DM Wellards Serpent Skull ..The Adventure

[DM Wellard]

Welcome to the AP thread continuing from the prologue. Please do not post here in character until you are called for by a spoiler post.You may off course dot the thread

Note to self

Spoiler:

Joao,Brugga,Tranz,Gareth,N'goka,Tariro

[Alexander Kilcoyne]

Dot

[scranford]

Dot too

[DM Wellard]

Joao

Spoiler:

Everything is dark and silent. Then,
sensation begins to creep back in—the feel of sand below and of something wet lapping at your feet, the sound of ocean waves washing against a beach, and a heavy pressure over your legs. Then, suddenly, you feel a searing pain in one foot.(Take 1 point of damage..you are also sickened –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks,and ability checks)

[jlord]

Dot

[Joao Marcos]

Joao was jerked awake by the pain, only just beginning to gather his wits about himself, but aware enough to attempt to scramble back from the pain. The beach was not a dream. His head whipped about, trying to figure out where he was-- or why he was where he was-- before looking to see what stung him. His hand had already slapped his chest, reaching for a weapon to only then to learn that he was not wearing his equipment.

Where was he?

[DM Wellard]

Joao

Spoiler:

You are in your armour but weaponless at present..your scramble back brings your back up against something which you realise is a pile of Equipment. Ahead off you a creature not unlike a dog sized scorpion is advancing slowly..three similar creatures are also present the recumbant forms of almost a dozen people lie on the sand you recognise your comrades from amongst the crew among them

Initiative
Joao 25
Scorpion things 18

[Joao Marcos]

DM:

Spoiler:

At least his actions had not alerted the three other things, though the state of the others was unknown. It was not like he could check them closely for breathing just yet. Joao favored his uninjured foot as he stood, clenching his jaw against the pain and narrowing his eyes at the.. thing, quickly evaluating his options.

- There was nothing wrong with his ears, so it stood to reason that there was nothing wrong with theirs, if they were still living. Since he was, he figured most of them were also.
- Since he had no idea where he was, shouting to wake them might not be wise.
- It was a fair bet that he had also been poisoned, so he had to work fast.

His hands moved as he sounded the growling utterances that were part of the spell, his fingers curling into claws as they were raised to his face, glaring at the.. insect? creature? through the gaps in his fingers. One word he spoke in Draconic, completing the spell, "Myniegoi."
This post assumes standing counted as a move action. Casting Doom on the.. thing closest to him. Who is the closest to him currently? Are there any ambulatory beings visible besides the.. things?

[DM Wellard]

Round 1

Joao

Spoiler:

You are not sure if your spell works or not as the creature merely clicks its claws at you..glancing down you realise the equipment pile contains a number of weapons, back packs and other items. A moan comes from one of the bodies on the beach and Brugga retches and struggles to sit up. At the same time one of the roaming scorpion things takes a tentative snap with a claw at the Gnome Tranz who awakens with a yell. The closest person to you is the Garundi Man Jask he is unarmoured his clothes in rags and his hands manacled behind his back

Round 2

Brugga

Spoiler:

The pounding in your head is worse than the worst hangover you have ever had...what was in last nights rum....and will someone stop beating that drum. You come to conciousness lying on sand the drum the sound of distant surf. Retching and rolling over you see Joao confronting a dog sized scorpion like creature from behind you comes a yell as a similar creture takes a nip at the gnome Tranz. You have the sickened condition (–2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks,and ability checks)

Tranz

Spoiler:

You float in a warm cocoon of sleep..dreams of the First World filling your mind and yet under that is a rythmic sussuruss of sound. As you try to determine the source of the noise something sharp jabs into your leg and you awaken with a yell. A dog sized scorpion like creature has just grabbed you with a pincer. You are sickened –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks,and ability checks

Joao

Spoiler:

You see the hilt of your rapier poking out of the pile

All 3

Spoiler:

Initiative
Joao 25
Brugga 1d20 ⇒ 16
Scorpion things 13
Tranz 1d20 ⇒ 7

sheesh ..this is not a pbp friendly opening guys..those of you not called for yet ,you'll just have to bear with me it won't be long

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Round 2:

Round 2

Curses... Well you're not going to win in a physical confrontation, use your brain Tranz...

Tranz groggily attempts to recall if he has heard anything of these creatures, and in particular he attempts to recall which predator they would most fear the coming of. Assuming he thinks of something, he will use Ghost Sound to emulate the sound of said predator.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 Knowledge (Nature), skill check penalty for being sickened accounted for.

Edit: Edited out my initiative check as I see you have rolled it in your edit.

[Joao Marcos]

Round 2 -- Doom cast on thing "J"(oao)
The choice was not a hard one. With the others waking up, the situation is improving, but not fast enough for his peace of mind. The indecisiveness of the creature was somewhat reassuring, since it was not actively pursuing him. The possibility existed that these things were not inclined to attack once they were outnumbered, and escaping this situation without a fight suited him just fine.

He suspected that the creatures were not capable of any sudden surprises, but still Joao skirted the creature's reach as best he could, to reach the Garundi man whose name he did not remember. "Up", he ordered with a note of urgency, reaching down to shake him while keeping an eye on the creature. He was hopeful that these things were just scavengers, and not especially hungry.
Knowledge(nature) to identify the creatures?1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 - 2 = 9 Who is the next closest non-waking person?

[DM Wellard]

See the OOC thread for my policy on initiative etc, and can we keep things in spoilers until everyone is awake please.

Still round 2

Tranz

Spoiler:

Your wide ranging knowledge tells you this is undoubtedly a member of the Eurypterid family..to be exact an ochre Eurypterid which is known to be a shoreline scavenger. As they have no ears a sound will not distract them. Joao is a little further along the beach confronting a second beast and Brugga is struggling to rise. There are two other creatures present. Joao is standing beside a pile made up of everyones equipment.

Joao.

Spoiler:

You move to the mans side but your attempt to shake him awake is met with mere moans and retches.As you do so Tranz backs across the sand towards you and hides behind you.The next nearest person is the redheaded woman Sasha

All those awake.

Spoiler:

Foiled in its attempt at a gnomish breakfast the creature turns its attention to

[Tranz Strurgoth]

DM Wellard wrote:

Tranz

** spoiler omitted **

Spoiler:

In that case, full withdraw behind anyone else I can see whos awake, or to a point of safety.

[DM Wellard]

Still in round 2

All those awake.

Spoiler:

Foiled in its attempt at a gnomish breakfast the creature turns its attention to Tariro probing at her with it's claws.

Tariro.

Spoiler:

You are awoken by something jabbing into you(take 1 damage). Opening your eyes you are confronted by a dog sized scorpion like creature. You can see Joao trying to shake a man awake down the beach as Tranz makes his way towards him avoiding three other similar creaturees..Brugga is retching but awake.(you may post for round 3)

Tranz

Spoiler:

You sucessfully make your way to Joao's side. he is trying to awaken a manacled Garundi man who you recall was in the ships brig

waiting for Brugga to post and then we can get onto round 3

[jlord]

dot

[DM Wellard]

Those awake

Spoiler:

Initiative

Joao 25
Brugga 16
Scorpion things 13
Tranz 7
Tariro 3

[DM Wellard]

Ok not waiting for Nazard to post for Brugga.

For those awake on round 2

Spoiler:

Brugga staggers over towards the pile and pulls her greataxe from the pile..at that the closest scorpion thing lashes out at her with it's stinger but misses..The Barbarian woman growls at it "You try sting Brugga? Brugga smash you good!!"

[Joao Marcos]

DM (& Others awake)

Spoiler:

Taking the moaning and retching to mean that he was waking, Joao moved to the next closest person, attempting to shake her awake as well, though he silently bid goodbye to the possibility of silence as he did. The gnome coming over to use him as cover earned a bemused look and a nod of greeting as he went about making sure that none of them were stationary targets. "Any idea what those things are?", he asked the gnome while his attention was on Sasha

Tracker for DM:

Spoiler:

Doom cast on thing "J", 8 rounds left

[Brugga of Slothjaw]

Oops, ooc:

Sorry folks, I must have looked at the last post in the prologue thread before it was edited to include the link. Didn't even realize we'd started. Brugga is definitely fine with getting her axe and attacking. DM Wellard even managed to duplicate her complex speech patterns perfectly!

[DM Wellard]

Round 3

Then make the attack roll Brugga..dont feel you have to wait till it's your initiative

Gareth

Spoiler:

(Initiative 10) You groan and sit up feeling rougher than hell.(you are sickened –2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks,and ability checks)You are on a beach, your chains are gone and there are a few weird creatures that look like scorpions running around nipping people. Joao is trying awaken the other passengewrs and Brugga is brandishing her axe at one of the creatures. You May post for round 4

[Brugga of Slothjaw]

Round 3:

Brugga rages and attacks.
Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Damage: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 if that hits (she does try to find a flank if she can)

[Tariro]

Round 3

Spoiler:

Coming awake quickly Tariro quickly sends out her senses to determine if Dotar is nearby anywhere, before scrambling back a few feet still prone.

She then spreads her fingers out and attempts to roast the offending beast.

Burning Hands (DC13 save for half damage

Burning Hands (1d4=3)

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Round 3:

Now's not the time for a nature lesson, but I seem to recall they don't have a sense of hearing, making my illusionary sounds useless... Tranz mutters angrily in response to Joao.

Tranz moves to the nearest melee combat and tries to help distract the creature to aid his ally.

Aid Another VS DC10 to add +2 to allys attack roll.1d20 - 4 ⇒ (20) - 4 = 16

[Gareth Marcavius]

To the GM:

Who is left to be awakened and do I have any of my stuff? last I knew it was all locked up. Is there anything usealbe as a weapon on the ground if I am unequiped? Who Is being attacked by the creatures? It help me indeciding what to do, since gareth is more loyal to those whom were frienly to him.

[Gareth Marcavius]

Round 4:

Gareth does one of the following depending on the circumstances:

If his equipment is available he attacks with his crossbow at a scorpion that is not engaged in melee with something. While trying to make his way towards Tranz or N'goka to kick them awake, or at the very least provide them cover.
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

If his equipment is not available he runs over to awaken specifically N'goka followed by Tranz if they are not awake. If he sees a usable weapon, or any makeshift weapons or shields he scoops them up on the way.

If his equipment is not available and N'goka and Tranz are awake he either looks for his equipment or aids another in combat to assist them if they are fighting the creatures. He tries to put himself between his two friends and danger whenever possible, attempting to grant them either cover or an aid another bonus to ac.
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

[DM Wellard]

GARETH

Spoiler:

Joao, Tariro, Tranz and Brugga seem to be up and active..you can try waking N'Goka. your equipment is in a pile close to where the others seem to be fighting one of the things

Round 3 roundup

Spoiler:

Whilst Joao tries to wake Sasha with no sucess Brugga with some timely assistance from Tranz annihilates the scorpion thing facing them. Another of the creatures takes a tentative nip at the Tian man who does not react except to twitch..emboldened by the lack of response the thing prepares to feast.

Tariro finds that Dotar is safe in his pouch attached to her belt and then roasts the thing that attacked her..it is well scorched but not killed and comes at her with muderous intent.However it is totally ineffective as the halfling woman slides out of it's way.

Gareth awakens.

Round 4 intiative
Joao 25
Brugga 16
2 Scorpion things 13
Gareth 10
Tranz 7
Tariro 3
burnt scorpion thing 2

[Brugga of Slothjaw]

ROUND 4:

Brugga lifts up her axe for a charge at the remaining creature.
Attack: 1d20 + 5 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 - 2 + 2 = 23 If charging
Damage: 1d12 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 - 2 = 11

[Gareth Marcavius]

Round 4:

Gareth Attempts to wake N'goka, and when aroused he makes his way to his equipment.

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Round 4:

Tranz searches frantically for his equipment, trusting that the more martially inclided survivors can handle the remnants.

[Joao Marcos]

Round 4

Spoiler:

With no response from Sasha, a reaction that did not bode well, he left her to lie for now, since she was in no danger. Unarmed, he did not want to engage whatever that was, but that was going about the soultion from a different angle. So instead, he moved around to the unconscious Tian man, skirting the reach of the thing, and began to unceremoniously drag him closer to the equipment, and hopefully away from the thing. "Tariro, over here", he called to her.

[Tariro]

Round 4

Spoiler:

Tariro quickly jumps to her feet, and runs to where Joao is waiting. She tries to spot her spear, or dagger in the pile of stuff.

"I'm coming". "Where are we"? "What's happening"?

[DM Wellard]

Round 4 round up

Joao moves to and begins to drag the Tian Man towards the equipment pile, this engenders a futile attack by the creature who had decided on him as breakfast. Brugga demolishes that beast and moves on towards the one threatening Tariro. That creature snaps a claw at the retreating witch and suceeds only in hitting sand as she moves away at speed. Gareth moves to N'Goka's side and begins trying to rouse her whilst Tranz begins a frantic search of the Equipment.[/spoiler]

N'Goka

Spoiler:

The ship must have hit a second storm because you are being shaken around...however on opening your eyes you find that it is only Gareth shaking you awake. YOu are on a beach surrounded by unconcious passengers and your comrades from the ship who appear to be engaged in frantic activity involving a number of dog sized scorpion creaturesYou still feel quite queasy.(you have the sickened condition)

and the good news is no more spoilers

Round 5 intiative
Joao 25
Brugga 16
Healthy Scorpion thing 13
Gareth 10
Tranz 7
N'goka 5
Tariro 3
burnt scorpion thing 2

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Round 5:

I guess Tranz is still rummaging for his stuff then.

[Joao Marcos]

Round 5:

With everyone that he could see out of immediate danger, Joao starts to dig through the equipment pile, scattering things out as he came across them, in an attempt to reduce the clutter. His equipment had consisted of four daggers, two of them special, a crossbow, and a heavy mace. Whether or not any of them survived, he had yet to tell, but hopefully his attempt at securing things to his pack worked. Sparing a second, he glanced up at the Garundi man, and Sasha, to see if they were waking at all.

"Equipment doesn't pile itself", he said as he worked.

[N'goka of Omekai]

N'goka wakes up to the sight of Gareth's brutish face, and closes her eyes again for a moment, to take stock of her condition before opening them again, her face impassive.

What has happened? she asks brusquely, feeling in her minds eye for the presence of Redstripe.

[Tariro]

Tariro grabs whatever weapon she knows how to use from the pile, and turns to viscously confront one of the beasts.

Fighting defensively unless she has to melee.

[Gareth Marcavius]

Ship... Gareth makes a retching noise but holds it down....Sorry, S-Shipwrek I suppose... ourstuff seems to be in a big w-wrecked pile. I'm going to see if I can get a w-weapon...

Round 5:
Now that N'goka is awake, and she doesn't seem to be in any danger, gareth makes his way to the equipment pile. If his stuff is easily accessable he grabes his crossbow and begins firing at the scorpion that Brugga is not fighting, hoping that it is not in melee. This is assuming of course that he is not in either of the scorpion's threat range.

If his stuff is not easily acessable gareth grabs the first bow, or two handed martial weapon he finds and begins his assult, focusing ranged on the one that is furthest away and not in melee, and melee on whichever one is closest. Gareth figures he can sort out whose weapon it is at a more convient time.

Perception 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Ranged 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Melee 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
these inclue sickened condition

[N'goka of Omekai]

Round 5 action;

N'goka calls out in her mind for Redstripe, while hauling herself to her feet.

[DM Wellard]

b]OK Lets finish this[/b]

Joao moves back to the pile and finds his pack with all its attachments.

Brugga charges and massacres the last untouched scorpion thing whilst screeching some inarticulate warcry. You get the feeling she is somewhat annoyed.

Gareth reaches the pile and grabs up his crossbow..then realises he needs his bolts picking up an item is a standard action

Tranz has now found all his equipment..pack, shield and spell components pouch.

N'goka tries to make sense of the chaos around her her mind reaching out to Redstripe..she senses her companion is alive..but not close.

Tariro picks up her long spear and turns to see her 'friend' bearing down on her she sets the spear and has the satisfaction of seeing the thing impale itself on her weapon.

The fight is over.Around you the five other passengers begin to retch and groan as they come round.

[Joao Marcos]

Joao goes about re-arming himself with motions of long practice, though he lingers over his crossbow, uncertain about how much damage was incurred. With knives across his chest, and the bar mace slung on his back, he felt far better. Stoically, he moves away from the pile to give the others a hand up, slightly unsteady himself from what was likely poison.

Now that he had time, he shook what sand he could from his hair (almost falling in the process), and decided with gravity's aid to be seated again.. At least until the symptoms passed, which might be a while. "Anyone else get stung?" he asked. Where was the captain? Where was the crew? Turning his head, he looked up and down the shore for a wreck.

[DM Wellard]

You spot the ship on the rocks about a 1/4 mile away. Its masts hang drunkenly over the side and it is obviously not going anywhere.

Everyone feels better..lose the sickened condition.Joao, Tariro and Tranz have 1 damage apiece.

The other passengers come round fully and gaze around in some bewilderment.

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Tranz gazes around slowly, trying to guess where they might be.

Knowledge: Geography- 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

If Tranz is confident in his assessment, he will share his knowledge with others.

Perhaps... We should scavenge what we can from the ships wreckage gentlemen... ladies...

[Brugga of Slothjaw]

Brugga stops raging, and gasping for breath, digs in the pile for her hide armour and her stuff (which isn't much). Then she looks about for Vix, yelling his name if she can't see him.

[N'goka of Omekai]

N'goka secures her belongings and then examines the others for signs of injury or ailment that she may need to treat.

Heal check 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Her distraction at her missing companion clearly has her mind unfocused, as she misses even the most obvious of injuries...

Indeed, I suspect our missing companions may still be aboard the wreck.

And what spirits favor caused our own personal equipment to be so neatly arrayed? I know the half-orcs items were stowed below-decks...

[DM Wellard]

Tranz

Spoiler:

you think this is most likely the island known as 'The Smugglers Shiv' probably the north coast given the position of the sun. It's perhaps 1 hour past sunrise..in these latitudes that gives you 11 hours of daylight to work in

When Brugga calls for Vix the fox does not appear..however a rather dishevelled pony emerges from the jungle and walks haltingly down to you.It would appear that it made it's own way ashore and encountered the scorpion things

[Brugga of Slothjaw]

Brugga heads to where the pony appeared and begins searching the undergrowth.

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Ahem... I do believe we are situated upon the north coats of an island known as 'The Smugglers Shiv'. We have about 11 hours of daylight to work with, so gather your things and lets salvage what we can from the ship and prepare ourselves a suitable campsite.

The frail Gnome is clearly far more comfortable with the group doing the physical activities while he supervises, musing and thinking to himself...

DM:

So this Smugglers Shiv is situated near Sargava? Also, Knowledge (History) and Knowledge (Local) on 'The Smugglers Shiv', rolls are in that order (Guidance Assisted)- 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18, 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

[Joao Marcos]

His disorientation fading, Joao manages his feet again, this time standing steadier. His head looked in the direction of the ship, though his brows were drawn at the thought of something. The Mwangi woman's words were something that he could use to start to puzzle out their current situation, so he started there.

"Any known towns or villages?", he asked over his shoulder in an even tone as he pulled off his boot to examine his injured foot, washing it in the surf. If they knew where they were, then perhaps finding a town was the next choice. He could manage if there were none, and the rest of them looked like they would do just fine, actually. The gnome-- 'Tranz', he reminded himself-- sounded like he was either very knowledgeable, or a noble. Time would tell which. Heal check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

The advice he was giving was sound, so he did just that, shaking his foot off and pulling his boot back on, replacing the dagger in it.

[Tranz Strurgoth]

Joao Marcos wrote:

The gnome-- 'Tranz', he reminded himself-- sounded like he was either very knowledgeable, or a noble.

Or both :P

Joao Marcos wrote:

"Any known towns or villages?"

Tranz scratched his head, continuing to attempt to recall what he knew of the island.

I don't think the area is civilised... Allow me a few minutes my good man, my head is still groggy from the crash...