The sorceror could hear the undead, even if he couldn't see them. He prepared to blast them with lightning when the undead exited the darkness.
The sorceror could hear the undead, even if he couldn't see them. He prepared to blast them with lightning when the undead exited the darkness.
The sorceror could hear the undead, even if he couldn't see them. He prepared to blast them with lightning when the undead exited the darkness.
I'll leave everyone a moment to adjust your positions, but it looks good to me.
Badru, Lyria and Artival are readying actions. Ka'kara, Roylenna and Rhianna still to go.
I'm being a little nitpicky about this since this is going to be one great battle. I'll give you a clue: there are ghouls galore out there.
...and it's fine with me if you want to start rolling for your attacks. For those of you who are readying at least they will take effect before the ghouls anyway.
Roylenna will concentrate on moving her Dancing Lights to wherever the ghouls show up.
Ka'kara prepares to rage and make a cleave attack.
"What's going on?" asks Rhianna plaintively. "I can't see!"
With a blood-curdling scream the ghouls swarm all over you.
Ghouls come in at O7, N7, M7 (immediately cut down by Ka'kara), H7 and I8, J8, K8, L8 and K9.
Ka'kara gets her sword stuck in the ghoul carcass. Artival fires away at the approaching ghoul, while Mahaffy and Badru take a swing and Lyria unleashes her holy energy.
The ghouls carry an overwhelming charnel smell, so Ka'kara, Mahaffy, Lyria and Badru need to make Fortitude saves (DC 15).
As the ghouls start swarming over the group, Lyria starts praying, with her holy symbol raised up high. As the ghouls run and limp foward, the holy symbol starts to glow with a soft blue light. Trying to stay concentrated, Lyria repeats over and over a short prayer, but one of the ghouls moves straight at her, which frightens her and causes her to lose some of the channeled energy. Nevertheless, the energy flows from the symbol with bright blue waves, lighting up the area of the cave... which just reveals more ghouls. At the same time, however, it burns all of the ghouls with energy, filling the cave once again with the stench of burnt meat, which combines with the natural stench surrounding the ghouls to make a truly horrible scent. Gasping for fresh air, Lyria manages to lift her shield to defend herself exactly as the ghoul smashes right into it, foaming from its mouth and howling with pain.
Mahaffy strikes the ghoul in K8
Fortitude save
Well this begins badly...
With a scream and a rush, the battle was on. Artival saw several of the horrible undead advance onto the party. He steeled himself and arc'ed a blast of lightning toward the onrushing ghouls.
Attack
Damage
Roylenna adjusts her Dancing Lights to illuminate the onrushing menace .
"Rhianna, does that help?"
Roylenna:
Artival's lightning blasts one of the ghouls, but does nothing to abate its charge. Lyria unleashes a blast of holy energy that have all the ghouls cringing in pain. The ghoul dodges Mahaffy's axe as he's overcome with nausea .
Ka'kara and Badru to go, then the ghouls.
Badru crinkles his nose at the fetid waves of odors coming off the ghouls. Shaking his head as nausea threatens to overcome him, he whispers a brief prayer to Saranrae under his breath and steels his stomach against the stench. He steps quickly up to the oncoming ghoul and swipes at it with his scimitar. Unfortunately he miss judges the creatures movements and barely cuts it.
With a golden halo highlighting his striking features Badru says,"Enough of these shadows. Saranrae bring forth your Holy Light upon this evil place!"
The ghouls claw at you viciously. Ka'kara is hit twice for 10 points of damage, while Mahaffy and Lyria are hit once for 2 points each. You feel your limbs stiffening . Badru escapes unscathed after nicking one ghoul slightly.
You can all act (unless you fail this save). Badru casts Daylight and temporarily negates the magical darkness, leaving Roylenna's lights to light your way. Fortunately there are no more ghouls to be seen.
The ghouls around Lyria attack her with an insane frenzy while she does her best to block them with her shield in one hand and hoping that her armor will block the rest. When turning to her side to block a ghoul's claw, another one hits her on the shoulder. She falls back to face them both, but feels her limbs stiffening until she can't control them. She starts to panic, being able to move her eyes but not much else while the ghouls almost surround her. For a second she tries to close her eyes and try to regain control of her body, but the sounds of the ghouls advancing and her friends shrieks of horror are too much for her, so she opens them again and witnesses the battle.
Seeing the cleric immediately become paralyzed after sustaining a hit from the undead, Artival realizes that was the very thing the group did not need. "Someone help Lyria. She's out!," he yelled. His best contribution to the fight was to keep chipping away at the monsters.
Lightning blast Attack at Ghoul K9
Damage
Being inconvenienced by the stench does not help Mahaffy
Save
But he nevertheless rally to strike the ghoul n°9 ( stupid song anyway, no drums in it)
Ka'kara knows that it could spell the end for her if she falls to the ghouls touch, she taps into deep inner reserves easily resisting the paralytic effect and feels nothing more than a mild irritating burning from her wounds. Her blade barely slows as it cleaves cleanly through bnoth of her adversaries and she growls at the rest.
With a shocked gasp upon realizing Lyria's predicament Roylenna yells, "NO! Badru, pull her back! She's to big for me to." Instead she focuses on the advancing ghouls and moves forward with both a spark of fire both in her eyes and in her hands as she intones "Igneus!" Unleashing a rolling wave of flames from her outstretched hands nearly scortching Mahaffy's beard.
Roylenna:
In a move that surprises even her, Rhianna jumps forward and grabs Lyria, pulling her back toward the wall and away from the ghouls. She raises her off-hand and a sudden glow of energy surrounds it, but she seems to be using it to cover the move rather than to launch a bolt.
Rhianna grabs Lyria and pulls her away just as Roylenna'a fire washes over the ghouls, scorching them badly and charring two of them entirely (9 and B). Artival's bolt strikes the ghoul behind them (in K9) squarely in the chest, but it's still going strong (although smoking a bit).
Badru's holy light manages to counter the darkness for the moment, and you see a little further into the cave. No more ghouls as far as you can see.
Brandishing his shield like a search beacon Badru shines his light into the faces of any charging ghouls. With a mighty battle roar he attempts to demoralize any remaining ghouls.
Ghoul C moves to M7 and tears into Ka'kara for 23 points of damage (and a Fort vs 19). Ghoul 7 claws at Mahaffy for another 2 points and a save vs 13. Ghoul 8 swings around the totem to J7 and tries to take a bite out of Badru but is repelled by his gleaming shield. Ghoul 3 moves to I6, also trying to put out that awful light, but to no avail. And the last ghoul charges with a fury to K7 to take a swipe at Roylenna, provoking an AoO from Mahaffy (assuming that he made his save).
The stench is getting overwhelming, forcing Roylenna and Artival to make a Fort save vs 15.
You're up.
Artival's fort. save
Ka'kara:
Black Tom:
Also, you didn't mention the success or failure of Ka'kara's mighty cleave, but I'm assuming she blasted Ghoul 1 and Ghoul A to oblivion with her rolls, so I X'd them. I did it in such a way that I can easily undo it if that's incorrect.
As always, let me know if anything needs to be corrected.
Artival is sickened by the stench. Here is your new map.
Seeing that his efforts to scare away the undead failed epically Badru slashes at the nearest ghoul.
The giantess is taken completely off guard by the ferocity of the ghouls attack. Not only do the grievous wounds leave her bloodied and staggering but the ghoul poison is to much for her and her muscles freeze solid.
Fortitude Save
No comment ...
Seeing the towering barbarian stagger under the assault of the ghouls Badru rushes to her side. He puts his hands her her side and lets the power of his faith flow into her healing her.
"Artival, I can burn them again if you move back!"
Rhianna:
Fortitude Save 1d20
No comment ...
Fortitude Save 1d20
No comment ...
After seeing the effectiveness of the mage's last gout of fire on the ghouls, Artival listens and moves back out of the cone of effect. The foul stench of the area was starting to get to the sorceror, but he fought on, seeing the tide turning against his squad. As his lightning has been relatively effective against the undead, he continues the onslaught, firing another blast at the closest upright zombie.
Attack with sickened effect.
Damage
Sorry, the ghoul did indeed claw at Roylenna and miss.
Lyria keeps trying to regain control of her body and limbs, while not succeeding at both. She still hears the shouts and screams of her groupmates, while the ghouls rabidly attack them and paralyze more of the group, and manages to see at least part of the battle, which doesn't seem to look very good.
** spoiler omitted **