Curse of the Crimson Throne: Seven Days to the Grave [IC]

[PSinger]

Paxre's not giving up the kill against an enemy that's about to fall, is flanked, and he might face again later. He does a full attack.

Spoiler

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Idiot (the enemy, not Paxre). As acrobatic as these guys seem to be, you'd think this guy would at least try to use acrobatics to change position out of flank. He'd lose an attack (no FAA), but the mid-arms went from being inoffensive to capably deadly in their own right. Chalk it up to panicked fighting, and then get this guy a chalk outline.

Silver katana (1d20+5)[7] (not counting flank bonus), damage (1d6+1)[7] plus (2d6)[10] sneak attack
Mid-Arm #1 (1d20)[3], (1d4+1)[2] plus (2d6)[7] sneak attack
Mid-Arm #2 (1d20)[5], (1d4+1)[4] plus (2d6)[10] sneak attack

If this guy goes down on any of the hits, use the remaining strikes against the woman.

EDIT: Holy crappin' wow-suck.

[lostsole31]

R9T19.5: Paxre's not giving up the kill against an enemy that's about to fall, is flanked, and he might face again later. He does a full attack, but the muck-brook has a greater effect on him since he's smaller and with the wererat's dawning realization that he is in a bad way, he is parrying like Blackjack himself.

R9T19: The rat swarm only does 1 to Gamma. As a cruel cosmic joke, had Gamma survived this battle, he actually would have fallen ill to filth fever from the diseased bites. He is not nauseated.

R9T9.9: "Pax," comes Murray's teep-voice. "Alpha, Omega, and Delta are dead. Gamma will fall with the next blow, no doubt. Beta ran away. I'm ready when you are, but let's tooth these two before we're done unless you think it's good to stink around. I'll follow your play."

The wererat is stung in the left knee for 3 mod from the pain, but the poison does its work and the wererat falls.

R9T9.7: Alpha's last enemy removes his short sword from the finally-finished foe and jumps into the muck-brook, getting right up behind Muhrbala.

End Round 9, Begin Round 10 ...

R10T27: Girrigz stabs Gamma in the upper right brachial artery to kill him outright. The connection to Gamma is severed, and Paxre knows it.

Girrigz ... then gets up next to the other new combatant behind Muhrbala. It went from a turkey-shoot for the little guys, to a mess of trouble.

R10T20.5: Things are going from bad to worse as the other of Gamma's opponents squeaks to the rats and then ends up behind the other two, ready to fill in.

R10T19.5: Paxre ....

[PSinger]

"I won't be denied the kill, Murray. Keep them occupied. I'm gonna make sure we don't face these two rat-finks later."

Paxre slits the throat of the one that just fell.

Spoiler: Coup de grace

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Coup de grace. Auto-crit, so max damage on katana (7), plus (2d6)[12] sneak attack

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: In a hurry?

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Too excited to color your speech.

R10T19.5: "I won't be denied the kill, Murray. Keep them occupied. I'm gonna make sure we don't face these two rat-finks later."

Paxre easily slits the throat of the one that just fell. Two dead wererats.

R10T19: The rat swarm goes into the water and swims down to envelop Paxre, doing 3. It's only now in this battle that Paxre senses some faint hardiness in his body that might help resist the disease and distraction.

Spoiler

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So, your Harrow reading actually gives you a +1 on all CON-related checks during this encounter. Also, don't forget your Harrow points if you want a boost. I will let you roll a Fort check for Disease (first), followed by Distraction (second). Do so OOC.

[lostsole31]

Paxre feels a slight tingle as he gives himself over to mystic forces for a second. He can manage bravely despite the rats.

R10T9.9: Muhrbala dares. Instead of facing the new threats, he goes to finish his kill (as he always does). He attempts a coup de grace on the female wererat, but not before an AOO from Girrigz and his companion. Both miss. Murray does 6 mod, though he's not sure if that did the trick or not.

R10T9.7: The wererat accidentally pricks his skin with his short sword, but not enough to hurt, and he misses Murray with the bite.

End Round 10, Begin Round 11 ...

R11T27: Girrigz stabs at Murray and it almost looks as if his rapier would have skewered him, but there's the odd effect that Murray suddenly seems to be just offset of the weapon? A second time and the same thing. His bite is barely stopped by surprisingly hard pseudodragon scales.

R11T20.5: Standing just behind the other, the wererat in back readies ...

R11T19.5: Paxre ...

[PSinger]

Can this be all that remains? With our flanking abilities, my silver weapon, and Murray's stinger-poison, we might have a chance. Even if I fall, I think we have a chance of breaking the power if I can focus on the big guy. So, here we go ...

Paxre performs his vanishing trick.

[lostsole31]

R11T19.5: Paxre draws upon his ninja training, calms his mind for a second, and vanishes. It's imperfect because he is swarmed by rats, but it will still make him hard to target.

R11T19: The rat swarm does 5. Saves? Harrow vs. distraction?

[lostsole31]

Pax is fine. Dramatic irony: the wererat that was dying has finally bled out and is dead. Good job Omega/ Beta.

R10T9.9: Murray attacks Girrigz with his tail and swoops around behind him. Both of the other wererats miss on AOOs, but Girrigz is confounded by the little guy and count counterattack.

R10T9.7: The wererat that was next to Girrigz withdraws forward so he is now threatening the partially-floating, vaguely humanoid-shaped rat swarm.

End Round 10, Begin Round 11 ...

R11T27: Girrigz spins around to attack. His bite actually connects for 8 (max).

R11T20.5: The wererat in rear rank crosses diagonally to now flank Murray with Girrigz and misses attack.

R11T19.5: Paxre ....

[PSinger]

Thanks Murray. Can't do anything about the swarm, though. Time to buff ...

Paxre casts divine favor.

Spoiler

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Concentration (1d20+9)[27], if needed in the swarm.

[lostsole31]

R11T19.5: Thanks Murray. Can't do anything about the swarm, though. Time to buff ...

Paxre casts divine favor.

R11T19: Rat swarm: 3. Saves/ harrow?

[PSinger]

Last one. Yeah, harrow on the second.

Disease (1d20+2)[5]
Distraction (1d20+2)[22] (Harrow)

On another note, I've been screwing up. I was using my normal katana damage. I should have been using only 1d6 for damage with the silver. Sorry.

[lostsole31]

R11T9.9: Murray fumbles his tail attack against Murray and is battered and flies over and around out of flanking as the other wererat misses him.

R11T9.7: Paxre is attacked.

End Round 11, Begin Round 12 ...

R12T27: Instead of messing with the harder opponent, Girrigz brilliantly and acrobatically - even in the muck - moves past Murray without counterattack, past Paxre, and behind the Entobian to be flanking with a fellow. He stabs Paxre in the gut for 22 (you were given the benefit of concealment, which Girrigz overcame). Paxre is immediately in the red.

R12T20.5: Wererat fails vs. Murray.

R12T19.5: Paxre ...

[PSinger]

Damn. Paxre concentrates defensively and casts CLW.

Spoiler

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Concentration for defense (1d20+9)[24]
Concentration in swarm (1d20+9)[14]

CLW (1d8+4)[12]

[lostsole31]

CORRECTION!!! You have concealment, ergo no sneak attack from Girrigz. He only did 13, but you still needed the CLW.

R12T19.5: Paxre manages to cast CLW on himself for max healing of 12.

R12T19: The rat swarm does 5 ... and you're now distracted. (Sorry, you let me roll now that you're out of Harrow.)

R12T9.9: Murray does nothing and disappears from view.

R12T9.7: Flanking wererat misses.

End Round 12, Begin Round 13 ...

R13T27: Girrigz accidentally flings his weapon backwards and it falls into the center of the main sewage. He misses the bite.

R13T20.5: Murray's opponent misses.

Paxre ...

Spoiler

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Sorry, but I have to stop for sleep. Show tonight.

[PSinger]

Now or never.

Paxre goes all out on Girrigz.

Spoiler

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Silver katana (1d20+6)[23] damage (1d6+1)[4] plus (2d6)[4] sneak attack
Arm 1 (1d20)[12] damage (1d4+1)[4] plus (2d6)[8] sneak attack
Arm 2 (1d20)[11] damage (1d4+1)[5] plus (2d6)[8] sneak attack

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: When Players Benefit Because the DM has a mini-stroke ...

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I screwed up, but I'll give it to you instead of retconning so you are torn apart. You were distracted, but managed to just barely hold out your concentration so that you drop your concentration (which includes holding your ki for vanishing trick) after the attack. Lucky, lucky you ...

R13T19.5: Paxre, already distracted, loses his concentration and becomes visible, but is otherwise too nauseated to do anything.

R13T19: Paxre takes 3 from the swarm ... and is distracted again.

R13T9.9: Murray pops up into view behind Girrigz but Girrigz is wily and is not taken by surprise. Because Paxre is distracted and not threatening, Girrigz is technically not flanked either. Even with all that, Murrray still manages to catch him in the back but can't penetrate his lycan resistance.

R13T9.7: Flanking wererat can't hit Paxre.

End Round 13, Begin Round 14 ...

R14T27: Girrigz doesn't give up his strategic position against Paxre, but he can't get his jaws on Paxre.

R14T20.5: The wererat on the perimeter drops into the water. He re-emerges in the main branch, holding Girrigz' sword.

R14T19.5: Paxre takes out his quickdraw shield.

R14T19: Rat swarm does 3, continuing to distract Paxre.

R14T9.9: Murray hovers and disappears from view.

R14T9.7: Paxre is too squirrely for the wererat.

End Round 14, Begin Round 15 ...

R15T27: Girrigz bites deep into Paxre's shoulder for 20. In addition, it opens up a hole in the armor so Paxre suffers a -2 for this round, and the wound bleeds for 3. Paxre is barely standing.

R15T20.5: The other wererat goes over to Girrigz to put his leader's rapier into his hand. Murray, who hadn't entirely fully disappeared, pops fully back into vision and stings the wererat but it's not enough. Girrigz now has his rapier again.

R15T20: Back in the main chamber, the sleeping wererat continues to snooze.

R15T19.5: Paxre, what do you do? You are bleeding heavily but only have 1 hit point and you are nauseated.

[PSinger]

Thrown and woozy from the bites and the bleeding, Paxre knows he is lost. He smiles and pants, hisses a laugh, and then laughs fully. "You got most of us. But two little guys alone killed three of yours ... [if Layl died] ... and another one in there is dead. Wait until silver-wielders .... *ach, cough* ... come along, Girrigz. You won't stand a chance. You and yours are doomed. From the deepest stars, I curse you."

If there is any chance whatsoever, even if distracted, Paxre will fall on his sword to keep Girrigz from getting the satisfaction of the final blood.

[lostsole31]

[Great exit speech, normally never happens in this game, so I will give you your own hand ...]

Paxre speaks bravely and firmly. Then, like an honorable ninja of his school of The Mysterious Way of Imperial Lions, Paxre positions his point towards his heart and just falls forward on it, dying instantly of his own hand, stealing the glory from Girrigz and his rats.

[lostsole31]

Beta you finally get back to the house and the servant will let you in. What do you tell her? What do you do?

[meemaas]

Beta steps inside, head bowed as he turns to the servant. "Dead. All of them, dead. We were underprepared and overwhelmed. Only myself and Paxre survived." He sighs, sitting in a chair as he stares at the floor. "When is Shymal getting back? I need to talk to him. I need to talk to a few people."

When Shymal returns, he tells him of the events that occured, and begins to lay out his plans to Shymal. "I need to wait for Paxre to return, I know he'll be back, but he may have had to lay low to evade pursuit. After he does, I'm going to hit up a few old friends to help me, and we're going back down there to collect the bodies. We'll be better prepared this time. I want to at least lay my comrades to rest and avenge their deaths."

[lostsole31]

"You must take time to mourn my adopted son and my son-in-law, as well as your other two friends," says Shyamal with restraint. "Let not bloodlust overpower what compassion there may be. I will be sure to let people know that several of the city's would-be heroes were cut down in their prime by wererats. Perhaps somehow my words will galvanize others to action.

"We have seven days to grieve, but there is business. If you and Paxre help me with arrangements for ... for our dead ... I will let you and Paxre stay in this house with full service for only 40 gp a month each. Let us not dwell on that now, though. Let us not fill our minds with blood when the very essence of it has left our youth. But our city's woes do not share our timeline of grieving, so use that time - not to fight and hunt and kill - but to ready, to ready yourselves with men and materials. In the meantime, I will also contract for Epsilon Prime to be notified of this catastrophic loss."

[lostsole31]

Without a proper healer (and the town's healers all dealing with the plague), Beta heals a whopping 3 hit points overnight.

Beta, do you do anything more than complete rest for this first "day of mourning?"

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: Elsewhen, as Beta Recovers

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Merry Christmas, and here we go, Paul ...

You come upon a scene of death, and confusion. There are three dead men here. One seems to have died from horrific burns; one's throat was slashed; and one was beheaded. They have other signs of battle, but these are the obvious life-enders. They were obviously stripped of anything they had of value. Oddly, there are four heavy steel shields stacked neatly here.

What do you do?

[PSinger]

"Witch? What have we?" asks Phi.

Zeta takes out her Harrow and looks carefully at it, then studies the scene. She takes a look at the scene itself to determine what she can (Survival, K: Dungeoneering?) and then studies the bodies (Heal). The men were stripped, but she tries to get a sense of whom the men were, or at least what sort in general. (Sense Motive? K: Local?)

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: Heal

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All three men were hit by a powerful negative energy blast. A powerful fire attack (targeted) killed one man outright following the energy.

A small-sized bolt added a decent wound to one of them, as fired by someone with knowledge of vital areas and there seems to have been signs of a powerful claw. The claws came from a man-sized humanoid, but the claws themselves were particularly sizeable and the killer was exceptionally strong. This man seems to have pressure bruises consistent with handling restraint. He was killed post-battle, his throat slit. The initial wounds are that of battle, and beyond the restraint bruises there appear to be no wounds or tortures inflicted out-of-battle. This man was beaten in battle; held; and then, for whatever reason, killed even then. He has severe burns on his hand, scarring in the form of a sword handle that must have been super-heated. He had scarlet fever as a child, but recovered with minor hearing loss.

The third man, in addition to powerful damage from negative energy, seems to have been killed by something small. His throat has many tiny bite and claw marks that show something small took quite an effort to tear apart his trachea; however, these marks seem to have been given under non-stress conditions, meaning the man does not appear to have been in combat at the time. There is a mark from a small, but powerful, puncture wound, not unlike a thick needle. It is very possible this man was subdued by poison before being killed at leisure afterwards. A toxicology report of surrounding tissue and blood would be required for further detail if this is the answer. Both sides of this man's family suffered from male pattern baldness, though it seems a recessive gene on the man himself would have spared him from that fate. Certain discolorations of his sclera and skin indicate he had early onset of sclerosis of the liver.

Once the fourth body is discovered (see below), and answering the question of why there were initially three men but four shields, that man had removed 90' from the main battle scene before dealing with similar hand-burns as his second comrade, above. He was beheaded by a very sharp blade that had a mild curve on it to focus cutting power - less curve than a scimitar - and as such was likely a weapon that could be wielded in two hands. The beheading seems to have been conducted after the fleeing victim was overwhelmed. Though in relatively good health before he was murdered, he was obese as a child and he was teased mercilessly. He had a goldfish named Marko. Marko sensed his master's moment of death and jumped out of his fishbowl to his own demise. He helped take out his landlady's garbage.

All men were of relative good strength and health, but various tale-tell aspects of teeth and skin betray them as having come from the lower classes. Assuming these heavy metal shields were theirs, and given typical, long-term chafing marks from padding and the like, these guys wore medium armor (likely chain). As such, they were likely mercenaries or even criminals.

Spoiler: K: Local

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As above, various combined signs show these men came from the lower classes, and seemed to have been nothing but muscle (and only a bit stronger than average at that). Perhaps the men weren't murdered innocents but were killed because of their darker profession.

Spoiler: Knowledge: Martial

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These men didn't have great potential. They seemed to have been hardened more by purpose and years than by talent. Tougher than a normal town guard by far, likely standard lower-mid-level enforcers.

Spoiler: Knowledge: Nature

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The men were killed only yesterday, but with what you've scared away yourselves and further evidence of the bodies show that there is a slightly higher than normal presence of scavenging rats in this area.

Spoiler: Knowledge: Religion

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Okay, now here is where it gets INTERESTING. The prevailing thought, almost rubber-stamp, is that the blast of negative energy that was likely the very first blow in battle given by an evil cleric channeling NE. So, this means that whoever else added these various types of damage would have either had to have been 30' clear of the cleric or been immune (or, doubtfully, decided to take the hit). Study of the corruption of flesh shows - after looking at the flow of battle (q.v.) - that the negative energy blast had a directional component, consistent with a cone. Some things and spells and abilities might grant that on a minor scale, but the blast here was POWERFUL. It would have been enough to suck away more than half of your life in a hit, far more powerful than the typical channeling power of any rank-and-file cleric. You've never seen anything like it. A powerful, cone effect of negative energy.

Spoiler: Suvival, K:Nature, K:Local, K:Arcana

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It seems, from everything here, that there were approximately 4-5 individuals accompanied by something else. Given what might be a poison-entry wound, the lack of any sign of in-battle trauma, and the small bite/claw marks on the second man, and given that Korvosa is known to have many of them, it is possible that the small creature was no bigger than a housecat - a pseudodragon. However, more study would be needed. Inconsistent with this is the relative weakness of a pseudodragon, and that whatever did this (if it was a pseudodragon) had the same size but possessed strength that would be far, far surpassing any of its kin.

Possible makeup:
1) Pseudodragon (above). No tracks to support this.
2) Small combatant with sneak attacks, likely rogue of some sort. No tracks to support this.
3) Fire-based arcanist. Exact nature of spells/ effects inconclusive.
4) Human-sized humanoid with claws. Faint quartzite-like granules at claw wounds. Possible stone-related.
5) Unknown, broad-booted, heavily-armored combatant. Only determined from tracks, not wounds. Fully-armored dwarf is very likely.
Any other tracks possible for others inconclusive because of amount of traffic, cross-step, rats, etc.

[PSinger]

Zeta will take her time and describe what she has deduced - excluding details such as recessive genes, fat kids, and piscine suicide. She concludes, "Robbers robbed; murderers murdered. No doubt they were the ones that killed our friend nearby, and then someone in turn preyed on them. The unknown group proved their superiority, but they murdered those they beat at least three times. No doubt, such disregard for life will find them as well."

"The increased rat activity is more interest to us right this minute," weighs in Eta. "In only one day? I say we might be near a rat's lair. I say, before we take Sakhr Darzi's back to his family, we track this group down. Too many questions, and we need to be sure of what we've found. These men might be the killers from what you deduced prior, but without their own equipment we have no proof to assuage his widow. Beloved?"

Phi contemplates everything that has been discussed. "There were already rumors of wererats. Yester-eve, in what might be retribution of some sort, rats were released in the poorer quarters and ran rampant. Many were bitten before the majority were curtailed. That viscious act alone will likely have, in just one night alone, proven terrible in what the Korvosans face."

He ponders for some time, and then thoughtfully adds, "Perhaps we will meet with the real face of trouble in this, but let us focus on a smaller piece of the picture. At breakfast at a client's house today, it seems that ill fell upon a small group of adventurers. He related that this information came from Shyamal, a Jalmeri glass and pottery merchant. Well, My Treasure, Shyamal houses our local Epsilon chapter. Supposedly, only one survivor came out though that one said another had survived as well.

"I cannot know for certain since there seem to be some new players, but there are some similarities with my intelligence. Our counterparts are Alpha, who might be responsible for the fire; Beta seems to be the survivor - a man of 'living stone' with frightening claws; and Gamma, a dwarven warpriest of Iomedae who might be the owner of the armored-dwarf tracks. There also was their leader, Delta - a summoner disgraced from the Academae; and, Omega, a guru with a combat style related to exploiting fear in combat psychology. There were no small or tiny creatures in the dossier, so they might be (or might have been) local talent. Burçin ... any ideas?"

[lostsole31]

Bur just shakes his head long and slow as Zeta finishes her doctoral dissertation. "You forgot the two liverspots that guy had. Don't worry ... easy to miss."

Regarding his master's question, "I don't know what you think I can tell you, sir. We came here together, and intel is everyone else's game. The only recon I'm really good at getting is where the best places to get pickles might be, who makes the best guacamole, and where can I score the best urban food-cart food. After that, I'm your shoot-and-loot guy.

"Though," he adds a little reluctantly. "If this handiwork is that of your friends, how much can we trust them? I mean, we know that when Epsilon Prime and Kappa had their falling out, supposedly it was because Kappa was little better than 'a necromancer who uses alembics over zombies, but a necromancer all the same.' Murdering prisoners? That's a bit dark. No, wait, that's a LOT dark. Any chance we're dealing with a radical splinter group?"

[PSinger]

"These are troubling questions, but I withhold any such judgments. I truly doubt one of the Inheritor's chosen priests would stand idly by. Let's shelve that for what matters now. If the ones that killed these men are our Korvosan brothers, and they were killed by a wererat leader, who in possible retribution for a failed ambush or assassination inflicted mass injury and possible disease on the poor, it may just be several questions answered in a day if we find this Fiend of Diseases. Darzi's widow comforted with her husband's body, and that mystery solved. The mystery of his possible attackers solved if we get more information. The circumstances of our colleagues' deaths. Expunging this plague-sodden city of a what might be a major culprit. And in the end? Fame. Fame for House al-Din, fame for Epsilon Elite. We are new here, and in no time our mercantile house will enjoy great benefit if we can perform some great service. Outside of Uzun's singular blessing, Zeta, I am afraid simply tending to the sick is too time-consuming, and we have already dealt with problems from the men."

Phi nods his head as if to agree with himself after a few short thoughts. "Resolved. We continue. Prepare for swarms of rats, dog-sized rats, and of course, wererats that have proven themselves most dangerous. Counsel?"

What, collectively, can we figure against such enemies? I mean, every grandmother's suiciding goldfish knows lycanthropes and silver (and mithral) do not mix. Okay, anything else?

[lostsole31]

Through the disgustingly visible haze of noxious sewer reek, the flow of unmentionable slop through the sewer tunnel’s filth-slick channel unexpectedly forks. Most continues on its expected path, but a small stream of ooze diverts off through a wide cleft in the moldy masonry wall. The man-sized crack cuts deep into the rock behind the wall, and wisps of thin white smoke issue forth. There is something in dark clothes with patches, smaller sized, lying half in the flow and half on the side wall. How do you investigate, if at all?

[PSinger]

Zeta will go forth, using Ruor to sniff for danger. She will look at the body, and try to determine the usual questions: what? who? how? when? etc.