Now that Kara mentions it, you can all see that the gnome is leaving a fine trail of dust behind him.
And the rest of you who are in the hole can hear, too, the scrabble of something hard and heavy pulling itself over rock.
|
Now that Kara mentions it, you can all see that the gnome is leaving a fine trail of dust behind him.
And the rest of you who are in the hole can hear, too, the scrabble of something hard and heavy pulling itself over rock.
Quietly so as to be audible only to the party "I don't like the tone in this ones voice, and he seems to be surrounding us in some sort of circle....where I come from circles can be very bad things. We need to put a stop to this now before its too late."
"Something is coming down the tunnel to something big and hard maybe a large spider of sorts"
I will step out of the tunnel and move away from the gnome attempting to intersect the dust circle and scuff a breech in it.
Martaug (and the wolf with his prompting) move to stop the gnome from circumscribing the full circle around them. There is enough reason to be suspicious of the gnomes actions based on what he's been saying. The half-orc will give an attack command if he tries to go around them.
Sachi I like this little fellow, he reeks of something I find amicable to meShut up grandfather, leave me alone! Sachiko's giggles quickly stop and the mention of approval to this gnome by her grandfather puts her on edge
Since it seems two or 3 people are covering the perimeter & erasing any evil circle magic,
I'll position myself 10' from the tunnel entrance, in-between the entrance and the Gnome,
covering the entrance with my spear in case anything comes out.
"Grumble, grab spear climb out, better shoot bad thing from high ground!", I yell to my short companion in the tunnel.
"Well, gnome? Will you offer explanation for your statements? Or shall we wring it from you?" At this, Kara draws Silvertongue, pointing it in the gnome's direction.
Okay. Picture a clockface, "12" to the north. The hole is in the center of the face, and the boulder that had been sealing it is right next to it, to the south.
The gnome began at about "10", on a small rise, and has been working is way back to "9", "8", and so on. He did his little swuat and roll when he crossed your trail, at "5". He's now at "2" and still moving.
Sachiko, you, Valdisara, and Grumblenaught are the only people left in the tunnel.. From the south, you see something bizarre coming fast. Even at a distance of 15 feet, you can get a strong whiff of ammonia from it.
Yalka, Did you want to tie your horse that close? I'd assumed (perhaps wrongly) that you were tyng your mounts down a few hundred feet away, in the shade with a stream running by.)
You can't see anything yet, but you, too, smell something like ammonia from down in the hole. As soon as you do, you'll spear it.
Orislav ) mutters arcane phrases and touches Martaug as the half-orc hauls himself out of the hole.
Martaug, you're now under the effects of a guidance spell. You can get out of the hole and cross 40' to the gnome this round. Your wolf will runn around to the other side of the gnome, but won't attack without your command.
Kara, you try diplomacy, to little avail. The gnome looks at you "Explain myself? Really? I haven't explained myself in .. well, I guess, ever. It might make an interesting experience."
"On second thought, no. But what say you? Are you all here to avenge your friend?"
Valdisara tries to be polite and persuasive, as well. "Indeed. We come intending neither harm, nor insult, nor hindrance." She then turns to see what's coming up the tunnel and gasps, "Sweetest mother, protect us!"
Grumblenaught hears Yalka, but snarls, "It's a mite too late fer that!" He loads his heavy crossbow and fires, hitting his target.
Deserach, you can climb out and then make it to about 20' from the circle. I take it you're heading to about "7".
your Spellcraft tells you that, sure enough, it's silver dust that the gnome has been scattering, over this way as well. That's used for magic circles of protection, but those are only 20' across. If he's preparing a similar spell, he either knows a new version, or else he's powerful enough to enlarge the area of the dwoemer several times over.
Well, it looks like this coming round, there'll be at least one combat, so let's go to initative
Valdisara (16 + 6 = 22)
Yalka (20 + 2 = 22)
Martaug and his wolf (20 + 1 = 21)
The thing in the cave (? + ? = 20)
Grumblenaught (16 + 3 = 19)
Gnome (? + ? = 14)
Sachiko (10 + 2 = 12)
Orislav (8 + 2 = 10)
Kara (7 + 2 = 9)
Deserach (1 + 3 = 4)
Valdisara drws her shorsword and moves to engage the creature. She misses.
The tunnel is only 5' wide. Valdisara can't help but provide the thing with partial cover.
Frantic scrabbling sounds, un-healthy smells, the flurry of actions, and the mocking voice of the "Gnome",
all combine in a quickening wave of events drawing me into a familiar, instinctual state...
2 attacks, 14 and 18 to-hit, both for 13 damage if they hit.
If the Stink Monster provokes an AoO, 24 to-hit (Nat. 20) for 9 damage. (Crit Confirm: 19, = 27 damage (!)
Unable to swing my spear around in my accustomed manner because of the crampd tunnel,
I pull off two quick, vicious thrusts as the beast approaches my comrades, and ready myself for another if it's not careful.
Sachiko immediatly understands the source of Deputy Winn's bites when she sees the horror skittering towards them, she pulls out one of her hair pins showing a crane made from obsidian and silver, a strand of her hair falls and cascades across her slender shoulder, in a fluid flick of the wrist she lets the crane hair pin fly at the creature approaching.
"May my ancesters guide me today, in this battle"
Martaug makes a snarling bark to the wolf signaling the attack and steps forward thrusting his shortspear forward at the small creature. However his foot skids on a loose rock and compromises his thrust.
Valdisara: Misses the creature.
Yalka: Hits the creature once.
Martaug: Misses the gnome.
His wolf: Misses the gnome.
The thing in the cave: Makes a 5' move to bounce out of the tunnel and land on the ground next to Yalka and Deserach, and right next to Valdisara's head.
It's a grotesque, misshapen head about the size of a pumpkin, that consists mostly of a single blinking eye. It's supported by six long, slender limbs, each with a series of runels on the undersides, which are making a soft twittering noice, and each of which is tipped with a long, maroon spike. It smells strongly of a combination of ammonia and formaldehyde.
With an unhuman chuckle, it leaps into the air and spins, making a slicing attack at all three of you. Valdisara immediately ducks behind her shield.
Yalka, it just barely manages to hit you. You adjust your stance, thinking that you avoided the attack. Three seconds later, you feel something moist trickling down your shin. Take 4 points of damage.
Deserach, it moves too fast for you to follow it as it spins; it becomes a pungent, red-brown whirlwind. The next thing you know, there's an ugly gash across your right thigh. Take 9 points of damage.
But you recognize it. It was first summoned and given form by a cleric of Rovagug, three hundred years ago. It's known by many names, the most common being "Rovagug's spider" or "mad slasher".
Valdisara, you hear a rapidfire staccato of scrapes against your shield, some of them strong enough to rock you back a step. You take no damage, but you might want to repaint your shield when you have a moment.
It waves the limbs that tasted blood in the air, and titters more loudly.
Grumblenaught's expression could best be described as a puzzled sneer. He reloads his heavy crossbow and [url="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1791271/"]misses.
The gnome looks genuinely nonplussed to see Martaug and the wolf attacking. He moves 15' away from the wolf, keeping his distance from Martaug as well. he attempts to avoid an attack of opportunity, but leavinging himself wide open to an attack. Martaug, your wolf damages the gnome but doesn't trip him.
He looks at Martaug's companion and says, chiding, "That's no wolf."
He speaks three magical words and gestures contemptuously at Martaug.
Martaug, would you kindly roll a Fortitude saving throw?
Sachiko hits the aberration, lodging her hairpin into one of its legs. It's still up.
Orislav, you're up.
Deserach, the silver dust appears magical on its own accord; it's resisting your attempts to scuff it. Would you please roll a Use Magic Devices skill check?
Excellent save. And no, the gnome has never been quite close enough.
It was clearly an arcane spell, Martaug.
Casting it, the gnome turns to face the center of the circle, and sees something behind you. "No! he gasps. "Don't let them out! You're undoing all my work!"
Kara will be arming her shield, and should she be close enough to either enemy, launching into a quick series of slashes based on Taldane dueling attacks.
|
|
Ouch that hurt....I thought I was out by the circle not at the cave entrance?
From earlier post:
"Deserach, you can climb out and then make it to about 20' from the circle. I take it you're heading to about "7"."
Assuming the gnome is centered on the cave and his circle is 45' to 50' in radius that would put me roughly 20-30' from the cave. Just trying to figure out where I am.
In any case seeing that I can't do anything about the circle I will turn and focus my attention on the situation at hand. The circle powder is silver huh, well it does not take a Magus extraordinaire to connect the dots...it seems that perhaps the gnome was trying to create a protection from evil circle to trap these beasts in.
Again assuming that it was only a partial move to the circle's edge I will turn around while beginning to cast the spell Message (pg 250 PFB) pointing at each party member that I can see in the process.
Once the spell is complete I will whisper to those that I pointed at "could it be the gnome is trying to trap this monstrosity here? Is he a potential ally?"
Ouch that hurt....I thought I was out by the circle not at the cave entrance?
Sigh. My apologies. Looking at my little map, I confused my "D" and "O". Deserach, you're fine. The little whipping thing did damage to Orislav.
sorry for the confusion. Sorry, Orislav.
Deserach, you are indeed only 20' away from the circle, which is why you were able to try snuffing it, and how you came to realize it was resistant.
It's not impossible to to affect the circle, but you'll need to make a Use Magic Device skill check to disrupt it. You can do that, or send the message.
"...HOLY MAN!!!" I yell out for good measure. Orislav did good against those things last night...
Orislav takes a step away from the monstrosity. He can't take another attack like that, and so he cures himself of 1d8 + 1 = 9 hit points, bringing himself back to health.
Kara attacks the freakish little thing and kills it.
In the stillness, you can hear more clattering from the south tunnel, distant but nearing.
Deserach's message gets through to each of you.
Round 2
Valdisara turns to the gnome and insists, "We are not your enemy! We've come to put an end to these undead who killed our friend, and nothing more!"
(That's a Diplomacy roll, in the heat of battle. Yalka and Martaug, you can assist in the Diplomacy check, or attack, before the gnome's move.)
Shaking off the primal instincts that had over-come me,
I spear the remains of the tunnel thing, and toss it up onto the ground for all to see.
"Yalka no like bad thingees. But to save family, and for Deputy..."
As MORE sounds similar to the first seem to echo from the southern tunnel,
I once again subtlely remark: "More bad things come. Yalka kill them in tunnel, or we close stone...?"
Martaug pulls his spear back to drive it at the gnome again, but hold his action. Over his shield he looks at the gnome and snarls "This is yer one chance ta tell us what th' hells yer after. What ya know should now be rattled out."
Grumblenaught tries as well. He takes careful aim at the gnome and says, pleasantly enough, "If you don't want a bolt goin' straight between yer eyes, laddie, this would be yer last chance to convince us to do otherwise."
"My task is to keep --" the gnome looks around, somewhat exasperated. "Let me complete my ward first; then we can discuss how I am to deal with you!"
He sprinkles silver dust as he moves back towards his starting location. He's taking care to get it right, so he doesn't quite complete the circle this round. Next round, certainly. Did you all want to be inside the circle when he completes it?
The skittering continues.
Sachiko, then Orislav, Kara, and Deserach.
Martaug looks at the gnome for a long second then grunts "Get ta da other side'a 'is ward, people. Quick!" And moves to step past the dividing line that the gnome is drawing.
I'll move inside the ward quickly, keeping my eye on the gnome as I do so. I'm not sure I completely trust him.
Kara, you are already inside the circle the gnome has been outlining as he walked around you.
Sachi takes a move action to get inside the warded area, she then pulls another hairpin out, this time a silver and jade phoniex and hurls it at the same monstrosity.
The hairpin fails to pierce the abomanations chitinous hide, it sparks off into the tunnel.
Yalka said: ""More bad things come. Yalka kill them in tunnel, or we close stone...?"
I'm willing to go first down the tunnel, where they would have to provoke an AoO (which I'm waiting to use :-) )
to get close enough to attack me (one spider at a time), and they can't attack all of us at once with their spin-attack.
"Light" cast on me would help. Ranged People could shoot from behind, and Orislav could heal from behind me?
Or I could fight them like I did the last one. Non-melee people might want to move out of spin-attack range from the opening.
Or if you all prefer to just put a lid on it, I can help move the rock, too.
Chris, it seems like a map might be helpful for everyone...? (surface & tunnel if we fight down there)
And with my Knowledge check, would I know if these are Poisonous, if they have Darkvision,
if they're vulnerable to light or anything like that? (or if they have a big bad momma somewhere?)
So, here's a recap of the situation.
On a grid of 5x5 squares, designated A-Y across from west to east, left to right, and 1-25 down the side from north to south, place the cave mouth at L12. The entire center of the map is a little bit of a rise, and the center of the north is even a little higher. The terrain is light prarie grasses, but there's not too great a distance to several clusters of trees. There's one at L1-N1.
There was a boulder sealing the hole. It's currently resting at N13 and N14. (It's the boulder with the same skull-and-crown logo you found tattooed on the wight last night.)
Ubfill (the gnome) introduced himself at L2, and has been walking slowly around you, leaving a fine trail of silvered powder. It includes H3, F4, C7, B9, B15, C17, G21, I22, O22, Q21, T17, V16, V9, and R4. The gnome is currently at Q3. On his next turn, he'll lay down enough silver to return to L2 and complete the circle.
Stepping into the "cave" at L12, you can see it's a rise in a tunnel heading north-south. (It's as if the tunnel "broke the surface" of the ground and then headed back down.) The undead footprints led back to here. The tunnel to the north heads more or less straight, but sinks back at a gentle incline. The tunnel to the south turns a corner to the right after only 35 feet, making it impossible to see what's down that direction. But the mad slasher thing came from the south, and that's where more noises are coming from now.
The tunnels, at least as far as you can see and judge, are small. Anyone over 5' tall would have to stoop. It may grow larger to the north, but it looks like it might actually gets shorter if you go farther south. At the entrance hole, the ground level is only 4 feet above the floor of the tunnel.
I was imagining Martaug and his wolf were just outside the circle to the northeast, perhaps at U5 and V6. I was understanding that Deserach was near the south-east side of the circle, maybe at E18. And it sounded like everyone else was clustered around the hole, either inside the tunnel.
Our temporarily NPCs: Grumblenaught is at M13, Valdisara is at L10, and Orislav is at I12.
Yalka, looking at the corpse of this thing, you realize it couldn't have delivered the poisonous bites to Deputy Wyn: it has a sucker-like mouth on its underside. No fangs, no poison.
Everybody else, Yalka has volunteered to either go down the tunnel or else move the boulder back. Help her do one or the other, or propose something different.
Would everybody announce his or her location. Combat is possible next round, and each of you can take a single standard or movement action before battle is joined.
Kara is standing in K11, trying to keep an eye on the gnome and the hole at the same time, Silvertongue pointed decidedly towards the hole.
I call out a shrill whining hoot towards the Southernly tunnel...
Yalka, you see a second abomination, deep brown instead of maroon but otherwise identical, turns the corner and comes into view. Its single eye locks onto the end of your spear and follows its small movements. Then, faster than you'd expect, it charges, moving along the wall and ceiling of the tunnel.
You can get both your standard attack and an attack of opportunity against it before it reaches you.
None of the other PCs can see the battle unless (a) Yalka climbs out of the hole after attacking, or (b) they descend in. (There's room behind Yalka.)
Outside, the gnome finishes his circle.
Sachiko waits in nervous anticipation, to see what happens as the circle is complete
My senses sharpen and the volume of my draconic screech rises as the thing rushes me...
Standard Attack: To-hit: 26 (Nat. 20!), Damage: 8 (Confirm: 22 to-hit, for 24 damage)
The instincts and legends of my anscestors swirl around me as the abomination launches itself down the passage. We both seem sure of our purpose here, it's legs sickenly gyrating in tune with the subtle bob of my spear. I lunge true with my hightened senses, landing a gruesome blow, and as it scrambles to reach me, I lance it again.
Martaug, yes, the gnome is outside the circle.
Yalka, your Attack of Opportunity killed. It. We'll hold your regular action until later in the round, when a second creature appears, and you kill it, too!
Sachiko, Yalka seems to be killing them.
The gnome turns to Martaug's wolf and asks, "So, what are you doing here?" The wolf turns a glance towards Martaug and huffs.
We are, for the moment, out of combat.
With my spear, I heave the spider-corpses up out the hole,
commenting "Spider bad-things die easy. This one different color."
I step back to directly under the entrance, so as to talk better with the rest of our party.
"But no bad un-Dead thingees that try to kill family...???"
Martaug grunts to the gnome. "Okay, so, ya was tryin' ta keep dose tings in da hole, yeah? Are my friends able ta step over yer circle ta get out? Or were ya just gonna trap us all in dere fer 'em ta chew on?"
"Where da dey come from?"
"Who's dis Spider King ya were talkin' about?"
I step back to directly under the entrance, so as to talk better with the rest of our party.
"But no bad un-Dead thingees that try to kill family...???"
Grumblenaught looks at the ground where you’re standing and declares, “They passed by this way well enough. It looks as if they were always heading to, or coming from, northways once they got to where ye’re standing.”
By the way, if you still want to make claws for your gauntlets, and you aren't picky about whether they're bear claws or lion claws or whatnot, these "mad slashers" could yield the right materials.
"Okay, so, ya was tryin' ta keep dose tings in da hole, yeah? Are my friends able ta step over yer circle ta get out? Or were ya just gonna trap us all in dere fer 'em ta chew on?"
“Depends on their background and outlook.” The gnome looks back at the wolf. “Yer friend here, I imagine would have a hard time passing through the barrier. If I were you, I’d have an easier time releasin’ him here, and then re-forming him back into a wolf shape inside.
“If yer companions be decent folk of the mean earth, who draw breath and love the sun, the ward oughtn’t hold ‘em there. But if your tastes are for revenge on the Blackspeares, then it shall gain you no profit to be goin’ elsewhere.”"Where da dey come from?"
The gnome laughs. “The razor legs? Who knows? They’re things of the gods. The spear-maid over there looks like she’s killed a few of the smaller ones. There’s a few of those grown to be the size of your horses. I seen one of those kill a huntin’ party of minotaurs, instantly. An’ the bigger they get, the smarter they get."
"Who's dis Spider King ya were talkin' about?"
All the whimsy drains from the gnome’s face. “It’s the worst thing in these hills. If your deputy, or constable, or whatever he was, faced the King and lived, he was the first.”
Fantastic!
And Yalka, there's skittering again, coming from the south.
"I am not sure what you mean by 'of the mean earth', but I fight for the good of the people. We have come this way in pursuit of those we believe to be Blackspears, or related to them, because they attacked a family that stand as friends to members of our band."
"Oh, they're the Blackspeares, all right, now 'cursed to dwell beneath the silent stars', as one of 'em put it. An' they're not leavin' without their idiotic payment, much the good it'd do 'em now! So they fret, and scheme. And, more 'n' mostly, leave the surface world alone."