said, sneak attacks should work against most undead, at least in Beta.

Acrobatics +9 (+5 (2 ranks), +4 (dex)) (1d20+9=22)

If I can make an attack, then of course I will.

MW Short Sword Melee Attack +9 (MW +1, BAB +1, Dex +4, Inspire Courage +1, Flanking +2) / Damage 1d6+2 (Inspire Courage +1) / Critical 19-20/×2 / Piercing / 1d6 sneak attack (1d20+9=26, 1d6+3=7, 1d6=3)

[Lotus]

I'll be away until Sunday evening, so I'll post with some assumptions.
I'm assuming the skeleton and the zombie are dead once it's Lotus' turn.

Having brought down the skeleton and with Indo felling the zombie, she has an open route towards the hobgoblin in front of her. She moves forward with her sword at the ready and slashes down trying to find a weak spot. Her excitement however is short-lived as she fumbles the attack.

MW Short Sword Melee Attack +7 (MW +1, BAB +1, Dex +4, Inspire Courage +1) / Damage 1d6+2 (Inspire Courage +1) / Critical 19-20/×2 / Piercing (1d20+7=8, 1d6+3=4)

[DM Iskandria]

Round 3 (final):
As she climbs atop the crates, Lotus fells the final skeleton with a well-placed blow from her shortsword. Indo tries to see past the zombies, bringing his blade down, but the shambling thing still stands. Which one did you attack - B7 or D7?

From the darkness in the rear of the alley, you hear a disembodied voice: "The fat dwarf has the amulet! I don't care how, but get it for me!"

End of round 3. Hammurabi, Skittle, and Bedu go first. (Skittle, your move off the roof will happen this round, if you still want to take that action).
Updated map

[Bedu the Barber]

"Fat!" splutters Bedu. He pockets the amulet.

What do you want to do about NPCing Hammarubi? Maybe he should stick to the glaive since Larcifer hasn't given us permission to go public on his spell casting. If so can you roll for him this time. My last attempt was rubbish.

The pleasantly plump dwarf steps up next to Liet, drawing his scimitar as he goes and attacking the zombie's legs

Scimitar attack=8, damage=7

[Skittle Beck]

Skittle moves off the roof, next to Liet, and attacks the zombie.

[Steven T. Helt]

I attacked the zombie in 7-D. Sorry.

[DM Iskandria]

Round 4 (in progress):
Hammurabi steps forward and cuts down one of the zombies (7D) with his glaive. Liet steps back as Skittle tumbles backwards off the roof. The gnome stabs the zombie with his short sword. (Critical hit!, 6 pts of dmg) Bedu moves up, drawing his scimitar to add to the attack, but fails to hit.

The Crimson Legionnaires drop their crossbows and move forward, drawing their flails. One of the Legionnaires tries to clamber atop the short roof, but is unable to make the climb, hindered by his armor. The second Legionnaire stops in front of Indo, but swings his flail at Bedu, who just manages to avoid the blow. The third Legionnaire approaches Lotus, whipping his flail around her ankles. He pulls on his weapon, yanking Lotus off the crates to crash on top of the fallen zombie. (Lotus is knocked prone in square 7D)

Tanish darts out from behind the corner and places the point of his rapier at Lotus's throat. "Now let's have the amulet, dwarf," he says, "or the girl has breathed her last. And we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, would we?"
Meanwhile, the remaining zombie flails away at Bedu, who deflects its rotting fists with his shield.

Lotus, Liet, and Indo are next!
Updated map

[Lotus]

Do I have any options before me?

[DM Iskandria]

Lotus wrote:

Do I have any options before me?

You could attack him from the ground (with a -4 penalty). Pretty much any other action you take (standing up, crawling away) is going to provoke an Attack of Opportunity. You're not helpless, though, so Tanish can't just coup de grace you. You can delay to see if Liet and Indo will do something, or throw out an idea and I'll try to give you an idea of how well it might work. Of course, you could just take the AoO and hope for the best! :) Alternately, you could try Acrobatics to roll out of that square to a non-threatened square, but the DC will be pretty high because you'll need to move more than one square, and when prone you don't have full movement (you can crawl 5 ft. as a move action, for example).

Anybody else have any ideas for Lotus?

[Lotus]

I've got Acrobatics +9 (+5 (2 ranks), +4 (dex)), so that would give me a max of 29. Would that be enough to tumble back to avoid an AoO? Can I target Tanish as my dodge? In any case I'll wait until the other two have made their action.

[Steven T. Helt]

It would be enough, but your maximum isn't what you'l get. You'll get less than 20, and get skewered. Delay until we can catch him off guard, is my suggestion, or attack him from the ground. It's sort of only a -3 penalty with the bard's song.

Rob - can I aim a color spray such that it won't hit Lotus? I am thinking 3-d, it might not fill the square she's in. I should get the sldier in front of me, and Tarnish. I'll wait for your ruling and Liet's action before I post.

[DM Iskandria]

Steven T. Helt wrote:

It would be enough, but your maximum isn't what you'l get. You'll get less than 20, and get skewered. Delay until we can catch him off guard, is my suggestion, or attack him from the ground. It's sort of only a -3 penalty with the bard's song.

Rob - can I aim a color spray such that it won't hit Lotus? I am thinking 3-d, it might not fill the square she's in. I should get the sldier in front of me, and Tarnish. I'll wait for your ruling and Liet's action before I post.

Yes, you can hit the Legionnaire in C7 and Tanish without hitting Lotus. But you will provoke an AoO for casting unless you cast defensively.

Lotus delays. Liet casts cure light wounds on Skittle. (6 hp back)

[Steven T. Helt]

Figures. I rolled a 1. That's my action, I guess.

[DM Iskandria]

I'm assuming the 1 was a Spellcraft check to cast color spray defensively.

Indo begins casting a spell. Sensing an opening, the Legionnaire swings his flail, but Indo just manages to deflect the blow with his dastana and is able to complete the spell. A riot of clashing colors engulfs the Legionnaire and Tanish behind him. The Legionnaire turns his head just in time, his helmet protecting his vision, but Tanish is stunned, his rapier dropping to the ground from nerveless fingers.

"Fool!" you hear a disembodied voice cry from the end of the alley.

It's down to you, Lotus. Tanish is stunned, but your action might still provoke AoOs from the hobgoblins on either side of you.

[Skittle Beck]

"Gaaaaahhhhh . . . die already!" Skittle yells as he hacks away at the zombie trying to maul Bedu.

Attack 1d20=20+2=22, Damage 1d6=3+1=4,
Attack 1d20=15+2=17, Damage 1d4=2+1=3

Crit (Attack 1d20=8+2=10, Damage 1d6=2+1=3)

[Steven T. Helt]

To be fair, if you try to cast a spell defensively, there's no AoO. I lost the spell because I failed. Had I not cast the spell defensively, I would have had to make the check (at a higher DC) if I'd been hit. In this case, the spells is disrupted in midcasting.

I mean, for Lotus' sake, I'll overlook it if you want. : ) But I checked to make sure the rules were the same in Pathfinder as 3.5, and getting a 9 result against a DC 16 should mean I lose the spell.

[/ooc]Sorry, guys. Invisible castle either has a thing for ones, or a thing against Indo.[/ooc]

[Bedu the Barber]

Quick, get up Lotus before Rob changes his mind!

Bedu tries to pinpoint the invisible voice.

[DM Iskandria]

Steven T. Helt wrote:

To be fair, if you try to cast a spell defensively, there's no AoO. I lost the spell because I failed. Had I not cast the spell defensively, I would have had to make the check (at a higher DC) if I'd been hit. In this case, the spells is disrupted in midcasting.

I mean, for Lotus' sake, I'll overlook it if you want. : ) But I checked to make sure the rules were the same in Pathfinder as 3.5, and getting a 9 result against a DC 16 should mean I lose the spell.

[/ooc]Sorry, guys. Invisible castle either has a thing for ones, or a thing against Indo.[/ooc]

Huh. I did not know that. For some reason I thought the Spellcraft roll (or Concentration in 3.x) to cast defensively was to avoid AoOs. If you fail the roll, they get the AoO, and if they hit, you lose the spell. Learn something new everyday.

So I guess we have to rewind.

Indo's spell fizzles, so Tanish is NOT stunned, and still holds his rapier at Lotus's throat. No voice calls out from the back. Still Lotus's turn, having delayed to the end of the round.

[Bedu the Barber]

Too late.

Bedu hears the wind in the alley.

[Lotus]

Nobody lives forever, and this cute guy won't be the end of me.

Hoping that the bumbling Indo is enough of a distraction for her to get away from the rapier and the hobgoblins, she makes her move to roll away and jump up ready for more action.
Acrobatics x2 (1d20+9=14, 1d20+9=25)

Here's praying that Rob is a kind DM... and ola from the Spanish sun.

[DM Iskandria]

Lotus gathers up her courage and tries to roll away from the blade poised at her throat. Unfortunately, she is not quick enough, and Tanish flicks his rapier at the fleeing rogue. Amazingly, the blade passes within a hair's-breadth of Lotus's neck, scoring a bloody scratch but leaving Lotus otherwise unharmed. (Rolled a 3!) She continues her roll past the Legionnaires, ending up safe behind Indo (in square C-5).

Since Lotus is prone, it took two move actions to get out of the threatened squares. She'll need to spend a move action to stand up next round.

Post your actions for round 5!

[Bedu the Barber]

Frantically Bedu slashes at the zombie above again.

Attack roll=7, Damage=6, oh dear.

Then he steps back five feet from the attentions of the enemies.

[DM Iskandria]

Round 5 (in progress):
Hammurabi strikes at the hobgoblin against the wall with his glaive, scoring a deep wound. Skittle slashes furiously at the sole remaining zombie, dismembering it into twitching limbs and parts. With the zombie destroyed, Bedu turns his attention to the Legionnaire, slashing ineffectively with his scimitar as he retreats a pace.

Whirling his flail, the first Legionnaire tries to disarm Indo, but is unsuccessful. The second Legionnaire, threatened by Hammurabi's glaive, sidesteps and wraps the chain of his flail around Indo's father's sword, tearing it from his grasp. Indo is disarmed. The third Legionnaire is still unable to climb up on the low roof. Cursing, he makes his way around towards his fellows. Tanish runs behind the hobgoblins, hops up onto the roof, and stabs Indo with his rapier. (6 pts of dmg)

"Give us the amulet, dwarf!" he calls. "There's no need for your friends to die."

Liet touches Skittle's head. "Let the God-Kings guide your blades, my friend." Noble Blessing: +2 morale bonus to attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, and saving throws for 2 rounds.

Indo and Lotus!
Updated map

[Lotus]

Lotus gets to her feet and quickly sees where she is needed most. She moves behind Hammurabi's back and tumbles past the eastern legionaire to set up a flank for Indo and for her next attack.

Move action to get to feet and move action to move to D8.

Acrobatics (1d20+9=15)

[Indo Ninzarbi]

We are going to need Tanish as a prisoner, friends! murmurs Indo as he swings at the legionaire in front of him at 7-D.

1d20+6=21, 1d8+4=5

If my legionaire goes down, I'll step into his square. If not, I'll step to 6-D and make room for the party to advance.

[Lotus]

Correction: I should be moving to E8. To set up flank with the legionaire in D7 for Indo.

[Bedu the Barber]

What is Indo swinging? I thought he was disarmed.

"Watch out for the Sister everyone, Tanish is ours."

[DM Iskandria]

Bedu the Barber wrote:

What is Indo swinging? I thought he was disarmed.

Good point. Indo is indeed disarmed. Dagger? Unless he wants to provoke an AoO to pick up his sword.

[DM Iskandria]

Assuming Indo draws his dagger (the only other weapon he has listed:
Before his sword has even hit the ground, Indo whips out a dagger and slashes the Legionnaire who disarmed him. The blade finds the hobgoblin's throat, and he falls to the ground gurgling. Indo steps over his body and faces the remaining two Legionnaires.

Indo is now in D7. Lotus, do you want to change your move?