A Road Home pbp

[Xabulba]

Typhus 29
Malick 20
Rennik 19
Mountain 15
Flint
Ferdinand

Malick you need to make an intimidate roll for each of the warforged, 8 more rolls please.

Mountain's Init. 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15, Malick's +2 aready added in.

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Damn it Typhus, I could of cut the damn things out!" FErdinand readies his spear, lightning arcing from the tip.

Initiative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

[Typhus Aurelius]

"Speak of possibilities while you can, wise men know that what must be done is always done and what is done is past and what is past is immutable and what is immutable is here. Use your spear and use your head and let us put these fools back to sleep."

[Malick]

"There's a good reason Blondie never sends you on diplomatic missions, Typhus. Now shut up, I'm trying to concentrate here..."

Malick tries to impose his forceful personality on the assembled warforged.

1d20 + 17 ⇒ (7) + 17 = 24 - warforged 1
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37 - warforged 2
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (2) + 17 = 19 - warforged 3
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (10) + 17 = 27 - warforged 4
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34 - warforged 5
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (7) + 17 = 24 - warforged 6
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (10) + 17 = 27 - warforged 7
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34 - warforged 8

Hmm. quite a mixed bag. Some of those should help though.

[Xabulba]

Malick's command triggers the basic training of about half of the warforged as they stand to attention. The other warforged try to open their cells endlessly repeating the chant "PROTECT THE QUEEN, THE HIVE HAS BEEN BREACHED, PROTECT THE QUEEN. ".

Typhus 29
Ferdinand 25
Malick 20
Rennik 19
Mountain 15
Flint

WF1
WF2 a
WF3
WF4
WF5 a
WF6
WF7
WF8 a
WF9 a

[Rennik Ilzander]

"Stay together!" Rennik calls out, a plot formulating in his quirky little mind.

I'd like to see if we don't have to fight these guys all at once by seeing who I can cut off with an Illusory Wall. A little "divide and conquer"? Of course, that assumes they don't all rush on us before I get a chance.

[Malick]

We all go before them. Go for it.

[Flint Blackblade]

Initiative Check, 1d20+12=21
Flint snarls at the warforged as they chant.
Flint will delay until after Rennick.

[Xabulba]

Typhus
Ferdinand
Malick
Rennik
Flint
Mountain
WF1
WF2 (at Attention)
WF3
WF4
WF5 (at Attention)
WF6
WF7
WF8 (at Attention)
WF9 (at Attention)

MAP

Typhus is up.

[Typhus Aurelius]

"Diplomacy is battle without weapons. I am never without weapons."

Use Dire Radiance on nearest Warforge and Curse said opponent: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22 vs. Fort; 1d6 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 10 + (1, 3) = 19 radiant damage. If it moves closer to me on its next turn, it takes 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14 damage. Range 10, target 1 creature.

[Xabulba]

Typhus returns to his slaughter and blows away WF5, cackling a little bit as does so.

The mecanical beetles all scury under the bed as fast as they can.

Typhus and Flint get an OA on either beetle 2 or 3 but not both.

Forgot include the beetles1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

Typhus
Beetle1
Beetle2
Beetle3
Beetle4
Ferdinand
Malick
Rennik
Flint
Mountain
WF1
WF2 (at Attention)
WF3
WF4
WF6
WF7
WF8 (at Attention)
WF9 (at Attention)

MAP

Ferdinand is up.

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Will you all just stop the chanting already!" Ferdinand steps forward, draws his wand and fires a bolt of electricity at the nearest chanting warforged.

Move to F6 and using Static Shock on WF1: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 211d8 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

[Xabulba]

Ferdinand blows away another WF, it's like shooting fish in a barrel it's so easy.

Typhus
Beetle1
Beetle2
Beetle3
Beetle4
Ferdinand
Malick
Rennik
Flint
Mountain
WF2 (at Attention)
WF3
WF4
WF6
WF7
WF8 (at Attention)
WF9 (at Attention)

MAP

Malick is up.

[Rennik Ilzander]

Erm. Are the warfarged all in locked cells?

[Xabulba]

Rennik Ilzander wrote:

Erm. Are the warfarged all in locked cells?

Yes. 3,4,6 and 7 are trying to get out though. 2,8 and 9 are standing at attention.

[Malick]

"I think they're expecting more company. I'm definitely getting that message. Typhus, you want to step back a pace or you planning to join the gang behind Rennick's wall? Your call, I'm just asking."

delaying until after Rennick.

[Rennik Ilzander]

Well, the point of the wall was to divide them in half. If I put them all behind a wall, what's the point? Especially when they're already behind bars?

[Xabulba]

Typhus
Beetle1
Beetle2
Beetle3
Beetle4
Ferdinand
Rennik
Flint
Malick
Mountain
WF2 (at Attention)
WF3
WF4
WF6
WF7
WF8 (at Attention)
WF9 (at Attention)

MAP

Rennick is up.

[Rennik Ilzander]

Rennik puts up an illusory wall to add an additional barrier in the way of the warforged.

Move to E6. Illusory Wall H4, H5, H6, H7, H8, G8, G9.

Effect: You create the illusion of a contiguous wall of solid material (stone or metal, for example). The wall can be up to 8 squares long and 4 squares high. The wall blocks line of sight for all enemies (but not your allies). When any enemy moves adjacent to the wall, you can make an attack (Intelligence vs. Will) against that target; if successful, the target cannot move through the wall on its current turn, but it can try again on later turns. On a miss, the wall no longer blocks line of sight or movement for that creature.

DM, if anyone moves up to the wall, feel free to roll the "attack" to keep them on the other side: +15 vs Will. That will be quicker than waiting for me to roll it.

"These prisoners are acting strangely. Maybe instead of blasting our way through them, we should find out what they know."

[Xabulba]

Rennik lays down an imanganary wall of stone cutting the jail in half.

Typhus
Beetle1
Beetle2
Beetle3
Beetle4
Ferdinand
Rennik
Flint
Malick
Mountain
WF2 (at Attention)
WF3
WF4
WF6
WF7
WF8 (at Attention)
WF9 (at Attention)

MAP

Flint is up.

[Malick]

"That was roughly the idea before Typhus decided diplomacy isn't a weapon."

Malick turns his attention to the nearest warforged standing to attention.

"Report, soldier."

What kind of roll would you like here?

[Rennik Ilzander]

FYI - allies can move and attack through the wall freely, so if someone really wants to be on the other side, feel free. I'm just wondering whether sniping prisoners that are locked in cells is the best course of action.

[Xabulba]

Malick wrote:

"That was roughly the idea before Typhus decided diplomacy isn't a weapon."

Malick turns his attention to the nearest warforged standing to attention.

"Report, soldier."

What kind of roll would you like here?

Diplomacy

[Malick]

1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31 - Diplomacy

"Damn, I'm good at this..."

Malick grins cheerfully behind the wall and awaits results.

To his player's great astonishment, he's rolled well when it might even be useful.

[Xabulba]

WF2: Corporal Brook reporting Sir, Most of the company died when the fog rolled over us, others were turned into monsters and we were forced to kill them. The warforged of River's platoon that were not affected by the fog regrouped and marched south following the call.
The Queen’s scouts overpowered us and we were implanted with the seed of entropy. Now we wait for the Queen to command us, all must submit to the queen’s grace or be obliterated.

[Malick]

"Know where this Queen is, Corporal? Ruring doesn't approve of unsolicited requisition of her unit. We're going to sort out the chain of command. You stay right here and guard the afflicted. Don't let them out. That's an order."

[Xabulba]

WF2: "The queen is not here but her servants live under ground."
"I obey your command until her return."

[Rennik Ilzander]

"I think there's a few rituals in this book that might give us the information we're looking for."

Rennik pulls a large spellbook out of a pocket of his robes far too small to have contained such a large tome.

"One of these allows me to see everything that has transpired within this room over the last several hours, or even a day or more. That might tell us how to recognize this 'queen' and where she might have run off to."

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Well, I feel stupid now. So, the Queen's Khyber-spawn then. Great. I'll try getting the bugs out from under the table."

Using Static Shock on the bugs under the table, if I can get down and see them. Feel free to roll for me, if you want.

[Malick]

"Bug swatting sounds good to me. Want some help, or are you happy playing solo? And Rennick, how long do you need to cast that thing?"

[Xabulba]

Ferdinand Salatic wrote:

"Well, I feel stupid now. So, the Queen's Khyber-spawn then. Great. I'll try getting the bugs out from under the table."

Using Static Shock on the bugs under the table, if I can get down and see them. Feel free to roll for me, if you want.

There aren’t any beetles under the bed but there is a small beetle sized hole in the wall leading down. A quick search reveals a covered spiral staircase also leading down.

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Oh come on. Well, anyone feel like going on a bug hunt, or should we just ignore them?"

[Malick]

"You want a ravenous Khyber-spawned Queen sneaking up behind you? You got strange tastes Ferdinand."

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Well, everything else in this country's already trying to kill us, why not one more?"

[Malick]

"Fair point."

[Xabulba]

If you guys look down the rabbit hole.

Spoiler:

You see a large room, 30x30, with a couple of work benchesone to your left and another along the right wall.
in the far right corner is a large crystal vat containing a blueish-brown frog like creature. Multicolored tubes conect the thing in the jar to a big beetle like the one you faced outside.
The 4 smaller beetles are aligned in front of the vat in guard position.
Behind the big beetle are two wooden barn like doors.

Rennik if you are casting the Inquisitive's eyes ritual give me a arcane check.

[Rennik Ilzander]

Inquisitive's Eyes is indeed the ritual. It only takes 10 minutes, which I think we probably have time for. It might also give us a heads up as to what went down that hole and didn't come back up that we might end up facing.

Arcana 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (4) + 17 = 21

[Xabulba]

Rennik:

Spoiler:

Time rewinds before you showing you glimpses of the past. A few days before now you see the giant roaches drag in three bloodied elves and the big beetle inject a pulsating egg in to their necks. A few days earlier a small group of warforged march in and kneel before the big beetle and allow themselves to be infected by the big beetle. You then se Ruing herself walk in and head for the passage down speaking to the warforged as she goes, “Wait a week for your enhancements to fully mature then go forth and share your new gifts with all others you see". Time snaps back to normal as Ruing walks down the concealed stairs.

[Rennik Ilzander]

"Oh my. These visions are... unexpected. As one might have guessed the elves and the warforged have been infected by the giant beetle. What I certainly didn't guess is that Ruing has been through here and seems to be in command of the warforged. And that she entered this way and hasn't come back out. Be alert, gentlemen."

[Malick]

"Blondie did this? You sure Rennick? Doesn't sound like her style."

[Typhus Aurelius]

"And you mock me for insanity..." Typhus stares at the warforged, waiting for the madness to quiet so he can finish the very necessary task of destroying them.

[Rennik Ilzander]

Malick wrote:

"Blondie did this? You sure Rennick? Doesn't sound like her style."

"Unmistakable! But maybe she wasn't in her right mind. There's certainly enough of that going around."

[Xabulba]

Typhus Aurelius wrote:

"And you mock me for insanity..." Typhus stares at the warforged, waiting for the madness to quiet so he can finish the very necessary task of destroying them.

Unless someone stops you the remaining warforged can be finished off in about a minute.

[Xabulba]

What do you guys decide to do, investagate the lower lab being guarded by mecanical bugs or continue on your trek through the Mournland?

[Typhus Aurelius]

"Is the softhearted nonsense done now? Can we return to the necessity of ending these machine's lives now?"

[Malick]

"Not so fast Typhus. Let's see if this is curable. Could be me getting egged and I'd rather know if I can be healed than get shot down by a trigger happy warlock."

Malick turns his attention back to Corporal Brook.

"Show me your invasion site, Corporal. Typhus, this is just to keep you happy, but if Brook here attacks me, you can remove him. I don't think Brook's going to do that though."

He'll move next to Brook and examine the entry wound, trying to work out if the implant can be disabled in some way.
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23 - heal check.

[Xabulba]

Brook turns around and points to his neck. Almost seamlessly integrated into the leathery tendrils of his muscles are greenish white tendrils emanating from an egg like object at the base of his neck.
It would take powerful healing spells to remove all of the tendrils without sever damage to the host.
Brook and the others were implanted 2 days ago though and you don’t know how fast they grow.

[Ferdinand Salatic]

"Damn. I could remove the thing, but it would take time and a workstation fully equipped for working on warforged, neither of which actually have. Even then, I could easily miss a few threads of it, it would regrow, and then we're back where we started! I'm an artificer, not a miracle worker."

[Xabulba]

Ferdinand Salatic wrote:

"Damn. I could remove the thing, but it would take time and a workstation fully equipped for working on warforged, neither of which actually have. Even then, I could easily miss a few threads of it, it would regrow, and then we're back where we started! I'm an artificer, not a miracle worker."

Accualy you do have a workstation fully equipped for working on warforged, it's at the north end of the lab.

[Ferdinand Salatic]

Xabulba wrote:

Actually you do have a workstation fully equipped for working on warforged, it's at the north end of the lab.

Ferdinand pauses for a moment. "Alright, we do have a workstation. We still don't have enough time to do it right."