The Necromancer's Tower - Group 3 IC

[Archwizard]

Having completed your most recent mission slaying undead, the group is resting at the Captain's Quarters Inn in the town of Lakeside. A messenger dashes in and goes to the front desk and you hear "...looking for...problem...undead specialists..."

The innkeeper nods in your group's general direction, and the messenger looks relieved.

"Greetings, friends. At least, I truly hope I may call you that. I have been sent by Lord Ibrahim III of Ogdenhall to request your aid. Our region used to be a very prosperous one, with numerous trade routes going through the city proper. Over the past few decades, those routes have stopped being traveled, and as they have gone, so has our fortunes. The city, and surrounding area, are now a mere shadow of their former glory. However, we have hope again, but we cannot do it without your assistance. We believe we have traced the origins of our situation to a tower near the edge of our influence that had been abandoned almost a century ago, and we thought it was still abandoned. We believe that some form of evil influence or power has taken up residence there and it is this force that is causing our troubles. We are also almost certain that whatever is there is related to undead abominations. Lord Ibrahim sent his most trusted and powerful knight, Sir Kramer, to investigate. Alas, Sir Kramer never returned from the tower. This is why you are being sent for. Clearly, the task is beyond our current forces and your reputation for expertise and ability to deal with undead precedes you. I have been sent with sufficient transportation to bring you to Ogdenhall to speak to Lord Ibrahim regarding our situation. Will you come with me?"

Current Map:

http://bfb.bogleg.org/~whitewolf/tower/Group3_map.png

Current Status:

http://bfb.bogleg.org/~whitewolf/tower/Group3_status.png

[J-H]

Morris stands up, stretching a bit and rolling his shoulders and neck to work out a few kinks. "If it's undead, you've got my help. Pull up a chair and tell us what's pointing to this tower, and to the involvement of undead. What have you seen?"

[Togo]

Nuele nods.

Well, that sounds about right. Dark tower, undead evil, I mean, what's not to like? Should we pack up now, or do you guys want to quiz the messanger on stuff that the guy who sent him will know better than he will?

She starts fastening shut the bindings on her backpack, then pauses.

Of, course, if trade is dying out, that's because people are getting attacked on the road, right? But if we're going to go there... Um.. maybe you could tell us a bit about these attacks?

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali is dozing on the far end of the table, curled up like a cat next to a cluster of empty bottles, as the stranger enters... The tiny gnome stirs himself and grins through his soot-colored beard, showing teeth that are disturbingly long and sharp. He digs into his vest and produces a pocket watch.

"Good heavens, just look at the time! It's already Zed Thirty! ...and here I am sleeping the day away. We have zombies to kill! Let's not keep this nice man waiting..."

He hops to his feet and jumps down from the table, scattering the empties and leaving two bottles in pieces on the floor. He winces at the crash, wobbling tipsily...

"Oops."

[Archwizard]

The messenger looks at Morris, "Thank you. My name is Telain, and I am a personal messenger for Lord Ibrahim."

He takes out a rolled up piece of parchment, which has affixed to it a very ornate seal:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-TUANFHHA03E/TjycgEfcMTI/AAAAAAAAABo/B8VRqOH4-xY/s144/Ogdenhall_Crest.png

If you unseal and read the parchment, it essentially says what the messenger already said, and it is personally signed by Lord Ibrahim.

I don’t remember anyone having Knowledge (Nobility), but if you do you can make checks regarding the seal and the names Sir Kramer and Lord Ibrahim.

Telain sighs heavily. "I wish I knew more. It is very frustrating to watch your home decay and die.“

Telain then sits down, although he sits on the edge of his chair like a man ready to jump back up at any time. He signals for a drink and when it arrives he takes a deep drink before continuing, "I have no direct information. When I say that I have watched my home decay, I mean that in a general sense. Trade used to be vibrant, artisans would come from all over to perform in the bazaar, and the land was simply alive. That is no longer the case. The only trade that comes through is that which is strictly required. Performers, artisans and similar folks don't come around anymore in any appreciable numbers. Even the weather seems to have gotten worse."

He seems to be lost in thought for a moment, but then snaps out of it. "Of course you hear rumors. People have moved away, or so we are told. Stories of the families being kidnapped or killed abound. A storm comes through and a graveyard is ripped up. Did the storm do it, or something more sinister? As times have gotten tougher, the stories and rumors have gotten darker. Of course, when we learned about the tower and the potential source of our troubles that it is, dozens of rumors about what is going on there erupted, each more horrifying than the last. When Sir Kramer and his party failed to return those stories got worse. Sir Kramer was...is a good man. I am proud to call him a friend, and I know for him not to return is very dire indeed."

[blade artist]

Festav looks up from a book he's reading to see the man properly instead of the occasional glances he'd been doing so far.

"Hm... Seems rather interesting. However, what made you believe that the place is haunted or such? We can't well go out slaying if there turns out being nothing to slay. From what I can tell, this is all third-hand information."

[Dunkoro]

(OOC: sorry for my absence guys)
[roll0]
[roll1]
I have ALL the knowledges trained.


Also, It wouldn't be a first time when someone got to us all saying "This place is haunted, you have to cleanse it!" for us to find nothing there...

[Togo]

Even if the tower isn't haunted infested or corrupted, says Nuele, I have no particular objection to going to rescue a handsome prince.

She waves a thin hand, making her braclet's jangle.

I think we need to face up to the fact that the unbreathing horde have all been defeated. It was fun while it lasted, but they've shambled their last, the tombs have been resealed, and we've even been paid. They don't need us here any more, we're kinda done. I'm enjoying the 'free room and board' bit of our reward as much as anyone, but I'm ready to move on.

I mean ok, we don't know exactly what we're getting into, and this could all turn out like that Beast of Bogarden fiasco, but hey, they can't all be duds. Short of the minions of darkness sending us an engraved invitation, this is the best lead we've got.

And then there is the fate of a knight of the realm! How can we rest here knowing that a brave knight ventured into danger and never returned. We could be his only hope. Someone needs to think of Sir Cramny or whatever he's called!

She pauses for a moment, and then starts counting on her fingers.

Um.. not needed here, could be something real, we owe it to ourselves to check out leads, rescue brave knight, I'm bored.... Yup I think that's everything!

So, can we go? Right now?

[Archwizard]

Knowledge (Nobility) for Sir Kramer:
He is a minor noble in Ogdenhall. He is the chief military aide to Lord Ibrahim and known as a very capable warrior. Lord Ibrahim III was the one who elevated Sir Kramer to nobility.

Knowledge (Nobility) for Lord Ibrahim III:

Lord Ibrahim III is part of the Tredine family that has ruled Ogdenhall for the past couple centuries. His family have been capable rulers, steadily growing Ogdenhall's importance and wealth until recently. The past couple decades have been bad, both for Ogdenhall and Lord Ibrahim. Things started going south with the death of his father, Lord Ibrahim II, and people have begun to give up hope that Ibrahim III is capable of dealing with the situation. Indeed, many say that his failure to recognize an external problem and act before now is a clear indication that he is not up to the task. The only thing keeping the peace is the older generation that have lived under the Tredine rule long enough to have faith in the family.

His personal reputation has been one of steadfastness and dedication to his people. Sometimes that steadfastness can be seen as slowness or indecision however.

The seal is the Tredine family seal. It emphasizes a connection to the land and its people with its green and gold coloring. The heavy armored helm, shield, and hands all represent the family dedication to defending themselves and those in their charge. The lion rears to signify that at the heart of every defender is a warrior ready to roar and attack to accomplish his goals.

[Archwizard]

Telain looks at Nuele and chuckles, "I like your energy and enthusiasm, I'm sure my lord will appreciate it." Turning to Festav and Mishiel, "As to what makes us believe undead are involved, that is simple. Divinations by Quelaas, our head priest, have found necromantic energy and auras that are strongest around the tower. That lends itself to one fairly certain conclusion. It also casts a much more sinister light on the disappearance of citizens and disruptions in graveyards nearby."

"As to when we can leave, as soon as you are ready. I have a caravan with me that has horses for each of you. The journey to Ogdenhall is about a five day ride to the southwest."

[J-H]

"I just need to pack a few things that're in my room... I can be ready in 15 or 20 minutes."

[blade artist]

"Alright, I just have to return some books to the owner and put on some armor and I'll be fit for travel."

Festav takes another look at the messenger and then back to Nuele.

"We are never talking of that incident again. The trek itself was enough to give nightmares."

[Swami Monsoon]

"Hey, nightmares are underrated... they're like plays you don't have to pay for!"

Ali gathers all of his gear and throws in one last bottle, to take the edge off on the road. That was the bad thing about morning drinking... afternoon hangovers...

[Archwizard]

Telain stands and says, ”I must prepare to depart, I am glad you seem eager to assist. Lord Ibrahim sent me with an escort and transportation for you.”

As you exit the tavern, you see the caravan Telain referred to. There's half a dozen riderless horses, a wagon with some supplies, and half a dozen armed men on horses. They are wearing chainmail and have longswords on their hips and longbows on their backs. Their chainmail has the same seal that was on the scroll emblazoned across the chest. One of them is holding the reins of what must be Telain's horse.

Telain takes the reins from the man and says, "Thank you, Sergeant. I see your men have finished preparing to depart, excellent. This is the group we were sent to find, and they have agreed to return with us."

The Sergeant nods sternly and replies, "That is good news. Men, prepare to depart as soon as our guests are settled on their horses. We must make haste back home."

Telain turns to you and says, "It's about 5 days with minimal stops to return to Ogdenhall. I don't expect much trouble."

With that, he mounts his horse and prepares to depart.

The caravan sets out west. You travel fairly constantly, with minimal rests for the horses. At night the sergeant and his men take shifts keeping watch, urging everyone else in the group to rest.

On the third day of travel you start to pass by some farms and similar lone homestands. Towards the end of the day you begin to notice occasional patrols of soldiers, usually 4-5 men, that have the crest of Ogdenhall on their armor. These patrols salute the sergeant and Telain, but otherwise continue on their way.

Throughout the fourth day the population increases, and now you see periodic villages. Everywhere you go, people that see the caravan tend to watch it with mild curiosity, but so far the land and its people seem healthy and content, if not happy.

Around midday you see a structure off in the distance. It appears to be a very large fortress-like building which Telain informs you is Ogdenhall. Once it is in sight, you notice that the character of the land begins to subtly shift. People seem to be moving a little faster, carts they are pushing are not quite as full, fields don't seem to have the same bounty growing in them. There's nothing you can put your finger on as wrong, it just doesn't feel right.

On the fifth day, the sense of unease and discontent increases. The walls of Ogdenhall come to dominate the landscape. The structure is impressive, and you can see men patrolling along the walls. You think you also see ballistas positioned periodically along the walls. As you get closer you notice that a second set of even taller walls rise from the center of Ogdenhall.

The road leads up to the northern wall of Ogdenhall. In the middle of the wall are a set of giant doors, each one roughly 20' wide, made of what appears to be solid steel. The walls themselves appear to be roughly 20' tall and are made of stone. As you pass through the gate you notice there appears to be an inner keep structure with walls that must be 30' tall. The other thing you notice as you pass through the gates is the pair of stout dwarves immediately on the inside of the gates. Each is wearing full plate, wields a battle axe, and carries a shield. They look even sterner than your typical dwarves.

On the other side of the doors is an open courtyard area, roughly 80'x40'. Straight back from the gate is a small 20' wide structure, from which a large man in plate mail exits as your caravan goes through the gate. As Telain gets off his horse, he greets this man with a nod, "Captain Karath, it is good to see you again. Please send a runner to inform the lord that I have returned."

The captain nods, and motions to a boy behind him. The boy takes off like a shot. Another boy approaches and Telain tells him, "Take care of these horses well, they have been ridden hard for five days and have earned a respite."

Telain turns to you and says, "This is Captain Karath, the head of the Ogdenhall's guard and also overall defense forces in Sir Kramer's absence." Captain Karath's face darkens at the mention of Sir Kramer, but he says nothing. Telain continues, unaware of the Captain's reaction, "To the east are living quarters. In general, artisans who are staying long term will stay there, and many merchants and tradesmen who have shops inside the walls also live there with their families. To the west is where the shops, the inn, and similar buildings are."

Telain begins to walk towards the west and beckons you all to follow him. He begins pointing at buildings while talking, "Might as well point out where stuff is while we are on our way. The entrance to the inner keep is on its southern wall. In the northwest corner there you can see the entrances to The Sheltered Soldier, our inn, and The Thirsty Soldier, our tavern." After turning the corner and walking south about a hundred feet there's a gap between buildings where armor, weapons, and various metal goods are displayed. Telain points and says, "As you can see, these two buildings are where our armorer, weaponsmith, and blacksmith work. They are called The Soldier's Shield, The Soldier's Sword, and The Soldier's Supply." Telain chuckles a bit, "And, as you can also see, there's a bit of a theme to the naming of our establishments. It goes back to Ogdenhall's founding, when this land was much wilder than it is now. The armorer and weaponsmith are both very old dwarves that have been here a very long time. In the southwest corner there are the leatherworker, the tailor, and the general store."

As you round the southwest corner you see a large, open area in the center of the southern area. Telain says, "This is our bazaar. Right now it's not that busy, but it used to be crowded like you wouldn't believe, day in and day out. I hope you are able to help us restore those days. Over on the other side of the Bazaar is the temple to Heironeous. Most of us here worship Heironeous, though some do worship Pelor, and an altar to him is also set up inside the temple."

In the center of the southern inner keep wall is a tunnel that leads north through the wall. There's a raised portcullis at the entrance, and standing by it are two armed guards. They wear banded mail and wield greatswords. The tunnel is 7' wide by 10' tall, and if you look up you notice that it has murder holes all along it.

The tunnel opens up into a roughly 30'x30' courtyard. Around the courtyard are benches and flowers, and in the center is a fountain. In the northern wall of the courtyard is a wooden double door.

Telain pushes this door open, and beyond it is a 20' wide corridor. He walks due north and you follow him. You see various hallways that branch off the one you are in, and doors that must lead to other rooms. At the end of a 50' corridor is another double door, this one is open with a herald and a guard stationed outside it. Inside you clearly see a moderate throne room.

The herald looks at Telain and nods, then enters the room slightly ahead of you.

"My lord," the herald announces, "your messenger Telain returns from his mission with the party in question with him."

With that, the herald exits the room and shuts the doors behind him. The room is 30' deep x 50' wide, with a throne in the center of the northern wall. Around the room are various chairs, suits of armor, decorations, and other things you would expect to find in a throne room.

Lord Ibrahim is seated on a throne made of bronze with some gold highlights. The crest is emblazoned along the head and back. Standing next to the lord is a tall man, dressed in green and black robes. In each corner of the room stands a guard at attention. They appear to be wearing different uniforms than the rest of the guards you have seen.

Lord Ibrahim stands after the doors shut. He is a tall man, powerfully built and he moves with a certain ease.

"Welcome," he intones, speaking in a rich voice, "thank you for coming. I am glad to see that Telain's journey bore fruit. I just hope there is something you can do to help us. The message Telain bore contained the essence of what I know, but I wanted to meet you and answer any questions that you may have. While you are here, I have instructed all of the various shopkeepers to give you as much of a discount as they can. I cannot ask them to take a loss of course, but they will do what they can. You may also wish to seek out Quelaas, he is the high priest in the temple of Heironeous and a resourceful man."

He pauses, and then continues, "I would imagine that you are interested in being paid for your assistance, which is of course only natural. I will pay you 12,000 gold if you are able to confirm elimination of whatever is in the tower. If you can find Sir Kramer and return him to us, I will pay you another 6,000 gold. If he is dead, please try to return his armor and sword to us. They are family heirlooms and his son should have them."

Lord Ibrahim looks melancholy for a moment, and clearly Sir Kramer was important to him. The lord then looks at you expectantly.

Map of Ogdenhall:

http://bfb.bogleg.org/~whitewolf/Ogdenhall_map_2.png

1 Square = 10'x10'

[J-H]

"Thank you, your grace. Eliminating undead is our calling - at least for most of us - and we will work to find the source of your problem. Having come to Ogdenhall, I think I can perceive what we were told about... some malign influence is having low-level effects even around the city.

Do you have any maps of the area and the routes to the old tower? Patrol schedules, maps of disappearances that we can use to look for patterns, and the like? I would like to plot our route this afternoon, and depart at sunrise tomorrow morn."

[blade artist]

"It also wouldn't hurt, your grace, to have some history of this tower. We heard that it was abandonned many years prior from your messanger; the story of the place might shed some light on what could be there or or around it."

[Togo]

Nice place, what's the rent?

Nuele tears her eyes away from the architecture, to give the lord a glance.

And ah.. why was it built in the first place? I mean, you've got solider this, and soldier that, so why did this area need soldiers? Or was it just that some past ruler had more guys in armour than he needed, and thought Hey, let's build a fortress over here and free up some spare rooms.

She waves her hand vaguely at the imposing hall as her eyes start roaming again.

You call it a hall, but this is a pretty hefty forticiation. Who were the bad guys it was aimed at, way back then? Or was it against fear of unknown foes, and to drive back the dark...

She brings her attention back to the Lord Ibrahim.

Sorry, impressive place. What made you think this tower was trouble? What was Sir Kramner looking for when he went there? And how far away from here is it?

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali fidgets at the back of the group, keeping his tongue firmly clenched between his teeth. He learned that little trick after a number of unfortunate outbursts in the presence of important people... but finally his patience gives out, and his tongue escapes his molars...

"But has anybody actually seen a zombie? Any confirmed incidences of moaning, shuffling, brain eating and such?"

[Archwizard]

Lord Ibrahim listens closely to the groups comments and questions. After you have finished he chuckles and looks at Nuele, ”You do not want to know the upkeep of this fortress. But, let me start with one of your questions for it will lead me to answering many of the others. This area was first settled almost four centuries ago. The first town was Quevilin, and it is about a half day’s ride to the west of here. The area was much wilder back then, with many dangers from monsters, barbarians, and the land itself. Despite the challenges, Quevilin did well for itself and grew. Once it was firmly established, one of my earliest ancestors decided the area was suitable for further settlement and that in order to facilitate that process a fortress would be needed. So Ogdenhall was built. From there, more settlements were built and they continued to grow. About a century later the tower was built and the Kolodin family was assigned to govern it. The tower was designed to be a secondary fortress to facilitate expansion to the south and west. It is almost two thirds the size of this fortress and lies three days ride with a fast horse to the southwest. Just as Ogdenhall had, the tower successfully assisted with settling the area. However, due to its design it did not have the need or real capacity to itself grow and engage in trade, and was never really included when these things were set up. So Ogdenhall grew in importance for the region as a trade hub, and as the seat of power it maintained much diplomatic importance, but the tower never did. After about two centuries the last of the Kolodin family died and at that time it was decided that the tower had outlived its usefulness. Rather than continue to pay to maintain the tower, it was sealed and the people living there were relocated to other settlements. Many came here to Ogdenhall.”

He paces for a minute, and then sits down on his throne before continuing, ”So that is a brief history of the area and the tower. Moving on to more recent times. Once we suspected more sinister things than simple changing trade routes and evolving diplomatic situations, our head priest, Quelaas, and my chief arcane advisor, Qint, started casting divinations to find out what was going on. It was their magic that led is to th tower. They both discovered strong Necromantic auras about the place, but neither could penetrate the walls with their magic to find out more.” He looks at Ali and says, ”And while we have not observed any undead firsthand, yet, such a strong necromantic aura combined with missing citizens and graveyard vandalism lends itself almost inevitably to that conclusion.”

He leans forward in his throne, ”I ordered that all troop patrols to the west of Ogdenhall be strengthened, but it is hard to know if that is helping. Many people have left in fear, and I am sure that some blame me for what is going on. But with people leaving and trade already severely impacted, it is very hard to know if the patrols have prevented further issues. Sir Kramer was sent with a very simple, but almost assuredly dangerous, mission. The same exact mission you are being asked to undertake: Go to the tower, find out what is there, and stop it. Since we cannot see into the tower with magic, going in by force of arms seems to be the only way.”

He leans back again, ”As to a map, I believe Qint has a simple one of the area. Since there have been no attacks that have been recorded, there isn’t much to check on in terms of patterns. The two most notable problems are in the villages of Quevilin and Orinthal. As I mentioned, Quevilin is the original settlement. The graveyard there is the oldest one in the area, having been there since the first settlers died. That graveyard was the subject of the most serious damage. Orinthal is the town closest to the tower, only a day away from it, and it is has the most missing people. If you would like the map, you should be able to find Qint in the library just outside this room to the east, Telain can show you. I believe that is everything you wished to know, unless you have more to ask me you should also seek out Quelaas at the temple, he wanted to see you before you left.”

[Archwizard]

Telain leads the group over to the temple which is immediately southeast of the entrance to the inner keep. The large double doors stand open and welcoming. The interior of the temple is 30' deep by 40' and is dominated by an altar to Heironeous. Along the side walls you see altars to Pelor and Kord.

An older man dressed in vestments of Heironeous comes forward and says, "Greetings! Welcome to the temple of Heironeous, although as you can see we honor any deity devoted to good. My name is Quelaas. You must be the group that Lord Ibrahim informed me was coming. Please, come this way." With that, he walks over to the corner of the temple where a table and some chairs are set up. He sits down and beckons you to do the same. Telain stands slightly back from the table.

"I'm sure Lord Ibrahim has filled you in on most of what has transpired. For my part, all I can really say is that the necromantic auras definitely are coming from the tower, and that they have been getting stronger. I fear they are quite a bit stronger than the magic I command. There are also auras of enchantment and abjuration, which I assume are responsible for my inability to get any readings from inside the tower itself. The necromantic auras combined with disappearances and graveyard defilations can only mean undead." Quelaas shudders for a moment. "It saddens me to think of that fate for those I have ministered to. Especially Sir Kramer, he was such a proud and able warrior, he would be horrified to suffer that fate." He reaches into the folds of his clothing and extracts a scroll. "Speaking of fate, please take this scroll. I fear the dangers you face and while I hope you never it, it is best to be prepared. Unfortunately, it's the only one I have."

The scroll contains one casting of Raise Dead.

[Togo]

Nuele makes a face

Eww... that's bad. Sound like we're looking at spellcasting, which means necromancer, some kind of cult, or...

Her eyes widen.

Could we possibly borrow some holy wafers? I lost mine back in that fight in the river. Remember Festav? 'How much trouble can one zombie be' and then Ali had to distract it while you pulled me out of the water?.. That totally ruined my hair, but I guess it was better than being chomped... uh, where was I? Oh, and do you happen to have any garlic? we'd just go out and buy some but I can't help thinking that renowned hunters of undead publically buying garlic might cause people to get a bit.. anxious?

[J-H]

"I could also use some more holy water, if you have it available. My spellcasting isn't enough to generate useful amounts of it."

[blade artist]

Festav starts grinning and then sloppily covers it up. "I'd have to say it was an improvement over how you put your hair that day, going and getting it done at that over-paid dresser, but that is for another time. And I doubt it is a vampire we're dealing with, for the garlic I mean. However if you wish to be safe from vampires, then go with some rice." Turning to the priest, "Have there been any troubles with undead in the area before this, maybe just slight happenings?"

[Archwizard]

Quelaas nods and says, "I can certainly understand your needing some supplies, and I doubt anyone in town would question the need to stock up. I do have some holy wafers holy water I will gladly provide you with, and I will send one of the temple acolytes over to the herbalist to fetch you some garlic."

Quelaas raises a hand and beckons to a young woman tending the altar to Heironeous. After he explains what to get, she stops and speaks to a different young man, then leaves the temple.

Looking at Festav, "I have personally never had to confront the undead, and I believe that as the head priest for the entire land that if something like that occurred I would definitely know about it. It's probable that my good fortune in never having to deal with them before has led to my current state of not knowing how to deal with this problem. Such is life."

After a couple minutes more both the young woman and the young man she spoke to come up to the table. They put 5 each of cloves of garlic, vials of holy water, and holy wafers on the table.

Quelaas says, "Thank you Toria and Sinjian." He looks at Morris and says, "I hope these will help you in your quest to help us."

[Dunkoro]

They certainly will, thank you. As for gaining any information on what we might be facing, were there any survivors from earlier expeditions? If yes, could we possibly talk to them?

[Archwizard]

Quelaas shakes his head, "There has been only one expedition to the tower that I am aware of, that of Sir Kramer. None have returned of the eleven people that went. Any others that have gone have done so without telling anyone."

[J-H]

"Thank you." Morris puts three of the holy water flasks into a few pouches around his outfit, leaving the others for someone else to take.

"Who else went with Sir Kramer?"

[Archwizard]

"One unit of soldiers from the primary garrison here. I'm afraid I don't know all of their names, but I do know that all the soldiers here are well trained and dedicated fighters."

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali studies one of the flasks of holy water.

"This stuff is supposed to burn zeds with holy fire. I prefer burning them with fire fire."

A small whiff of brimstone escapes from his nostrils as he places the flask back on the table...

[Archwizard]

The group takes their leave of Quelaas and Telain explains where the stables are. The group assembles there and prepares to depart.

Telain leads the group to Quevilin about a half day’s journey from Ogdenhall. Telain explains that Quevilin was the original settlement in this area, and it was the success of this town that lead Lord Ibrahim’s ancestors to found Ogdenhall. You depart again, this time heading for Orinthal, which is almost a day and a half ride away. Along the way you see regular patrols of armed men with the crest of Ogdenhall on their armor. These groups are slightly larger and better armed than the ones you saw to the east. Spending the night at an inn along the way, you can see that the lack of trade is severely affecting these people. Clothes are rattier, food and drink is thinner, and merriment is almost nonexistent. Looking at farms, the animals are also clearly suffering from hunger, and the plowshares and other equipment you can see need repair work. The sad condition of the farms is almost as sure to blame for the food situation as any other cause.

The group reaches Orinthal at nightfall on the second day out from Ogdenhall. Telain directs you to a small inn, almost no more than a couple spare bedrooms in someone's house. Telain explains that Orinthal is the town closest to the tower. You hear much chatter about how the town has severely shrunk in size due to people leaving for safer places. You also hear that many folks think that not everyone has left voluntarily, and more than a few blame Lord Ibrahim for not protecting them. Discontent and depression are stronger here than anywhere you have been to date.

In the morning the group sets out for the tower. The land steadily gets wilder, and the road clearly is quite unused after a fork in the road about an hour out. About an hour down the fork, the vegetation in the area starts looking extremely sickly and dying. You notice almost no animal life at all. After about 4 more hours of riding, a large, black structure can be seen in the distance in the middle of a large field. It almost looks more the a strange pyramid than a typical tower It contains multiple levels, each one square and set off center of the one below it. As you get closer, you see that the structure is immense, it must measure a couple hundred feet to a side and rises about sixty or so feet from the ground. From your vantage point, you cannot even see the bottom of the tower, for it is surrounded by a sturdy looking, vine covered wall that is twenty feet tall. The path you are on clearly leads up to a wrought iron front gate. The group stops maybe an hour away from the tower. There are about 2 hours left of daylight.

[Dunkoro]

Well, it seems the day is coming to an end. We might be able to reach the tower still today, but assuming there will be a struggle, we might not make it back to the camp in daylight. And we all know that most undead are at their strongest during the night. I say we camp here and set off to the tower tomorrow morning.

[J-H]

"Wonderful. I'd rather wait until tomorrow morning to go in, rather than investigating a possible necromancer's tower in the dark. We should find someplace safe and hidden to camp for the night. No fire unless we can keep it small and concealed."

[blade artist]

"I didn't think it would've taken this long to get here. Considering the undead have gone to as far away as Orinthal, we are likely to see undead tonight with such a range of mobility. How about we camp to a side of the tower to avoid any traffic coming out of the place" Festav looks slightly worrying while saying this.

[Swami Monsoon]

"Yeah, camping off the road is the smart thing to do... The good news is that there's no live people watching us out here. Time to slip into something more comfortable...'

Ali crouches down and reaches behind him, tugging at his back. Bony spines emerge from slits in his clothing and armor, quickly expanding into bat-like wings. He straightens himself and flexes his wings, which now span nearly 10 feet fully extended... The rest of his body has also changed. His skin has taken on a rougher, stonier texture. His hands are now webbed, with blunt claws, and his teeth are longer and sharper. His eyes are bright yellow-orange. Two small horns grow from his forehead...

Activating Draconic Flight + Aquatic Adaptation (plus fluff).
While in the field both buffs will always be active and Endure Exposure applied to party members (each evening).

[Archwizard]

The group notices a small hillock about a half mile to the west of the tower that has some trees on it that will provide a suitably defensible position. You make your way over and set up camp.

The night passes uneventfully, but everyone notices that the nighttime quiet is almost absolute, very little beyond the noise the group itself makes can be heard.

The group wakes in the morning as the sun is rising behind the tower, casting a long shadow in your direction....

Start Day 1

[Dunkoro]

It's a new day already! Let's pack and get going!

Mishel manifests Overchanneled (no damage thanks to Talented) Inertial Armor for +10 to AC (7 PP).

She then psionically focuses, taking 20.

[J-H]

"Let's eat first." Morris consumes the breakfast portion of his trail ration, drinks some water and does other such necessary things, and is ready to go 20 minutes after the sun starts crossing the horizon.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali stares at the ominous structure in the distance...

"That's sure a funny looking thing. It looks more like the backdrop for the Black Baron Doomskull von Doom's castle in a penny puppet play than any kind of military post I've ever seen. Did some zed-humping freak really take the place over or was it built to order? I wonder if the big boss was on the level with us... The groaners, biters and bloodsuckers are probably crawling in that place as thick as the crabs in a Lowtown hooker's-- Uh, I mean, there are probably a whole lot of zombies in there. But that's why they pay us the big money..."

He stretches out his wings.

"Want me to check it out from up top before we move in?"

[Togo]

Nuele looks up from the lantern she's filling with fresh oil, shading her eyes to look towards the tower silhoutted by the riding sun.

I wouldn't say so. You're not likely to see anything unless you get close, and that could be dangerous. But anyone inside would be very likely to see you.

She stands, staff in one hand, lamp in the other. Around her neck, the silver holy symbol of Lumia spins on a bronze chain, a stylised hand holding aloft a stylised lamp.

Let's get in there and shed some light.

[blade artist]

As Festav finishes setting in his soulmelds, "Alright, I'm all set and ready to go. We may even get lucky and there are lights inside." He is set with his billowing coat of azure flames, a bright shirt with a few medals on it, and bracers that spark every once in a while with what seems to be blue lightning.

[Dunkoro]

There's never enough light when dealing with undead.
After these words she pulled out a small ball that was producing light and made it orbit around her head.

[Archwizard]

As the group approaches the gates, everyone but Festav notices that the vines that are covering the gate seem to be moving of their own volition. Looking past the gate, Ali also notices two large beasts with wings and spiked tails staring at her from the roof of the first level of the tower!

{table=head]Initiative Chart
{table=head]Character|Initiative|Order
Mishiel|[roll0]|4
Morris|[roll1]|6
Ali|[roll2]|5
Nuele|[roll3]|3
Festov|[roll4]|2
Beasties|21|1[/table][/table]

Surprise round, everyone but Festav, the poor ignorant sap, gets to act (1 standard or move action).

[Archwizard]

The beasts notice Ali looking right at them, and they each flick their spiked tails, sending a dozen spiked flying at him!

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7]
[roll8] [roll9]
[roll10] [roll11]

[roll12] [roll13]
[roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll17]

[roll18] [roll19]
[roll20] [roll21]
[roll22] [roll23]

[roll24] [roll25]
[roll26] [roll27]
[roll28] [roll29]
[roll30] [roll31]
[roll32] [roll33]
[roll34] [roll35]

[roll36] [roll37]
[roll38] [roll39]
[roll40] [roll41]

As the first beast goes to finish flicking its tail, it manages to bat its tail with its wing, causing 5 of the spikes to sail far to the left of Ali. The one spike that wasn't affected hits Ali with a solid 'thunk'. The six from the other beast all go straight at Ali with two catching him, one nicking him and the other also hitting him fairly hard.

Upshot from those 42(!) rolls:
First attack roll hit, second attack roll was a fumble, causing the next 4 attack rolls (the rest from beast #1) to auto-miss. Then 2 from beast 2 hit, total damage to Ali: 14.

Okay, so everyone but Festav is now free to go in the surprise round. The beasts are on the roof which is 16' up, and they are 20' back on it, so anyone on the ground cannot see them, no LOS or LOE.

[J-H]

A blue-purple shield fades into view in front of Morris as his chain bursts into flame.


Manifesting Force Screen, +4 shield AC for 1 minute (10 rounds). 1 of 5 pp used

[Dunkoro]

Mishel manifests overchanneled Astral Construct, expanding psionic focus not to loose hp (Talented) and loosing 7 PP. It has Fly and Trip options from Menu A.
Rolling HPs for construct (in case we're NOT taking average):
[roll0]
The contruct uses it's partial action to fly closer to those beasts.
And Mishel wants to identify them (doesn't matter which knowledge, all have same bonus =], unless they're psionic or extraplanar)
[roll1]

[Togo]

Nuele drops her lantern onto the grass, and steps sides ways to get a better line of attack, drawing her sling as she does so. She whirls the corded leather above her head, waiting for the foul creatures to poke their heads above the parapet once more.

Drop lamp, draw sling while moving 5' and ready an action to hit a monster with the sling when they reappear.

[Swami Monsoon]

"F*&%$k!"

Ali drops towards the ground, breaking line of sight with the enemies.

"Snipers on that rooftop! Some kind of flying creatures..."

[Archwizard]

Round 1 Begins!

As the party makes their preparations, the beasts step up to the edge of the roof. Nuele spots them and she immediately sends a shot from her sling flying at one. Her aim is true, and she hits it right in the head. The beasts roar and send more spikes flying at the group!

Morris:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]
[roll12]

Ali:
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]
[roll16]
[roll17]
[roll18]
[roll19]
[roll20]
[roll21]
[roll22]
[roll23]
[roll24]

Nuele:
[roll25]
[roll26]
[roll27]
[roll28]
[roll29]
[roll30]
[roll31]
[roll32]
[roll33]
[roll34]
[roll35]
[roll36]
[roll37]

Festav: Flat-Footed for this attack.
[roll38]
[roll39]
[roll40]
[roll41]
[roll42]
[roll43]
[roll44]
[roll45]
[roll46]
[roll47]
[roll48]
[roll49]

The beast on the left looses spikes at Ali and Morris, but seems to be thrown off by Ali's sudden drop to the ground and its aim is thrown off, one spike hits Morris up in the shoulder, but the rest all fly harmlessly overhead.

The beast on the right appears driven by the stone it took to the head, and its spikes slam hard into Nuele and Festav, with five out of the six hitting. The last one just barely misses Nuele.

Upshot time:
Morris - 7 Dam
Nuele - 12 Dam
Festav - 22 Dam

Nuele's attack counts as her Round 1 Action (since the readied action occurred when they moved in Round 1).

So now everyone else in the party can go.

[J-H]

"We'll need to pass the gate to be able to get to those things on the wall!"

Morris advances towards the gate and lashes out, his fiery chain blurring through the air as he attempts to slice and burn the vines.


Charge to BM31 (the vine caption being a bit below where the vines actually are) and attack (only once, but it's a charge so I get +2 to-hit)
Charge attack
Crit Confirm[roll1]
Damage[roll2] plus [roll]1d6 fire
Crit damage plus [roll]1d6 fire

Knowledge: Dungeoneering [roll4] to figure out what we're facing.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali redirects his attention to the thrashing vines as they begin probing for gaps in Morris' armor...

"Yuck! You know that sort of reminds me of a Rokuganese porn comic I read once... but, anyways..."

Ali advances toward the gate. He takes a deep breath and sends a jet of superheated steam into the thickest clump of vines...

Move to about BO-29 and use fire breath (15' cone) to hit as many vines as I can. (Morris and rest of group protected by Endure Elements)
Damage [roll0] Save DC 18 (for half)

[Archwizard]

Morris charges in and suddenly a vine shoots out and tries to grab him!

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[roll5] vs. [roll6]

[roll7]

However, as the vines are going for Morris, Ali steps up and breaths steam at the vines. The shift out of the way, but at the same time also miss Morris because of this. Morris finishes his charge and slams his chain into the vines.

Both the flame from Morris's chain and the steam from Ali's breath seem to have no effect on the vines.

Mishiel and Festav still to go.

[blade artist]

Festav starts to advance, but does so cautiously after recieving his injuries and seeing the vines attempt to grab Ali.
use total defense for +6 dodge bonus (thanks to tumble) and move to BQ-33

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel takes a shot at the nearest possible beast with her crossbow (Can I identify them now? =])


[roll0]
[roll1]

[J-H]

Morris fends off another vine, blocking it with his whip.

"Whatever those things are on the roof, they probably can't shoot through walls. Get up against the wall away from the gate and you'll be safe unless they come down to our level!"

[Togo]

Once again, Nuele whirls the sling around her head, and sends a lead bullet speeding towards it's mark

[roll0] for [roll1]
includes -2 for range.

[Archwizard]

Mishiel fires off a bolt as Festav works his way forward. The bolt sails wide, but Festav's caution appears to pay off since he is not attacked.

A vine lashes out to try and grab Morris! They manage to snake around him, wrapping him up tightly and squeeze him hard.

This marks end round 1/start round 2

As she sees the vine attacking Morris, Nuele fires another bullet, but it misses badly smashing into the tower wall below the manticores.

The attacks flying at the manticores, they respond by sending more spikes flying at the party.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[roll5] vs. [roll6]

Ali:
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]
[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]
[roll16]
[roll17]
[roll18]
[roll19]

Festav:
[roll20]
[roll21]
[roll22]
[roll23]
[roll24]
[roll25]
[roll26]
[roll27]
[roll28]
[roll29]
[roll30]
[roll31]

Nuele:
[roll32]
[roll33]
[roll34]
[roll35]
[roll36]
[roll37]
[roll38]
[roll39]
[roll40]
[roll41]
[roll42]
[roll43]
[roll44]

Mishiel:
[roll45]
[roll46]
[roll47]
[roll48]
[roll49]
[roll50]
[roll51]
[roll52]
[roll53]
[roll54]
[roll55]
[roll56]

The manticore on the left goes to swing its tail wide in what appears to be an effort to strafe the party, but instead it manages to hit the other manticore, burying all 6 spikes in its side. The second manticore howls in agony as the spikes dig into it. The second manticore had also launched spikes at the party, and while one of them does manage to pierce Nuele and do some damage, the blinding agony the manticore is suffering causes it to slam its tail into the stone it is standing on and you see all the remaining spikes on its tail smash into pieces.

Double crit fail, with some pretty bad for the monsters results. You guys are lucky, especially since you were the only party to actually face all 3 monsters at once.

So, upshot:
Morris took 14 damage and is oh-so-grappled.
Nuele took 9 damage (10-1 for DR).
Manticore 2 got its ass kicked by its "friend".

Everyone but Nuele and the manticores is now a go for round 2.

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel fires yet another bolt, this time enchancing it with psionic might.


2 power points spent for +2d6 damage on next hit (not discharged if miss)

[roll]1d8+2d6

Where is my astral construct at this point? When I first summoned it I said it was going to fly at the direction of the manticores.

[Dunkoro]

Seems like I have to roll both damages separately
[roll0]
[roll1]

[J-H]

Going by the Improved Grab rules, Morris has been pulled in to the vine gate
Morris struggles against the vines, fighting to break free.

Activating Chain of Personal Superiority, giving me +2 str/+2 CON for the next minute. (Free action, +6 hp).
Option 1
Spiked chain may or may not count as a light weapon. If it does, I can attack with it twice, at a -4 penalty.
Attack 1 [roll0]
Damage 1 [roll1] plus fire [roll2]

Crit Conf Attack 1 [roll3]
Crit Conf Damage1 [roll4] plus fire [roll5]

Attack 2 [roll6]
Damage 2 [roll7] plus fire [roll8]

Crit Conf Attack 2 [roll9]
Crit Conf Damage 2 [roll10] plus fire [roll11]

Option 2
If spiked chain is not a light weapon, I'll attempt to escape the grapple [roll12] and move inside the gate.

[Dunkoro]

Astral Construct is flying closer to the manticores. Are the 2 rounds of 20ft flight enough to get to them?

[Swami Monsoon]

Fireproof plants? What use is a plant if you can't smoke it? Well then...

Ali moves into the cover of the wall and then exhales a mist of concentrated sulfuric acid at the clump of vines.

Move to BK-29
Acid Breath at vines, 15' cone
[roll0]

[blade artist]

Festav runs at the vines for cover from the beasts above, bringing his axe to bear on the plants.
full round action: charge attack at the vines -2 penalty for
[roll0]
crit conf [roll1]
damage [roll2]
crit damage[roll3]
? crit failure [roll4]

edit: forgot, the -2 penalty gives me 2 temp hp until the beginning of my next turn

[Archwizard]

Morris struggles in vain against the vice-like grip of the vines as Ali moves up and breathes acid and covers a large section of the vines. The vines are unable to escape any of the acid, and you can see the acid burning the vines where they are hit.

Festav charges in at the vines while Mishiel shoots a bolt at the manticores. Unfortunately, both miss their intended targets with the bolt going wide and Festav swinging his axe a little too early in the charge.

[roll0]
[roll1] vs. [roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

Okay, so I want to give Dunkoro a chance to answer the AoO question from OOC without holding up the action. The Construct is currently in BK31 (same square as Morris, but 10' up). That's the construct's actions for surprise round and round 1, so Dunkoro needs to post the construct's actions for round 2 and 3.

Round 2 is now over, begin round 3.

Nuele, then Manticores, then everyone else. I want to hold off on manticore stuff for a little bit because the Construct's action for round 2 has quite a few AoO things it can affect. I'll figure out adjustments as necessary, so everyone go ahead and post for round 3.

[J-H]

"Help!"

Morris activates the full power of his belt of healing as he tries to escape the vines before they crush him completely. He felt his ribs start to flex a moment ago...


Healing [roll0]
Grapple check to escape [roll1]

[Togo]

Nuele shoots one more bullet, a flash of reflected light in shadow of the tower, before moving to rejoin the others.

If I can hit one of the manticores without getting a penalty for the astral construct, then do so:

[roll0] for [roll1]

Then move forward towards the walls but out of reach of the vine - would that be BO 34?

If I can't shoot the manicore without penalty, then move forward and shoot the vines instead, assuming I can aim at a square not occupied by a party member. (Use the rolls above, but +1 to hit and damage for point blank shot)

If I can't do either without penalty, then move forward and use my wand of lesser vigour on myself to get fast healing 1 for 11 rounds.

[Swami Monsoon]

Oh, so that tickles, does it?

Ali sends another stream of acid into the vines...


Acid breath on vines
[roll0]
Holding move action in case something jumps out at me

[Dunkoro]

Astral construct flies for the AOOs anyway.
Mishiel manifests Time Hop targeting... the Vines, after closing in a bit to get in the Short range (since the Vines are almost guaranteed to fail a Will save, and it would make all of you free to act).

No rolls from me this turn.

[blade artist]

Festav re-focuses his power to better suit the situation and he then lays upon his hands on Morris to ease his wounds.

swift action: move around essentia as follows
lifebond vestements (3)
mantle of flames (3)
armguards of disruption
lucky dice [bound to hands]

standard action: use of Lifebond Vestments on Morris to heal 19 hp (4 meldshaper lvl + 5 * 3 essentia) and Festav eats 9 hp of damage

Lifebond Vestments cannot be used on Morris for another hour

[Archwizard]

As the construct flies towards the manticores, they both take a swipe at it with their claws, digging deeply into it. Nuele's shot goes wide of them as they attempt to rip the construct to shreds, attacking it repeatedly with claws and bites. These attacks however are not very effective, as only one more claw lands, gouging more out of the construct's side. The construct swings back, just missing one of the manticores.

Below the manticores at the gate, Morris heals himself while continuing his futile efforts to get free of the vines' grip. Bolstered by the success of his acid breath before, Ali sends another cone of acid at the vines.

The acid extensively burns the vines, and they try to squeeze Morris, only to find him no longer in their grip! They lash out at Festav, and wrap him up in their grip. As they squeeze, the flames surrounding Festav manage to burn them a bit.

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7]

[roll8]

[roll9] [roll10]
[roll11] [roll12]
[roll13] [roll14]
[roll15] [roll16]

[roll17] [roll18]
[roll19] [roll20]
[roll21] [roll22]
[roll23] [roll24]

Okay, so: 27 damage to the construct (17 AoOs, 10 reg attacks).
18 damage to the vines (almost made that save!) from Ali.
7 damage to the vines from Festav (roll here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14942460&postcount=183))
13 damage to Festav (from the OOC post).

Still have Dunkoro's revised action, and the construct's action to go in round 3.

But let's not hold the show up, Start Round 4.
But please, try to be better about spoilering OOC commentary Dunkoro.
Okay, so everyone's up for Round 4 (Dunkoro's post below is round 3 stuff).

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel manifests Time Hop on Morris in order to break him free of the grapple.
Astral Construct is going to attack a manticore:
[roll0]
[roll1]

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali winces in disgust as the vines begin to grope at sensitive portions of Festav's anatomy.

"Bad touch! Bad touch!"

He exhales another stream of acid...

Damage [roll0]

[J-H]

Morris suddenly flashes back into existence. Disoriented for a moment, he quickly realizes that someone else is now being strangled by the vines and attacks.

Sunder attack 1[roll0]
Sunder damage 1[roll1] plus [roll2] fire
Sunder attack 2[roll3]
Sunder damage 2[roll4] plus [roll5] fire

Crit rolls [roll6] [roll7] [roll8]

[blade artist]

[roll0] reflex save

[roll1] fire damage if I don't dodge, sadly I can't turn off my fiery cloak.

[blade artist]

After incidentally burning his ally, Festav attacks his captor.

unarmed strike (no grapple check necessary) taking out a -5 penalty for stone power.

[roll0]
crit confirm [roll1]
damage (nonlethal if it hits) [roll2]
crit damage [roll3]
crit fail [roll4]

Festav gain 10 temp hp until the beginning of his next turn.

edit: Hmmm... Critical fail time, round 2.

[Archwizard]

Ali lets out another blast of acidic breath, attempting to melt the vines off the gates. The acid breath surrounds a large section of the vines again, continuing to damage them extensively. The vines are starting to show extensive signs of corrosion and wear.

Morris focuses his will and centers himself in the moment, attempting to wrap his chain around the vines holding Festav and break them so that Festav can get free. Unfortunately, Festav chooses that exact moment to try and punch the vines, and instead of hitting the vines, Morris hits Festav. Morris is fairly badly burned by Festav's mantle of flame as Festav collapses to the ground, unconscious and dying.

Morris, with a determined set of his jaw, swings again, this time connecting with the vines and doing some damage.

Mishiel approaches and concentrates on the vines. Suddenly, a razor sharp crystal shoots out at the vines! The writhing action of the vines causes the shard to not hit as squarely as it could, although it still does some damage.

Reacting to their continued burning and Festav's sudden limpness, the vines let Festav go and grab Ali, wrapping him up and beginning to squeeze him.

Meanwhile, above all this action the construct and the manticores are still trying to kill each other. The construct and first manticore miss each other badly, but the second one connects solidly with a paw and bite. The construct appears to be almost destroyed.

Time for some rolls!
[roll0]

Mishiel Crystal Shard, 5 pp spent.
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3] [roll4]

Construct Slam.
[roll5] [roll6]
[roll7] [roll8]
[roll9] [roll10]

Manticore 1 Attacks
[roll11] [roll12]
[roll13] [roll14]
[roll15] [roll16]
[roll17] [roll18]

Manticore 2 Attacks
[roll19] [roll20]
[roll21] [roll22]
[roll23] [roll24]
[roll25] [roll26]

Vine Attack:
[roll27] [roll28]
[roll29] [roll30]
[roll31] [roll32]
Note: Ali is auto-grappled if the attack hits. The vine's modifier is +25, Ali's max score is 21. No crit fail on opposed checks.

Sum up:
Vines took 33 damage: 11 acid, 22 piercing, 1 fire, -1 FR.
Festav took 12 damage: 9 piercing, 3 fire.
Construct took 19 damage: 13 slashing, 6 piercing.
Ali took 14 damage: 16 blunt, -2 DR.
Morris took 17 damage: 17 fire.

Only have Togo to go in Round 4. So I would say that people should go ahead and post round 5, and have Togo post 4 and 5 at once.

Note that since both the construct and manticore 2 are both almost dead, manticore 2 is ahead of the construct in initiative order.

[Togo]

Nuele squares her shoulders. The plan 'keep our distance' had turned into 'fight and kill'. So be it. Her sling falls to the ground.

With what she doubtless beleives is a war cry, but sounding more like enraged rabbit, she moves slowly but steadily towards the vines. Her sigils pop out, forming an aura around her head. One hand makes a complicated gesture and then reaches up to sky, glowing with magical power as if pulling it from the sun itself, while her sigils glow almost white around her. The other hand draws her quarterstaff from the cross-strap on her back. As she approaches the vines, she grabs Festev, and the power pours into him like ale down a funnel. She hauls him out of the vines, then closes both hands around length of hardwood and smashes it into the mass of questing tendrils.

Rounds 4 & 5
Standard: Spend 'guiding light' to cast cure light wounds, boosted by a turn undead attempt through the krau sigil. hold the charge.
Move action: Move towards the vines.
5' step towards the vines
Move action: Drag Festev out of the vines if possible. Touching him will discharge the healing spell and heal him by [roll0]
Standard action: Hit the vines. [roll1] for [roll2]

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali cries out as the vines begin to have their way with him...

"NO MEANS NO!"

He sprays the things with more acid...

Acid breath on vines
[roll0]

[Archwizard]

Nuele's healing energy flows into Festav and he wakes up, alert but on the ground. As Nuele moves on to attack the vines, she slips on a dead section of vines on the ground and bangs her head on a rock. She shakes her head, feeling quite nauseous.

One of the manticores attacks the construct, missing with both claws. It bites the construct viciously, destroying it. The other manticore sees Morris, Festav, and Nuele clumped together and sends a volley of spikes at them. One hits Morris, and two hit Nuele while the other three hit the ground all around Festav.

Ali's acid breath continues its work as Mishiel lets another crystal shard fly at the vines. The shard slices more of the vines away, and they look to be on their last tendrils.

[roll0] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll1] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll2] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll3] [roll4]

[roll5] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll6] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll7] Construct is destroyed if hits.
[roll8] [roll9]

If manticore 1 destroyed the construct, manticore 2 throws spikes:
Morris:
[roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13]
[roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll17]
[roll18] [roll19]

Festav:
[roll20] [roll21]
[roll22] [roll23]
[roll24] [roll25]
[roll26] [roll27]

Nuele:
[roll28] [roll29]
[roll30] [roll31]
[roll32] [roll33]
[roll34] [roll35]

If the construct is still alive, it attacks manticore 2:
[roll36] Manticore 2 killed if hits.
[roll37] [roll38]

Mishiel's Crystal Shard, 5 more pp:
[roll39] [roll40]
[roll41] [roll42]

Phew, lot going on here. Upshot:
Nuele is prone and nauseated. Next round she can only take 1 move or standard action and cannot do anything that requires concentration.

Festav is prone and at 4 hp.

Morris takes 4 damage, Nuele took 20 (max damage, even with the prone ranged AC bonus :smallfrown:).

The vines take 27 damage and the construct has been destroyed.

Still have Festav, Morris and the vines to go in Round 5.

[J-H]

"Unh! We need to get the walls between us and those beasts! Move to the gate-corners when you can so that you have cover!"

Morris matches actions to words, stepping back before lashing out again with his chain of fire.


5' step to BL30
Regular attack (not sunder attempts) since the vines are looking weak.
Remembering to apply the +2 str bonus from Chain of Personal Superiority this time.

Attack 1[roll0]
Damage 1[roll1] + [roll2] fire
Attack 2[roll3] edit: copy/pasted without reducing the to-hit by 5. this is a 14.
Damage 2[roll4] + [roll5] fire

Crit dice [roll6],[roll7],[roll8],[roll9],[roll10],[roll11]

[Archwizard]

Morris's chain flies out, tearing through the vines and ripping many tendrils in half. The vines shudder and then stop moving. The ones holding Ali all fall to the ground.

[blade artist]

Festav gets up and retreats to behind the wall.

"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Nuele! I'm gonna need to do a little re-organization, soon."

stand up from prone, and move to (BK, 34)

[Archwizard]

Go Round 6. Nuele, Manticores, Everyone Else. I'll post for the manticores in about 8.5 hours.

Updated map is up.

[Togo]

Nuele staggers to her feet, shaking her head as if to clear cobwebs from her mind.

Take a 5' step towards the gate. And that's all I get due to the crit fail last round

[Archwizard]

The manticores both snarl at the party, with the healthy one launching its last volley of spikes at the three party members right in front of the gate. The hurt manticore seems content to wait for its partner before moving. One spike catches Nuele as she staggers forward, but the rest miss the party.

Ali/Nuele/Morris, 2 spikes each.
[roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2
[roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2

[roll7]
[roll8] [roll9]
[roll10] [roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2
[roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2

[roll13]
[roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2
[roll=Crit Damage[1d8+2

[roll18] [roll19]

Okay, everyone else.

[J-H]

Morris steps to BK28 and manifests Vigor [1pp, +5 temp HP]

[blade artist]

retrieve potion of cure light wounds and drink it

healing [roll0] hp

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel reloads her crossbow and tries to hit the injured manticore, with charged Deep Crystal:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
EDIT: Wow, these are some serious rolls.

[Archwizard]

Mishiel levels her crossbow and lets a bolt fly. It flies true and goes through the injured manticore's eye. The manticore collapses, dead.

Ali completes this round. After Ali and Nuele go, it'll be manticore time.

[Togo]

Nuele looks around, then, reaching a decision, brings forth the light once more, this time settling it upon herself. The light has hardly started to fade before she is poking at the twisted vines, trying to haul them in place to make some kind of barrier in front of her.

Spending Moon Lust to cast cure light wounds on herself. [roll0]
Using a move action to try and drag the dead vines around to form some kind of cover or concealment or something. 5ft step into place as necessary.

You know, I'm not convinced our lost knight went in this way. Nuele says conversationally, wiping her own blood away from her eyes. Unless someone arranged this special welcoming party since then...

[Archwizard]

Nuele spends a moment gathering up vines and combining them with the bars of the gate she is able to set up a makeshift barrier.

Nuele has soft cover relative to the other side of the gate.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali springs into the air and sends a stream of scalding molten sulfur towards the surviving manticore. The result is not unlike a scene from one of his other Rokuganese picture books...

Move to BI-30.
Fire breath (30' line) at Manticore, using Entangling Exhalation
(1/2 damage + Entangled condition and 1d6 damage for 1d4 rounds)

Damage [roll0]
Duration [roll1]

[Archwizard]

Ali breathes out a stream of fire that lashes out at the manticore, enveloping it in crackling, fiery energy.

The manticore stretches its wings against the energy enveloping it, and then flies towards Ali. It reaches out with one of its massive paws and swipes at Ali's head. However, Ali manages to dodge in time, and the paw completely misses him.

[roll0]

[roll1] [roll2]
[roll3] [roll4]
[roll5] [roll6]

This attack roll includes the -2 for being entangled.

The original roll was for full damage (3d6) so that at half damage is 4, then half again for successful save means that the manticore takes 2 damage from it.

Okay, both Ali and the manticore are 15' off the ground.

Round 6 is over, everyone but Nuele is up for Round 7. Nuele acts in Round 8.

[J-H]

Morris moves up, but the manticore is still too far away. He pulls a dagger off his belt and hurls it at the manticore.


Moving to BI31 and attacking. Occupying a space15' up, the manticore is effectively 10' away and thus in range. If it brings itself in physical range of me, I'll get an AOO since it'll pass through a threatened space.

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]plus[roll2] Fire
Crit [roll3] [roll4] [roll5]

Still benefiting from Chain of Personal Superiority's +2 str.

Revised - can't hit with chain - move up and throw dagger per rolls in OOC.

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel takes yet another charged shot at manticore.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali retreats out of range of the manticore's swiping paws and releases another jet of scalding steam...

Move back to BM-30 (still flying at just over wall level)
Fire breath (30' line) at manticore
[roll0]
Lingering damage
[roll1]

[blade artist]

Festav re-readies his manuevers to his liking.

full round action for adaptive style

new manuevers readied
-stone bones
-bone crusher
-crusader's strike

[Archwizard]

As Morris moves up, he notices that the joint under the wing looks particularly sensitive, and he manages to hit it perfectly with a dagger. The manticore roars in pain and dips in the air a little bit, just enough to cause Mishiel's shot to go over its head.

Ali moves back and as the crackling energy of his earlier shot plays over the manticore's body, he unleashes another blast.

Festav takes on an air of calm as he refocuses himself to deal with this lingering threat.

[roll0]

End Round 7.

Nuele, Manticore, Everyone Else.

[Togo]

Nuele graps at her side, and then looks exasperated. Ducking her head, she heads back across the battlefield to where she dropped her sling.

Move action to get back to where she was, and then pick up the sling. If I can't get there in a single move, double move.

[Archwizard]

As Nuele goes for her sling the manticore drops to the ground and attacks Morris.

Okay, so Morris gets an AoO here. Should it succeed and the associated Trip attempt succeed I will retcon this post to reflect the manticore landing on its keyster.

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]

[roll6]

[J-H]

As the manticore descends, Morris lashes out with his chain, and then attacks it twice more before stepping back.


AOO
To-hit [roll0]
Damage [roll1] plus [roll2] Fire
Opposed trip check [roll3] if I hit and deal more than 10 damage.
Attack 1
To-hit [roll4]
Damage [roll5] plus [roll6] Fire
Opposed trip check [roll7] if I hit and deal more than 10 damage.
Attack 2
To-hit [roll8]
Damage [roll9] plus [roll10] Fire
Opposed trip check [roll11] if I hit and deal more than 10 damage.

Crit rolls as needed [roll12], [roll13], [roll14], [roll15], [roll16], [roll17]

Followed by a 5' step back to BJ31.

note: The manticore's trip modifier should be +4 for size and +4 for being 4-legged, plus either it's STR or DEX modifier. It should probably be a +13 on the opposed roll, not a +9.

[Archwizard]

Morris's chain flies out and wraps around the manticore's right wing. With a vicious pull, Morris slams the manticore into the ground and then with a deft flick of his wrist unwraps the chain and swings it twice more at the prone beast. The first lash shreds the manticore's side and the second one rakes all along the back of its head and neck. Blood flowing from its wounds and smoke rising from the scorchmarks left by the chain, the beast is still.

Well Morris, are you Mr. Badass. Not that it's needed, but:
[roll0]

Morris did 50+ whatever that roll is. It only had 43 left you meanie.

[blade artist]

*ahem* "Well, certainly wasn't expecting any of this"

Festav looks around at the dead bodies for a bit.

"Does anyone find the occurance of these guys strange for an undead hunt?"

[Archwizard]

As Festav is looking around, he notices a pile of bones beneath the vines near the gate on the inside of the wall.

[J-H]

"It depends on the type of undead. Skeletons would leave plenty of flesh behind for the manticores to eat. We've seen live guardians used before..." Morris groans a bit and rubs his ribs before checking the vines and manticore bodies for any loot thing interesting.

[Archwizard]

Morris looks around and doesn't see anything worth noting on the manticore, but as he looks through the bones near the vines he does see one bone that seems to have been worked. It's about 12" long and is missing the normal joint connection points at the ends.

[Archwizard]

While Morris is examining the bones, Festav notices a torn tunic near the bones that has the Ogdenhall crest on it.

[J-H]

Before touching the bone, Morris examines it with Detect Evil. If it's not evil, he picks it up and tries to figure out what it could be used for.

He then turns around and glances over the area with Detect Evil active.

[Archwizard]

The bone itself radiates no aura, but when Morris focuses on the tower a wave of evil overwhelms him, momentarily stunning him.

[J-H]

After recovering, Morris shakes his head and points at the tower. "Ouch... well, whatever is there is seriously evil. Very dark, lots of power." He holds up the bone. "Any ideas what this could be? It's not evil."

[blade artist]

Festav picks up the tunic and waves it to morris a bit.

"Well, my guess is that it would be one of the search party. How many people do you recon make up that pile?

I also find it peculiar that if this is undead we're after, that this body was not turned into one of them"

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali rummages in his pack and pulls out a wand...

"We need to see about getting everybody patched up. I have this here widget... What else do we have left?"

[blade artist]

"I still got a couple potions of cure light wounds."

[Dunkoro]

Looks like I'm the only one who didn't get hurt.
Anyway, these manicures might be alive simply because it's very hard to preserve wings of an undead creature.

EDIT: What's an unread creature?

[J-H]

"I could use a tap or two from that wand, please."
I'm about 35hp down
Morris looks around now that they are past the first gate. Doors, other walls, passages to the side?

[Swami Monsoon]

"Certainly..."


Uses 3 charges of Lesser Vigor on self and Morris (33 points of healing each).

"Anyone else?"

[Archwizard]

As the group focuses their attention on the doors to the tower, they see that they are ornate steel doors with brass inlays and etchings with what appear to be silver and gold highlights. The doors are almost 12' tall and there is a large carved crest, half on each door.

Crest picture (obviously not in color on the door!):
http://bfb.bogleg.org/~whitewolf/tower/kolodin%20crest.png

[Archwizard]

Mishiel stares at the crest, and remembers that the Knight on the crest stands for Strength, Mobility and Vanguard. Given the similarities in design to the Ogdenhall and d'Hellen crests, it must be the family crest of whoever was in charge of this tower since it was set up as a forward fortress to help Ogdenhall grow.

[Dunkoro]

Seems like it's a sign of whoever was in charge here before the undead came. I don't suppose it is of any particular interest to us at this point.

[blade artist]

"Hey, Morris. Mind if I borrow your chain to cook us up a meal? With these here beasts, we could practically have a banquet. Also, I'm chopping them up anyways for fat to make torches."

[J-H]

"I don't think you can do it without cutting or burning yourself. This takes a lot of practice to use...

Charging ahead through this gate got us in trouble." Morris motions to the gap between wall and tower. "Let's circle the tower and see if we can find a side entrance or windows or something, instead of continuing to take the obvious route in."

[Swami Monsoon]

"Sounds like a plan..."

[blade artist]

"Want me to try to get on top of this level to see if there's a window up there or wait to see if more company shows up?"

[Dunkoro]

Sounds like a plan.

[Togo]

Nuele shakes herself out of her daze. Tucking her sling back into her belt, she draws forth a familiar thin hazel wand, and sets about using it.

Well, that was an enthusiastic reception. Judging from the cloth and bones... she peers at the pointed bone with a puzzled frown it certainly seems like people in uniform came through here recently. In such a remote area, I would guess that must means our brave knight and his retainers.

She finishes healing Festav and moves on to herself.

Which means these guardians were replace since then. Which means she sighs there must be more of them. So going around the tower is possible dangerous. I'm not saying don't do it, but we could expect more of these flying creatures at least. If we're lucky, they were simply asleep or away when our noble quarry came through, so they lost a man or two to the plant life, and then went around.

She pauses to take a breath.

So this is the way they came, and thus the area we're interested in. We should look for an entrance here first, and then move on around the tower.

She rumages around in her backpack and come up with a polished grappling hook and a coil of thin strong silk rope.

Besides. Those two flying creatures were coming out of some kind of alcove or lair. I'd love to have a look in there.

Use wand of lesser vigour three times each on Self and Festav. (heal 33 damage)

Knowledge checks on the bone
knowledge religion [roll0]
knowledge nature [roll1]
I'd like to take it with us, at least.

While I'm at it. Anything remarkable about that large and obvious door right in front of it? Prod the ground in front with a quarterstaff before approaching.

[Archwizard]

Nuele inspects the bone, trying to see if she recalls anything in her religious teachings or experiences that might be related. She comes to the conclusion that while she is not sure of the type of bone, probably human, she is sure that it has no religious significance.

Handing the bone back to Morris, Nuele then prods the area in front of the doors. Nothing happens, so she approaches a little closer and inspects them. Nothing beyond what the party has already seen is immediately obvious, except for the fact that the doors seem to be extremely well maintained. They show little to no wear, despite being exterior doors and exposed to the elements.

[Swami Monsoon]

"I can fly up and set that rope if you like..."

[Dunkoro]

Yeah, you do that. I'll check if there are any magical effects in the vicinity of the entrance.

Manifests Detect Psionics.

[Archwizard]

Ali flies up to the roof of the tower's first level, looking for somewhere to anchor the rope. He can't see anywhere to do so, the surface up here is made of the same materials as the walls. Back where the walls of the second floor are, Ali sees dried blood and what appears to be bedding made of clothes, straw, and various other formerly organic materials.

Meanwhile on the ground, Mishiel scans the doorway. However, nothing can be detected over the general auras the tower itself is radiating.

Quelaas had told the group about Necromancy, Enchantment and Abjuration auras being radiated by the tower.

[Togo]

Nuele pauses for a moment, and then, getting the bone back, holds it up in front of Mishiel, just to see if anything registers.

Then, with a shrug, she heads up the rope to the flat roof.

[Archwizard]

Ali finally decides to anchor the rope to the corpse of the dead manticore. It should be heavy enough to support one climber.

Mishiel stares at the wand for a few moments, and he manages to detect a moderate aura of Conjuration (Healing) coming from it.

Once Mishiel is done looking at the wand, Nuele decides to test the rope. It does manage to hold, and Nuele is able to see the same blood-stained area and bedding that Ali saw.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali rummages through the nest, looking for something interesting...

Perception [roll0]
Search [roll1]

[Archwizard]

Ali searches, but finds nothing but normal refuse and sheddings found in a used living space.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali shouts down to the others...

"The prickly kitties had a nest up here on the ledge, but there's no opening to the inside..."

[Togo]

Nuele has a quick poke around, and then climbs back down. She then positions herself near the door, waiting for everyone else to get ready to open it.

Search [roll0]

[Archwizard]

Nuele's search turns up a gnawed on bone that Ali missed, but nothing else of interest.

[J-H]

Morris retrieves his thrown dagger from the manticore's body, and then spends a minute pulling apart the dead vines and uprooting them to keep it from growing back.

After that, he turns to the door. "Shall we?"

[blade artist]

"Alright, coming."

*I am assuming that Festav had enough time to make the makeshift torches*

Festav hurries to the door carrying his new, makeshift torches -- made of some of the "human" bones and strips of cloth from the tunic found (made sure to leave emblem intact) and smeared with the fat of the lower manticore. "It's harder to cook fat with a cape than you would believe."

[Togo]

With a brief pause to see if everyone is ready, Nuele opens the door.

[Archwizard]

Nuele pushes open the doors, and they open very smoothly, with much less effort than would have been expected given their size and materials. As they doors open, a stale air carrying the scent of death and decay greets the group. The corridor beyond the door has a 15' ceiling and is 10' wide. There's a four-way intersection 20' in and there appear to be open doors, one on each side of the corridor, 25' after the intersection. Ali can see another four-way intersection about 30' after those doors, with more closed doors on the sides of the corridor after that second intersection. Aside from the lights carried by the group, it appears to be pitch black inside the tower.

Map is up showing what everyone can see. Ali can see about 75' farther than anyone else thanks to his low-light vision.

[Togo]

Nuele frowns.

Oh, this will never do, it's far too dark in there.

A bit of fussing with her brass-bound storm lantern produces a much clearer light. As a backup, she makes a complicated gesture, and her eyes start to glow. The glow starts to spread around her skin and clothing, until she is literally glowing with inner light.

Bullseye lantern produces 60'/120' light in the 45 degrees it is pointed in. She produces 30'/60' light by casting Light of Mecuria (duration one hour).

This should allow anyone with low light to see 240' down the corridor.

[Archwizard]

As the bullseye lantern's light fills the hallway, Ali can see that the corridor is roughly 190' long and then turns to the right. On the left appear to be a set of double doors, and there is a third four-way intersection about 140' in.

[J-H]

"Thank you, that's much better." Morris advances to the first intersection.

[Archwizard]

Morris enters the first intersection, he can't see down either corridor, but he doesn't hear anything and there doesn't seem to be any reaction to his presence or movement.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali explains the layout to those who can't see as far ahead...

[blade artist]

"Great, more spooky, dark fortresses. Can't the undead just keep things lit?"

[blade artist]

Festav advances to where Morris is.

[Togo]

Nuele follows, taking the opportunity to bring light to the side passages.

[Archwizard]

As Festav and Nuele reach the intersection, they can see that the corridors to the east and west each extend 50' before turning south. Each has a door in it where the southern turns happens, and the east corridor has a closed door in the south wall about 45' down while the west corridor has an open door in the same place.

[Dunkoro]

Since the forward team has already checked the entrance at least a bit, Mishiel follows them.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali follows...

You can assume I'm following the lead group unless I say otherwise...

[J-H]

Morris walks down the left hallway, weapon at the ready. He stops slightly before the two doors and listens carefully.

[Archwizard]

Morris comes to a halt about 10' from the open doorway. As he strains to listen, he just makes out what sounds like something rustling.

[Togo]

Nuele carefully shutters and sets down her lantern, draws out her quarterstaff, and stands ready at one side of the door.

[blade artist]

Festav stands a bit back, as his mantle gives off a small amount of light. (shadowy illumination in my square)

[J-H]

Morris steps around so that he can see through the open door without being right next to the doorframe. ie into AY 22

[Archwizard]

The group proceeds down the hall, approaching the open doorway. Nothing seems to be coming out, and the lights from Mishiel and Ali do not reveal the contents of the room yet.

Since Morris and Nuele lack Darkvision, the room cannot be seen into yet. The two folks with lights, now that Nuele's is off, are at the back of the group.

[Swami Monsoon]

Seeing the others hesitate, Ali slips the cover over his torch and edges further forward, peering into the darkness...

Moving forward to just outside the range of the light sources

Stealth [roll0]
Perception [roll1]

I'm not sure how stealthy I can be as any bad guys would be able to see the lights coming from a ways off...

[Archwizard]

Ali moves forward to the doorway. Inside the room he can see a fireplace directly across from the door and a bed with a footlocker at the end of it. On the wall next to the bed is hanging an empty lantern over an empty weapon/shield rack.

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali moves further into the room...

Move down to bottom left corner then follow wall moving right until I can see the whole room...

Stealth [roll0]
Perception [roll1]

[Archwizard]

As Ali enters the room and glances around, he spots a trio of mummies and feels a cold wave of fear and despair wash over him. He quickly rallies his courage however and prepares for what he knows is coming.

{table=head]Initiative Chart
{table=head]Character|Initiative|Order
Mishiel|[roll0]|6
Morris|[roll1]|5
Ali|[roll2]|1
Nuele|[roll3]|3
Festav|[roll4]|2
Mummies|15|4[/table][/table]

Only Ali and the mummies act in the surprise round.

[Swami Monsoon]

Oh my... Mummy Dearest! Now the game is afoot...

Ali calls out, "HEADS UP! THREE MUMMIES IN HERE!"

He flies up towards the ceiling and exhales a jet of bubbling molten sulfur at the two closest fiends...

Move to BB-24, flying up to ceiling if there's enough clearance to stay out of melee range.
Entangling Exhalation vs. Mummies 1 and 2. (15' cone)
Damage (halved) [roll0]

[Archwizard]

Ali's line of crackling fire wraps itself around two of the mummies, scorching them darkly and causing lingering flames to crackle over them.

In response, all three mummies start to shuffle towards Ali.

[roll0] [roll1]
[roll2] [roll3]

New map up.

{table=head]Paralysis Chart
{table=head]Name | Paralysis
Morris | Immune
Ali | Immune
Nuele | Immune
Festav | No Save Yet
Mishiel | No Save Yet [/table] [/table]

Round 1 Start, go Block 1: Ali/Festav/Nuele

[blade artist]

Festav rolls out his dice before goes in to face the mummies, testing his luck before tempting fate.

move to (23, AY) and roll my dice (lucky dice, the soulmeld) choosing saves
[roll0]

In any case, all allies within 30ft of me (including me but not Mishiel) gains a +1 luck bonus on all saves and possibly +1 on attack, damage, and skill/ability checks if I roll a total of 7 on 2d6's.

[Togo]

Nuele steps out into the main room, seeing the shambling creatures for the first time.

will save [roll0]

[Togo]

A shudder passes through her slight frame, but a reassuring glance back at the implacable Morris sees her squaring her shoulders, and raising a hand. In it is clutched her holy symbol, a hand holding a lamp. For a mute moment everything is still, a single gleam of a reflection off the silver thread of the hand and lamp design sewn onto the back of her tabard, a matching gleam of the silver hand and lamp symbol, her own hand holding the silver symbol, that, completing the trinity, begins to bring forth light. The light grows and sweeps outwards in a purifying rush.

Move to BA 22
Turn undead to do damage as a free action. All undead within 30' take [roll0] Will save DC 18 for half. Turn resistance acts as DR against this attack.

The wave is followed by a complicated motion, as she gathers and focuses the light around her into her hands, and throws it at nearest of the shambling undead.

Discharging Light of Mecuria at Mummy 1.
Touch attack: [roll1] for [roll2] light damage
Touch attack: [roll3] for [roll4] light damage

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali drenches the closest two mummies with another burst of scalding slime and then retreats to the hallway...

Fire Breath w/Entangling Exhalation (15' cone) vs. M1 and M2
Damage (halved) [roll0]
Lingering damage from last round [roll1]
Duration from last round (forgot to roll) [roll2]
Duration from this round [roll3]

Move to AZ-21

[Archwizard]

The mummies shy away from the power of Nuele's light, only to have the front two buffeted by Ali's flaming breath. As Ali retreats, the mummy next to him reaches out with a decaying, wrapped arm and crushes Ali's side with a massive blow that causes Ali to stagger the rest of the way out of the room.

Wracked by the light and flames, the mummies press onward towards Nuele, with all three attacking her. The first mummy misses, but the other two are able to land solid blows.

Nuele and Ali each feel an evil, corrupting presence trying to invade their bodies.

Whee, lots going on!
Oops, see here for the Will saves vs. the TU.
[roll0]
[roll1]


[roll2] [roll3]
[roll4] [roll5]
[roll6] [roll7]

Attacking Nuele:
[roll8] [roll9]
[roll10] [roll11]
[roll12] [roll13]

[roll14] [roll15]
[roll16] [roll17]
[roll18] [roll19]

[roll20] [roll21]
[roll22] [roll23]
[roll24] [roll25]

Ali takes 21 Damage (23 - DR).
Nuele takes 24 Damage.

Each need to make a DC 16 Fortitude save.

Group 2 is up: Morris/Mishiel

[J-H]

Morris steps into the room, blocking the door to keep the mummies inside, and lashes out with his whip.


Move to BA22. Attacking Mummy 2 (BC23).

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1] plus [roll2] fire.

Crit [roll3] [roll4] [roll5]

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel uses double move to get Line of Sight to the mumies from AY21.

[Archwizard]

Morris steps up lashing out, but missing, with his whip. Mishiel maneuvers down the hall behind the others and sees the mummies. A slight twinge of despair gnaws at the edge of his mind, but it is nothing compared to his determination to end their days.

{table=head]Paralysis Chart
{table=head]Name | Paralysis
Morris | Immune
Ali | Immune
Nuele | Immune
Festav | No Save Yet
Mishiel | Immune [/table] [/table]

Festav's Will save happens before his action.
Still need the DC 16 Fort saves from Nuele and Ali.

Note that every mummy has cover to everyone except Nuele.

Round 2 Start, go Block 1: Ali/Festav/Nuele

[Togo]

Nuele fort save [roll0]

[Togo]

Nuele seems a bit shaken to be suddenly surrounded by the clawing bandaged hands of the undead. She raises her symbol again, again calling the light.

Turn undead to do damage as a free action. All undead within 30' take 6d6) Will save DC 18 for half. Turn resistance acts as DR against this attack.


Then she grasps her staff and raises it high. What looks like the start of a mighty swing turns into a feint as she thrusts the length of the staff against the three horrors reaching for her, and then steps neatly back and away, retreating until her back is pressed against the far wall of the passage, opposite the door.

And then use my action to withdraw to behind the person guarding the door. Because it's a withdraw, I'm not expecting any attacks of opportunity.

[Togo]

Reroll
[roll0] damage to all undead within 30', will save DC 18 for half

[Swami Monsoon]

Fort [roll0]

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali gets as close as he can to the doorway and sends a jet of superheated steam into the room...


Getting best angle possible with the doorway square occupied (moving to AY-22 if no other choice) and using Fire Breath (15' cone) to hit as many mummies as I can. (Teammates are protected by Endure Exposure.)

Damage [roll0]

[blade artist]

Will save before turn
[roll0] It was +4 from the aura of courage, right?

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel loads her crossbow and prepares an action to shoot at a mummy, as soon as she gets a clear line of sight to it.

Rolls, in case that happens:
[roll0]
[roll1]

[blade artist]

move to (24, BA) and attack mummy 3
[roll0]
crit confirm [roll1]
damage [roll2] + [roll3]

I am taking -1 to my attack from stone power for 2 temp hp

Festav should be standing on the re-dead body of mummy #1
edit: Waiiit, I don't think I saw that mummy 1 was actually dropped. So if its still alive, then this action is moot?

[Swami Monsoon]

Also persisting damage for anyone that is still entangled...
[roll0]

[Archwizard]

The mummies recoil from, but manage to resist the full power of, Nuele's invocation of Lumia's power, and Nuele moves behind Morris as they recover. Ali's breath hits mummy 3 as Festav moves into the room. As he moves however, both mummies take swings at him, trying to bring him down. this movement allows the mummy to avoid the full fury of Ali's breath attack. Both mummies slam Festav during his movement, with one of them hitting him extremely hard! Both mummies Festav feels multiple assaults upon his body and being, and he is extremely hurt.

He then swings his greataxe and slams it into one of the mummies, causing it to collapse into dust.

The remaining mummy then attacks Festav, slamming him yet again and bringing him close to death.

Few quick notes for BA:
1. You can't crit undead.
2. BA24 is the bed, the mummy was in BA23. So I've moved you to BA23 based on your text.
3. If you have anti-AoO stuff, tell me and I'll adjust the results.
4. Where are your melds right now, by your sheet it looks like you have 6 noted instead of 4 (3 heart, 3 shoulders).
5. Related to 4, this means I'm not sure how much damage your mantle does, and does it affect all attackers, or only successful attackers?

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2]

[roll3] [roll4]
[roll5] [roll6]
[roll7] [roll8]

[roll9] [roll10]
[roll11] [roll12]
[roll13] [roll14]

If the mummies are still alive(ish):

[roll15] [roll16]
[roll17] [roll18]
[roll19] [roll20]

[roll21] [roll22]
[roll23] [roll24]
[roll25] [roll26]

Need 3, yes 3, DC 16 Fort saves from Festav. Barring a super lucky roll on the mantle of flames, mummy 2 will be alive for its attack.

Mishiel set up a ready action, so only Morris to go for block 2.

[J-H]

Morris attacks the mummy in front of him, punishing the undead with his spiked chain.


Full attack on mummy 2.

Attack 1
To-hit [roll0]
Damage [roll1] plus [roll2] Fire plus 2 favored enemy damage
Opposed trip check [roll3] if I hit and deal more than 10 damage.

Attack 2
To-hit [roll4]
Damage [roll5] plus [roll6] Fire plus 2 favored enemy damage
Opposed trip check [roll7] if I hit and deal more than 10 damage.

[Archwizard]

Morris's first attack with his chain misse, but the second one wraps around the mummy's leg, viciously burying spikes all along its dead flesh. As Morris yanks the chain in an attempt to trip the mummy, the leg rips off and the entire mummy collapses into a pile of unholy ash.

The group appears to have dealt with all imminent threats.

[J-H]

"Aaand done. Hope nobody heard that. One or two people check the room, the rest of us stay in the hall. Try not to find any traps with your toes, please."

[blade artist]

fire damage to mummy 2 [roll0]

fort save 1 [roll1]
fort save 2 [roll2]

if mummy 2 still lived:
fort save 3 [roll3]

[Archwizard]

Festav resists the first two assaults upon his body, but the effort of resisting the third one is just slightly too much for him, and he succumbs to a feeling of dread and cold. He can feel the evil set in as his body is wracked with pain.

[roll0] [roll1]

The pain is too much for Festav's battered body to take, and he collapses to the ground, dying.

[Togo]

Nuele drops to one knee beside Festav. At some point her sigils have reappeared, glowing symbols hanging in the air around her head, casting light like tiny candles.

He skin starts to glow, brighter, and then brighter again, her skin turning almost transluscent, revealing a network of tiny symbols throughout her body, as if she were nothing but meshwork of words and light. A pure blinding radiance that pours into the fallen hero, briefly lighting up Festav from within, as a lightning bolt brightning a cloud in the night sky.

Use spurn death's touch to heal Festav [roll0] Con damage. This is not a spell, nor is it conjuration, so should bypass the curse.

See if Nuele can actually work out what's wrong:
Heal check [roll1]
Knowledge arcane [roll2]

[Archwizard]

Festav feels life flow into him as Nuele ministers to him. Reflecting upon her knowledge of the healing arts, Nuele recognizes that this affliction cannot be treated by conventional means. She recalls some lore about the disease caused by the touch of a mummy having a supernatural element that must be defeated by magic before the disease can be healed.

As Morris watches Nuele, he recalls that mummy rot has a curse element in addition to being a disease. The curse must be broken, and until it is not only will the disease savage the inflicted, any healing, even magical, will have a much diminished effect upon the victim.

[Togo]

Nuele removes a clinical hand from Festav's forehead.

He's sick. And.. cursed. I can help with that, but not today... she bites her lip and even tomorrow, I might not be able break the curse first time.

She looks up at the others

What do you want to do?

[blade artist]

"Well honostly, I'd prefer anything that doesn't get me killed. But mission priority is that we find out what is here and possibly return the knight to safety. And we have definitely spotted undead and manticores. I'm even living proof if they need it.

"Problem is, if we wait around at all, they're going to notice that some of their forces are missing. So if we're doing stuff, we have to do it fast."

[J-H]

"We need to keep moving, but also not over-extend ourselves and get killed. It's too bad we don't have anyone who can use Sending or something similar to get word back to the castle.

We need some way to conduct reconnaissance deeper into the castle without having to fight our way every step. Magic, maybe?"

[blade artist]

The dying man eyes Morris squarely. "The lord's mage said that the place was warded against their attempts at divination."

[J-H]

"I'm no magic expert, but wouldn't the warding be on the outer walls? We're inside those."

[Dunkoro]

Well, it's not like we have a diviner within our ranks anyway. I say we need to go forward at least a little bit to find out something more. Did anyone search the room already?

[Swami Monsoon]

Ali angrily kicks the nearest fallen mummy (not quite as satisfying when there's not much more than a pile of dust left) and then begins a quick check of the room...


Search [roll0]

[Archwizard]

As mummy dust flies about in a puff, Ali conducts his quick search of the room. He doesn't find anything interesting in the room, and quick glances inside the footlockers reveal what looks like old, musty clothing.

[J-H]

"Let's stop here, shut the door, and hope nobody comes looking for the mummies. I think we need a break."

Morris motions the others inside before pulling the door shut. He looks around for a chair or chunk of wood he can use to wedge it shut against any un-wanted intruders.

"If we'll be here for several hours, we'll need a toilet. Let's get some of these footlockers cleaned out - whichever one seals best will be the one we use. Put it in a corner, use it, and shut the lid when you're done."

[Dunkoro]

That's a good idea. I could leave my psicrystal for guard duty, since it needs not sleep.

[J-H]

"Hmm.." Morris looks at the fist-sized chunk of crystal.
"Could you station it in the hall, up out of sight somewhere, so that we'd have advance warning of anything coming?"

[Dunkoro]

Yeah sure, it's gonna wake me up if it notices anything.

Mishiel concetrates for a few moments directing the psicrystal outside of the room, so that it would have a vide field of "vision" and could not be easily seen.

[roll0]
((OOC: That is very badly hidden...))

[Archwizard]

The group prepares themselves for the night, shutting the door while the psicrystal positions itself. While the beds are not exactly comfortable, they are serviceable. The night passes uneventfully, and everyone wakes up feeling rested. As Nuele wakes, she catches a glimpse of what looks like a small snake disappearing into a tiny hole in the wall.

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel starts the day by calling the psicrystal back and questioning it for any events it might have seen during the night.

Then she manifests Overchanneled Inertial Armor (overchannel damage overriden by Talented) for +7 to AC.

Then she announces:
I'm good to continue, what about you?

[Archwizard]

The psicrystal reports nothing notable occurred during the night.

[Togo]

Nuele has spent much of the time preparing her magics....


Caster level checks need 20

Before sleeping
Spontaneously use magic circle to cast cure serious wounds on Festav
CL check [roll0]
Spontaneously use light of Venya to cast cure serious wounds on Festav
check [roll1]
Spontaneously use light of mercuria to cast cure moderate wounds on Swami
[roll2]
Spontaneously use healing lorecall to cast cure moderate wounds on Nuele
[roll3]

[Togo]

Nuele has a busy night. She rests, but fitfully, making sure that Festav has the best of care, and bathing him in healing energies.

sorry, that should be 2d8 for cure moderate- another d8 on Swami [roll0]
And another d8 and use a turn undead for a further d8 on Nuele [roll1]

futher attempts to heal Festav
cure light wounds + turn undead
CL check [roll2] needing 20
cure light wounds
CL check [roll3] needing 20
Spurn death's touch healing chr damage [roll4]
Spurn death's touch healing chr damage [roll5]
Spurn death's touch healing any other ability damage [roll6]

Long term heal check to potentially replace his save (-5 penalty included)
[roll7]

Sleep

Casting remove curse CL check [roll8]
If failed, cast remove curse again [roll9]

[blade artist]

After the rounds of healing from Nuele, Festav exchanges his lifebond vestements soulmeld for strongheart vest. "Oooh, I am starting to feel better already, thanks Nuele. Where did you learn to heal, anyways?"

(strongheart vest prevents ability damage 1+1/essential invested [currently none])

[Togo]

Nuele freezes for a moment, and then says carefully, a little too lightly.

I don't actually remember.

She picks up the remainder of her supplies before looking up.

I can't cure you of the disease today - I focused my efforts on the curse. However, it should be a simple matter until we rest again, and with luck and the medicines I made for you, you shouldn't suffer any ill effects until then.

She pauses for a moment, then continues evenly.

Unless of course you touch anyone else, in which case I'll lecture you so hard your ears will catch fire. That goes for everyone.

She sighs.

I know he's hard to resist, but we're just going to have to keep our hands off Festav, at least until after we rest again.

As for now, I understand there are undead still walking around out there? So why are we still here?

[J-H]

"Would someone who can see in the dark, or who has a light source, take the lead please?"

[blade artist]

"If anyone needs some torches, I have a couple," Festav says as he holds up his makeshift torches he made the day before.

Festav turns quietly back to Nuele, "Maybe I could light these things off my burning ears. But yes I'll be careful not to touch anyone."

[Swami Monsoon]

"I'll check ahead."

Ali pulls out the Everburning Torch. "You can borrow this if you need it."

[Archwizard]

Festav feels the curse break, and a sense of relief fills him. The disease is still affecting him, but a major hurdle has been overcome.

Ali peers around the corner and sees the corridor extending 50' to the west before turning north. Nothing can be heard in the vicinity.

[J-H]

With Nuele behind him, Morris walks up to the door near the mummy room.
If he doesn't hear anything, he opens the door.


Listen [roll0]

[Dunkoro]

Mishiel carefully follows everybody being in the rear.

[blade artist]

Festav does the same, albeit in front of Mishiel.