Tiamat's Talons (IC)

[King Tius]

Tiamat's Talons
OOC (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9860291#post9860291)


***Bookkeeping post***

[King Tius]

Our intrepid adventure begins with the ringing of the Eveningstar bell. It does not peal with joy as it did yesterday when the blacksmith’s apprentice took a young maid to be his wife, nor does it toll slowly in mourning as it had a fortnight ago for the passing of the butcher. Luckily, it does not clang with the frightened rhythm that heralds another Orc raid. Instead, it rouses you from sleep with its two-fold, heartbeat-like warning. Those who live within Eveningstar’s fair walls know this ring well; it is the call of trouble within the walls. Perhaps a house has caught fire or there is some monster loose upon the streets? Whatever the case may be, you know that this clanging warns you to stay within doors and keep your weapons and loved ones at hand. Yet despite the warning, a crowd has gathered around a large house near the center of town.
As you join the mob you see that they are giving the house a wide berth. The town’s guard, nearly two dozen men, surround the house. They hold torches that sputter in the brisk wind or stand with sword and shield at the ready near the house’s several doors. Boards have been hastily nailed across the lower windows and at each door two men brace it shut with their shields. Standing prominently in front of the house with his deep blue cloak snapping in the breeze is the Captain of the guard, Manse Dremel. His deep, sonorous voice can be heard by all, even above the alarm bell and the gusting winds.

“Put the house to torch, Men! I’ll not have death wandering these streets!”

A woman dressed in a very nice nightgown is crumpled at his feet. At his proclamation she half screams, half sobs:

“No! No! Not my house! Please! This house is all I have. It has been in our family for generations! Will no one help me? My…my family can pay!”

Whispers erupt through the crowd. Whether by your own knowledge or by those nearby, you know this woman to be Quintella Proudmore. Her family is prominent throughout Cormyr and is well known for their wealth and political influence. Along with the whispers of just how hefty her reward might be are those of what drove her from her home shrieking in the middle of the night. Some say skeletons. Others, giant bugs. Whatever it was, it has Captain Dremel ready to burn the place to the ground. His soldiers begin to move closer towards the house, readying their torches. The din of the crowd begins to rise as shouts of “burn it!” and “No!” erupt around you.

[The White Knight]

Alhuran waits a moment to see if anyone else present steps forward to assist the woman. He ponders further, trying to recall anything he'd heard or read before about either the Proudmore family or incidents of this nature happening in these parts before.


Knowledge (Nobility, Geography or Local, as appropriate for the query. Add a further +1 if Local)
[roll0]

[Vladislav]

Petal

A slender dark-haired young woman who goes by the name Petal Lightstrider is looking at the commotion, torchlight flickering on her face, still dazed after having been roused from her bed at this late hour. Not keeping her emotions to herself at this time, she frowns at the internal conflict between compassion for the woman's plight, and worry about whatever dangers threaten the population. A dark shape lurks at her feet, which upon careful examination, should anyone have time for such, will be revealed not as a monster or fiend, but her faithful dog Fang.

She shakes her head at the demand to put the house to torch. It's such a beautiful house, and she can practically smell the love and family history seeping through its timbers ... would be a shame to put it all to waste on the account of fear of the unknown. With that in mind, Petal approaches one of the nay-sayers, those who object to this extreme solution. Someone who looks respectable, preferably, not a foaming member of a mob.

Whatever is lurking in this house, will have strong incentive to escape as soon as they set fire to it. It's only natural. And ... don't they even want to find out what it is? What would it take, would you say, for the Captain to change his mind?

She's sincerely hoping the answer won't be "money"; Petal have seen her share of corrupt officials back in Baldur's Gate, and hopes the Captain isn't one of those.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

When first the bell had started calling the young half-elf had grumbled softly and tried to shut the noise out. She had taken a room in the inn to get some sleep, Sharess damn it, and after an evening of dancing she needed it. She hadn't even asked for a discount for her dance, it had been for the pure joy of dancing, but it didn't make her any less tired. Still, going back to sleep seemed impossible. First the whispers and shouts of the maids and innkeep had helped the blasted bell but soon enough her own curiosity had won out. This wasn't normal, obviously, so what was afoot? Dressing and arming quickly the dancer then stuffs a few more useful things in her backpack and heads out to check on the commotion.

At the house she listens quietly to the captain her curiosity rising. Burning a house in the middle of a town was... rash. In this wind the fire could spread easily. Something must have them riled up good. When the owner of the house calls out for aid then she quickly perks up. Reward? Now that's more like it. She would probably have helped out anyways but if it carried the possibility of a reward then it was sure to lead to glory and maybe even to further adventure as her reputation spread. Wouldn't that be just grand. Lightning quick she has made her decision. "Hold, good captain! Hold, please!" she calls out with the voice of someone maybe seventeen years old but confident as if rather older.
Nimbly she steps out into the clearing, flashing the guards a winning smile. She is a handsome, no... a beautiful young woman. She has long, bluish black hair that spills down her shoulders, framing a beautiful face. She has grey eyes with a clear intelligence to them and a lithe yet curvaceous build that would be the envy of most women. She is not exactly fully human though, and while her features aren't exactly angular enough to give it away the slightly pointed ears poking out of her black hair clearly marks her as a half-elf, and thus obviously older than the apparent age of about seventeen. She moves with the grace of an elf too, though.
Clad in simple, sturdy clothes and a chainshirt as well as carrying both a rapier and a shortbow she seems ready for action. "Good captain! In this wind, wouldn't a fire be likely to spread to more houses when the blaze grows large? What has happened? Maybe something can be done without threatening to burn down the town. I would be happy to help." She keeps her tone friendly and helpful.

Diplomacy check? If so:
[roll0] Edit: A fricking two? Lucky I have maxed out the skill then. :smallannoyed:
Hopefully the argument itself will be convincing enough. :smallsigh:

[Good Steve]

Azen

Azen had just arrived in town after a long and tiring journey when he heard the bell tolling. It was a simple matter to discover what the commotion was, what with half the town in the streets surrounding a large home. He approached cautiously, keeping his ears open to the gossiping crowd but learning little of what was truly occurring. As he makes his way through the talkative throng he finds himself staring at a grisly scene, the local guard about to burn down the home of a weeping woman.

Azen shoulders his way through the rest of the crowd and makes his way towards the man obviously in charge of the matter. Once he is within earshot he hears the young armed woman pleading her case for a less destructive solution, just what he had in mind.

"She is right, setting this woman's home ablaze is a rash decision. There may be a way to resolve this without destroying her livelihood. We can enter the house, discern what has transpired and whether it is still a threat to anyone. If we do not return in due time your men can still set their fire."
Diplomacy Aid Another:
[roll0]

He places a gauntleted hand on the half-elf's shoulder, an approving smile spreads across his handsome face, before turning to the gathered crowd. "If there is anyone else who would help this poor woman let it be known and join with us. We do not truly know what it is we face and any who are brave enough would be welcomed with open arms."

[The White Knight]

Spread of fire? Of course. Astute assessment, comrades. Can't let the town burn. Best lend a hand, Alhuran ponders silently, then steps out of the crowd.

He is neither tall nor short, fat nor frail. His long, brown hair is tied behind his head, and he is clean shaven. He is clad in dark grey scholar's robes, and a tiny bat is perched on his shoulder.

"Of course," he says in reply to Azen's plea. "I may be able to assist." He bows courteously to Melinda, Petal, and the lady Proudmore.

He turns to address the captain. "Excuse me, sir; what can you tell me about the denizens within the building?" he asks. "I have studied many foul creatures, and may be able to recall something that can assist us."

With that, he whispers something to the critter on his shoulder, who then takes to flight. The bat flutters around the upper window of the house for a moment, as if inspecting the situation for himself.

[The White Knight]

Oops, forgot rolls:
Diplomacy (Aid Another)
[roll0]

Spot (Tiberius)
[roll1]

Listen (Tiberius)
[roll2]

[Master_Rahl22]

A tall, well built blonde human steps forward. He wears a holy symbol around his neck that depicts a skeletal arm holding golden scales. He says, "Captain, you said you'd not have death wandering the streets. As death is rightly the domain of Kelemvor, perhaps you could tell me what it is you mean by this. As these other fine folks have said, any creature would attempt to escape a burning building."

Rolls:
[roll0]

[King Tius]

Allhuran

Alhuran does not recall any events of this nature occurring in these parts. He does know that the Proudmores are one of the prominent families of Cormyr’s nobility. In particular, there is a Jahareem Proudmore that serves as an advisor to the Obarskyr family (the family that rules Cormyr).
Petal queries an older looking woman standing in the mob, shaking her head sadly. “Dremel’s a stern one, but he’s been on edge since them orcs started attacking us. I reckon he’d rather torch the poor girl’s house than risk losing more men.”

Tiberius

Your familiar flies up to the top of the house and slips through a crack in the window (because bats are sneaky like that). The empathetic link between you and the bat fills you with fear and a sense of being…..crowded.

As you step forward and question the Captain, he raises a hand, signaling his soldiers to hold. Though at first he does not seem convinced, you can see by the change in his stern expression that your rationality and altruism has prevailed.

“Very well. If you wish to venture inside and throw your lives away I’ll not stop you. Quintella says she was attacked by skeletons in her bedroom. As she fled, she says she saw a giant beetle in her living room. The poor woman is clearly delirious, but I’ll not chance it. I’d rather burn down half this block then let skeletons loose inside our walls. I’ll give you an hour to report back; else the house goes to torch.”

He motions to the two men holding the front door closed with their shields. Gingerly, they take a step back, giving you access. Out of the crowd steps a Dwarven woman with the look of a warrior about her, apparently also interested in going into the Proudmore home. A young man, barely of age, wearing simple robes stitched with Lathander’s emblem on them, also moves to join you. He draws his holy symbol out from under his linens and looks to Dremel.

“I wish to help these men, Father. This is a chance to prove myself to Lathander and become a Dawnbringer.” Dremel’s expression darkens and looks off towards the walls of Eveningstar, though he says nothing. The young man nods resolutely and looks to those assembled. ”The Morninglord shall shine his light upon us all.”

[The White Knight]

Alhuran focuses on his own location, trying to empathically will Tiberius to cease his reconnaissance and return to him.

Wouldn't that be arson? Alhuran ponders. This man sounds irrational. Would he reimburse those families for their losses if he burned down half the block? Or punish them further when they act out in protest?

[King Tius]

Your bat faithfully returns, none the worse for wear.

[LtPowers]

"Skeletons!" comes a muffled voice from within the crowd. Finally the Dwarven woman pushes her way out from between two onlookers. "C'mon, ye tall folk, let a priestess through would ye?! Some of us be trained in how ta deal wit' th' undead, ye know!"

Her gigantic sword is drawn and she has fury in her eyes. The holy symbol of Haela Brightaxe, cast from steel, shines brightly in the glow of the guards' torches.


Trell

[Vladislav]

Yes, he does seem on edge. Burn half the block? Madness.

Upon hearing the Captain offer, or rather his challenge, Petal approaches the forming group. Glad to see so many like-minded individuals, she smiles. Apparently I'm not the only one who values exloration over arson. I am Petal Lightstrider, Druid Initiate of the Moonshine Glade. It seems fate itself brought me here to seek and destroy those abominations and save this beautiful house.

She checks her equipment before the dangerous expedition, and gives Fang some whispers of encouragement. She's about to express some worry at the overzealous guards burning the house with them inside, but the dialogue between the two men puts her worries to rest. A Cleric in an adventuring party is always useful,, she giggles to herself, especially if he's the son of the man with his hand on the torch.

[Master_Rahl22]

The large blonde man's eyes widen in outrage at the mention of skeletons. He says, "Those who would take from Kelemvor what belongs to him will be sent to the Lord of the Dead to answer for themselves. Come friends, let's rid this house of the undead abominations. I am called William the Just."

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Skeletons? Lovely. She was poorly equiped to deal with the undead, unlike the clerics that quickly volounteer too. Well. She wasn't going to back down now. She might at least learn something useful from it. Like the way to stab a skeleton. When people introduces themselves the woman makes a graceful, if quick, curtsy towards her comrades-to-be. "Good to see some more people ready to help out. I am Melinda Merrin. Of Neverwinter." Giving the captain a cheerful, and rather charming, smile the blackhaired halfelf moves over to the owner of the house. "Now, Saer... Do you have any traps set in any part of your house?" she smiles. Better safe than sorry.

[The White Knight]

"Alhuran Velure, of Baldur's Gate via Candlekeep," he says proudly. "In addition to my scholarly background, I am also versed in arcane magic. Speaking of which, I had best go in prepared..."

With a flourish of gestures and arcane syllables, a shimmering coat of force briefly blankets itself over Alhuran's body, and then fades. He then pulls a copper piece from his purse, and while focusing on it he performs another incantation that has no visible effect.

"There. That ought to keep me safe.". He turns to the lady Proudmore and asks, bowing his head slightly, "Milady, if you can tell us anything about how these creatures may have come to be here, it could prove helpful in getting to the bottom of this. Have you made any enemies recently?"

OOC:
Casting Mage Armor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/magearmor.htm) and Detect Thoughts (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectthoughts.htm). Focusing the latter on Lady Proudmore for the next bits of conversation.

I was just about to declare the bonuses Insightful Divination should give me after casting Detect Thoughts, but then I realized it has Spell Focus [Divination] (barf) as a prerequisite, which I don't have... I'll guess I'll start digging for a new feat. Spell Focus OR Diviner 1st, silly. So that'll give me a +3 bonus to my next saving throw, and +3 to initiative until that save is made.

Anyhow, that'll be a DC 16 Will Save from her to determine the success of the effect.

[LtPowers]

The Dwarven battle priestess offers little more than a passing glance to the odd assemblage of tall folk standing around having a little chat while the dead walk. Maybe they'd like a bit of tea as well, perhaps with some scones?

Instead, she stalks purposefully for the door to the house, the one recently unblocked by the guards. She moves to kick the thing in, but halts at the last second in deference to the owner's sensibilities, instead opening the portal normally. She strides inside, searching for the way to the bedroom and hoping there's no beetle blocking the path.


Trell

[Master_Rahl22]

William follows the dwarf woman into the house, ready for whatever waits within.

[Vladislav]

In a cheerful sing-song voice, a bit out of place in the somber scene, Petal calls out, Wait for uuuuuus.

She pauses for but a moment before entering the house. Stopping before the door, she lights a Sunrod, which hangs on a string from her neck. Then she puts her two fingers in a V-shape, and passes them in front of her face. She's able to perceive the world differently now, as if looking beyond.

Detect Magic, Concentration, up to 2 minutes. Going to concentrate, moving at 1/2 speed, unless something happens.

Spear and tooth at the ready, she and Fang stride into the house, following the two priests.

[King Tius]

Quintella shakes her head meekly at the questions being asked.

“No, no. No traps and no enemies, unless you count the orcs!”

Several people in the crowd laugh at her comment, despite her desperate situation. Spells are cast and weapons are readied as you make for the door. A small cheer goes up in the crowd, though you can just as easily hear people making small bets about whether you will make it out alive or not.

”Remember, you have one hour. Gods help us all.”

The Captain’s son introduces himself as he casts light upon his holy symbol.

”My name is Edwyn. Edwyn Dremel. Let us rid this poor woman’s house of whatever evil lurks within.”

With Trell leading the way, you enter the invaded estate. No sooner do you all make it past the door than the guards close it behind you. As Petal’s sunrod illuminates the foyer, you hear the two guards thud against the door, resuming their bracing. The light reveals an ornately decorated foyer with an elaborate staircase to the right. Additionally, the light of the sunrod reveals four sets of bones. These sets of bones happen to be skeletons, now acutely aware of your presence. Silent save for the scraping of their feet, they attack!

So far Petal does not detect any magic auras.

Initiative
20 Melinda
19 Edwyn
18 William
15 Trell
14 Petal
13 Az
11 Alhuran
4 Bad Guys

The Map

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/1698/1stfloor1.png

Black rectangles are closed doors while white ones are opened [doors]. You are aware of the general layout of the place (hence the fog of war only exists inside the walls).


OOC: Fortunately for you guys the baddies got the worst of the initiative rolls. Everybody go ahead and bash things!

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

After giving the woman a nod and an encouraging smile the young half-elf readies her bow and follows the rest of the volounteers inside. The limited illumination left to them when the doors are closed is not much of a hinderance to her, her elven heritage helping her to pierce the murky half light beyond the directly illuminated area of the captain's sons Light spell. But she has little time to study her surroundings. A clattering and scraping of bone against bone draws ger attention to the undead monsters waiting for them. Suddenly she can understand the guards' haste to bar the doors again. "They're waiting for us!" she calls out to those of her allies less attentive than her and moves to the left to get a clear shot. Quickly she draws an arrow and nocks it and in one smooth motion she raises the shortbow, takes aim and looses on the first skeleton she saw.

Of course she's in for nasty surprise since skeletons is almost immune to people poking them with sharp sticks. At least ones fired from a nonmagical shortbow. :smallamused:

I didn't feel it right for her to know about it though, so next turn will see a change in tactics. :smallbiggrin:

Anyways:

Move action: Move to Q11.

Standard Action: Attack skeleton at K14.
[roll0]
[roll1]

Edit: Oh, crud. That's a miss. And I would've DAMAGED the skeleton if I had rolled a little better! :smallsigh:
Not to mention that Melinda won't learn anything from THAT attack. Yay! I'll be useless for TWO rounds now. :smallbiggrin:

[Master_Rahl22]

William quickly searches his memory for useful tidbits to share with the others about their nefarious foe. He then shouts, "For Kelemvor!" and rushes to attack a skeleton in front of him.

[roll0] Attempting to remember if skeletons have DR, looks like DC 10 or 15 according to the SRD. If William knows about it, he'll pass it on to the others.

Move: Move to L-14
Standard: Attack the skeleton
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Vladislav]

Petal looked for a good stop to place her Sweating Earth spell, but none was available; whether by chance or design, the enemies were spread far, and having dawdled, she even risked getting one of her allies affected. This will have to be done the dirty way.

Go, Fang! She points to the skeleton to her right.

Free action Handle animal DC 10 to make Fang attack [roll]1d20+8[roll]

She then advanced toward the skeletons and readies her spear. Come, vile bags of bones. Come, so I can return you back to the earth you came from.

Fang moves to S18 and attacks skeleton #3, [roll0], dmg [roll1], if hits opposed STR check to trip [roll2]

Petal moves to S15 and readies a spear attack.
Any approaching enemy is subject to an attack of opportunity (Reach!) as well as a regular melee attack.
[roll]1d20+4[roll], dmg [roll3]
[roll]1d20+4[roll], dmg [roll4]

[Vladislav]

Seems like I messed some d20 rolls. Here they are, in same order.
[roll0] handle animal
[roll1] spear
[roll2] spear

[LtPowers]

Trell cries "Findar splendarr!" to her companions as she charges another skeleton, though she is careful to stay out of William's way. Leading with her enormous sword, she barrels heedlessly toward the undead abominations.

\\
Trell charges directly at whichever skeleton (either S1 or S0) William does not attack. She gets +2 to hit, but she takes a -2 to AC until her next turn.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
//


Trell

[LtPowers]

((That sucked horribly. I hate to blow this ability on the first roll of the game, but...))

\\
Trell's Good Fortune ability lets me reroll that attack.

Attack: [roll0]
//


Trell

[The White Knight]

Ughh, I hate this part...

Alhuran will step up beside Petal (R15) and ready an action to bash anything that should get within reach with his quarterstaff.

Readied attack roll:
[roll0]

Knowledge (Religion) - hoping Alhuran will be smart enough to not bother with Color Spray against these things should a tempting opportunity arise.
[roll1]

[King Tius]

20 Melinda
Melinda steps up and fires an arrow at s0. The arrow thuds soundly into the wall, piercing one of Quintella’s fancy pictures.

19 Edwyn
Edwyn holds his holy symbol aloft and shouts a prayer to the Morninglord. Though the holy symbol gives a flash of divine energy, nothing seems to happen…

18 William
William hustles forward, hot on the tail of Melinda’s arrow. As he moves he calls back to his comrades, informing them that bludgeoning weapons are most effective against skeletons and that cold will have no effect on them. His opening blow fails to land a hit on the skeleton, but he sure did get its attention.

15 Trell
Trell also takes off towards the skeletons on the ground floor, though she, too, fails to land a hit.

14 Petal
Fang bounds up the stairs and attempts to remove a tasty bone from the skeleton’s leg. Just like the rest of the gang, he is unable to hit his mark. Petal moves to the base of the stairs and readies herself to attack the first skeleton that moves into range.

13 Azen
Being a Paladin, Azen double moves up the stairs to put himself thoroughly in harm’s way (R19).

11 Alhuran
Also taking up a readied position at the base of the stairs, Alhuran preps his quarterstaff and decided that color spray probably wouldn’t work on creatures that don’t have eyes…

4 Bad Guys
From their new vantage point, Trell and William can see two more skeletons standing in the main hallway. Through the open doors, they can also get a peek into a large banquet room and another smaller room. These new skeletons rush to attack them as two more come bounding down the stairs to attack Azen. Due to her keen ears, Melinda hears a scraping sounds coming from the door just in front of her.

The skeletons rake at you with their bony hands. Those that did not move get to make two attacks!

S0 attacks William: A1:[roll0] D1:[roll1] A2:[roll2] D2:[roll3]
S1 attacks Trell: A1:[roll4] D1:[roll5] A2:[roll6] D2:[roll7]
S2 attacks Azen: A1:[roll8] D1:[roll9] A2:[roll10] D2:[roll11]
S3 attacks Fang: A1:[roll12] D1:[roll13] A2:[roll14] D2:[roll15]
S4 attacks Azen: A:[roll16] D:[roll17]
S5 waits
S6 attacks Trell: A:[roll18] D:[roll19]
S7 attacks William: A:[roll20] D:[roll21]

OOC: You are all responsible for keeping track of your own HP and whether the attacks hit. Please post your current count with each post. Thanks!

The Map

http://img413.imageshack.us/img413/1729/1stfloor20.png

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

She is almost reaching for a new arrow, muttering a curse at her own luck, when the unarmed priest, William?, informs her of how best to fight skeletons. Bludgeoning? She could hardly manage that with a rapier or a bow! Well, unless she wielded the bow as a club, which she wasn't inclined to. Quickly she scans her surroundings for something to use as a weapon.

[roll0] Edit: I guess not. :smallannoyed:
If she finds anything that can be used as a bashing weapon: Spoiler A.
If a not: Spoiler B.

A
Dropping her bow Melinda snatchies up the improvised weapon, looking to and fro the two fronts. The Paladin called Azen was in some real danger, but there were too many people in the way. They could help him out. Instead she joins William and Trell, brandishin her "club".

Move Action: Pick up improved weapon.
Standard Action: Move to M12 ready to join the melee next round.

B
Not seeing anything the half-elf curses loudly and moves towards William and Trell. The paladin might need help more, but there was just too much people in the way. They could help Azen out while she assisted on the other flank. At least she could serve as a distraction!

Move Action: Move to L12, drawing rapier as part of move action.
Standard Action: Attack skeleton S7.
[roll1]
[roll2] Doesn't matter that I rolled a natural 20. That's not enough. And Undead can't be critted. :smallannoyed:

[The White Knight]

Alhuran
HP: 12/12
AC: 17

I wish I had known this was coming so I could have prepared different spells this morning. Well, let's see how this goes...

Alhuran incants a spell and waves a hand toward Azen. Unless he resists, Azen suddenly grows to twice his height, now towering over the surrounding skeletons.

If this goes according to plan, he then walks ten feet up the stairs (R17) and, eyeing the Paladin's current armament, offers his quarterstaff to Azen.

"I think you'll make better use of this than I, sir knight."

[Master_Rahl22]

William deftly dodges the skeleton's claws. He once again attempts to smash the foul skeleton in front of him to dust.

HP: Full, I'll look up more stats and get a better stat block going later.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Vladislav]

More bonebags? Exquisite. Help me, Mother Earth, if not with blood or tears, then with sweat.

Seeing no less than three enemies aligned for her spell, Petal advances and begins her Sweat of the Earth incantation.

Move to S17 and cast Grease to affect s2, s4 and s5. First things first - 5% armor failure chance [roll0] (1 fails)

Skeletons must make Reflex save DC 14 or fall prone. Even if succeed, they lose Dex bonus to AC, unless they have 5 ranks in Balance, which I severely doubt. Balance check DC 10 to walk across the greased area, duration 2 rounds.

Fang, meanwhile, snapped his teeth at another skeleton

[roll1], damage [roll2], if hits opposed STR check to trip [roll3]

[Vladislav]

Petal 12/12 hit points
Fang 8/13 hit points

[LtPowers]

((A 14 doesn't hit?? This might take a while.))

HP: 13/15
AC: 16; the charge backfired on her

Trell swings again at S1, then takes a 5-foot step backwards (diagonally down and right on the map) to draw the skeletons back into the open where others might get shots at them.

\\
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
//

Edit: ((Please add one to my damage roll; I forgot that two-handed weapons add 1.5x STR mod to damage.))


Trell

[King Tius]

20 Melinda
Not seeing any readily-available clubs Melinda draws her rapier as she advances on s7. Though she slashes the skeleton, it has no effect.

19 Edwyn
Once again the young priest tries to bring the glory of the Morninglord into this wretched hive. He once again holds his symbol aloft, this time opting for a more traditional prayer:

In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape his sight
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware his power... Lathander's light!

His holy symbol glows bright with radiant light and you hear sounds from the floor above you as if someone just dropped a large stack of books.

18 William
With his fists of fury, William smashes s0 to pieces!

15 Trell
Trell delivers a mighty blow to the skeleton that ran at her. Though the hit does some damage, the skeleton still stands.

14 Petal
Petal moves up the stairs and fires off her grease spell. All three skeletons lose their balance and clatter into a bit of a heap on the stairs. Fang once again tries to get himself a chew toy but fails again.

13 Azen
Drawing his longsword (because the PALADIN doesn’t have a blunt weapon, either), Azen delivers a solid slice to s3.

11 Alhuran
The wizard moves up behind Petal and Enlarges Azen. As he grows Fang is able to dart out of the way between Petal’s legs but s3 is not so lucky and is crushed up against the wall by the Paladin’s quickly growing girth.

4 Bad Guys
Luckily for everyone involved, no new skeletons appear this round. The greased skeletons all try to stand up but fail, miserably. The remainder of the skeletons attack again!

S1 steps forward and attacks Melinda: A1:[roll0] D1:[roll1] A2:[roll2] D2:[roll3]
S6 moves to follow and attack Trell: A1:[roll4] D1:[roll5] A2:[roll6] D2:[roll7]
S7 attacks William: A1:[roll8] D1:[roll9] A2:[roll10] D2:[roll11]

The Map

http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4484/1stfloor3.png

[LtPowers]

"That li'l pointy thing wonnae do much against 'em bones, lassie," the Dwarf calls to Melinda. "Find somethin' ta smash 'em with!"

Trell connects with her blade but takes two strong hits in return, and she wonders why she bothered to wear armor today. She's tempted to back off to heal, but decides to try to finish the skeleton off first. "C'mon, bony, what's drivin' ye, anyways?" she asks rhetorically as she swings again.

\\
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
//

1. If the skeleton falls: She will move up into its vacated spot in hopes of providing a possible flank for Melinda.
2. If the skeleton doesn't fall: She'll take another 5-foot step due east and hope her armor holds up.


Trell

[Vladislav]

I think every time they attempt to stand from prone, they provoke AoOs. I rolles Petal's attack of opportunity in the OOC thread earlier, in case it matters.

As Fang is being pushed back toward her, Petal notes the blood streaking down his side. Poor thing.... don't worry, we'll get those bad bonebags, and then fix you up.

Grasping the spear tight, she jabs at the nearest prone skeleton, while Fang growls and moves into counterattack.


Fang attacking s2, bonuses for it being prone
Bite [roll0] damage [roll1] <--- interesting fact: a dog's bite deals bludgeoning damage. I kid you not. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#naturalWeapons

If this drops him, Petal will shoo Fang one square to the left and take his place and jab at s5; otherwise, she stays where she is and attacks s2 as well.

Spear [roll2], damage [roll3]

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Melinda is a dancer and it shows when she fights, she's light on her feet and always in motion. Of course, this is a bit more dangerous than dancing. Usually. And while she does her best to parry the mindless attacks of the skeleton that turned against her she is just a little too late. The first attack manages to get through her defenses and bite into her thigh just below the chainshirt. Gritting her teet against the pain, and feeling just a little grateful that she can still put weight on her leg the half-elf answers the dwarf's comment: "If you can handle these then I'll try!"
She wasn't being of much use anyways. Cautiously she backs away from the skeleton, hoping that the priest and priestess will keep it busy.

Full round action: Withdraw to the doors.
Next round there will be search checks coming up! But for now:

[roll0] Edit: Nice. :smallamused:

[The White Knight]

Getting a little crowded up here. Looks like you three have this under control now anyhow. Well -- here goes, I guess...

(Assuming Trell finishes off that skeleton with that smashing hit, and, going by your narration, that Azen didn't take my quarterstaff after all:)

Seeing Trell smash a skeleton and advance, opening up a gap, Alhuran swallows his unease and charges the next one in line.

Charge to M12, attacking S1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
AC: 15

"Maybe you should take this thing," he calls back to Melinda, "you can probably swing it better than I can!"

(If Trell doesn't finish off her skeleton OR Azen does have my quarterstaff:)

Alhuran accompanies Melinda in scouting out the next room.

Move to O11 and look through the doorway.
Spot: [roll2]
AC: 17

EDIT: *sigh*

[King Tius]

OOC: I had Azen keep his greatsword because it was enlarged with him, giving him enough heft to overcome the skeletons' DR.

[Master_Rahl22]

William decides to take advantage of the tactical situation and cooperate with Trell. He gracefully rolls along the floor, dodging the skeletons' clumsy swipes as he passes. He then stand and delivers another crushing blow to the enemy.

Move: [roll0] to K-11
Standard: Attack S1, add 2 to attack roll if Trell is flanking
[roll1]
[roll2]

William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk, Level 2, Init +3, HP 16/16, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[King Tius]

OOC: I forgot the AoOs for the getting-up skeletons. Both Petal and Azen land hits on s2, re-killing it. S5 slides into its place.

20 Melinda
Melinda turns tail and heads back towards the door. As she does, she notices, positioned coyly behind a large potted plant on a table near the door, a large candlestick that would make a pretty decent club (it is on a table I was too lazy to draw in S11. As she withdraws, she gets a peak into the open door of the room nearby and sees two piles of bones scattered in what must be a trophy room. Several animal heads adorn the walls and there are glass cases full of shiny things (though you can’t tell what they are).

19 Edwyn
Closing his eyes and putting his hands together in a pious pose, Edwyn sings a low, peaceful incantation that fills you with courage!
(You are all blessed. +1 to attack and +1 vs fear.

18 William
Tumbling nimbly, William barely manages to avoid the swiping claws of the skeleton. He dives and rolls to K11, though he is unable to damage s1.

15 Trell
With a hefty blow that would have felled the skeleton on its own, Trell shatters s6 and moves into its space.

14 Petal
Fang finally puts his bite to good use and tears s5 to bits by taking out its femur. He move sbackwards, enjoying his new chew toy. Petal fills the gap and jabs at s4, scoring a hit but doing no damage.

OOC: If I’m not mistaken, don’t you need to roll Handle Animal checks for Fang to do things? Or is that only for Druid animal companions, and not for Familiars?

13 Azen
Azen swings his enlarged sword and scatters s4 with one hit. As the small landslide of bones make their way down the greased stairs, he says in a deep, booming voice:

“I can see more skeletons coming from the upstairs. Brace yourselves!”

He takes up a baseball-like stance, ready for the next wave to come.

11 Alhuran
In a move usually reserved for barbarians, not wizards, Alhuran charges s1 and tries to whack it. Unfortunately the wizard does not score a hit.

4 Bad Guys
Luckily for everyone involved, no new skeletons appear this round. The greased skeletons all try to stand up but fail, miserably. The remainder of the skeletons attack again!

S1 attacks Trell: A1:[roll0] D1:[roll1] A2: [roll2] D2: [roll3]
S7 attacks William: A1:[roll4] D1:[roll5] A2: [roll6] D2: [roll7]

The Map

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/6747/1stfloor4.png

[Vladislav]

Yes, I need Handle Animal DC 10 to make him do things he knows (attack, move, etc). Since my modifier is +8, only fail on a 1. Forgot to roll last round, let's do it retroactively [roll0], and once more for the next round [roll1]

[Vladislav]

As her Sweating Earth spell expires, and the staircase is safe to walk again, Petal contemplates her options. William, Trell and Alhuran are still involved in a pitched battle in the central hall. But, more skeletons are coming, Azen says, and although she can't see them yet, she can get ready.

Fang! Stay where you are, but don't let anyone get by you! Azen, hold your ground, I've got your back! Let them come to their doom!

Fang readies an attack against any enemy to appear on Q18
Bite [roll0] damage [roll1] Opposed STR check to trip if hits [roll2]

Petal moves the spear to her left hand and mumbles the words of another Sweating Earth incantation, but hold off on the final gesture.

Ready another Grease spell if skeletons appear near Azen (same area as the one that just expired). As usual, REF 14 or fall prone etc.

[Vladislav]

And forgot arcane chance failure due to armor [roll0] (1=fail)

[Master_Rahl22]

William coordinates with Trell to catch one of the skeletons off balance and deliver a devastating strike meant to crush the abomination's spine.

Standard: Attack S1
[roll0]
[roll1]

William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk, Level 2, Init +3, HP 16/16, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

With a satisfied grin Melinda snatches up the candlestick. Not perfect, but close enough. Hefting the weapon she turned around to survey the battle. At the moment things seemed well in hand and she moved back for a better look at the room with the open door. "I've found a club. More or less. Anyone else need one?"

Move Action: Pick up "club"? (It's not on the floor so maybe it's a free action?)
Standard Action (Move Action?): Move to O11 to take a better look at the room.
Free action: Speak
Possible Standard Action: Search check on the room if the skeletons seem to stay down (they will have her worried):

[roll0]

[The White Knight]

Alhuran
AC: 17
HP 12/12

If Trell and William take out s1 together, Alhuran will circle around to flank the last skeleton with William (K13 via L14) and take a swing.:
[roll0]
[roll1]

OR

If one of the two destroy s1 outright and the other begins on s7 before Alhuran gets to it, he will fall back and accompany Melinda (moving to O11).

"Any more in there?"

[LtPowers]

((By my reckoning, S1 should be down from William's attack. If this is not correct, let me know.))

HP: 8/15
AC: 16 (17 vs. S7)

"Nicely done, lad," Trell calls to William as the skeleton between them falls. She then takes a step forward, stomping hard on its remains, and takes a swing at the last skeleton standing.

\\
Attack vs. S7: [roll0] (includes +1 for bless)
Damage vs. S7: [roll1]
//


Trell

[King Tius]

20 Melinda
Melinda snatches up the impromptu club and heads to the trophy room. In addition to the animal heads mounted on the wall, she sees scratch marks below one of the heads (as if the skeletons were trying to get to it). In the display case that takes up most of the northern (map-wise) wall she can see an ornate looking longsword and some old tomes.

19 Edwyn
“More?” You hear the Cleric ask, a hint of panic in his voice. He moves towards the stairs and again tries to turn undead. Just as before his holy symbol pulses with divine light, though Azen reports that the skeletons are unaffected.

18 William
Almost as if he was born to do it, William once again smashes a skeleton(s1) to bits with his mighty fists.

15 Trell
Stepping onto the skeleton’s remains, Trell swings again but fails to land a hit.

14 Petal
Petal readies her spell (and her companion) against the next wave of skeletons.

13 Azen
”Here they come” booms Azen.

11 Alhuran
Falling back from the last skeleton (even though that attack would have hit it!), Alhuran gets behind Melinda and sees the same thing she does.

4 Bad Guys
Four more skeletons come running down the stairs. Petal fires off her spell, causing three of the four to slip and clatter to the ground. Azen’s readied swing easily dispatches the standing one while Fang rips one of the fallen skeletons to pieces. The two remaining skeletons slide down the rest stairs to bump into Azen again. (I am labeling them as s# and s$ since I have run out of numbers).

S7 attacks William: A1:[roll0] D1:[roll1] A2: [roll2] D2: [roll3]

The Map

http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/9016/1stfloor5.png

[Vladislav]

Petal gives brief thanks to the Spirit before grasping the spear again.

Have no fear, Fang, we can take them! Get 'im!
Handle animal [roll0] DC 10

Assuming Fang finds his mistress' words persuasive enough, he lunges forward at the nearest skeleton, otherwise he retreats a bit to the left.

[roll1], including +1 for bless and +4 for prone, and -2 for partial cover across the corner, whew, I think that's all the modifiers.

dmg [roll2]

If this doesn't dispatch the downed skeleton, Petal grasps the spear tightly and does whatever she can to destroy the abomination.
[roll3], damage [roll4]

[LtPowers]

HP: 8/15
AC: 16 (17 vs. S7)

If S7 is still standing:


"C'mon, bony, back where ye came from!" yells Trell as she hefts her giant sword and takes another swing. (If she can get into a flank with a 5-foot-step, she does so before attacking and would add +2 to the roll below.)

\\
Attack vs. S7: [roll0] (add two if flanking)
Damage vs. S7: [roll1]
//

If the skeleton still doesn't fall (and she hasn't used her 5-foot step yet) she takes a 5-foot step to square L12.

If the skeleton falls (and she hasn't used her 5-foot step yet), she moves to square O13 to see what Melinda and Alhuran find so interesting.


If S7 has gone down:


Trell goes to swing her sword but the skeleton is already down. She kicks the bones just out of spite before moving to square O13 to see what Melinda and Alhuran are so interested in. She also sacrifices a spell to tend to her wounds.

\\
Spell: Sacrifice bless for cure light wounds on self: [roll2]
//



Trell

[Master_Rahl22]

With Trell's help, William fells the last of the skeletons in the main room. He quickly peeks in an open hallway for any more enemies.

Assuming S7 is dead, use half of a Move action to K-7 to take a look up the hallway.
[roll0]
The rest of the move action and remainder of turn depends on if I see anything up there. If there are no enemies in the hallway, finish move and take remaining Move action to R-14.

William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk, Level 2, Init +3, HP 12/16, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[The White Knight]

"I don't trust those bones," Alhuran remarks, pointing into the trophy room at the piles of bones on the floor. "Didn't the ones we just fought look something like that before they attacked us?"

I'd rather like to check out those books, though...

Alhuran will step to P11 and ready an action to attack if anything comes through the door. (Basically, he's waiting for the tougher folks to go in ahead of him next round :smallwink:)

[King Tius]

Your attacks are able to quickly dispatch the remaining skeletons. You stand tense and ready, waiting for the next wave to come. When that doesn't happen, you relax a bit and look about the place. Those bones scattered in the trophy room remain as they were. Checking the hallway and the adjoining rooms, you find no sign of other skeletons. Those doors marked black on the map are locked. As you enter the large entertainment room toward the rear of the house you hear banging and all manner of noises coming from the red door (which is partially ajar). From your expert knowledge of houses you know this to be the kitchen. Checking the upstairs, you find more scattered piles of bones, likely the victims of Edwyn's turning attempts. Azen (or the character soon to take his place) shrinks back to his normal size.

The Map

http://img809.imageshack.us/img809/2519/1stfloor6.png


You all gain 771 XP from your first fight. Good job, folks!

[Vladislav]

Can someone please help? Fang here fought like a hero, but he is wounded. Someone ... please?

Petal is embarassed to ask, because she prayed to the Spirit before for healing magic, but she didn't grant her request. Petal is now afraid her lack of faith or insufficient piety is now revealed to all, but there's no choice - can't let Fang keep suffering.

[LtPowers]

"Sorry, lass, I've nae got much left," Trell replies to the druid. "I think we've all got some bumps an' bruises. Hopefully there be nae more skellies lurkin' about."

((If no one else steps forward to offer healing, Trell will sacrifice her Guidance spell for a Cure Minor Wounds for one point of healing for Fang.))

"Anyone care ta wager that th' giant beetle th' lady mentioned be in th' kitchen?" she asks the assembled group.


Powers &8^]

[King Tius]

Edwyn walks over to fang and casts Cure Light Wounds.

Healing: [roll0]

[Vladislav]

Thank you, kind priests. Petal bows politely to two souls obviously more steadfast in faith than herself.



"Anyone care ta wager that th' giant beetle th' lady mentioned be in th' kitchen?" she asks the assembled group.

Either that, or some poor kitchen worker trapped and banging on the door desperately to be released.

She stands by the door and calls out, Ahoy, anyone there?

[Master_Rahl22]

William says a quick prayer to Kelemvor, thanking him for granting strength to defeat the foul undead. He then ensures that he has no serious injuries and heads over toward the door to the kitchen with the others.

OOC:
[roll0]

[King Tius]

Petal calls out as William listens. No response comes from the kitchen area, though from the scratching and chittering you are almost positive that there is at least one beetle in there.

[Vladislav]

Petal perks up significantly now that her best friend is feeling better.

So, is anyone keeping track of time? How long do we have before they torch the house and our ashes to the spirits? Me, I'd rather break down the door and face what's inside before we have to find out.

She examines the layout of the room again.

If I may, a thought ... we can open the door and lure it, or them as the case may be, into the large room, where we can surround it. Or them. Seems better than going through the narrow doorway one by one and give them a chance to surround us.

[The White Knight]

Alhuran hustles away from the books in the trophy case and back to his comrades when he hears the others approaching the kitchen.

"I like that idea," he remarks, arriving just in time to catch Petal's proposed strategy.

[Calenestel]

As the others dispatch the last skeletons Melinda moves up to the stuffed animal head that the skeletons had clawed, keeping a wary eye on the scattered bones as she moves. This is... interesting. Why would the undead be interested in this? Carefully she examins the wall mounted head, looking for traps or anything else out of the ordinary. She didn't exactly trust the owner of the house to tell her the whole truth about such things. Not in front of all her neighbours and such.

After her initial search, though, her companions seemed to have finished of their skeletons and be ready to move on to new foes. Shrugging the dancer leaves the head as she found it, knowing that she could come back later. Gracefully stepping over the strewn bones in the hallway the half-elf joins with her allies. "That one is some kind of trophy room," she says indicating the room she just left. "There's two skeletons, both unmoving. One had scratched on the wall beneath a stuffed animal's head. I'd like to check it out later."

She's still carrying the candlestick along in case they run into more skeletons but now she places it carefully on the floor and retrieves her bow. She keeps a bit back, preferring to let someone else pull the enemy out into the open. "Ready."

[LtPowers]

"Let's get it done, then!" Trell asserts confidently. "No sense waitin' around while th' thing ruins th' poor lady's kitchen, aye?"

((If combat appears imminent, Trell casts magic weapon on her greatsword.))


Trell

[Vladislav]

Petal checks her bag for something to lure the creatures with. She has apparently some iron rations, and some feed for her dog. She sets a small amount of each in the middle of the hall... No, Fang, it's not feeding time yet. No. Stay!

Having shooed him away, at least temporarily, Petal asks, does anyone have a rope? We can tie it to the kitchen door and open it from a distance.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

"I have some!" the half-elf smiles and lowers her bow. Laying the bow on the floor she pulls off her own backpack, rummage through it for a bit and removes a length of supple silken rope. "You never know when you have to scale a wall or somesuch," she explains smiling and tosses the rope to the druid before picking up her bow again. She leaves the backpack on the floor, it's probably for the best anyways.

[Master_Rahl22]

William stands ready for whatever comes out of the kitchen. He says, "Once we have dealt with whatever is in there, perhaps we should update the soldiers outside with the outcome of our exploration so far."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo Shiverwell is a male dwarf just over 4 feet in height, which means that Trell Lucklightner is 6 inches taller than him.

Despite his being so much shorter, though, he is quite a bit stockier, though it is hard to tell how much of his bulk is from his body and how much from his armor and belongings. He carries a truly humongous pack of equipment on his back. It must surely weigh a great deal, but he seems to ignore it.

He is wearing an dwarfcrafted chain shirt. In his hands, he carries a buckler of some very dark wood and also a very finely crafted heavy mace. A shortbow hangs from a cleverly made strap on his backpack, along with a quiver full of arrows.

The most startling and immediately noticeable thing about him, though, are his clothes. He is wearing purple pants and a blue and green shirt. He seems quite unself-conscious about it.

Upon hearing the skittering sounds of a bug, Rombo stepped forward and spoke in a soft, somewhat gravelly voice. "I, too, would like a little healing."

After a moment, he remembered to add, "Please."

"And I wanta be at the forefront of the bug ambush. I love bugs. I love to smash 'em under my boot. Especially the poisonous ones."




Maximum HP: 20.
Current HP: 15.

Spells in effect: Perhaps Bless, if it hasn't worn out yet.

[Vladislav]

Thank you, Melinda!

Petal takes the end of the rope and slowly retreats to the west room (H5), keeping the door there almost open. Fang stays in the large room, not too far from his mistress (G6).


Okay, everyone, once you've taken your position, hoot like an owl twice. Or just say "ready", that would work too.

Hoot hoot.

[King Tius]

Edwyn gladly heals Randall back to full health

The bait is set, the rope is tied, and Trell casts her spell. Unfortunately Edwyn's Bless spell has worn off. With a hefty pull Petal yanks the door open, setting the trap. At first there is no response. Then, after the tasty food has time to waft into the kitchen area, two beetles come skittering into view. One makes right for the food while the other remains in the kitchen.

Surprise Round!
Since you set the trap, you all get a standard action beforehand! Also, since all of you beat the beetle's initiatives, you should also post your full round actions as well.

Initiative Round!
(22) Melinda
(19) William
(18) Trell
(18) Petal
(16) Rombo
(14) Alhuran
(13) Beetles
(7) Edwyn

The Map

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/5384/1stfloor7.png

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo's eyes gleamed brightly as he shouted his clan's name as a battle cry. "SHIVERWELL!"

He stepped forward and swung his heavy mace at the nearest bug, pounding down in hopes of smashing the giant vermin to bits.



Maximum HP: 20.
Current HP: 20.

Attack with masterwork heavy mace: [roll0]
Damage with masterwork heavy mace vs favored enemy: [roll1]



The dwarf in the purple pants follows up his first smashing attack with a second one.




I am presuming the beetle he first attacked is still alive after the surprise round. If it is not, Rombo goes to attack the second one.

Maximum HP: 20.
Current HP: 20.

Attack with masterwork heavy mace: [roll2]
Damage with masterwork heavy mace vs favored enemy: [roll3]

[The White Knight]

Surprise Round:
Alhuran relocates for a better vantage point (H7), drawing his crossbow.

First Round:
Alhuran loads his crossbow, then prepares for an opportunity to fire.

Readied action to shoot if there is a target in his line of sight not engaging anyone in melee.

Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[Vladislav]

If I was aware of the tables, I'd put Fang in I6, so he had a charging path to the door :smallfrown: If this is possible to redo, he will partial-charge, otherwise ignore the charge, he will just approach in the surprise round, then attack normally next round.

Go, Fang!Petal exhales, as she lets loose a bolt from her crossbow, and then another one. Her trusted friend lunges forward.


Fang partial charge - attack [roll0], damage [roll1], opposed STR check to trip [roll2]
Fang regular attack [roll3], damage [roll4], opposed STR check to trip [roll5]; the beetle should get some bonus to defend against the trip due to its large number of legs, I think +4

Crossbow attacks:
[roll6] damage [roll7]
[roll8] damage [roll9]
(-4 to crossbow attacks if someone is in melee with the beetle by the time my turn comes along)

[King Tius]

All repositionings are possible. If you'd rather start somewhere else, just say where you are. I tried my best to figure out where you would all be.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Surprise round:
Seeing their trap work flawlessly so far the half-elf maid smiles triumphantly, draws the bow and looses. After being utterly useless against the skeletons she hoped to actually contribute this time around.

Since we use Saph's initiative rules (we do, right?) then I've lost the possibility to go first this round and that would mean that I'm now firing into a melee. Noone is standing in front of Melinda, but she still gets a -4 penalty to the attack. I usually tend to let people post in whatever order they'd like and then figure out who did what in what order as per the initiative order, it's a bit more work for the DM, but it keeps the initiative count more important (monsters only get one score, though, to keep up the flow) if that sounds better to you, then Melinda went first and fires without the -4 penalty (which will be included in the roll for the time being)

[roll0] Edit: Good roll, but probably not enough. :smallannoyed:
[roll1]

Round 1:
It was getting crowded around the beetle now. But she still had a clear shot and she took it. After that she drops her bow on the table in front of her and moves closer to the beetle, drawing her rapier as she goes, hoping that the beetle was wounded enough. If it was then it was unneccessary to risk hitting an ally any longer and she wasn't putting herself in too much danger when closing to melee.

Standard action: Shoot another arrow at the bug.
[roll2] Edit: No good at all. :smallmad:
[roll3]

Free action: Drop bow on table.

Move action: Move to I10 while drawing rapier.

[Master_Rahl22]

William quickly steps forward and sends a powerful kick toward the bug. He then lets loose with a vicious combo of jabs.

Actions:
5ft step to G-14, then attack bug
[roll0]
[roll1]

If bug is still alive, flurry it. Otherwise, move into kitchen and use first attack roll on new bug.
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

[Master_Rahl22]

[roll0]
[roll1]

[LtPowers]

HP: 14/15
AC: 17 vs. Beetle 1, 16 vs. Beetle 2 (unless Beetle 1 falls before her normal turn, in which case she switches Dodge to Beetle 2)

Trell matches William's movements except with a hefty swing of her sword instead of a kick. As the sword comes down at the beetle, those nearby might notice golden sparks flying off of the blade.

\\
Surprise round attack vs. beetle 1: [roll0]
Surprise round damage vs. beetle 1: [roll1]
//

If Beetle 1 dies, Trell follows the others into the kitchen as best she can (and switches Dodge to Beetle 2). Otherwise she attacks beetle 1 again (and if she kills it, switches Dodge to Beetle 2 and moves into the kitchen).

\\
Regular round attack vs. beetle 1 or 2: [roll2]
Regular round damage vs. beetle 1 or 2: [roll3]
//


Trell

[King Tius]

Surprise Round

22 Melinda
Melinda fires at the beetle as it comes walking through the door. Though she has a clear shot, she does not manage to land a hit.

19 William
William steps forward and delivers a solid kick to the beetle, causing it to split in two from his awesome monkish strength and precision…something William has probably never done before.

18 Trell
With the first beetle oozing on the floor, Trell moves into the kitchen, brandishing her sword. As she closes on the second beetle, she sees two more in the house’s pantry.

18 Petal
Taking a step out of the doorway, Petal lets an arrow loose at the second beetle. As her arrow soars past it, Fang takes off, headed towards the kitchen door.

16 Rombo
Rombo follows Trell’s lead and moves to engage the second beetle.

14 Alhuran
Alhuran moves along the length of the table, trying to get a better vantage point.
7 Edwyn
The young priest stands still, looking confused.

”I…I didn’t bring my weapons! I cannot turn these Beetles!”

Round 1

22 Melinda
Since she can no longer see any enemies, Melinda moves first before firing her arrow and dropping her bow, though the arrow still misses. (If drawing your rapier next round is really a problem, we can pretend you never fired and drew your rapier instead)

19 William
Putting his agility to good use, William flanks the second beetle and tries to give it a solid punch. Unfortunately, he misses.

18 Trell
Bringing her sword to bear, Trell tries to cleave the beetle in two. It’s thick carapace proves too sturdy for her glancing blow.

18 Petal
Fang charges in and also tries to get at the beetle, though he, too, is unable to land a bite. Petal moves forward for a better vantage point and manages to thread the needle and scores a light hit.

16 Rombo
This time the dwarf has better luck with his attack, managing to deal a significant blow to the creature’s flank.

14 Alhuran
Moving to a better vantage point, Alhuran takes a shot at the beetle but he, too, misses.

13 Beetles
B2, now surrounded, lets out a spray of acid at Rombo, Trell, and Fang
B2: DC 13 Fort Save or take [roll0] acid damage
Rombo: [roll1]
Trell: [roll2]
Fang: [roll3]
The two other beetles lumber towards you and spit their acids as well. Everyone is hit again (while Trell is caught in both blasts and is hit twice!) B2 does not seem affected by his brood mates’ acid.
Rombo: [roll4]
Trell: [roll5]
Trell: [roll6]
Fang: [roll7]

7 Edwyn

Suddenly realizing that healing might be needed, Edwyn moves towards the door to assist the acid vicitms if they so desire.

The Map

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/7337/1stfloor8.png

You can now see that there are stairs leading to the basement here in the kitchen. The door to the basement has been shattered to pieces.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The dwarven ranger groaned quietly in pain as the beetle's acid sizzled on his skin, burning into his flesh. The room suddenly stank of chemically altered dwarf beard.

He called out to the rest of the party in a calm drawl very unlike his earlier battle cry. "One beetle down, three more to go. Beware, they're spraying acid."

His blue eyes burned with deadly fire as he continued his attack on the beetle he'd bashed earlier, seeking to smash this beetle as he had smashed all the other giant insects and spiders that periodically infested his clan's mines and mushroom farms under the Galena Mountains, back in Damara.




Maximum HP: 20.
Current HP: 16.

If someone kills B2 before Rombo strikes, Rombo will attack B4 instead.

Attack with masterwork heavy mace: [roll0]
Damage with masterwork heavy mace vs favored enemy: [roll1]

[Frivolous]

I think that was a critical hit. Therefore:

Critical roll: [roll0]
Extra damage: [roll1]

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Spread out! When we get too close together their acid is more effective." He then sends a vicious kick toward the creature he flanks, attempting to smash it into the floor.

Standard: Attack bug I'm flanking
[roll0]
[roll1]
If it is still up, do nothing else. If it drops, move to flank the bug south of me, Tumbling past it. [roll2]

William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk, Level 2, Init +3, HP 12/16, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +6, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[LtPowers]

AC: 16 (17 vs. whichever beetle she attacks, unless it dies)
HP: 14/15

Trell, after easily shrugging off the acid sprays, swings wildly at whatever beetle is still standing after Rombo and William score their hits. She'll be damned if her blade doesn't score some beetle blood this day! ((She maneuvers into a flanking position if such is possible without taking an AOO.))

\\
Attack: [roll0] (add 2 if flanking)
Damage: [roll1]
//


Trell

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Three more of them? She had expected one more only. Stupid of her, really. Suddenly she wished she hadn't dropped her bow already but feared to stop and go back. Instead the dancer moved on, into the kitchen and, spotting the first beetle, stabbing at it's eyes.

Move Action: Move to H15.
Standard Action: Attack Beetle 4
[roll0]
[roll1]
(Dodge Bonus against B4)

[The White Knight]

Alhuran casts True Strike, then moves to I12.

[King Tius]

Round 2

22 Melinda
Stepping into the kitchen, Melinda attempts to shish kabob the nearest beetle with her rapier. It’s shell is strong, however, and deflects her blade.

19 William
William delivers a solid downward punch to B2, cracking its carapace. The bug still stands though, so William stands his ground.

18 Trell
With a hefty blow, Trell takes the head off of B2. She quickly turns to assess the remaining threats and sidles around B3 for a better position.
(With B2 dead, William step up to B3, ready to lay the hurt)

18 Petal
Reloading and firing her crossbow, Petal is just able to find a weak spot in the bug’s chitin. Her bolt soars through the door, narrowly avoiding hitting Edwyn.

Fang grabs hold of one of the bug’s legs. He gives it a yank, trying to pull the bug to the ground. The beetle proves much stronger than the dog, but Fang’s stubborn grip rips the leg clean off.

16 Rombo
The colorfully-dressed dwarf moves around B4 and delivers a CRUSHING BLOW. The heft of his heavy mace smashes clean through the beetle (which dies before it hits the ground).

14 Alhuran
The wizards casts his True Strike spell, prepping himself for his next attack.

13 Beetles
Seeing its family dead and that it is terribly outnumbered, the beetle tries to high-tail it back to the basement. William tries to get a good kick in but misses. Trell watches the beetle try and skitter past her and, with another sweeping blow, drops the last of the kitchen beetles.

7 Edwyn
With combat resolved, Edwyn moves to the other side of the kitchen door.
“Is everyone alright? Skeletons, now beetles? Looks like Quitella Proudmore wasn’t exaggerating after all. May Lathander keep her safe. What did she do to deserve this?”

The Map
Combat is over but here is the map, just for convenience.

http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/4998/1stfloor9.png


343 XP from that encounter each! Not bad for two rounds flat.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "It seems they may have come in through the basement. Let's head down and investigate, since we still have plenty of our hour left."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The dwarven ranger patted anxiously at his stinking beard. He took up one of his waterskins and poured some of its contents over his face to dilute and remove the acid. In contrast, he almost ignored the acid burns on his arms.

While he did this, he called out to his companions whom he could not see from his current position. "All four beetles dead."

Then he muttered, "I'm going to have to visit a barber and get this trimmed. Again. Damn beetles."

Once this was done, he crouched down beside the remains of one of the beetles to examine it and hopefully identify it.




Knowledge (Nature): [roll0]

OOC: By the way, King Tius, did the critical roll work, or was the initial hit enough to damage the beetle unto death?

I mean, I was not sure if a 14 would be a hit vs the beetle.



While he picked through the vermin's corpse, he said in a distracted tone, "The basement door was smashed. A beetle didn't do that."

"Could skeletons have done that?"

[King Tius]

OOC: With flanking, it did. Also, that beetle never made it down the stairs, Trell got it.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo got to his feet with a grunt. "Bombardier beetles, these are called."

He looked at the others and demanded, "What are giant beetles and undead skeletons doing in this house at the same time?"

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Not feeling very useful after these two fights the half-elf nods, sheathes her rapier and walks back to retrieve her bow. "Magic probably lies behind the attack, I don't know much about necromancy but there should be someone who created the skeletons to begin with, shouldn't it? It might be some strange coincidence that lead to two simultatenous attacks by undead and beetles. But I think that's a stretch." Checking her bow for damage she rejoins her comrades, feeling a little better as she speaks and smiling again. "So let's check out the basement. But first I'd like to investigate the trophy room a little more. And we should check the rest of the house too before heading down. We don't want any nasty surprises behind us when we go down, do we? Split up in pairs, check the rest of the rooms for hidden enemies and then we move on, yes?"

[The White Knight]

"Unfortunately, Necromancy is the subject I dedicated the least effort toward in my magical studies," Alhuran declares apologetically, walking into the kitchen.

He casually fires his crossbow into one of the beetle corpses, expending his wasted True Strike spell with an unenthusiastic shrug.

"As for the beetles," he continues, "they typically dwell in forests. So that probably rules out an infestation from underground via the cellar. I suppose they must have been brought here. Wouldn't hurt to take a peek down there anyways though."

I sure do wish you let me snoop around a little with my Detect Thoughts spell before we came in here instead of just teleporting me into the house with everyone else... It's not like I was much use in these encounters anyways :smallbiggrin:

[LtPowers]

Trell wipes the beetle gunk off her blade and sheathes it in its back-mounted scabbard before casting a minor cure spell on herself.

((Sacrificing guidance for cure minor wounds on self. Healed to full.))

"Well, now that was a fight! Sorry ta anyone who got a bit singed by that acid."

Trell was all ready to go investigate the cellar, but Melinda's idea seems to have merit. "I donnae think there's anythin' gonna come after us, but best ta be sure I guess. I s'pose we can skip any rooms what be locked, though, aye?"


Trell

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

"Actually..." the half-elf says with a happy smile towards the female dwarf. "If we run across locked doors I'd say that's all the more reason to look into the room in question. Normally people doesn't lock doors inside their own houses. But an intruder with a spare key might." Smiling happily the woman starts moving off towards the trophy room again. "Lucky enough, bypassing people's locks without damaging them are one of my favourite hobbies."

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Yes, let's search the upper levels before going down to the basement."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo looked a bit unhappy not to be going down into the basement immediately, but he nodded anyway to Melinda's suggestion.

"All right. Might as well. Let's see..."

After some thought on what little he had seen of the prowess of his companions, he made a suggestion.

"Three small groups. Alhuran, Edwyn, and William. Trell and Petal and Fang. Melinda and me. Split up, and holler if anyone finds a walking skeleton, giant bug, or other nasty we gotta smash."

"Anyone got a better idea, speak up." He looked around.

I hope no one minds the division I've proposed; I tried to split the party up into three nearly equal groups, both in terms of combat effectiveness and resistance to surprise.

I put Rombo in the smallest group because he is especially effective versus and sensitive to the presence of vermin, as they are his favored enemy.

[Vladislav]

Before spreading across the house, Petal takes Fang with her and makes him sniff the corpse of one of the beetles. Fang, track!

Fang takes 10 on Survival for a total of 15

Petal isn't interested in following Fang all the way - she merely wants to ascertain the bugs came from the basement. If the canine seems to head for the basement, she stops him short of entering.

As they investigate the house, Petal is content letting the dwarven priestess take the lead, with Fang providing security.

Tell me, Trell, she starts hesitantly with others out of sight, do you feel a special connection to your deity? Do you know you are in their favor? How? Is there a special feeling?

[LtPowers]

Tell me, Trell, she starts hesitantly with others out of sight, do you feel a special connection to your deity? Do you know you are in their favor? How? Is there a special feeling?

"Hah, well, so long as I c'n still cast me spells, lass, I figger I'm doin' all right. Truth be told, me mother'd have me hide if I ever strayed from th' path too far. An' my sister'd be next in line!" She chuckles at that, though close observation would reveal a hint of melancholy amid the levity.

"Sometimes th' Lady'll leave a little piece o' garnet or carnelian as a sign of special favor," she continues, "but that be rare. Mostly ye jus' do th' best ye can an' trust that it's good enough. That's why it's called 'faith', me dear."


Trell

[King Tius]

As you wash the acid off yourselves Fang takes up the scent of the beetles. After sniffing around the kitchen for a moment, he makes a B-Line for the basement door. Petal reigns him in before he darts down the stairs. Splitting into groups, you spread out and double-check the rest of the house. As before, the upstairs is monster-free. Melinda examines the two locked doors on the first floor and finds that they are common indoor locks meant more for keeping nosy guests out of rooms than anything else. She deftly opens them without effort. Inside, she finds that the rooms are full of fancy furniture draped in protective coverings. Heading into the trophy room, you investigate the curious scrapings on the wall. On a hunch, Melinda investigates to see if the mounting board for the animal head is hinged, and indeed it is! Behind she finds a safe. Petal's Detect Magic picks up a magical aura coming from the inside. After concentrating on it a moment, she detects a moderate evocation aura inside.

OOC: I have decided not to fast forward into the basement in case you want to discuss what to do about this safe.

RETROACTIVE:
Alhuran is able to probe the thoughts of both Quintella and the Captain.

Quintella is so overwhelmed by fear that she has no real concept of where the monsters came from. The one thought running through her head over and over again is "I wish Dealan was still alive."

The Captain, truth be told, is even more frightened than Quintella. His overzealousness to burn down the house stems from the terrible memory fresh in his mind. A rampant murdering streak that happened in the town just six months after he took up his position. Due to fumblings on his part, the murder streak continued for much longer than it should have and the Captain was blamed. His embarrassment at that incident burns like a hot fire in his mind.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Quickly agreeing with Rombo's suggestion the half-elf burglar-for-fun moves back to the trophy room. The skeletons there have already been established as harmless and she ignores them, fully focusing on the scratched wall. At first glance there was nothing strange about the wall. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. But the undead had been interested in it and that meant... when people tried to hide something in a wall they usually hid it behind the ugliest painting... there's no paintings here but the scratches are just below an animal's head. Grinning widely, already sure of herself, the blackhaired girl grabs the edge of the mounting board and swings it to the side. "Hah! I knew it!" Quickly she calls the others to the find, careful not to let people think that more enemies had been encountered.

When Petal declares that the safe contained something magical the rogue's eyes lits up with curiosity. Not greed, she's no thief, but curiosity and a longing for adventure. "All right! Let me see here, I'll have this beauty open in a jiffy." Her hand immediately goes for a case on her belt, which when opened reveals a large set of lockpicks and other tools of a locksmit. Or a thief. Noticing a few questioning looks from her companions the girl flashes them a disarming smile. "What? The skeletons where going for this. Whatever is in there might be what they were sent here for. What kind of investigation are we doing if we don't investigate it?"

[LtPowers]

"What? The skeletons where going for this. Whatever is in there might be what they were sent here for. What kind of investigation are we doing if we don't investigate it?"

Trell frowns. "We've nae been invited ta do an 'investigation', lass. This still be th' poor lady's home."

Despite her words, however, she takes a passive stance, perhaps recognizing that the magic inside the safe could cause future incidents of a similar -- or worse -- nature if not handled properly. She stands subtly near the door out of the trophy room as if to guard it from entry -- or exit.


Trell

[The White Knight]

"The source of the magic could just as easily be a magical trap!" Alhuran adds, shouting past Trell as she blocks the doorway. "Have a good look around before you start poking at anything."

He remains in the foyer, peeking over Trell curiously as Melinda works.

[King Tius]

Melinda sets to trying to pick the lock. It takes her three tries, but she finally manages to open the small safe. Inside, she finds a rather large bag of gems and a ring sitting out on its own. Petal points to the ring as the source of the magical aura. Her Detect Magic spell ends shortly afterward.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo looked puzzled.

"You are going to put that back, right?" he said to Melinda. It wasn't really a question.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Yes, please return the valuables and let's head down to the basement. If whoever created those undead is down there, I'd like to show him how Kelemvor feels about those who try to defy his domain."

[The White Knight]

Alhuran stifles his curious desire to study the ring, and agrees with the others. "Onward then, hm?"

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

It's always tricky, picking a lock. And this one's a fairly good one. But still she hasn't been at it for too long before her efforts are awarded with the final click as she pushes all the tumblers into place. With a triumphant grin she swings the safe open to reveal a small fortune. Reverently she looks at the magical ring. Now that's more like it.
Despite herself she picks the ring up and studies it carefully. She had no doubt that the scratches on the wall were because of it. But it seemed more likely now that it was just greed that had sent the skeletons to this room. With a sigh she puts the ring back, in the same angle as she found it, even as Rombo "asks" her to. But before she follows the others out she takes a quick peek in the bag. If that's just coin or something else equally precious and dull she'll just put that back as she found it too, close and lock the safe, not a hard thing really, and swing the animal's head back in place.

[King Tius]

Returning the Trophy room to its original state, you make your way back to the kitchen. Fang stands at the doorway to the basement, barking and whimpering in tandem. Petal realizes that her faithful hound is scared to go down the stairs, though she isn't quite sure why. Anyone who draws near to the door hears a low din of chittering and scraping sounds. It isn't hard for you to gather that there are tons of beetles in the basement, though they sound smaller and more hurried than the bigger ones from the kitchen.

What do you do?

[Vladislav]

If the Spirit is willing, Petal says, I can send some bugs of my own down to the basement. That will be a fine battle; like kings send their knights to battle sometimes, except on a smaller scale.

This should be a first... are there even rules for swarm-vs-swarm fights?

[King Tius]

OOC: I would run it like normal combat and assume that:
A) They aren't nauseated
B) They don't provoke AoOs from each other constantly
C) They can damage each other normally.

[The White Knight]

"That may work," Alhuran notes. "I don't anticipate we'll have much luck with conventional weaponry, at any rate; too many bugs to pick them off one at a time. I don't really have any spells for an occasion like this, either."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo looked twitchy at the sound and prospect of so many bugs, too small to fight and yet far too dangerous to ignore.

"Against so many, I would use fire, except that might burn down this house."

But still he raps his knuckles against the floor to determine what it is made from, so he might guess whether the basement structure is really susceptible to fire.

He also checks through the kitchen to see whether the household stocks much in the way of insecticides.

Rombo is looking to see if he can wield fire safely in the basement. If not, poison is his next weapon of choice.

I don't suppose that there is indoor plumbing and running water in this part of the world?

[King Tius]

The frame of the house is made of heavy wooden beams but most basements in Faerun are made of stone walls and packed earth floors. There are no pesticides in the kitchen. No indoor plumbing here, I'd imagine.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


"Fire might work." He explained how the basement might not be susceptible to burning, even if the rest of the house was.

"I have flammables with me, but they're expensive and not really suited for setting large numbers of bugs aflame. What do you say to one or two of us going out and grabbing up a large amount of lamp oil?"

"But if we do, we ought to ask the lady of the house if there's anything in the basement she'd miss very much."

[The White Knight]

"Hm, fire. Yes, perhaps. I've a couple vials of lamp oil in my bag," says Alhuran. "Perhaps we could try our friend's plan," he gestures to Petal, "but prepare to set a boundary of fire near the doorway as a contingency if it doesn't work? And as a final fallback, does anyone have some torches to swing if they get out?"

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Certainly we should ask the lady of the house before doing so, but fire seems like the best option. I agree that we should all arm ourselves with torches and spare oil as a precaution."

[LtPowers]

"I'd rather not mess with fire unless we hafta," says Trell. "All th' arguments ye used against th' guard captain still apply. There's gotta be anudder way."

She takes a moment to search through her pack for an alternative solution but comes up empty.


Trell

[The White Knight]

"It's a little different..." Alhuran counters, meekly. "The captain wanted to set the building ablaze deliberately, right? If the cellar is primarily earth and stone, like most, the likelihood of an isolated fire catching on accidentally is rather remote. But we probably should consult the lady of the house first, at any rate."

Alhuran unslings his pack from his shoulders, and pulls two flasks out of one of its pouches. He offers them in his outstretched hand: "Does somebody want these? I'll go consult with the lady while the rest of you keep an eye on things, since this oil is my only contribution to the situation as it currently stands."

[Frivolous]

Rombo nodded to the diviner, Alhuran.

"Just put them down there. Mebbe we won't have to purchase any. This is a noble's house, so there might be a large supply of lamp oil or pitch somewhere..."

Rombo does a quick search for the lamp oil, looking first in the reasonable spots where a trained majordomo or house manager might keep the stuff.

Rombo is taking 10 to find the lamp oil or some other cheap flammable substitute in large quantities.

Then he pauses and looks a bit defensive.

"If no one has a better idea, who wants to tell the lady of the house... I've forgotten her name already, dammit, that we want to set her basement on fire to kill all the bugs in it? It probably shouldn't be me..."

[King Tius]

Alhuran makes his way back to the front door and gives a calm, loud knock. After assuring the guards at the door that he is, in fact, not a skeleton, Alhuran is let out of the door. The crowd has somewhat dispersed, though there are still plenty of people about who gasp when you appear. Quintella, who is being consoled by other noble woman, nearly faints at the sight of you.

"Well?" Roars the Captain. "What news do you have?"

The rest of you begin to pass around lantern oil and torches in preparation for your basement assault. Rombo searches around the first floor and finds an out-of-the-way closet that contains the spare lantern oil he was looking for.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Besides dancing sneaking past guards, opening doors, bypassing traps and stabbing an orc where it really hurts, that's what she knows. Not... exterminating pests. She has half an idea about suggesting fire to fight the bugs but doesn't have the confidence in the idea to actually voice her opinion until Rombo suggests the same thing. Then she quickly agrees with the dwarf. Her own lamp oil she had left in the inn, not wanting to burden herself too much, but she didn't have that much, and if they could get the owner of the house or the guard's captain to foot the bill...
Like Rombo she then sets out to look through the most obvious places for lampoil, pitch or the like.

Not that it matters, since Rombo's take ten was enough. But it's mostly in Melinda's character to help out so for the record she took ten as well for a Search "check" of 19. :smallamused:

[The White Knight]

"Oh. Uh, we dispatched the skeletons that were on the first and second floor, and the giant beetles in the kitchen. We can hear a racket of bugs in the basement, and we're coming up with plans on how to take care of them now. We haven't been down there yet -- it's the only place left to secure at the moment."

He turns to address the lady, bowing his head politely before doing so, "One of my comrades is capable of unleashing a swarm of her own upon the bugs in the basement, but we are taking as many precautions as we can to ensure whatever lurks in your basement doesn't break out. We had the idea to set a controlled fire near the periphery of the basement with some lamp oil to act as a boundary while our comrade's spell does its work. Do you have a stone or earthen cellar, like most, milady? Would you be wholly against such a strategy? Is there anything precious in your cellar we should take care not to harm?"

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Grinning, Rombo carries the house's supply of lamp oil to the kitchen, in preparation for throwing it all into the basement and burning up all the beetles, once permission is secured from the owner of the house.

[King Tius]

Quintella looks off into the distance as she tries to remember what is in her basement. She blows her nose in a handkerchief before responding.

"I...I haven't been to the basement in months. Nothing but extra foodstuffs and old furniture down there. If there are bugs then I'll throw it all away no matter what. Please, do whatever it takes to clean my house out!"

The Captain seems pleased by your report. He breathes a great big sigh before issuing new orders.

"So the house is mostly secure then? Good. Go in and finish the job. I'll have my men stay posted until you're through, but I'll not put the house to torch."

OOC: I need a definitive plan of attack about the basement so i don't take too many liberties on your behalf

[Master_Rahl22]

William helps the others prepare the lamp oil for the combat and the trap to keep the beetles from escaping.

[The White Knight]

Alhuran is relieved to find the captain less on edge.

"Actually, if you could spare your torches, they may be helpful for combating the bugs should they break through our trap. Squashing them one by one with weapons won't achieve much, but I expect fire will probably make them scatter. And if some men could stand by with water just in case something does catch, I'm sure the lady would appreciate it."

[King Tius]

The Captain turns and nods to a soldier standing near him....apparently the lieutenant...who quickly dispatches several men to fetch pales of water while sending another off to fetch spare torches. Not a minute later Alhuran is handed half a dozen unlit torches and is accompanied by four guards carrying buckets of water.

[The White Knight]

"Oh. Great! Okay, follow me."

Alhuran leads the men back into the kitchen and rejoins the others.

"Okay, we're good to go. The lady of the house says to go ahead, and I've brought help in case the fire catches. Oh, and some extra torches we can swing at the bugs if they get through. Now... how should we go about this?"

[LtPowers]

"I'm thinkin' we should be as cautious as possible," Trell says, though she accepts a torch to wield. "Let th' druid unleash her swarm, an' then see what's left, lettin' th' stragglers have it with th' torches. Even underground a fire can quickly get outta control."


Trell

[Frivolous]

"Oh. Great! Okay, follow me."

Alhuran leads the men back into the kitchen and rejoins the others.

"Okay, we're good to go. The lady of the house says to go ahead, and I've brought help in case the fire catches. Oh, and some extra torches we can swing at the bugs if they get through. Now... how should we go about this?"


Rombo Shiverwell

The dwarf shrugged.

"Toss the oil in, splash it all over, and then toss in a torch, burn them all."

"But Trell is right; if our swarm can beat their swarm, we don't need and shouldn't use fire."

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "I agree, we should see how well Petal's swarm does against the insects downstairs. Let's all be ready with our oil and torches as a precaution."

[The White Knight]

"I was mostly curious about how we can go about opening the cellar door without unleashing whatever is down there upon the person opening it," says Alhuran. "I know I don't particularly want a wave of hungry bugs crawling all over me." He shudders as he imagines it.

[Vladislav]

When everyone is ready with fire and water, and the door to the basement has been open to a crack (possibly using Melinda's rope, as not to endanger the person opening it), Petal is ready to unleash her own swarm of insects inside.

Armor check penalty [roll0] (1 fails)
Caster level check DC 8 [roll1]

[King Tius]

Opening the basement door just a crack, Petal is able to cast her summoning spell. Rather than calling a rival pack of beetles, she instead brings a swarm of bats into being. They swoop and screech in the basement, attacking the multitude of beetles. As you peek down the stairs to view the carnage, you see that there are also two larger beetles also down among the swarm. While the bats are doing a decent amount of damage to both, the acid sprays from the larger beetles are slowly thinning out the flying rodents. Finally deciding that the bats will not be enough, you toss a pair of lamp oil jars into the midst, followed closely by a torch. High-pitched screeches filter up through the floor as the beetles are burned alive.

After it is clear that all the beetles have met their fiery fate, the guards start tossing their buckets of water down into the basement. The oil proves difficult to douse with the water, though the water does help keep the rest of the basement from catching fire. The guards bring in more help equip with heavy blankets to finish putting out the flames. After an hour or so of fighting the fires and trying to air out the smoke through the kitchen door, everything is returned to normal (save for a few minor burns on some of the guards).

The encounter nets you 386 xp. For successfully handling my most challenging encounter without so much as a scratch, I award you an additional 150 xp. By my count that puts you at 1650 xp. For successfully completing the quest of clearing out the house you get 300 xp. Aaaaand, since it is officially Christmas Eve, you all get a bonus 50 xp because I like you guys so much. Congratulations! You've survived to level 3!

Investigating the basement for the point of intrusion is not hard. There is a gaping, man-sized hole in the floor of the basement near a corner. Peering down inside, you see that the tunnel slopes downwards and away from the foundation of the building for about 15 feet before leveling out and disappearing into darkness. Edwyn looks down into the hole and shakes his head in dismay.

"I offered to help clear out this cursed home, not to crawl to the underdark! I'm afraid I am nearly out of spells besides. It has been a blessing working with you all, but i must bid you good evening."

As the priest takes his leave, the Captain comes down into the basement with more soldiers to inspect the work you've done. He looks down into the hole with a grim look on his face.

"Nice work. I'll station my men here until we can get this hole covered. You all best get some rest; it's been a hell of a night. We can discuss your payment in the morning. We may need you to see how deep this hole goes."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo waited until Edwyn was out of the way before he muttered.

"Hurr. This shallow little hole isn't the Underdark. You'd have to go much deeper."

He nodded and smiled at the Captain's words.

"Pleasure to be of service, Captain. See you tomorrow."

The implications of man's words, the prospect of going down into the dark tunnel and away from the sky seemed to have filled the dwarf with glee. He went back to his inn room for a bath and nap humming an old mining song happily.

"Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work we go..."



Having reached level 3:

Maximum hit points: 29.
Current hit points: 25.

If he is allowed 8 hours of sleep, Rombo recovers 3 hit points and is up to 28.

[Vladislav]

Having completed the task at hand, Petal turns to the lady of the house.

Those skeletons, they aren't created randomly. Someone animated them for a purpose. Looks like they were sent from that hole in the ground - maybe to fetch something?

We noticed you have quite a few items of note - and of magic - in the house. Not that we took anything, of course. But maybe someone else wanted to? If you could tell me what's there worth taking, it would help us on the dangerous way down.

Taking 10 on Diplomacy for 15

[Master_Rahl22]

William joins the druid in talking to the lady of the house. He says, "Have you made any enemies recently? Anyone who would profit from your demise?"

[Calenestel]

The promise of payment seems a great pick-me-up to the half-elf. She would probably have helped out anyway, she wouldn't have been able to stand to the side and let the guards burn the house down or anything... But a reward was a great thing to look forward to. Dreaming about future riches the dancer takes her leave and moves to leave the now cleared, if a bit smoky, house. On her way she notices Petal and William speaking with the owner and decides to hang back and listen. Sleep could wait a little more.

[LtPowers]

Trell is intensely curious about what the skeletons were doing in the house, so she hangs nearby, far enough away as to not overwhelm the poor woman, but close enough that she could jump in with a question of her own should it be necessary.

Sleep can wait.


Trell

[King Tius]

@Petal: “Magic? No, not that I can….oh! My grandfather’s ring. Yes, in the trophy room along with some of his other possessions. He used it back in his days as an explorer, but I don’t believe it was anything of note. Hold on a moment.” She heads into the trophy room and retrieves the ring. “Please take it as an extra thank you for cleaning out my house. If it is what brought those nasty things into my home, I don’t want it here any longer.” She offers the ring to Petal and William.

@William: “No, no enemies. It’s just me in this big old house since my husband was killed. Our family is well loved in Cormyr! My uncle may have some enemies in the city, but why would they come after me?” She begins to tear up at the thought.

(Unless you want to continue talking to her, I will fast forward to tomorrow)

[Vladislav]

Thank you for this generousity, milady.

Too bad she doesn't know what it does, but you don't look a gift hypogriff in the mouth. Petal thinks, as she hands the ring to the Diviner, Alhuran.

Perhaps you'd be able to find out what magic dwells in this ring and why someone would be after it?

[The White Knight]

"Happily," Alhuran replies, his eyes beaming with excitement. "I'll inspect it in further detail tomorrow morning, sometime before lunch." He looks over the ring curiously before pocketing it.

Alhuran exchanges accommodation plans with the others so they will know where to find him the following day.

[Vladislav]

And on that optimistic note, Petal is ready to hit the sack. All in all, it was a good day. The Spirit granted all her requests for magic today, and Fang was loyal as ever - meaning she has been applying her efforts in the right direction today. And, of course, she made new friends.

She, too, exchanges accomodation plans with everyone, then dangles her backpack before Fang.

Come, Fang, I have some yummies for you.

[King Tius]

Everyone goes back to bed……again. Those of you staying at the inn tonight find that the innkeep has seen fit to reimburse you for your night’s stay. Apparently he was quite impressed that you volunteered to clear out Lady Proudmore’s house. Fortunately there are no other home invasions this evening demanding your attention. After getting a good night’s rest and being treated to a late breakfast by the innkeep’s rather rotund wife, you all reconvene and head to the Town Hall to meet with Captain Dremel.

Once you have all arrived, an attendant lets you into Dremel’s office. He sits behind a large wood desk covered in maps and sheets of parchment. As you enter you notice that Edwyn is also at this meeting, though he looks quite different than he did before. Whereas last night he wore the robes of his order, today he sports armor, shield, helm, and mace (though he scarcely looks comfortable in it).

Greetings of the Dawn to you all. I have proven myself as a Dawnbringer and have been charged by my order to *sigh* continue with you in your task. That is, unless you do not wish for me to accompany you…

Dremel casts a disparaging look at the priest. Ignore my son’s bellyaching. You all did a hell of a job last night and you are to be commended for it. He reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out two large coin purses. ”Quintella has given you all 500 gold a piece for your efforts. However, there’s still the business of that hole to take care of. We need to know where it goes and what else might come out of it. My men fought off another beetle and two more skeletons over the course of the evening. I haven’t a clue in the Seven Hells what could be going on down there but if you’d be willing to have a look, I can promise that it won’t go unrewarded. What say you?

Alhuran casts Identify on the ring and finds it to be a Force Shield ring. It is a simple iron band and has no other discernable magic properites or special markings on it.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The short and burly dwarf's newly trimmed beard split in a grin when he heard how much they were being paid for the night's adventure. After listening to Dremel's little speech, Rombo stepped forward and spoke in a casual and confident manner.

"Sure, I'll help. For your underground exploration and vermin-stomping needs, Rombo of Clan Shiverwell is your dwarf. He has traveled far beneath the earth and left many a bug squashed under his boot."

His eyes sparkled with pleasure at the prospect of going underground again. That he was being given gold to do so was just a bonus.



Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "There are still undead abominations coming up from that hole? Then by all means we must seek out their source and punish whoever would dare to defy the Scale Balancer." He accepts his share of the reward graciously and looks as if he's ready to leave immediately.

[Vladislav]

Petal takes a deep sigh. She's supposed to be on a pilgrimage, with this little episode no more than a side-trek, and now an underground expedition? But maybe she was placed here for a reason? Maybe vanquishing the unnatural perils underground is her destiny? Anyway, Cormanthor have been in the same place for centuries, it can wait a bit longer.

She nods, with Fang punctiating her words with a quiet growl. Count us in.

Petal surveys her new friends and can't help but giggle slightly. Edwyn, you look particularly smart this morning.

[The White Knight]

Well, maybe this was the calling you were waiting for, old boy...

"Very well," he says with a nod. "It would be my pleasure to try to help in whatever capacity I can."

I rather hope that hole doesn't go too deep though...

[King Tius]

Edwyn blushes at Petal's compliment. "You are too kind. The armor is new, though I've trained in some before."

Since nobody seems to want to talk overly much, we'll kick things right down to the basement....

With one last, hopeful look at the sun you enter the Proudmore estate once again and descend into the basement. Here you find that the guards have set up a barricade using some overturned tables and their shields. They wish you luck as you enter into the cramped hole, though you can hear them whispering about how you are all craven before you are all even inside. The tunnel twists and winds rather chaotically, growing wider as you gradually descend. Along the way it opens up into several smaller chambers (natural little caves) which show evidence of beetle infestation. After a half an hour of cautiously following the path and ruling out smaller offshoot sections, you come to a sizable cave with a small water source running through it. The cave is perhaps only 40 feet in diameter (and nowhere near perfectly round) but you are able to stand fully upright and stretch your cramped legs.

Four distinct passages lead into/out of this cave. The first is the small tunnel through which the stream flows. A halfling or gnome might be able to climb up it without drowning, but it is certainly too small for any of you broad shouldered medium-sized types. the largest of the tunnels leading out of this area slants upwards and appears to be "naturally" made from the rocks and dirt. The air from this direction is noticeably fresher. The final passage looks as if it were dug out by the same creatures that created the passage you entered from. Judging by the scrapping marks and residue of these passages, you imagine that the beetles carved them.

Fang laps from the pool before sniffing around the cave. As he gets near this other passage, he begins to growl softly and sniff about the grown.

[Vladislav]

Fang, Hush! Petal commands quietly but forcefully. Her companion's intentions may be good, but no need to give away their position so soon, then turns to her bipedal friends.

Handle Animal [roll0] to keep him quiet

Beetles and skeletons are an odd pairing. I'd chance a guess the skeletons were the ones sent intentionally, whereas the beetle infestation is a side effect. As such, the beetle passage is less interesting. I'd rather see where the upward tunnel goes. If nothing else, it might emerge within the city limits, and we can warn the guards of another opening.

[LtPowers]

Trell examines the largest tunnel to try to determine how it was formed -- naturally, by the work of beasts, or by the work of intelligent minds. She also searches for unusual stonework.

\\
Craft (stoneworking): [roll0]
Search: [roll1] (includes Stonecunning bonus)

She also uses her innate Dwarven ability to intuit the party's approximate depth.
//


Trell

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "It's possible that the beetle tunnel was natural, or that whoever sent the skeletons also sent the beetles to dig for them. Whatever dug into the basement likely wasn't natural."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo crouched down to examine the ground, seeking to determine what path the skeletons used to reach this point.




Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.

Rombo is taking 10 on the Survival roll to use his Track feat, focusing specifically on tracking skeletons or anything else with two feet.

His normal skill modifier for Survival is +7, but with 5 ranks in Knowledge (Dungeoneering), it goes up to +9 when used underground.

I leave it up to the DM to assign other positive or negative modifiers I am not aware of.

Also, can Rombo determine if the singular passage that led from the Proudmore basement to this spot was made by the beetles?

Logic suggests to me that a sentient mind would create tunnels that do not twist and turn so much, but perhaps I am wrong.

[King Tius]

Petal is able to quiet her beast while the Dwarves go to work. Between the two of them, they are able to establish that the skeletons appear to have come from the passage fang was barking at (the one made by the beetles). The large passage is by all accounts natural. Both Dwarves agree that you are approximately 30 feet underground.

As you search the area you hear a faint sound emanate from the beetle passage. It is a low, sad, single chime of a bell. Judging by the tone of it you'd think it was a choir bell (the hand held kind).

[Vladislav]

What is this sound ... it's beautiful.

Petal is captivated by the bell for but a moment, and then her pragmatism returns. She digs within her pack for a rolled up parchment and holds it up to light.

Anyone up for scouting there invisible? If no one volunteers, we can go, right boy? she adds, tussling Fang's fur.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo announced, "I can scout. I've done it before, specially underground."

"I'm not sure invisibility will be any good, though. Most things down here don't need light to see."

Please note that Rombo is no mage, so his comprehension of the details of the Invisibility spell is virtually nil.

"I think that the skeletons wandered down a passage the beetles dug on their own. It's almost a coincidence that the two groups of critters ended up in that basement. The skeletons aren't alive and have no smell to speak of, so the beetles didn't really think of them as a threat and ignored them. I guess the skeletons ignored the beetles the same way. They didn't care about vermin and only attacked living people."

"That bell sound we just heard probably comes from wherever the skeletons were before the beetles came."

He looks at the others to observe how they react to his remarks.

[King Tius]

Rombo sneaks down the passage, trying his best to keep quiet. He follows the tunnel about a hundred yards before finding another, smaller chamber. Two more paths lie before him. The first leads to a wider passage and has clear evidence of beetles. In fact, Rombo can see two beetles in the chamber that is about 60 feet from him. The beetles seem to notice Rombo as well, though they do not move to engage. Down the other passage Rombo can't see anything due to the way it the corridor twists. As he stands there, though, he hears the same bell toll twice in rapid succession from this other path.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo considered, but then decided it was wisest not to take on the two beetles on his own. He wasn't quite sure how fast they could scuttle after him, and dwarves were not known for their speed.

He hung his mace at his belt and took up his short bow, but he fired no arrows at the beetles. Instead, taking care not to let the beetles come too close to him, he walked back to the rest of the party and quietly announced his observations.

"The passage splits in two about a hundred yards that way. Two beetles down the larger passage. I heard the bell ring from the smaller tunnel. Let's go up and kill the vermin."

He grinned at the prospect.

By the way, who is carrying a light? Trell and Rombo do not need one, but all the rest of you need at least some light.

[Vladislav]

Petal frowns at the dwarf's obsession with vermin. It had its uses so far, but now is not the time ...

Who cares about beetles? If we intend to fight every single piece of wildlife in these tunnels, it might take a while, you know. We should sneak by them and investigate the other passage. Whoever is tolling the bell might be the source of the skeleton calamity, or at least know something about it.

Petal bought a bunch of sunrods before, so I guess she has one on

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "I agree with Petal. The beetles are inconsequential. We should try to get past them without a fight, if for no other reason than to find the source of the skeletons sooner."

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell

Rombo looked a bit puzzled that his companions did not want to smash bugs. Then he grinned a bit more widely and shrugged his inhumanly broad shoulders in an expansive gesture of nonchalance.

"Sure. I have no problem letting them go. Business first, pleasure later."

"Just wanted to inform you so you wouldn't be surprised to see them. They might attack, you know. They left me alone, but I have the feeling that they might be more riled when a whole group of two-leggers passes by."

He paused, then added, "Especially if they make noise and one of them carries a bright light."


King Tius: Can Rombo, with his Knowledge and other skills, determine what behaviors and stimuli are least likely to cause the beetles to not attack the party?

For example, would not using light help? Rombo didn't bring a light when he scouted, of course, since he's a dwarf.

[Vladislav]

We'll do our best not to make noise then, right Fang? Riiiight?

Petal feeds her dog a handful of treats and pets him for a while, so he won't accidentally feel hungry or aggressive when those juicy and succulent beetles are in sight.

[LtPowers]

Trell nods vigorously. "Th' beetles might be a problem in th' future, unless we c'n block up that passage somehow. But fer now, I agree th' skellies are th' main danger. They donnae just rise up by 'emselves, after all."


Trell

[Foobarious]

At first glance it's looks like Fred is a some kind of a cleric, the holy symbol of Mystra the mithral chain shirt and the morning star in his hand all shout a Cleric, but the pouches of material components he carries and all the vials the clothes stained with different colors and burnt holes hint of something arcane about him.
Something is off with this one.

when asked if he is a member of the cloth he replies with a shy smile
"before I bought this holy symbol, people would frown at my hair dyes, pastes and poultices , and now the business thrives"

when asked about the morning star he would reply
"The common folk don't appreciate that unleashing spells is more consuming mentally than waving a sword, so I use magic when necessary but not as a first resort.
When you stand far behind your friends and cast spells, sometimes you forget that the people in front of you are not just fodder like some of my instructors at the academy claimed, but are brave men and women that are aching , wounded and scared and yet they hold their ground to protect those behind.
When sometimes I go in front , I am reminded of that and I am proud to be able to share that load when possible"

[Foobarious]

After a long pause Fred says

"If we are forced to retreat from the skelies we will probably be wounded and on a noisy retreat, it will be the worst circumstance to meet with waiting beetles.
We should block their way scare them' kill them or maybe befriend them somehow."
I try to recall what i can remember on such beetles
knowledge nature[roll0]

[King Tius]

Fred recalls that bombardier beetles are extremely territorial though not overly hostile. They are known to live in forests and to make underground burrows.

Carefully, cautiously, you head down the passage. At the sight of you the two beetles hiss and become agitated. One even tries to shoot some acid in your direction but it falls well short. The beetles do not make any moves down the passage towards you. After a minute of tension, you realize the beetles are defending that passage and will not come towards you unless provoked.

(at this point, I am assuming you are leaving the beetles alone and heading down the other passage. If I'm wrong, we can back it up).

Continuing onwards, you follow the twisting passage until you come to a room. Rombo calls to a halt and peeks around the corner. What he sees is a huge room full of sarcophagi. The room is made of laid stone and looks well made to the Dwarf's eyes. Rombo notices a raised dais to the left with stairs leading upwards. Another raised dais in the middle of the chamber has a large metal cage around it with bars that reach all the way into the ceiling. Hanging from a metal chain in the center of the cage (and about 6 feet off the ground) is a bell. The large door at the right of the chamber is closed and Rombo cannot see any door handles. The floor of this chamber is covered in small tiles, though from this distance Rombo can't make out what the symbols on them are. The Dwarf also sees a beetle and three skeletons in the room, though these enemies do not seem to notice him.

We aren't technically in combat yet, though you should all roll your own initiatives with your posts. You can whisper quietly to one another, but if you want to do anything big you had best roll move silently checks along with them.

THE MAP

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5512/bell1.png

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Fred makes a good point. Perhaps we should deal with the beetles first, if only to secure our line of retreat."

[Vladislav]

Petal

Petal steps away from the hissing beetles.

Let's leave them alone, they're just defending their cave; look, they're not even coming out.

Initiative [roll0]
Can Fang go on my initiative to simplify things? His init modifier is actually higher than mine, so it's not like I gain any advantage from it...

[King Tius]

@Vladislav: Yup!

Edwyn does not a have a strong opinion as to what to do about the beetles.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The dwarf's rumbling voice drops to a whisper as he mentions something to his partners.

"If we're going to enter that room to deal with the skeletons, the beetle also in that room will attack us, just as the ones in that passageway tried to. We should shoot it down first before we deal with the undead."

He looks a bit nonplussed that William was agreeing with him that the bombardier beetles should be killed. He nods in agreement with the servant of Kelemvor, trying to restrain his eagerness to crush the bugs.

"Combat with the undead will certainly make a lot of noise. It may draw more beetles from the other passageway to our vicinity."




Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.

Initiative: [roll0]

Hi, King Tius. I thought you were going to roll all our initiatives from now on?

[Foobarious]

Fred says in confidence
"
Let me stay behind in the corridor. If the other beetles tries to come behind us in the corridor, I will use a web spell to trap them, so we will have time to finish the skeletons in the room and than deal with the Beetles"

rolling for initiative 1d20+6

[King Tius]

@Frivolous: Normally I would but since you've got the drop on them and might not actually start this combat, I figure I would let everyone roll their own. Gives you a sense of power, doesn't it? :smallsmile:

[Vladislav]

So, skeletons and beetles are working together after all. Maybe the undead are wrangling the beetles to make tunnels for them? The skeletons are not intelligent enough for this ... but whoever animated them might be.

She focuses on the task at hand.

Right. Warriors at the front, then. Yes, that means you too, Fang.

[LtPowers]

Trell asks Rombo if any of the sarcophagi are open. She also expresses a preference for taking out the beetle early, preferably with ranged weaponry.

\\
Initiative: [roll0]
//


Trell

[King Tius]

Rombo states that all of the sarcophagi are closed.

[Vladislav]

Petal is a bit sad that the beetle will have to pay the price for the crimes who whoever forced it into service. Maybe ... she suggests meekly, if we kill the skeletons quickly, the beetle will just leave, having no one to control it?

But she herself realizes that the chances of such are slim; the path to unlocking this mystery is likely to run knee-deep in beetle juices, whether she likes it or not. Petal begs the spirit to grant her patience and forgiveness.

[Master_Rahl22]

William whispers, "Ah, the presence of more undead abominations changes the situaion. The skeletons are clearly the more dangerous, it's possible that the beetles are here naturally and just wandered into the house after the skeletons opened the way. Combat with the beetles will alert the skeletons. We know we need to destroy the skeletons, but we don't know if we need to kill the beetles. I say we leave the beetles alone for now, and if they attack then we deal with them."

OOC:
[roll0]

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

"Oh, leave the poor beasts be..." the half-elf chimes in, she too has readied an arrow just in case. But having learned from her friends that bombardier beetles are territorial she is just simply inclined to let them have their hive and investigate the other passage with that mysterious bell first."At least they don't seem controlled by some malevolent wizard. Or they would probably have attacked us by now. Right?"

[roll0]

[Foobarious]

"The unknown factor is the area they consider to be their territory"

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The dwarf suddenly looked perturbed as he remembered something. He glanced around the corner again at the room with the bell, then went back to the huddle, speaking softly but urgently.

"The floor of that room is covered in tiles decorated with symbols. Sometimes people make tile traps. The trap is triggered unless you step on the right tiles."

"We shouldn't go into that room 'til Melinda has checked out all the tiles. We should cause the skeletons to come to us rather than go to them."

"We'll lose the element of surprise, but I'd rather lose that than charge recklessly into that room."

[Vladislav]

I would think if those are traps, the beetle would have triggered them by now. But can't be too careful. Mind if I take a look?

[[if no one objects or has a better idea, Petal will retreat halfway to the beetle cavern, out of earshot, cast Detect Magic, then return to take a peek at the tiles]]

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell

Rombo looks a bit blankly at the druid at her request.

He tried to get into a position in the narrow passage so that Petal could get a look at the tile-floored chamber...even if it meant lying on the floor and having her climb over him.

While she did that, he mused, "Perhaps the beetle isn't heavy enough to trigger a trap. The skeletons might be the same way. They're only bones, no flesh."

[King Tius]

Petal retreats to cast her spell before making her way to the front of the line. From her vantage point the spell's effect does not extend all the way to the other end of the chamber. However, she can see that all the tiles in range are glowing with a Faint Transmutation aura. Sneaking forward a little, she can see that the sarcophagi have Faint Necromancy auras while the bell has Strong Necromancy aura. I have no idea if the skeletons should have auras, given that they are magically animated corpses. Petal can't see the door without getting closer.

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

Keeping back, there's not really much else to do, the dancer-thief nods slowly as Rombo suggests the presence of traps. "Sounds likely, really. But I can't say for sure unless I can search the place in peace. And with the skellies... Might be a bit of a problem." She glances around the narrow passageway they were huddling in. "At least... If we have someone strong at the front, then the undead won't be able to get to us any more than the other way around and we might just... bottleneck them. And with someone behind to trade places, then we can keep fresh people in the front longer too. What do you think?"

[Vladislav]

So, uhm, yes, the tiles are magical. Not something that goes boom, but something that could slow or hamper us. And the sarcophagi and the bell reek of unnatural death magic.

Petal hates herself for considering the bell's sound 'beautiful' before.

[Foobarious]

"If the area is magical I think I will try to analyze it from petals previous vantage point. I will try to determine the exact effect which is cast on each area"

Fred casts detect magic away from the room as not to alert the skeletons, goes back to where petal stood and concentrates hard for a few moments on the spell effects


Check the effect on the tiles - spellcraft [roll0]
Check the symbols on the tiles - knowledge arcana [roll1]
Check the effect on the bell - spellcraft [roll2]
Check the symbols on the bell - knowledge arcana [roll3]
Check the effect on the sarcophagi - spellcraft [roll4]
Check the symbols on the sarcophagi - knowledge arcana [roll5]

[King Tius]

Seeing as Petal just cast that spell, Fred does not discern anything new about the tiles. In order to try and see the symbols on the tiles clearly enough to read them, you will need to use the light of the torch. Do you want to do that?

[Foobarious]

Fred curses himself for not learning dancing lights since the light isn't strong enough to discern the symbols.
It should have been obvious that the party has enough torches.

The decryption will have to wait till the room is cleared.

[King Tius]

Sorry Foob, I think there's a bit of confusion here. The torches will be plenty of light, but using them to get a look will alert the skeletons of your presence. Rombo was able to see because he is a Dwarf. You and Petal can make out the general shape of the room because of the auras but in order to see detail like the tiles you will need a light source nearer to them.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Let's get the skeletons' attention and begin destroying them. Let's lure them back to that big room, Edwyn and I should be able to turn them and force them to simply cower in fear while the rest of you dispose of them."

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

The half-elf, still not having actually seen the lay of the room shrugs and looks back to the area indicated to William. With two persons holding the undead imobilized that should be a better plan really. "All right then. Let's do that." Against skeletons she really wont have any use of the arrows. She had learned as much from the battle in the house. Quietly she unstrings her bow and, after returning to the more open space, settles her backpack and the shortbow on the floor. The new belt she had bought did wonders with the heavy pack, but she still prefered to fight without it weighing her down. Eyeing her allies, her possible friends, she readied the heavy mace she had brought.

Oh, and about torchers or other sources of light. Melinda hasn't lighted any yet. She seems fine with only one source of light at a time, to actually like the gloom (even if she needs some light to see) and wants to preserve their lightsources.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


The dwarf ranger nodded to William and Melinda.

"An excellent idea, if our guess is correct that they will leave that room with all the tiles and the big magic bell and follow."

"I think they will. They wandered all the way up into that basement, after all."

He paused, then added, "We should be ready in case there are more than just the few skeletons and single beetle there that will come after us. Even with darkvision, I wasn't able to see too much of the room. All those sarcophagi in the way."

Assuming that was the plan they followed, Rombo walked back to the big cave and prepared himself for the battle ahead. He did not volunteer to be the one to lure the skeletons, since like all dwarves, he did not move very quickly.

[King Tius]

Ok here is the Pool room. Place yourselves wherever you like and tell me how you are planning on springing this trap. Specifically, who is going to lure the skeletons (and how), your position in the room, your surprise round attacks.

The Map

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/339/pool1.png

I have shortened the distance to the beetle-split in case you want to position yourselves for an initial ambush there.

Keep in mind that it is 100 yards (300 ft) away

[Frivolous]

OOC: Rombo is positioning himself at I7, if no one else objects or wants to take that spot.

He is particularly keen on shooting arrows at the beetle, if it comes after the party, before it comes into acid spit range. Anyone else using missiles can fire over his head, since he is shorter than everyone else, even Trell.

[Vladislav]

Fang, who is also quite short, will be right next to Rombo (I8), and Petal right behind Fang (J8)

OOC: if someone would oblige to take H8, we can have a 4-1 advantage on whoever arrives at the end of the corridor.

[Vladislav]

Mind if I place a sunrod near the bend of the corridor? So we can all see what's coming?

Also, Petal loads a bolt in her crossbow and lines up a shot at the first thing to appear across the bend of the corridor (C7)
[roll0] dmg [roll1] <--- :smalleek: I hope Fang ducked that one :smallfrown:

[Calenestel]

Melinda Merrin

As long as noone else moves quickly to take position with Rombo, Petal and her canine friend Melinda joins them. Keeping close to the wall, her mace grasped in both hands, she makes sure to stay out of view from the any approaching enemies. Not that she think she could get any real advantage from it beside not being attacked in the first exchange of blows.

I'll take H8 unless someone else wants it.
If I am to roll an attack right now, here it is:

[roll0]
[roll1]

Edit: Meh. I hope these will be ignored. :smallamused:

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "I will lure the skeletons out here. Kelemvor has blessed me with the ability to move quickly when necessary. Be prepared for me to come quickly." With that, he opens his pack and removes a brightly glowing torch. He checks to be sure that everyone is ready, and then heads into the skeleton room.

William's surprise round action will likely be to just move into the room. I'll make some rolls if I need to depending on the situation. After luring the skeletons, if it looks like they will catch him William will activate Travel Devotion.

[Foobarious]

Fred will stay at his current place since it gives him a good view of all entrances and he want's to keep away from the pool which he doesn't trust
and keeps eyeing it suspiciously.

He sends brat to listen on the corridor with the fresh air and warn him if anything comes from there

[LtPowers]

Trell moves to I9 and readies her sword. She readies an action to step into melee in place of any of the ranged folk who might want to move aside.


Trell

[King Tius]

Everyone takes up their positions as William heads back down the tunnel, torch in hand. As he moves towards the hewn room, he (and the rest of you) here the solemn bell toll once more. William rounds the corner and begins waving his torch around and shouting to the skeletons about defiling Kelemvor’s will and whatnot. He quickly notices that there are now four skeletons. All four of the undead turn to attack the monk/cleric combo pack, though the beetle does not seem to care. With great haste William takes off back towards the pool room. He has a bit of a head start, though he loses some distance as he navigates his way through the tunnel.

As William comes darting towards the party, the ghastly skeletons come into view of Petal’s sunrod….and the battle begins!

Surprise Round
(16) Fred
The wizard makes no initial attack, deciding to assess the situation before wasting spells. His familiar reports that all is clear from the fresh air corridor.

(14) William
William runs!

(13) Rombo
Rombo considers firing an arrow at the skeletons but realizes the tunnel is too narrow and William too large to have any real chance of hitting anything.

(12) Edwyn
The now-armored priest takes a step back from the tunnel and hefts his mace. “Lathander bless us, here they come!”

(9) Petal
Coming to the same conclusion as Rombo, Petal waits for William to clear the tunnel before firing her shot.

(6) Melinda
Melinda stays ready in her hiding place.

(6) Trell
With sword at the ready, Trell waits.

Round 1
(21) Skeleton
The skeletons continue their head-long charge down the corridor, hot on William’s heals.

You’re up!

The Map

http://img573.imageshack.us/img573/976/pool2a.png

I have moved the map slightly so you can see the skeletons coming at you.

[Calenestel]

Hearing the skeletons bearing down upon them the halfelf close her eyes for a second, sending a quick prayer to Sharess to keep her from harm. Most didn't know it but among Her faithful it was still kept in rememberance that Sharess had once been a deity of war against evil and undeath. When She was still known as Bastet. Most, herself included, didn't really pay much mind to it. What is past is past and She is not more a godess of war any more than She is Bastet. But still, it felt right at the moment. And a small part of her really felt comforted by the prayer. After that she just waits for a skeleton to charge up next to her without being bashed into dust immediately. When one does so she takes a step out from the wall and swings for the undead's head.

Not surprisingly I'd prefer to roll a new attack and not use the one from the last post. Of course it's up to the DM, but if he decides to be nice to me then...
[roll0]
[roll1]

No move action this turn (the step is not even a five foot step, since I stay in the same square, it's just flavour :smallwink:)

[Master_Rahl22]

William rush past Rondo, drawing his sling as he does so. He quickly loads it and hurls the stone down the passage at the first skeleton in line. William barely manages to keep his stone from hitting Rondo on the back of the head. He grimaces and prepares for the undead to attack.

Move: Move to N-7 and draw sling
Standard: Attack S1
[roll0]
[roll1]

Stats:
William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk/Cleric, Level 2/1, Init +3, HP 17/21, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo frowned that the skeletons had come first rather than the beetle. Since his arrows would probably be useless against them, he took up his mace and buckler and moved forward to attack.

Unlike his battles up above, this time the dwarven ranger made no sound and yelled no battle cry. It was to his benefit to avoid making any sound that might betray his party's presence down here in the depths.




Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.

Attack with masterwork heavy mace: [roll0]
Damage with masterwork heavy mace: [roll1]

[Vladislav]

Courage, Fang. We have them where we want them.

Seeing the skeletons coming fast, Petal set the crossbow aside and grasped the spear tightly with both hands, ready to jab at the first skeleton foolish enough to step close. At his mistress' behest, Fang growled and got ready to pounce.

Readied attacks against any skeleton in range
Petal [roll0] dmg [roll1]
Fang [roll2] dmg [roll3] (bludgeoning!) if hits, Trip [roll4]

[Frivolous]

OOC: By the way, since moving -too- far forward would make it impossible for anyone else to attack the skeletons simultaneously beside Rombo, he won't move from I7. :)

[LtPowers]

Trell appears frustrated that she can't get in closer, but she remains patient and ready for mop-up duty.

((Mechanically, she readies an action to move (tumbling if more than 5 feet) into a vacated square if any of the melee combatants move to retreat.))

\\
Tumble check (if needed to move into, for instance, Rombo's square without taking an AoO): [roll0]
//


Trell

[Foobarious]

Fred ,calculating that the skeletons will be easily dispatched by the rest of the party members, keeps an eye over the pool so the party won't be surprised from the back.

[King Tius]

Round 1

(16) Fred
Fred keep his eye on the pool but does not see anything disturbing in the water.

(14) William
William gets back into the pack and whips a stone down the hallway. Unfortunately it ricochets off the wall and does no damage.

(13) Rombo
Rombo readies her attack for the first skeleton that gets into range.

(12) Edwyn
Edwyn bounces lightly from foot to foot, anxious as hell and out of melee range.

(9) Petal
Petal and Fang get ready as well.

(6) Melinda
Melinda ALSO readies her attack.

(6) Trell
Trell looks much the same as Edwyn does…anxious to be put to good use.

Round 2
(21) Skeleton
The skeletons come barreling into range…and into Rombo’s mace. It takes the skeleton square in the chest, shattering its ribcage. Petal’s spear darts out to no effect as Fang tries to grab its leg. Melinda brings her mace to bear and crushes its skull, smashing it to bits. The rest of the skeletons press forward, though they can’t attack this round.

The Map

http://img842.imageshack.us/img842/5666/pool3g.png

[Vladislav]

Grrr ... it's hard to say where the primal growl orginated, whether at the wolf or his mistress. As frustrated by his failure as they are emboldened seeing their allies shatter the first skeleton, Fang takes another bite at it, as Petal stabs the second skeleton, hopefully to better effect.

Bite [roll0] dmg [roll1] trip [roll2]
Spear [roll3] dmg [roll4]

[Master_Rahl22]

William meditates for a moment on the concept of order and law, and once again swings his sling over his head and lets fly, sending another bullet zipping down the hall toward the skeletons.

Swift: Activate Law Devotion to attack
Move: Load sling
Standard: Attack S2
[roll0]
[roll1]

Stats:
William the Just (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=208718)
M LN Human Monk/Cleric, Level 2/1, Init +3, HP 17/21, Speed 40
AC 16, Touch 16, Flat-footed 13, Fort +7, Ref +6, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus +1
Unarmed Strike +4 (1d6+3, x2)
Flurry +2/+2 ( , )
Sling (20) +4 (1d4+3, x2)
(+3 Dex, +3 Misc)
Abilities Str 17, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13
Condition None

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo grinned nastily as his mace shattered the skeleton's chest bones. He almost laughed aloud when Melinda destroyed the rest of it but managed to avoid giving voice to his battle-joy.

As soon as a second skeleton came into range, he attacked it, too.




Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.

Attack with masterwork heavy mace: [roll0]
Damage with masterwork heavy mace: [roll1]

[Calenestel]

Not as inhibited as the dwarf the half-elf whoops aloud when the first skeleton goes down without problem. "Now that's more like it!" The dancer grins victoriously but stays in her place, waiting for another skeleton to advance. As soon as one does she again strikes high, as to avoid getting in the way of Rombo's swings. Mindless enemies must be the best kind!

Move Action: None (keeping ready to move aside if that's allowed)
Standard Action:[roll0]
[roll1]

[Foobarious]

The skeleton bashing is going well according to the voices of joy so
Fred keeps his vigil on the pool and on the basement entrance.
Brat covers the fresh air corridor.

[King Tius]

Round 2

(16) Fred
Fred continues to monitor the situation.

(14) William
William fires another sling bullet but again fails to land a hit.

(13) Rombo
Rombo brings his mace to bear again, this time smashing S2 into oblivion all by himself.

(12) Edwyn
Seeing that the bottlenecking strategy is working splendidly, Edwin stays where he is.

(9) Petal
Fang darts forward and grabs ahold of S3’s leg, yanking it to the ground. Petal’s spear darts out again but fails to do any damage.

(6) Melinda
Melinda takes aim at the downed skeleton but somehow managed to miss it in the heat of battle.

(6) Trell
Trell looks much the same as Edwyn does…anxious to be put to good use.

Final Round
(21) Skeleton
S3 tries to stand but Rombo smashes it back to the ground, scattering it. S4 moves forward and rakes at the dwarf with its claws:

Attack1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]

Through your combined efforts, you are able to quickly dispatch the last skeleton before it can attack again.

67 experience each.

[LtPowers]

"Well, that were easy enough," Trell comments as she reluctantly replaces her giant sword in its scabbard. "But, I thought ye said there were two skellies in th' room. Where'd th' other two come from?"


Trell

[Vladislav]

As I feared, they may have called for reinforcements. I only pray our return to the bell room won't find it better defended. We better be careful.

Battling her disgust, Petal carefully gathers some of the broken bones, and packs them in her bag, so Fang may have something to track the skeletons by later.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "I see only two possibilities. Either two of them were out of sight when we first scouted the room, or whoever is making them is still down here and continuing to create more. We must investigate that room now."

[King Tius]

You hear a scuttling sound coming from the skeleton/beetle hallway. Based on the sound, it is definitely a beetle. The sound gets steadily closer but changes tone and starts to get further away again. You briefly hear the clacking responses of two other beetles before the hallway goes quiet. Clearly the beetle that was in the skeleton room has gone back to the nest. You venture back to the skeleton room and find it currently devoid of enemies.

THE MAP

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8241/bell2.png

[Calenestel]

The room finally cleared of enemies Melinda takes the initiative. "Right. Now it's just the runes-that-may-be-traps left. Allow me." Smiling she glides by her newfound friends, starting to slowly, carefully check the floor for traps. Not only the runes but the whole room. You just can't be sure if the runes are traps or diversions.

Skill monkey time! :smallbiggrin:
[roll0] Edit: not bad.
Another roll next round if the DM so demands (different DM's handle search checks differently, I usually lets one check be for one room unless it's a really big one)

[King Tius]

Melinda kneels down and studies the magical tiles. Using her knife to carefully pry one up, she determines that they are magical pressure triggers that will fire off the spell trapped inside of them.

You matched the Magical Trap DC. Nice Job!

[Calenestel]

"Yep. It's a trap alright. The other ones are probably traps too. Unless I just got lucky here." The woman grins, in both victory and curiosity, the smile making her seem both more beautiful and more mischievous. "Now let's disable this one to avoid any accidents and move on. Right?" Her hand goes to the case of tools and instruments she carried at her hip.

Unless someone stops her (not sure why, but it's your characters :smallwink:) Melinda will try and Disable the trap now. She's entiteld to do that as a rogue. :smalltongue:

[roll0] Hm... Not as good. :smalleek:

After that she goes back to searching the room. [roll1]

[King Tius]

Unfortunately in her attempt to disarm the tile Melinda accidentally triggers it. The hair on the back of her neck goes up as she feels a slight magical discharge from the tile but nothing appears to happen in the room. Melinda can tell that the tile automatically reset itself.

In order to search the room, you will have to move into it. From your current vantage point you can't discern anything new.

[Vladislav]

Taken aback by the sudden accident, Petal is nonetheless relieved to see Melinda alright. She casts Detect Magic again and tries to determine if there's a safe path that can be taken without stepping on any of the magical tiles.

[King Tius]

All of the tiles are equally magic. No discernible path can be determined, at least not magically....

EDIT: I forgot! From her vantage point near the floor Melinda can see that no two tiles are the same. Each has a skull on it, though some are facing forward while others to the side. Some have their mouths open, some have things in their eye sockets or a crown on their heads.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo looked relieved at not being damaged further by the skeletons. He kicked at the crushed bones and muttered, "Good riddance."




Rombo's AC is 17, so none of those last attacks should have hit him, I think.

Maximum HP: 29.
Current HP: 28.


He watched curiously as the mages and the thief examined the traps.

"Huh, so I was right. They really are tile traps. But magical ones, yuck."

He thought a little, then spoke again, still softly.

"How much pressure is needed to trigger 'em? Even a little pressure, mebbe?"

He looked for a stone and experimentally tossed it further into the room while Petal and/or Fred still watched with Detect Magic.

[Master_Rahl22]

William says, "Melinda, were you able to tell what sort of trap it was when it went off? Are you injured?"

[Foobarious]

Fred comes forward to look at the symbols.
<b>"It might be some kind of code telling us which path to take inside the room so not to activate the traps.
I guess that the direction they are facing might tell in what direction to activate the pressure plates.
A crown might be a pressure plate that disables others or a safe place.
a mouth open might be a pit.
Maybe there is a way to disable all the magical traps at once.
Maybe the bell is the central point for those magical trap and if it's disabled somehow the tiles traps will be disabled also."</b>

<spoiler>
Fred tries to recall from his past some knowledge on these symbols or such magical traps
knowledge arcana <roll>1d20+10</roll></spoiler>

[Foobarious]

Fred tries to recall from his past some knowledge on these symbols or such magical traps
knowledge arcana [roll0]

[LtPowers]

Trell grows a bit restless. "I'm still wonderin' where that natural tunnel be leadin'," she comments as the wizards investigate the tiles. "If it goes back up to th' surface, it could be an escape route -- or could lead ta somethin' comin' in behind us when we're not ready fer it. Maybe two or three of us oughta go check it out real quick-like?"


Trell

[Vladislav]

I can go with you, Trell, Petal says. We never did quite finish that talk about faith too.

[King Tius]

Fred recalls hearing of similar traps from his studying days. He speculates that all of the trap tiles either have or lack a common symbol or combination of symbols. However, he can't figure out what that is based purely on his memory.

[Foobarious]

Melinda, Can you tell how much pressure is needed to activate the trap on the tile?
Maybe we can put planks on the tiles that will divide the pressure among several tiles and prevent the trap activation.
Than we can form some kind of bridge that only one person will be able to cross it at a time

[King Tius]

Rombo tosses his stone into the room and...... *ominous clattering of multiple d20s rolling behind DM screen*...... nothing happens!

[Foobarious]

Fred continues his pondering
If not too much weight is needed to activate a tile maybe we can collect heavy rocks and throw them on the tiles. they will be activated but won't be able to reactivate
and looking directly at petal
Maybe we can use beetle corpse parts as weights?

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Rombo whispered a suggestion.

"It's magic, so maybe weight isn't the trigger. Maybe it's humanoid life that makes the tiles go."

"But yes, we should try something lobbing something heavy."


Question for our DM: May I ask what precisely Melinda did to trigger the tile?

Did she touch it with her bare flesh, for example, or did she try to pry at it with a lockpick, or did she put weight on it?

[Vladislav]

and looking directly at petal
Maybe we can use beetle corpse parts as weights?

Or rocks, in a somewhat less gross turn of thought. Now, if you'll just let me concentrate for a moment ...

Petal rubs her temples and uses the force a Mage Hand spell to pick up the stone Rombo threw earlier. She moves it along, tapping at several different tiles here and there.

[roll0] spell failure chance

[King Tius]

@Frivolous: Mechanincally, she failed the Disable Device check. In game, as she was delicately holding the tile and examining the symbol, she may have waved her had too close to it. Melinda swears up and down that she didn't physically touch the top face of the tile.

Unfortunately Petal's tapping with the stone does not yield any discernible results.

[LtPowers]

"All right, you folks keep checkin' this place out," Trell says. "C'mon, Petal, lass, let's just double-check that tunnel real quick an' make sure it's nae somethin' we need ta worry about. We'll be back in a few minutes, promise."


Trell

[Vladislav]

Right, let's scout a little. Don't solve this mystery without us! Petal cheerfully follows Trell. After they walked a bit into the tunnel heading up, she digs a skeleton bone out of her bag and lets Fang sniff it. Let's see if some skellies came this way before. Fang, seek!

Taking 10 on Handle Animal for 18
Fang's Survival to track: [roll0]

[Master_Rahl22]

William attempts to discern a pattern among the tiles.

Can we get descriptions again of all the tiles and how the pictures on them differ, how many different pictures there are, and what picture was on the one that Melinda set off?

[King Tius]

Studying the pictures for a bit, you can see that they break down into the following options:

Skull Facing Direction: Forward, Left, Right
Mouth: Open, Closed, Open with Tongue Out
Hat: None, Crown, Half-helm
Eyes: None, Gems, Daggers

For those of you who like math, that gives you 3^4 = 81 different possibilities.

The tile Melinda was holding had the following picture:

Skull: Left
Mouth: Closed
Hat: Crown
Eyes: Gems

Petal, Fang, Trell, and Fred head back to the largest of the tunnels. After following the twisting, natural tunnel for several hundred yards, you see daylight ahead. Shielding your eyes from the light, you see that this cave entrance leads to the nearby forest. Fang growls as you near the cave entrance and you can see that some kind of animal uses this cave as a den.

[Vladislav]

Trell, Petal starts cautiously, you said before that so long as you can still cast your spells, you're doing all right. Well, I ... sometimes the Spirit withdraws her favor from me. You know, it happens that I try to channel her magic, and nothing comes out, you know what it's like?

She blushes.

Uhm, that came out wrong. I didn't mean to insinuate that ... No, you probably don't know what it's like. And then it comes back to me, as if nothing happened. I think the Spirit must be warning me about something. I just wish I could figure out what ... Oh, look, daylight!

Knowledge (Nature) [roll0] - what kind of animal might live in a den of this size? Predatory or not? Is the smell familiar?

[King Tius]

It's a bear. A black bear.

[Frivolous]

Rombo Shiverwell


Grumbling to himself in annoyance and frustration over the tiled floor, Rombo took out a sheet of parchment, his ink vial, and his inkpen.

He started to sketch a "map" of visible part of the tiled floor, using the following code for each square of the map:


Direction the skull is facing using an arrow.

Mouth using the letter A. A1 for open, A2 for open with tongue, and A3 for closed.

Hat using the letter B. B1 for nothing, B2 for crown, and B3 for a helmet.

Eyes using the letter C. C1 for nothing, C2 for gems, and C3 for daggers.

Rombo wrote in very tiny letters, taking great care to make an accurate a map as possible.

While he drew the map, he muttered, "Melinda, you weren't harmed by the tile you touched, right? Can you remember which one it was?"

Rombo is taking 20 on the Craft roll. :smallsmile:

[Foobarious]

Fred whispers to petal,


If you can't calm this bear down I will use web to trap it so we have time to escape back inside. I have a feeling its your preferable course of action

[King Tius]

OOC: Sorry for the confusion, but the bear isn't there right now. This is a den that was recently used by a bear.

[LtPowers]

"Good ta know this is an easy escape route," Trell says. "We'd best head back before Mr. Bear comes home."

"Sometimes yer spells fizzle, eh?" she comments as they head back. "That's a tough 'un. There's a number of things that c'n cause that. Och, I wish me sister were here; she paid more attention when Mum explained this sorta thing."

Trell pauses, looking for the right words. "I've heard that sometimes th' gods don't give ye th' spell ye ask fer, though I've never met anyone it happened ta. But as I unnerstand it, once ye get th' spell in that brain of yers, it's yers fer th' day. If there were somethin' wrong, ye'd know it when ye pray fer yer spells, not when ye cast 'em."

She shrugs. "But I could be wrong. I donnae know a lot aboot deities other'n th' Morndinsamman. Mebbe it's different fer tall folk gods."


Trell