Waiting until the ropes are securely anchored, Eltariel struggles to cross the gap but loses her footing on the slippery rocks ...
... leaving her dangling from the make-shift harness over chasm.
Gashelle tries to say something to Tristan, but can't get the words out.
She turns her glaive around and offers the haft for Etariel to grab.
Aid Another (climb) result of 13.
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With Gashelles aid Eltariel scrambles across..you are all soaked and shivering from the icy water.
You look back towards Sasha who grasps the rope and swarms across with hardly a wasted movement(nat 20 on his climb)
As Tristan and Gashelle help Eltariel and Sasha cross Avinar is looking into the next part of the complex..slime and mold still reigns supreme here.
Avinar
grip
Grabbing the haft of the glaive Eltariel steadies herself and manages to resume her progress, hauling herself wet and shaken onto the other side.
"Ah guys we are not alone. Avinar points to the cook. Drawing Mothers Kiss he insticitvely takes a guarding position over the rest of the party. I fyou guys can take of that thing from a distance, I'll make sure it never gets close to you. Avinar shivers from the chill of the spray.
Hastening to Avinar's side, Eltariel observes the figure. Is it motionless or animate? What species does it appear to be? has it noticed us? How far away is it?
"Get ready to block it if it runs," I whisper to the others, "we don't even know what it is yet."
Straightening up I raise my voice:
"Hello!" I call in the common tongue.
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The cleaver stops rising as the figure turns towards you . As second similar figure emerges from within a large cauldron lying on its side in the far corner. they move towards you slowly..haltingly, a low moan rising from them.
Sasha gets initiative of 18.
Avinar gets initiative of 15.
Eltariel gets initiative of 14.
Creature 1 gets initiative of 14.
Creature 2 gets initiative of 7.
Tristan gets initiative of 6.
Gashelle gets initiative of 6.
Sasha throws his heavenly fire which misses
"Hold on," Eltariel cautions Avinar before he can spring in front of her to engage the two zombies. Drawing the Wand she unleashes a blast of fire into both Zombies.
"Now get them!"
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The figures duck momentarily as the flames wash over them then come on getting ever closer.(incredibly both saved...it will take two rounds for them to close the distance with you)
The figures are both dwarf sized...dressed in simple clothing with cooks aprons.They are yellow with age the parchment like skin stretched over aging bones.
At the bottom of the initiative order, Gashelle will ...
Avinar steps instinctively to protect Eltariel and in a smooth motion hurls a slender dagger at the lead dwarven corpse. "May the stars of the Elven kingdom see you to your final rest once honorable friend."
Att=19 actually its 22 I screwed up I have +5 not +2 to hit... Dmg=6.
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Tha Zombies shuffle closer Avinar sinks his dagger into the lead one but it keeps coming onwards the weapon stuck firmly in its chest
Tristan's voice raises in song as he encourages you in your endeavours
+1 to fear saves,+1 to attack/damage rolls.
Gashelles disrupting bolt smashes into the lead zombie which moans and continues to shamble towards you.The moans resolve into a single repeated word
"Guuuuurrrrockkkkk"
Translation if you speak dwarven
You have a further round of actions before the Zombies can close with you
Avinar reaches for his second dagger, his lithe hands grasp its elegant handle balanced for throwing with a fluid flick of his wrist he launches the metal dagger at the undead abomination.
.
Avinar's aim is off, he seems a bit annoyed with the throw, but is excited at the chance to run these zombies through.
Gashelle uses her glaive to poke at the same one she just blasted.
Eltariel uses her Hand of the Apprentice to attack one.
"Duck that!" she exclaims as her sickle bites home, swung by her invisible hand.
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Sasha calls his fire again this time hitting home for 4 damage downing the lead Zombie.
Avinars dagger goes wide on the second then Eltariels throw slices the second undeads head from it's shoulders.
Tristan stops singing then Gashelle pokes the now still figures with her glaive to ensure they wont be moving again.
"It adds a new terror to the perils of dwarf food," I mutter. "Someone has definitely been busy animating these poor beings ..."
I approach a zombie carefully and examine it - is it deformed the way the other dwarves were?
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You inspect the corpse..it is indeed different from the dwarves you are familiar with. The eyes are bigger..the forehead slopes back quite sharply.
Tristan looks at the corpses along with Eltariel a growing look of comprehension on his face
"I can't be perfectly sure" he says "but I have heard adventurers tales of a degenerate race of dwarves living deep in the earth...the description of those dwarves...the name is Derro if i remember correctly..seems to fit these. They are rumoured to be quite mad delighting in torture and death"
"Well, somebody d- decided it would be fun to k- kill some of them and reanimate their c- corpses. So, who, traditionally, really d- doesn't like the Derro?" Gashelle asks, searching further around the room.
"Given the nature of such things, other Derro?" I suggest vaguely, looking around the rest of the room. Were these zombies actually preparing food, or just mindlessly going through the motions?
Then look to the north.
"Shall we t- take our standard formation: w- watchful Tristan, heroic Avinar, m- myself, Etariel, and Sasha?"
"That sounds like a plan," I nod approval.
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you proceeed down the passageway..Tristan leading cautiously as always. He pauses at the corner peering round and then moving on to a second corner where he stops again.This time however he ducks back quickly
"Theres something up ahead" he whispers.. |"I'm not sure if it's another zombie It's right on the edge of my vision.." He grins at Avinar "..maybe Elven eyes can better determine the nature of our next obstacle"
"Why are we whispering?" whispers Gashelle with a half-grin. "If it c- can see light, it knows w- we're here."
"Unless it's a programmed automaton, or it has it's back to us, or it's standing in the light itself ..." I list off the possibilities. "It never hurts to show a little caution," I smile back as I whisper.
Gashelle looks around the corner.
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Gashelle
Gashelle turns back to Etariel and says, in Elvish,
In common, "It's a t- temple down there, still moss-covered, with a statue of a human-shaped g- goddess with spikes on her. There's a temple g-g- guardian of sorts, dwarf-shaped, naked except f- for a loin cloth, the dwarf was once t-taken ap- part and s- stitched back together.
"My f- father used to tell stories of s- s- such a thing, a golem. It could withstand the attacks of t- twenty men, and a single b- blow killed a strong horse."
She fingers the golembane scarab. "I think s-somebody knew what was d- down here, and had p- plans to destroy it."
Gashelle turns to Avinar. "Without this b- brooch, you w- won't be able to d-d- damage the golem very easily. But if you go entirely on the d- defensive, it won't be able to a- t- ttack you very w- well, either, and you can d- distract it in some s- safety.
"Or, if you like, you can take the scarab and fight it."
"You're our heaviest hitter, Gashelle," I tell her seriously. "I can enhance Avinar's sword a little, and Tristan has those arcane arrows we found. Add that to magic," I heft the wand, "and we may have a fighting chance if we surround this creature."
"And I have my fire...lets kick its arse"
"I can fight defneisvely while I provide a flank for you Gashelle, I agree that may be our best bet. Eltarial, I would be honoured if you lent your magic to Mother's Kiss". Avinar provides a flourish with his raipier.
"All right, lets do this," Eltariel takes Mother's Kiss and recites an incantation, making mystic passes.
"Everyone go at the same time, I'll need a clear space to get a blast at it with the wand, then close and take it down," I declare.
Avinar activates his arcane stunt to maneuver himself to the far flank of this golem . Avinar will then fight defensively
If an acrobatics roll is needed to maneuver here it is:
Acrobatics=26.
Attack and Dmg
Attack 16 (18 if flank 19 with Magic Weapon) and Dmg 5 (6 with Magic weapon).
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Gashelle only has to go 30 feet to be in strike range
As Gashelle so rightly said the thing is aware of your presence however it seems to react very slowly to your attack
Tristan gets initiative of 18.
Gashelle gets initiative of 11.
Sasha gets initiative of 10.
Eltariel gets initiative of 10.
Avinar gets initiative of 7.
Golem, Flesh gets initiative of 3.
Dabbler I'd be appreciative if you could do one of those nice battle maps for usthe Golem is at point x
After Tristan fires his arrow, Gashelle
If she can get into attack position, she swings her glaive, which homes in on the target like a thing alive, doing 14 points of damage.
Eltariel finds herself briefly leading the charge as they bear down on the stunted flesh golem. Funny, they always seemed bigger than this in pictures, she thinks before she attacks with the wand.
Then she flattens herself to one side as Gashelle rushes through and attacks full on with her glaive.
RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Thank you, Dabbler, but you placed Gashelle in E4.
I had intended that, on Initiative 11, she uses swift expeditious retreat to move all the way to G5 and attack. That way (a) she stays out of the way of any people slinging spells, (b) it's easier for Tristan or Avinar to flank the thing, and (c) it's harder for the guardian to close on Gashelle. (If it does, really, she'd be hosed. She wouldn't be able to back up into your square, nor fight effectively with her glaive.)
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[ooc]Gashelle will need the acrobatics check as she is moving faster than usual I rolled it and she passed..G4 would actually be a flank, G5 isnt directly opposite Avinar. I think Dabbler might have been considering the possibility of AoOs from the Golem but as it is flatfooted it can't react to the movement..this means that both Gashelle and Avinar can reach their intended positions safely[ooc]
This huge room was obviously a temple of some kind. There are pews hewn out of the stone floor and a large platform with a great
reddish-colored altar. The statue behind it is stunning in its own repulsive way. The slime and mold seem to accent the beauty of the
woman depicted. The woman represents a demon that must hold quite a bit of respect, at least to the worshippers here. The craftsmanship
is amazing; the bony plates and barbed spikes look as if they could come alive on their own
Tristans arrow flies true and plunges into the Golem's chest. Gashelle moves swiftly her Glaive biting deep into the things adbomen. Sashas fire misses then Eltariel's wand washes flame across it..to no seeming effect. Finally Avinar moves behind it and strikes true his blade driving into it's spine. The golem is in a very bad state of repair with three deep wounds in its body. It turns towards Avinar and strikes at him..it's movements appear sluggish even for such a creation.It can still strike hard though, it's fist slamming into Avinars mid section(7 damage)
Eltariel/Gashelle
Start round two...
Tristans next arrow misses the golem narrowly
Seeing Avinar injured Eltariel darts between the pughs to the east wall, then follows it around to a position closer to Avinar, although she cannot reach him yet. Thinking that it may be a more effective contribution to the battle than trying to injure the Golem, she unleashes another blast of fire at it from her position.
Gashelle hits for 10 more points.
"It l- looks like there was enough s- space here for, oh, 30 worshippers. And there was space in the k- kitchen for perhaps the same number of diners.
"But nowhere to g- go? This complex has a dining hall, b- but no larder. A chapel, but no sleeping chambers. (Unless you c- count the little room with three beds.) Not m- made by dwarven engineers, but manned by dwarven undead s- servants and guardian constructs."