Beware the Wicker Man (IC)

[Batpope Scott]

Beware the Wicker Man Part 1: Crushed Hope


The group of four travelers that met on the road, all looking to find the Wicker Man, have come to find shelter from the harsh winds and pouring rain.

You have gathered under under the light of a run-down tavern in the town of Crow's Hallow; the torchlight flickering in the winds and rain as you absorb the atmosphere.

Crow's Hallow is a miserable place, full of empty houses that have their entrances boarded and sealed, and reeks of death. Not a soul dares be out this late and the place is eerily quiet aside from the ever-present wind. The tavern's light pours from the doorway and windows, but no merrymaking is to be heard.

[Snacs]

"Ahh-ahh. This rain is terrible for Nubs' fur, isn't it cutie?"The slight figure tucked under the eave of the tavern's poorly-maintained roof muttered as she shook back a deep, pooling hood. Across her shoulders was a thick-set rat roughly the size of a small cat, which squeaked in appreciation as her fingers found the underside of its chin. Her slight figure rocked idly back and forth from heel to toe on serviceable boots.

"Still, this town's pretty nice. Not a lot of neighbors, and I bet it's nice in the summer...It's not summer, is it?" She shook out the short brown curls about her head, letting Nubs slip down her arms and from there down to the floor to sniff around, squeaking quietly to himself. Gripping the edges of her cloak she wrings as much water as she can from it, lightly hopping to shake more off as best she could.

[Anyr]

"If you truly cared about that creature, you wouldn't have brought him along. It's liable to meet a bloody end in this place."

The speaker of these harsh words wasn't trying to cause offence. She was just stating her opinion, pure and unfiltered. Lienne Andisani had no patience for comforting lies. With a motherly sigh, she walked over to the hopping woman, and placed a hand on her shoulder. The water which saturated her companion's clothing proceeded to flow out of it, and gather in a puddle below. Lienne herself seemed unfazed by the harsh weather. She might as well have been standing in the midst of a warm spring afternoon.

"There. Now stop fidgeting, and stay alert."

[Snacs]

"What?! I couldn't leave Nubs all by himself!"The look she gave Lienne was flabbergasted.

"Besides, you act like he'd let me put him somewhere, isn't that right Nubsy?"Her voice took on a crooning tone as the rat returned to her feet to be picked up, having shook the water in his fur out to his satisfaction. Dark eyes watched Lienne from its pointed, splotched muzzle with eery steadiness, before melting under Kasey's attentions. Still, she smiles gratefully at the lack of water soaking into her clothing, watching the water rush out to mix with the puddles just out of range of the ground.

"Neat trick! Wish I knew that one."She said with a hint of disappointment, even as Nubs crawled up to take a spot on his Mistress's shoulder again. Her cheeks puff out at the stern rebuke though, still rocking idly on her feet.

"I'm always alert. And if I'm not, Nubs here is. We're an unstoppable team you know." A mischievous grin split her mouth, though she glanced out into the night and the driving wind with a frown.

"I'd rather be in a bed though at this hour, t'be honest.

[Athaleon]

"Not surprised to see you and that pet of yours right at home here." One of the four, a dour man in worn traveling clothes, stood favoring the woman opposite him with an odd look. "I'm ready for bed too. Shall we all retire for the night?"

[Mokou-tan]

The nameless girl stepped under the eave and shook to get the water off her body. Wearing no cloak, and barely enough to be considered clothed, it was obvious she wasn't normal. Even more obvious were her unique features: a pair of ears on her head and the twin tails from her backside. She chuckled a little at the conversation between the girl with the rat and the one who had magic tricks while stepping next to them.

"Don't worry. Only the strong animals get bigger than the normal ones. Strong ones eat more often. Anyone know how much of the weird water I can get for a yellow shiny?"

She reached into her skirt and pulled a gold coin from one of the inner pockets to show what she meant. The metal disc didn't mean anything to her. She couldn't eat it and it didn't keep her warm, but it seemed like people wanted these strange discs. Her tails swished as she waited for a reply.

[Anyr]

When Kasey stared into the darkness, something stared back. Two blood-red eyes glinted in the torchlight, along with a grin full of razor-sharp teeth. Judging by their position, they belonged to something disturbingly large.

"Silly little rat. Run back home, before you get eaten."

Lienne's Eidolon was not a pleasant creature. Its entire existence was centred around only one thing: Killing. The creature could usually be found lurking near its master, waiting for the order to strike. Lienne herself saw nothing wrong with keeping such a monstrosity around. To her, it was no different than a warrior's sword. Paying no heed to the actions of her 'weapon', she walked up and knocked on the tavern door.

"I have a sneaking suspicion that we won't be welcome here. If the owners refuse us, don't press the issue. I can conjure a perfectly serviceable extra-dimensional space, within which we can sleep."

[Snacs]

Kasey simply smiled, shifting her weight on to one hip.

"Oh nooo. Lienne! Your scary pet is threatening us agains What should we do Nubs, huh? Well, good thing it's just a servant right?"She looks down into the rats face and rubs noses with it with a soft laugh. It paid to put on an act with some people, even if those people had sharp teeth. Tilting her head to eye the Eidolon sidelong she turned, sauntering up to the door with the others with Nubs's head poking out of the folds of her cloak.

[Batpope Scott]

The knock echoes in the quiet, but no answer comes to the door. The door is unlatched, however, and as you stand in the frame you detect the smell of blood seeping through the entrance.

[Snacs]

Frowning, Kasey lets Nubs slip down to the floor again,a soft click barely audible as a slim tube of finely-wrought metal slips into her palm. Blowgun in hand she approaches the door next to Lienne. Glancing over at the tall, dour man next to them she nods. Stepping to the side of the doorway she uses a palm to press it open slowly, the loaded dartgun in her free hand at the ready.

[Athaleon]

Averus quietly slipped his swords out of the scabbards at his hip and edged up to the door as well, ready to burst in or fight off an attacker as needed. He strained to listen for any sign of movement inside.


Perception: [roll0]

[Batpope Scott]

The macabre sight of a disfigured corpse lying next to the bar greets you as you open the door, the only sign of humanity in the room, and the room is lit only by dimly burning candles in holders along the walls. Small bottles of rotgut alcohol rest upon the shelves, the tables are upturned and broken, the chairs missing entirely, and the door to the back room barely hanging to it's hinges.

[Athaleon]

Averus gestured to the door to the back room and deftly stepped over to it, careful not to tread on anything that might make a noise.


Stealth: [roll0]

[Mokou-tan]

The nameless girl walks in and looks at the body while placing the gold coin back in her skirt pocket. With a sigh, she quickly turns her attention to the bottles of alcohol, placing them one at a time in the inner pockets. The last bottle she grabs she drinks, noting the bad taste she downs the entire thing, her tails swishing as she chugs it.

"If anyone's going to challenge me over this, now's the time. I'll warn you though, it tastes terrible."

[Anyr]

Well, so much for stealth. As Lienne walked in, she shot a look of unbridled disgust at the nameless girl. Such callous disregard for the dead and one's comrades didn't sit well with her. Now that silence was no longer a concern, she muttered a few protective incantations to shield herself. Her Eidolon stayed outside for the moment: Just in case someone snuck up behind the group while they advanced.

Lienne casts 'Mage Armour', 'Barkskin', and 'Shield' on herself (bringing her AC up to 22}

[Mokou-tan]

Noticing the look she was given, the wild child gave a toothy grin.

"He can't drink it anymore, he's dead. Things die all the time, if I bothered myself over every carcass I found, I'd never get around to eating anything I hunted. I probably wouldn't be able to finish hunting either. And if that look was because I'm not quiet, whatever did this likely isn't here. If it was an animal, it would have ate him. If it was a person, they'd have left. I bet a monster would have ate him too. So, anyone able to figure out what killed him? I'd like to know what it is so I can fight it."

She leaned against the counter next to the door in the back, waiting for something interesting to happen.

[Anyr]

"'Likely isn't here'? Entire settlements have been destroyed by such sloppiness. You don't know whether the culprit is still here, any more than we do. Until the question is settled, you should not make rash assumptions."

Lienne moved cautiously forward, just behind Kasey and Averus. She would follow their lead when it came to securing the building.

[Athaleon]

Averus just shook his head in exasperation. No point trying to be quiet, he burst through the door, ready to confront whatever was on the other side.


Activating Archaeologist's Luck before going through.

[Snacs]

Kasey carefully picked up some of the rotgut sitting on a table and sniffs at it briefly, wincing at the sharp bite even the scent makes.

"All yours, I'd rather not grow a beard. Well, first things first. Let's check out our friend here."Said with a faint frown as she approaches the body. Without any hint of distaste she hunkers down over the still figure and begins to check it, gloved hands delicately but thoroughly rooting through any pockets and under folds of cloth. Her motions quick with the ease of long practice, her weapon slid back carefully into the sheath on her forearm. Once done with that she moves to the bar counter and carefully runs her hands under the counter-top curiously, checking the side that would normally be hidden. She keeps an ear ready as Averus goes through the door in a loud rush, wincing at the crash of the man into the cheap wooden door.

Nubs, ignoring the arguments and commotion completely scuttles about the room carefully, nudging under tables and chairs, and amid the bar-top with as much interest and clear training as his Mistress seems to have.


Search the body(perception i guess?:D)
[roll0]
Searching the bar!
[roll1]

Nubs room/bar search
[roll2]

[Batpope Scott]

Between the looting, spellcasting, arguing, debate, and slamming into a door, the party has decided cohesively on the least stealthy approach short of burning the tavern down.

Averus swiftly discovers that the back room has been thoroughly trashed and devastated by either sloppy looting or animalistic rummaging, evidence being the leftover debris of destroyed boxes and barrels and the faint smell of blood tinged with alcohol. An even worse smell comes to you from the direction of an open trap door, where the trail of dried blood starting at what was a pool at your feet leads.

Kasey's searching of the man isn't overly fruitful, as the man didn't have much in the way of belongings on his person and his clothes are too tattered to be serviceable. The bar, on the other hand, has a coin pouch with a small amount of silvers. Nubs doesn't seem to find anything.

The teen looting bottles manages six intact ones, including the one she drank.

[Mokou-tan]

The teen walks into the back room calmly behind Averus. Seeing the blood, she sighs.

"Looks like I was wrong. You found it, so it's your hunt."

Calmly and lightly stepping over to the trap door, careful not to disturb anything as she does in case the others wanted to examine the scene thoroughly, she stops a few steps short. A savage smile plays across her face.

"That's not to say I won't join you. I want to see it. I want to fight it. I might even want to eat it, but you found it so you get to decide who goes first."

[Anyr]

"It doesn't matter who found it. We act as a team. Know your place, child."

Lienne dutifully waited for Averus to decide on a plan of attack. During the time they'd spent together, she'd gained a great deal of respect for her fellow Half-elf. It was a pleasure to fight alongside such a selfless and devoted crusader. Lienne considered herself fortunate to count him as a comrade.

In preparation for whatever approach Averus chose, Lienne cast a 'Darkvision' spell on herself, and telepathically called her Eidolon into the tavern.

"Ready and waiting."

[Athaleon]

"Oh, is that how it works?" Averus muttered in response to the nameless girl. Something not right about that one. He moved closer to the trapdoor for a look. "Cold trail. Still, we might just have something cornered down there."


Switching off Archaeologist's Luck for now.

[Snacs]

Kasey tosses the bag of silver in one hand gently, testing its weight before tucking it away from sight. Joining the others in the back room she hums at the open trap door to herself, eyeing the foul-smelling entrance with a certain lack of enthusiasm. Nubs crawls back up on to her shoulder as she watches, crouching down on the opposite side from Averus.

"Well that's an unpleasant thought. Cornered things that leave corpses are rarely nice to talk too." She glanced back at the mage's Eidolon as it enters.

"Why don't you send your friend down to check for us?"She asks with a smile, even as she peers back into the darkness curiously.


Using Detect Magic, focusing down the trap door. Also peeking for traps

Perception:
[roll0]

[Batpope Scott]

The trapdoor normally covers simple wooden stairs, which are now tinged an odd maroon color, which seem to end in a lit room. The smell only gets worse as you get closer.

Your detect magic doesn't reveal anything, nor do you find any traps.

[Athaleon]

With weapons drawn and readied, Averus begins to creep down the stairs. He might have considered letting the pet go down first, but he had to consider the possibility that who or whatever was down there might have an escape route. If that happened, he wanted to see it with his own eyes before it got away. There was also the possibility of a trap having been set up ahead of them, and he was used to spotting and disabling them.


Perception: [roll0]

[Anyr]

The Eidolon followed a few paces behind Averus. Its armoured black form moved quietly forward, in a manner that was obviously supposed to be intimidating. Lienne didn't know why it bothered to try that sort of thing around her comrades. They were savvy enough to know that it couldn't actually attack them without permission.

Lienne herself hung back alongside Kasey. No sense in crowding everyone into a small space where they had no room to dodge. If her services turned out to be necessary, she could be down those stairs in a flash.

[Mokou-tan]

"I know my place just fine. I'm a predator and this world is full of prey."

The girl follows after Averus, walking to the side of him when possible and grinning. She was used to people calling her a child. She was one after all, or close enough. Not having a name meant people found some way to address her such as "child" or "girl" or "little one". It was nothing new.

"Cry."

With that single word, her body began to lightly emit electricity. It always felt funny, so she tended to keep that enhancement of her amulet off, but if there was an opponent she would want it to help her bring down whatever prey was to come by.

[Snacs]

Wrapping her scarf more tightly across her mouth she descends next to Lienne, the slender metal tube in her hands again and at the ready.

"Just let her do what she wants. Worst happens something will eat her and you'll both stop arguing."She says easily, descending the steps lightly with Nubs tucked over her shoulder comfortably. She didn't need to be directly besides Averus either with the blowgun carefully cradled in one hand.

[Batpope Scott]

The cellar floor is coated in a thin layer of deep crimson stains and smells strongly of musk, mold, and bodily fluids. The effect is extremely unpleasant and enough to be sickening. The walls are lined with shelves and casks are assembled in the corner, presumably the tavern's alcohol supplies, though the shelves are completely empty. The stone walls are unadorned aside from the torch sconces and the back wall has a crumbling hole beyond which leads to a tunnel.

What's left of the tavern's patronage is strewn across the floor.

Lienne and the nameless one are both Sickened by the stench.

–2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

[Athaleon]

Averus wrinkled his nose at the stench in the room, but it was nothing he hadn't smelled a dozen times before. "Well, we've found the neighbors." He turned to address the rest of the party, eying each one in turn. "I'm going after who or whatever did this. If you don't want to follow me down that hole, I won't think any less of you." With that, he conjured a cluster of dancing lights about himself, and cautiously advanced into the tunnel.

[Batpope Scott]

As Averus goes to cross the room, the mixture of body parts begins to assemble itself into a monstrosity that greets you with a terrible clattering and shrill shriek as the bones undulate in it's chest.

It's hunched form is twice the size of a man with four 'arms', two legs, and a jawless skull atop what would be shoulders on a man.

Initiative

The Creature [roll0]

[roll1] Averus
[roll2] Kasey
[roll3] Nameless
[roll4] Lienne

That would be Kasey, Averus, Creature, Nameless, then Lienne.

[Athaleon]

"What sorcery..." Averus trails off as he instinctively moves to a guard position, with the stairs at his back, and quickly invokes a blessing from his god.


Swift Action: Use Smite Evil on the creature.
Move Action: Move to a position putting himself between the creature and the rest of the party + the stairs.
Standard Action: Cast Haste on the whole party. I'm guessing everyone is within 30'.

If the creature attacks Averus, he will attempt to use Opportune Parry against the attacks (though he will not use up his last Panache point). He will not attempt to Riposte since he needs next turn's Swift Action.

Also I left Averus' background as very generic in order to fit the homebrew setting. What is his deity actually called?

[Anyr]

"Abomination!"

So spoke the black blur which suddenly raced past Averus. Lienne's Eidolon charged straight at the creature, with no thought to defence. Summons could be so reckless sometimes.


Lienne casts 'Barkskin' on Rail (increasing AC to 31).

Rail charges the enemy.
Claw 1: [roll0]; Crit confirm: [roll1]; Damage: [roll2]
Claw 2: [roll3]; Crit confirm: [roll4]; Damage: [roll5]
Claw 3: [roll6]; Crit confirm: [roll7]; Damage: [roll8]
Claw 4: [roll9]; Crit confirm: [roll10]; Damage: [roll11]
Bite: [roll12]; Crit confirm: [roll13]; Damage: [roll14]

[Snacs]

Grimaced as she stepped into the filth, glad that both Nubs had slipped into an open flap of her bag, and that she was wearing her stout traveling boots.

"This is disgus-"She cut off as the creature lumbered its way out of the muck and assembled itself. Her arm snapped up and her lung emptied the rest of her sentence in a soft hiss of parted air. A second dart slid into the tube and a second time it whistled out towards the freakish creature rising out of the remains of the tavern.

"Disgusting!"She finished as she sent the third dart spiraling out, still standing just in front of the mage and just behind Averus and the nameless one.


Using that Haste from Averus. So three attacks yay?
Attack 1:
[roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

Attack 2:
[roll3]
Damage: [roll4] + [roll5]

Attack 3:(Hasted)
[roll6]
Damage: [roll7] + [roll8]

Used (3) darts

[Mokou-tan]

As if by instinct, the girl drops into a crouch and charges at the amalgamation of corpses with blinding speed, still a little woozy from the smell.

Charging with no AC penalty due to Nimble Striker, Power Attacking, if the attack connects Swift Action for Drunken Strength and she's always using dragon style, because there's no reason not to be.
Claw: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Critical Confirmation if 20: [roll2]
Shock: [roll3]
Drunken Strength: [roll4]

[Batpope Scott]

The blessing of Lord Sun, a trio of darts, two bestial combatants at full charge, and the creature takes every hit they give. It's flowing form replacing cracks and chips with hardened plates and oozing faults that give out sprays of black muck as the strikes hit home.

As it lets loose with another cry, the difficulty of this foe becomes immediately apparent.

It's four arms lash out, batting the wild child away to the left, and the other three eviscerating the pretentious eidolon, holding the creature aloft as it's undulating ribcage opens.

The creature hits twice against the Eidolon, initiating it's Grab. Rail takes 56 damage and is currently grappled.

The nameless one takes 23 damage but is otherwise in the same location, despite how the text sounds.

As to Athaleon's question, according to the humans, the heavens are ruled by a diarchy of Lord Sun and Lady Moon, with the stars as their servants. Many of the prayers a crusader would use involve burning flames or divining light, with Lady Moon being rarely referenced as her domain is in secrecy and magic.

[Athaleon]

Averus was a little surprised by the ferocity of his party's attack, but then, he hadn't known these people that long. He was used to working with more cautious people. Without another moment's hesitation, he charged into the fray and hacked savagely at the creature.


Swift Action, activate Archaeologist's Luck.

Then he will make a Full Attack if he can do so with a 5' step, otherwise he will Charge. Again, he will use Opportune Parry to attempt to deflect incoming attacks until he's down to one Panache.


Attack: [roll0]
Crit Confirmation: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]



Attack (Haste): [roll3]
Crit Confirmation: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]

Attack (First Iterative, Main Hand): [roll6]
Crit Confirmation: [roll7]
Damage: [roll8]

Attack (First Iterative, Off Hand): [roll9]
Crit Confirmation: [roll10]
Damage: [roll11]

Attack (Second Iterative, Main Hand): [roll12]
Crit Confirmation: [roll13]
Damage: [roll14]

Attack (Second Iterative, Off Hand): [roll15]
Crit Confirmation: [roll16]
Damage: [roll17]



Just making sure his attack and damage numbers are straight.

Attack:
+9 BAB
+5 Dex
+1 Enhancement
+1 Weapon Focus
+3 Weapon Training
+5 Smite Evil
+3 Archaeologist's Luck
+1 Haste
+2 (if Charging)
-2 (TWF penalty if Full Attacking)

Total: +30 on charge, +26 on full attack

Damage:
+5 Dex
+1 Enhancement
+3 Weapon Training
+4 Smite Evil (doubled on first attack)
+3 Archaeologist's Luck

Total: +20 on first attack, +16 on the rest

[Mokou-tan]

The wild girl smiles as she is knocked back. This opponent was obviously strong to have survived both her and the Eidolon's attacks, but she was the top of the food chain and not about to let anything take that from her. In her world, only the strong managed to thrive. With these thoughts, she let out a bestial roar that gave the slightest hint of joy as she makes a violent assault on the creature.

Flurrying, haste
Claw: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]+[roll2] electricity
Crit: [roll3]

Claw: [roll4]
Damage: [roll5]+[roll6] electricity
Crit: [roll7]

Claw: [roll8]
Damage: [roll9]+[roll10] electricity
Crit: [roll11]

Claw: [roll12]
Damage: [roll13]+[roll14] electricity
Crit: [roll15]

Claw: [roll16]
Damage: [roll17]+[roll18] electricity
Crit: [roll19]

[Anyr]

Hmm, this creature hit hard and fast. Lienne muttered an incantation that would (hopefully) eliminate that problem. Meanwhile, the eidolon Rail didn't even attempt to escape the grapple. It just kept attacking furiously. Bravery was easy when you couldn't actually be killed.

Lienne casts 'Slow' on the creature {Will DC 21}

Rail attacks.
Claw 1: [roll0]; Crit confirm: [roll1]; Damage: [roll2]
Claw 2: [roll3]; Crit confirm: [roll4]; Damage: [roll5]
Claw 3: [roll6]; Crit confirm: [roll7]; Damage: [roll8]
Claw 4: [roll9]; Crit confirm: [roll10]; Damage: [roll11]
Claw 5: [roll12]; Crit confirm: [roll13]; Damage: [roll14]
Bite: [roll15]; Crit confirm: [roll16]; Damage: [roll17]

[Snacs]

Watching the creature with a grim look, Kasey sidles to one side, Her free hand palming another dart into her hand. With her thumb she brushes the ring on her hand, vanishing from view. A moment later she reappears.

Activating ring of invis and moving slightly behind averus.