(PF) maggie's Rise of the Runelords: Hook Mountain Massacre IC

[jamieth]

Naya

"I'm afraid it isn't that easy, miss Rico", Naya whispers back, "Fire could burn the field down, but lightning strikes a single spot, so unless I aim it at something... it's most likely a spell wasted." She doesn't hesitate a second before saying 'something'; far as she's concerned, the Grauls don't deserve to be called 'people', or even 'creatures'; the're just an obstacle to be overcame.

"But I think I can get the two I see with one spell... wait half a minute or so, please, I'll take the position - "

Saying that, the sylph, crouching and keepink to the woods, heads towards the place where the trees come closest to the fain farm house; now, both Grauls and Setsuna are right in front of her, and the sorceress waits for Rico's signal to skewer them - the Grauls, that is, not the tiefling - fith a line of electricity.

Spoiler

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From that part of the woods south of the farm house, aim Lightning Bolt so it hits "H" and "S" Grauls, and then hits the right side of the barn; don't want to catch Red in it by accident, even though she has Evasion :-)

Grauls get DC19 Ref for half of (7d6)[28] elctricity damage.

[maggie_mcknife]

Combat Map (for everyone except Red)

Please note that the dimensions of this map are in accordance with the 1 inch (at 100% view) on the original map = 90 feet.

[Miraqariftsky]

Rico,
Mage Armour'd*
Charged
Rage I/III
2/10

AC 22/22
HP 56/56

At the whiff of something rancid in the field, Rico rumbles in her throat. She shakes her head at Vale nearby, and jabs a hand toward the cornfield, mouthing, "THIRD".

"Naya?" she grates out. "Flatten the field, iffen ye please."

She frowns at Setsuna's farce, eyes widening as the other ogrekin are apparently taken in. Snorting silently, she begins to pass Vale one of her remaining amphorae by its rope handle. Then she stops, and glares once more at the simple subterfuge unfolding before them.

Too easy. Something's fishy.

Scowling, she says to Shalelu and Vale, "Ahem. Iffen y'all please, get us a recon 'round the perimeter? Gut feel tells me summin's TOO fishy."

Shaking her head at Brin, she grimaces, then snorts and says, "Yeah. Sorreh. Well. Who knows uiffen that one worg wat scarpered brings anutha' posse for backstabbin' here?"

Gazing once more at the soon to be battlefield, she sizes up the distances involved while gradually choking up on the shaft of her spear, clutched by her shield-arm. She sighs and sneers at the somewhat awkward grip, then launches into a run.

"WAAAAAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!!"

Kicking up dust as she powers into a charge, she gives a mighty leap and roar as she clears Setsuna. As she lands on the fatter ogrekin, bringing her own bulk to bear, she takes hold of her shield with both hands and pounds him with a one-two classic.

Spoiler

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TARGET: "H"

Intimidate
(1d20+10)[30]

Orctapult impact
(1d20+18)[35]
(1d12+7)[10]

Skirmisher's Tangling (if hits, target is Tangled for 1 round)
(1d20+19)[35]
(1d12+12)[16]

Slam from the Charge itself
(1d20+19)[30]
(1d12+12)[16]

[jamieth]

Naya

Easier said than done... but Naya can't really waste any time explaining the difference between the types of combat magic, and why her particular kind is ill-suited to dealing with concealed targets in a large open space.

So, instead, she chooses the target she can actually hit. The Graul Rico assaulted likely won't be much of a fighter for a while; the other one, however, still can be a threat to Setsuna... and Naya decides to make it less so.

Stepping out of the forest, the chants a spell and throws two bolts of lightning towards the second ogrekin.

Spoiler

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Move to G6; should be within 40 foot of "S". (if not, move closer)
Cast Lightning Ray at "S":
Ray 1
Attack: (1d20+8)[27] vs. touch
Damage: (4d6)[15]
Ray 2
Attack: (1d20+8)[23] vs. touch
Damage: (4d6)[20]

[Bhaakon]

Seeing that Rico seemed to have the nearest of the malformed, pustulous bumpkins well in hand--or under shield-- Brin adds her bow to Naya's efforts in a bid to make sure the second overstuffed Grawl didn't join the first and somehow turn the tide.

Spoiler

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Shoot muh bow at S:

(1d20+10)[28]
(1d8+2)[4] + (1d6)[4]

[jamieth]

Naya
HP 13/24
AC 17, Touch 13, FF 12

Naya runs towards her companions, chanting the same spell again, ready to finish - or, at least, seriously hurt - the Sugar, but notices Hograth not only still standing, but fighting back - so, stopping, she spreads her hands and sends a bolt of lightning at either of the ogrekin.

Spoiler

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Move to J9;
cast Lightning Ray.
Ray 1: target Sugar; (1d20+8)[21]vs touch, damage (4d6)[15]
Ray 2: target Hograth; (1d20+8)[23] vs. touch, damage (4d6)[16]

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Surprise Round

"Beat? Nudder wun?" The tall ogrekin hesitates and blinks, gawping at Setsuna's words and scratching the underside of his jaw. He's much cannier than the stunted though - the dim realisation that the "human" before him can only be referring to his brother the worg-tamer flashes over his smashed features, the web of veins on his rangy neck and arms suddenly bulging out as he howls aloud with animal fury. Brandishing his hook at Setsuna's throat with a trembling fist, he bares his rotting teeth and gnashes his teeth, ready to charge.

"Dem beetch- Yoo kilt Wukus! Ar-"

Before the tall ogrekin can even step forward, he is rammed in the chest and brought down to his knees by a falling, screaming Rico. She rolls back to her feet faster than he and promptly commences viciously bludgeoning him about the head with her trusty battle-table, the snap of teeth and bone under heavy wood palpable to the nearby Setsuna. Several feet behind, the ogrekin with the stunted legs gives a shriek of mingled shock and terror as he is zapped by Naya's spell. Nearly dropping his own hook, the runt wails and hops almost comically on the spot, his singed skin twitching crazily.

Hograth Graul is Entangled for 1 round and Shaken for 3 rounds.

*****

Initiative rolled, Combat begins.

Spoiler

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Party Initiative:
Setsuna: (1d20+9)[17]
Naya: (1d20+5)[25]
Brin: (1d20+9)[22]
Red: (1d20+5)[19]
Rico: (1d20+1)[3]

Enemy Initiative:
Hograth Graul: (1d20+9)[27]
Sugar Graul: (1d20+9)[18]
Jeppo Graul: (1d20+9)[25]
Crowfood Graul: (1d20+3)[12]

Hograth vs Rico
Attack: (1d20+11)[30], Damage: (1d10+14)[15]

Jeppo moves to bar the door.

Initiative Order:
27 - Hograth Graul - shaken for 3 rounds, entangled for 1 round, raging
25 - Jeppo Graul
25 - Naya
22 - Brin
19 - Red
18 - Sugar Graul
17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul
3 - Rico

*****

Hograth Graul

Spoiler

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vs Rico
Attack: (1d20+11)[30], Damage: (1d10+14)[15]

Even with most of his front teeth smashed in and rivulets of black blood streaming down from the gash in his forehead where bone crests through flesh, the taller ogrekin isn't down for the count yet. Once Rico lifts her shield clear, the savage springs adroitly back to his feet, his hook already scything upwards in a vicious swipe. Despite being half-blind with blood, the taller ogrekin doesn't miss the unarmoured spot in Rico's armpit - the hook snagging flesh through the padded gambeson before ripping back with a swift, practiced twisting motion.

*****

Jeppo Graul

Spoiler

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Jeppo closes the door

Upon hearing the screams and the crackle of lightning magic from outside, the pale-skinned ogrekin still in the barn visibly flinches. Shuffling worriedly over to behind the door, he doesn't even bother with a quick peek outside before he shoulders the entrance to the barn shut, mumbling indistinctly to himself as he pats first his skinny chest, then his ogre hook, his milky eyes darting uneasily about the room.

From where Red is, she can smell the stench of vomit-laced moonshine on his breath - this bigfolk clearly has been drinking (and likely throwing up whatever foul liquor he'd imbibed as well) within the past day or so.

*****

Naya casts Lightning Ray.

Bursting froth from the cover of foliage, Naya's hands blaze with ruinous light as she conjures forth lightning, blasting the two Grauls who fell for Setsuna's act with the full force of her elemental power. While the stunted ogrekin merely shrieks all the louder, clasping the raw welts rising on his skin and bawling aloud, his taller brother merely grunts and sways on the spot, stubbornly refusing to fall.

*****

Brin

GM's note

Spoiler

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I've botted Brin to N4 as that is the only square within Brin's move range that gives her clear line of sight of Sugar Graul. It's a fairly long distance for her to shoot; I suspect there's a distance penalty involved that wasn't utilised in the roll. But given that the attack roll is 28, it doesn't make a difference. Please use the map next time, Bhaakon.

Even from where she is, Brin's arrow flies true - perhaps the Lady of Graves has seen fit to bless her priestess with a fair opening to the business of harrowing this nest of monsters. The arrow zips over Setsuna's head, narrowly missing Naya's outstretched hand before lodging firmly in the fleshy part of the stunted ogrekin's ribs.

*****

Red

Spoiler

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Red tries to steal the keys
Stealth check: (1d20+30)[46] - passed
Sleight of Hand check: (1d20+6)[15] - failed
Stealth check: (1d20+30)[43] - passed

Jeppo's Perception checks:
(1d20+12)[28] - failed
(1d20+12)[21] - passed
(1d20+12)[19] - failed

With the door locked and the pale bigfolk looking like he was waiting for something to happen, there is little time to waste. She'd never been very good at cutting purses, but if that key did unlock something important later... Red takes a deep breath and treading lightly, inches as close as she dares.

Even in the fetid air of the barn, the pale bigfolk stinks to high heaven. This close, Red can see the dried puke on his loincloth, his skin glistening with the sour grease of one who has not washed in months. She reaches for her kukri, then hesitates. She couldn't harm him. That much, she knew. Or the magic keeping her unseen would break. But she could go for the keys-

A terrified scream from outside the barn startles Red, her fingers brushing too hard against the keys, causing them to jangle violently on their ring. Without looking down, the pale bigfolk worriedly claps a hand over the bunch, still mumbling indistinctly to himself.

*****

Sugar Graul

Spoiler

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Move to J17

"Nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh-"

Apparently unwilling to endure yet another shock of any sort to his being, the stunted ogrekin paws at where Brin's arrow had struck him, snapping it off at the shaft. Wailing aloud, he half-stumbles half waddles into the nearby cornfield, his free hand doing his best to cover his head in the manner of a beaten cur making its retreat. Dwarfed as he is by the tall, sickly stalks, it is soon difficult to spot where precisely he has gone, save for his loud, incoherent blubberings.

*****

Initiative Order:
27 - Hograth Graul
25 - Jeppo Graul
25 - Naya
22 - Brin
19 - Red
18 - Sugar Graul
>17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul
3 - Rico

It is now Setsuna's turn.

*****

Maps

Spoiler

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[Miraqariftsky]

Rico,
Mage Armour'd*
Rage I/III
3/10

AC 24/22
HP 41/56

Perceiving too late, the hook coming in, Rico nevertheless tries to minimize its bite by rushing forward, shifting to a one-handed grip on the Fist of Fox and letting loose a shield-fisted left cross. The punch hits the beast's arm just as the ogre hook rakes at her flank, throwing off his aim just so, just enough to be simply a flesh wound for now.

Ignoring the blood welling up at her side, she flexes her fist about her hilt, eyeing the wicked hook warily. She darts to the ogrekin's off-hand side, drawing her sword as she does so. A thin sheet of white-green fire flares along the wave-edged weapon, even up across her gauntleted fist and the dragon-headed pommel--- which she suddenly slams into where the ogrekin's liver should be.

Taking advantage of the close quarters and the serration of her sword, she immediately turns it around and slices upward at the shoulder, and as her arm finishes the stroke's arc, right on hews at the neck.

She shouts to the rest of her comrades, "Somebody peg the runner! Could be gettin' sumthin'!"

Spoiler

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5ft step to K11. Draw sword. Activate Scabbard of Vigour for +3s on three rounds.

Skirmisher's Entangling (Entangled for 1 round, if successful)
(1d20+20)[31] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger +7 BAB
(1d10+13)[22] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger

First attack
(1d20+18)[34] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger +7 BAB -2 PA
(1d10+17)[19] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger +4 PA

Second attack
(1d20+13)[32] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger +2 BAB -2 PA
(1d10+17)[21] +7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +3 SoV +2 Ranger +4 PA

[Desril]

Setsuna
AC 26 -includes -2 from charge
HP 46/46

As her companions initiated the attack on the ogres, Setsuna only had time to regain her fighting stance before the first one was dealt with. As Rico issues the order to hit the one fleeing, the tiefling princess calls out that she's on it and weaves past the half-orcess, dashing into the corn field to skewer the fleeing one. "Get back here!"

Spoiler

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To avoid complications, I'll just delay until after Rico's turn and then charge Sugar. Assuming I can charge through the corn field? If not I guess I'm trapped just moving again

Swift to add Shocking + Keen via arcane pool

Attack (1d20+15)[25]
Damage (1d8+7)[15] + (1d6)[4]

Parry if need be (1d20+13)[18]
I'll riposte in the OOC if it comes up.

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Setsuna delays turn.

*****

Crowfood Graul also delays turn.

*****

Rico

At such close quarters and with most of his face already smashed in, there is little the taller ogrekin can do to defend against Rico's blow. Skewered right in the gut on the first blow, the brute begins an guttural roar of defiance - only for the snarl on his face to abruptly freeze before going slack as Rico grunts and cleaves through his shoulder, the end stroke slicing open his throat - her face searing in the spray from the subsequent burst of hot, black blood.

Hograth Graul is now dead.

*****

Setsuna and Crowfood Graul

Spoiler

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Crowfood's Stealth check: (1d20+12)[21] - success
Setsuna's Perception check: (1d20+5)[20] - failed

Attack: (1d20+16)[28], Damage: (1d10+12)[20]
if hits, add Sneak Attack: (2d6+2)[12] add bleed attack +2 damage

Concealment for Sugar: (1d5)[2]
Concealment for Setsuna: (1d5)[2]

Miss on 1. Both attacks hit.

The cornstalks rise nearly a foot above her head, but Setsuna is canny enough to know where her quarry has vanished to - for the wretched fool still sobs and wails aloud like an oversized babe, his pained mewlings giving away his new hiding spot.

The ogrekin, stunted as he might be, is no true babe however. And if Setsuna had to make even the wildest of guesses, he was likely no better than the other two unfortunate specimens of his kind who had confronted her so far. Spotting the mottled brown of his pale, twitching back through the leaves, the tiefling doesn't hesitate to dash in with her katana raised for the kill, electricity arcing off the blade as she slashes open his side.

Between the ringing of swordsteel off bone and the stunted orgekin's fresh howls as he now clutches the wound in his side, Setsuna fails to hear the subtle squish of bare feet pounding on wet earth. All of a sudden, her back and thigh erupts in a blaze of blinding pain as an unseen ogre hook snags through her hakama, digs down, and rips open cloth with flesh- Whirling to face her enemy merely earns Setsuna the briefest glimpse of a warty face with its brow hideously distended, its owner grinning in mockery before puckering his split lips and vanishing back into the overgrown crops.

Cornfield terrain blocks vision. All enemies within 5 feet have partial concealment - all attacks have a 20% miss chance. All enemies beyond 5 feet have total concealment - all attacks have a 50% miss chance and the enemy cannot be located using sight.

(Hence, Crowfood does not appear on the map.)

*****

Jeppo Graul

Spoiler

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Sets trap

"Ay. Thassit." Touching a paw to his clammy forehead, the pale ogrekin in the barn shudders once, as if shedding flies. He then proceeds to putter about what looks like a complex wire-and-pulley mechanism at the front of the barn, anxiously peering through a crack in the barn door every few seconds.

*****

Initiative Order:
27 - Hograth Graul
25 - Jeppo Graul
> 25 - Naya
22 - Brin
19 - Red
18 - Sugar Graul
3 - Rico
17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Naya's turn.

*****

Map

[jamieth]

Naya
HP 13/24
AC 17, Touch 13, FF 12

With all her mastery over lightning, Naya still can't order it to strike at something she can't see; and that means, she will have to get closer... Summoning a familiar quarted of miniarute ball lightnings, she runs towards the corns and starts making her way towards Setsuna, ever ready to disperse in the air should a figure of Graul step out of the plants.

Spoiler: ooc

Show

Standart to cast Fiery Shuriken
Move to J15 (if that would be outside of move range accounting for difficult terrain, than K14 instead)
If hit, Windy Escape
4 shurikens, 7 rounds left

[Bhaakon]

Brin
35/35 hp
19 AC

"Get your boney rear outta the weeds!" Brin fumes at Setsuna, stymied in her attempts to locate a target in the corn field. The Grawls might not be able to plow a properly straight furrow, but that didn't seem to keep the stalks from growing high and lefy enough to prevent her from picking out a target through them.

She grinds her teeth and pulls back an arrow, waiting to feed the shaft to the first of the ogrekin to appear back out in the open.

Spoiler

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Ready an action to attack the first hostile to emerge from the corn

(1d20+10)[28]
(1d8+2)[6] + (1d6)[6]

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Naya casts Fiery Shuriken.

*****

Brin readies ranged attack. (If attack is not resolved by next turn, GM gives permission for the roll to be saved.)

*****

Red

Spoiler

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Perception check: (1d20+12)[32] - passed

Red's fingers twitch. She could do it right now. Stab him between his shoulders. Slit his throat and then take the keys. But he was on the lookout now and the more time she wasted, well, who knew what was happening outside? Clenching her teeth as she stifles a sigh, Red forces herself to turn away from the pale ogrekin and scurries across the barn, taking the steps of the rusting catwalk two at a time. Cayden watch over her friends outside. Now, if that door up there was locked-

The door wasn't locked. With a backward glance at the pale ogrekin (who was currently hunkered over a mess of wires), she risks using her elbow to nudge the door open wide enough to have a look at the chamber on the other side.

The air in the room beyond is foul and stuffy, the dampness making Red's nose tingle. The main area of the room, as far as she can see, is covered in filthy webs, a tangled mass of vine-like threads that form a funnel dipping down into the centre of the room. There's clumped, bloody bits suspended in the web that look a lot like animal parts she'd expect to see hung up at a butcher shop - Red does her best not to dwell on what those might have once been.

But what she'd come to find was indeed here. In the northeast and southeast corners of the room, the catwalk she was on expanded into a platform fenced in with wooden beams to form cages. It took a bit of neck craning, but she could just make out the shape of two emaciated men - one in each cage, manacled to the walls.

About to crack a grin of relief, Red's heart suddenly skips a beat as the faintest of movements at the base of the web funnel catches her eye. For at the heart of the web, nearly invisible in the gloom, she espies first one long hairy leg the size of a wooden house beam, then another, and another.

The largest, ugliest spider she has ever seen lurks at the bottom of the web, waiting and watching. No wonder the bottom doors had been locked.

*****

Sugar

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+15)[33]
Damage: (1d10+14)[17]

Concealment for Setsuna: (1d5)[4] - hits
Miss on 1.

Apparently emboldened by the hit-and-run tactics of the lurker in the corn, the stunted ogrekin ceases his mewling long enough to sneak a lash out at Setsuna with his hook while she still reels from the passing blow. In his haste, the fool forgets to poise his hook to strike - instead of piercing through armour, his hook merely clumsily thumps against the tiefling's side. Yet what he lacks in finesse and height (not to mention courage), the stunted ogrekin more than makes up in terms of brute strength. The blunt end of his hook works as well as a weighted cudgel, smashing against ribs, bruising flesh and cracking bone even through armour.


*****

Initiative Order:
25 - Jeppo Graul
25 - Naya
22 - Brin
19 - Red
18 - Sugar Graul
> 3 - Rico
17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Rico's turn.

*****

Maps
Main combat

Red's predicament

Spoiler

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[Miraqariftsky]

Rico,
Mage Armour'd*, SoV 2/3
Rage I/III
4/10

AC 24/22
HP 41/56

Rico stands slack-jawed for a moment as her foe falls apart into almost five pieces. Blood drips from her helmet's brim. Filth slicks off her humming steel. Her right gauntlet is practically encrusted with an exploded liver, the pommel's dragon seeming to grin in the witchlight.

Was that... was that me? Or was it the frakkin' enchanted scabbard? Holy hellsteeth... No, NO. No time for doubting now. COME ON, STUPID GIRL. This ain't done yet!

From the corner of her eye, she spots Setsuna dashing into the cornfield. Her ears twitch at the sounds of battle... then silence. None of Setsuna's usual flashy fighting. No ogre parts flying into the sky.

Well... SHYET. Summin's WRAWNG. I spotted that damned lurker earlier. Why didn't Naya blast the field? THAT"S what that runner was off to! And I sent Hellgirl right in. Ambush. Whaddahell.

STUPID GIRL. HOLD IT TOGETHER. GET IN THERE AND DO WHAT YE GODDA DO.

"Clearing a path! Naya, PLEASE shoot 'em when ya see 'em! Brin, pleasestandby! Goddabadfeelin'boutthis." The halforc constable sees Naya at the field's edge and thunders past her. She grits her teeth as she wades through the field, hacking wildly as she goes, glaring at the shadows.

Guided by the signs of bent stalks and trampled leaves, she finally comes across the clearing where her comrade lies broken. Growling, she steps over Setsuna, muscles tensed, shield readied as she prepares to intercept any further incoming blows, from the obvious ogrekin before her and the smarter one still lurking somewhere beyond.

Snarling at the foul beast before her, Rico slashes wide at the beast that had laid her Setsuna low, aiming for a decapitating blow.

A bellow rises from her gut as she roars at the shadows.

"COME ON! IZZAT ALL YA GOT?! BRING IT! TAKE ME IF YA CAN!"

Spoiler

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Move to K17, as in, same space Setsuna is in.
Make CARAMEL out of Sugar Graul. (Also, share AC with Setsuna. Intercept any attacks incoming for her.)

+7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +2 SoV +2 Ranger +7 BAB -2 PA
(1d20+17)[37]
+7 Rage Str + 1 Weapon +2 SoV +2 Ranger +4 PA
(1d10+16)[17]

Rolled crit in Rolls Thread.
If that's good to go, then that's a total of 82 damage. Unless I miscounted horribly. Ha-ha-ha.

And tossing in an Intimidate.
(1d20+10)[29]

Immediate request? =IF= Sugar is dead now ... At the slightest sign of the ambusher coming in, may I PLEASE have a Reflex save to BAT either the head or the falling ogre hook TOWARDS Crowfood Graul?

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Rico and Crowfood Graul

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+16)[36]
Damage: (1d10+12)[16]
Confirm Critical: (1d20+16)[25] - confirmed, Damage: (1d10+12)[15] and (1d10+12)[20]

Concealment for Rico: (1d5)[5] - hits
Miss on 1.

The trodden earth of the cornfield seems to tremble as a roaring Rico bears down on the hapless Graul who had recently clobbered Setsuna into unconsciousness. Blinking in slack-jawed disbelief at the hook clasped backward in his paw, the stunted ogrekin begins to stammer, glancing frantically first at the tiefling lying at his feet, then up at the charging half-orc, then back again. He takes one step back, then another, staggering as he nearly trips over his own toes.

"A-ai-"

The stunted ogrekin's squeal of panic is cut short into a strangled gargle as Rico's sword catches him on its edge, the upward swing shearing his head clean off his neck in a single fell stroke. While his ugly head goes sailing several feet in the air, his body - now shorter than ever - sways on the spot for a moment, black blood fountaining comically from his severed throat, before slowly keeling over backwards.

There is scant time to rejoice over small victories. Even as Rico stoops to examine her bleeding comrade for signs of life, the swift lurker from before makes his reappearance. A retaliatory slice of the ogre hook from behind punctures soundlessly through flesh, reaching the soft unarmoured spot at the hollow of Rico's neck where the life blood flows. Within moments, the sturdy half-orc herself has crumpled to the ground, nearly crushing Setsuna as she topples forward and ploughs face-first into the dirt.

Rico is now unconscious and dying at -10 HP. Placing her at J17 for clarity.

*****

Setsuna takes -2 Bleed damage.

*****

Jeppo Graul is still setting a trap.

*****

Meanwhile, NPC action...

"Something's not right. It's gone quiet."

Pricking up her ears, Shalelu shades her eyes and squints from beneath the flat of her hand at the cornfield, her other hand instinctively wandering to the hilt of her short sword. She glances at Brin, awaiting further instructions. "Sister Brin. Should I go in?"

NPCs Shalelu and / or Vale will move upon instruction, using the same initiative order as the one who gives them the order.

*****

Initiative Order:
25 - Jeppo Graul
> 25 - Naya
22 - Brin
19 - Red
3 - Rico
17 - Setsuna - unconscious, dying
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Naya's turn.

*****

Map

[jamieth]

Naya
HP 13/24
AC 17, Touch 13, FF 12


What... what happens here?! hearing Rico's battle cry changing into a cry of pain, Naya shudders, we can't keep fighting like that, that's stupid!

Saying a magic word, Naya takes a step and pushes herself off the ground... Where? Where is that beast?!

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Standart action to cast Fly
Move into K16, and 30 feet above the ground
Perception to find the Graul: (1d20)[3]
To be undated depending on the result of perception check

[Bhaakon]

Brin
35/35 hp
19 AC

"I'd much rather they come out." Brin fumes in response to Shalelu. Then nod her agreement to Rico's plan "Aye, I'll wait here to tag 'em if you all head in to flush 'em." He bowstring remains taught on the knock of her arrow, ready and steady even as her shoulders begin to protest at the strain of holding back the bow's heavy limbs. Usually she didn't have to hold a draw for more than a heartbeat or two.

Spoiler

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Same readied action from last round, same rolls since they weren't used

[Miraqariftsky]

Rico,
Mage Armour'd*, SoV 3/3
Rage I/III
4/10

AC 24/22
HP -06/56

The squat beast's head comes off with one clean stroke. For good measure, Rico barges in with the Fist of Fox, throwing the falling corpse far aside, crashing through the cornstalks.

Kneeling beside Setsuna, she stabs her still-steaming sword into the soil. Experienced eyes scan her comrade's broken body. Deep puncture marks and severe fractures mangle her all over. Can't just carry her up and run the hell out, could nudge any of her broken bones inwards or cause a worse neck-snap when she runs.

Holding her gauntlet close to Setsuna's nose, Rico breathes a sigh of relief, seeing there is still at least some misting on the metal.

The halforc's hand reaches for her pouch to fish out a potion. Her ears and nostrils suddenly twitch at nigh-silent footfalls rustling in from behind, a stench right similar to the beast she'd smelt from earlier.

The beast she'd beheaded was NOT the one that took out Setsuna.

Too late, Rico stands and turns. Too late, she reaches for her sword.

Something like an iron claw --- no, one of those ogre hooks--- slashes in from behind, a great gout of bright red arterial spray bursting from her neck. The hook rips into her throat, war-cry or anything else she might say, coming out in naught but a gurgle. More blood fountains out as she feels her limbs buckle, her body crumpling.

Unto the last, even as her vision dims, she gropes for any weapon at hand, trying to force one last strike before she succumbs to the cold darkness beyond. Her hand closes on a hilt, and...

Her face hits the dirt, eyelids slowly falling shut. Hot blood pours from the gouged hole in her neck, soaking her gambeson and greatcoat. It seeps into the small spaces between her armour plates, pooling into the mud.

Spoiler

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If Da Chief and Desril consent, could the sword Rico'd have blindly grasped be Maethilur? Wouldn't hurt to have a little slice of a talk with the "6-and-a-halfth" member of the party, eh?

[jamieth]

Naya

Where is he? Where is the monster... even from her elevated position, Naya can't catch a glimpse of the last... hopefully... remaining Graul; she does, however notice the place where two of her companions fell, and hovers right above it. "Miss Brin! Need healing here!" she calls, then adds, "Miss Shalelu, Mr Vale! Can you hear me? I need help - any help!"

[Bhaakon]

"What?!" Brin exclaims, genuinely surprised that not only weren't the ogrekin's burst guts fertilizing the corn field, but it had apparently managed to turn the tables on those who ventured among the stalks. She lowers her bow and releases the tension on the string, rushing forward as quickly as she can without breaking into a heedless sprint. "Where? How bad?" She demands.

Spoiler

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Double move to L15

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Spoiler

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Crowfood's Stealth check: (1d20+11)[31] - not spotted

Naya casts Fly and is 30 feet in the air.

Even when aloft and with the entirety of the overgrown excuse for a corn field in sight, Naya remains unable to pick out the hiding place of the antagonist who had laid low Rico and Setsuna. Peer as she might down at the nodding foliage, there is nothing more to see but a thick tangle of broad leaves and shriveled corn husks. On the other hand, the unconscious bodies of her friends (and the corpse of the squat ogrekin) were at least thankfully easy to find, what with all the cornstalks that Rico had inadvertently mowed down during her rampage into the field...

*****

Shalelu and Vale

At the piping call of the sylph, Shalelu doesn't hesitate. With a crisp, military-like calm, she begins striding towards the corn, her jade-hard eyes already scanning the cornfield for signs of movement.

"Master Ranger. You're still weak from your confinement - best stand back. Cover me and keep an eye on Sister Brin. Any bigfolk pop their ugly heads out, let them have it good and proper." Shalelu draws her sword to the faint whisper of steel on leather. Holding it before her in readiness, she ventures to the edge of the cornfield, taking the distance one firm but cautious step at a time.

"Sister, best not to venture in too deep," calls the elf sidelong to Brin, before raising her voice to hail to Naya. "Lady sylph! Which way do we go?"

*****

Brin

Everything about the cornfield stinks of a trap to Brin. No orderly row of crops for the harvest, this field - but a neglected wilderness of tassled stalks and brown-edged leaves, corn sheaves half-rotting where they hang. Nothing stirs within the mass - not at least anything that Brin can see. But she knows that just a few scant feet beyond must lie Rico and Setsuna. And whatever it was that had brought them down.

*****

Red

Spoiler

Show

Move to north-east cage, pick the lock.

Disable Device check vs Lock DC 25: (1d20+19)[27] - passed
Lock takes full round to disable, action complete in next round.

For a moment, Red's heart thumps in agony against the wall of her body, blood rushing to her cheeks as every instinct in her screams to run and get the seven hells out of the room. Cayden's left ball - Why was everything in the past week that was out to get her just so bloody huge?

Clenching her fists in a bid to stop them from shaking, Red forces herself to glance around the room, doing her best to ignore the spider. Two men - one older in the cage nearest to her, one younger in the cage further away. She could probably free the older one first, then shimmy the bars to get to the catwalk leading to the other side to get to the other prisoner. Those bars didn't look too difficult to climb-

If she fell, it'd be right into that web. Into the waiting jaws of the spider. Red had no idea what exactly the spider had eaten to get to that size, but if the dried out bits of bone and flesh in the web were any clue, she'd bet her kukris it ate meat. A lot of meat. She didn't really want to think about what kind. Insects probably didn't do it.

Had it noticed her? It shouldn't have. Spiders had... seven, no- eight eyes. But she was invisible, right? It wouldn't be able to see her.

Holding her breath, Red gingerly scurries across the catwalk, treading as lightly as she can with the spider just visible from the corner of her eye. So far so good. Pausing only long enough to check that the older prisoner's chest still rose and fell with weary breath, she slipped out her tools and got to work. Thank the Lucky Drunk, if nothing else, the bigfolk didn't seem to have very tricky cages - just a simple tarnished brass padlock.

*****

Crowfood Graul

Of the lurker in the field, there is no sign of him returning to finish the job on Rico and Setsuna - no suspicious rustlings, no odd movements in the corn. Thus, when a single black raven suddenly bursts forth from the north edge of the field in an urgent flurry of feathers, those of you on the lookout nearly jump in fright yourselves.

The raven doesn't seem interested in sticking around; without hesitation, it makes a beeline for the eaves of the musty farmhouse.

*****

Jeppo Graul is doing... something.

*****

Initiative Order:
25 - Jeppo Graul
> 25 - Naya
(25) - Shalelu and Vale
22 - Brin
19 - Red
3 - Rico - unconscious, dying
17 - Setsuna - unconscious, dying
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Naya's turn.

*****

Maps


Red and the Spider

Spoiler

Show

[jamieth]

Naya
HP 13/24
AC 17, Touch 13, FF 12

The sylph looks around, verging on panicking, having no idea where the beast that fell Rico (and Setsuna?!) might lurk; then, some movemetn catches her eye at the north. The sorceress spins immediately...Oh. Just a bird...

The next moment, a thought hits her; what if it isn't just a bird? In most circumstances, Naya would dismiss the worry; but right now, when she knows there's a dangerous, unseen enemy hiding in the plants the bird just took off from... the sylph can't allow herself to doubt. Forget about saving magical ammo; she can conjure more of those shurikens as swift as she can aim them in the first place... and, guided by the sylph's outstretched hand, four miniature lightning balls speed after the fleeing bird.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Standart action: launch 4 Shurikens at the raven.
All attacks vs. touch AC:
Shuriken 1: (1d20+8)[16], damage (1d8)[8] electricity.
Shuriken 2: (1d20+8)[27], damage (1d8)[1] electricity.
Shuriken 3: (1d20+8)[23], damage (1d8)[5] electricity.
Shuriken 4: (1d20+8)[11], damage (1d8)[2] electricity.

[Bhaakon]

Brin
35/35 HP
19 AC

Groping through the tall, uneven rows of the half-ogre's crops, Brin follows the sting of spilt blood and Rico's corridor of broken stalks to the scene of the violence. She hopes, at least. There's a moment of panicked flailing, battering at the corn with her bow to get a better idea where the other are before she finally comes close enough to spot a body. No, wait, not a body. Rico was still breathing, as was the tiefling. Though somehow they'd been bested. Brin's blood suddenly runs cold at the thought, a stab of regret at running in here heedlessly.

"The one that did THIS to THEM would have an easy time of ME." She mumbles aloud, suddenly wishing she's fortified herself some more on the march.

"No,no! Up! Up, you two! Lady Pharasma, I beseech! Bring them back from the cusp before I join 'em there!" Brin holds up her tattooed palm, letting the healing power wash out over the pair and beyond, leaking indiscriminately among the shielding foliage to heal whom- or what-ever else lurked nearby.

Spoiler

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5 ft step NE to K16, standard to channel positive energy: (4d6)[16] healing

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Naya

Guided by the full force of the sylph's anxiety, the raven doesn't stand a chance. Naya's shurikens strike it in quick succession and send its rigid body plummeting towards the ground in a faint haze of smoke and loosened feathers. It bounces as it hits the ground - once, twice - before shuddering to a halt with its neck cricked at an impossible angle from the impact.

*****

Brin uses CPE, Rico and Setsuna are no longer dying or unconscious. They remain prone.

*****

Shalelu and Vale

"What's happening? Are they hurt? Did the short one get 'em?"

"Don't let up! Get behind her, keep an eye out." barks Shalelu at Vale, who stands just behind Brin with his borrowed axe held out awkwardly before him, his brow creased in alarm with how the situation seems to be going deteriorating.

Shalelu and Vale are readying attacks vs Crowfood if he comes within range.

*****

Red

Spoiler

Show

5 foot step to enter cell
Red's Disable Device vs Manacles DC 25: (1d20+19)[24] - passed
Full round action to open manacles, will be complete next round.

The padlock pops open in Red's palm to the rusty groan of weathered brass under stress. Carefully placing it on the ground - she didn't want to alarm the giant spider, after all - Red swiftly enters the first cell and crouches by the unconscious man within - a grizzled veteran with one eye and a tangled scrub of beard. Perhaps this was the captain. Unless the Black Arrows didn't let old people do the leading.

"S-sir? Bapuji- Hello?" Her attempts at salutation going unheard, Red gazes at the old man's scarred chest (some of those scars looked awfully fresh) long enough to make sure that he was still breathing before turning her attention to the rusty manacle on his scabby ankle. Damn it, she knew those keys with the pale bigfolk would have been important for something. No way back now; at least she was still holding her best pick in her hand.

Prisoner J acquired. He is unconscious but stable.

*****

Initiative Order:
25 - Jeppo Graul
25 - Naya
(25) - Shalelu and Vale
22 - Brin
19 - Red
> 3 - Rico
17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Rico's turn.

*****

Maps

Red's Adventure

Spoiler

Show

Combat Outside

[Miraqariftsky]

Rico,
Mage Armour'd*,
Rage I/III
4/10

AC 26/22 (-4 AC to melee, +4 AC to ranged)
HP 10/56

"GHUUWAAKKK-akh-akhaaa-UHK-UHK! Uhhhh-HAAAAH... ghaaaaa... GHHAAAA..." Blood and bile erupt from Rico's mouth anew as the burst of positive energy sews shut the ragged wound in her neck. She sits bolt upright, then doubles over, gasping, coughing, wheezing...
...breathing once again.

Her vision swims in and out of focus. She glares at the dragon head pommel of her sword, gently waving in the breezeas the weapon stands quivering where it had fallen--- and stuck. Already the scabbard's extra ensorcelment had apparently faded from the Minatan wave-sword.

She looks at her hand and sees Setsuna's sword. "H-HEY. H-HELLGIRL. C-CATCH." she rasps as she tosses Maethilur back...
...and as she does so, the cord upon her hilt passes by Rico's hand.

Her eyes widen with the flaring of a sudden idea. She grits her teeth against the agony in her neck and still keeps low, crablike, getting ready to defend once again.

Scrambling through her pack with one hand, she snatches out a length of chain. Working as quickly as her gore-slick gauntlets can manage, she threads the chain through the shield's grips, then snaps knots the lot in.

Breath huffing, she chucks the Impaler butt-first at Brin's feet, sinking it partway into the soil.
"T-THANKS F-FOR T-THE-SSAVE. K-KEEP EM-M C-COMING.
T-TAKE T-THIS
F-FOR N-NOW. J-JUST I-I-INN C-CASE."

Spoiler

Show

Get chain from pack.
Secure it to the handles of the Fist of Fox. Get ready for some Captain America Cayden shenanigans!

[Desril]

Setsuna
HP 13/46
AC 28

As the force of Sugar's attack knocked the tiefling to the ground with almost certainly a couple of cracked ribs, the last thing that passed through her mind as she blacked out wasn't her life flashing before her eyes or even panic at the thought that she might die, too surprised by the threat the ogrekin presented to even recognize the danger. No, the last thought she had was that she'd learned nothing from Xanesha, she still rushed in blindly, arrogantly trusting in her own skills, and for once, they'd failed her.

And so when Brin's magic returns her to consciousness with a gasp, Setsuna bolts upright but takes up a defensive posture when she sees that no one else is currently under attack, and rather than charging toward the remaining ogrekin, Setsuna merely points in its direction in the cornfield, "There...it is lurking over there," she says, pointing to where she'd heard the creature shuffling around, still trying to catch her breath and clutching her bruised side while wincing with pain, she nearly misses Maethilur as Rico returns the blade to its wielder, leaving the tiefling grimacing at the pain of the sudden motion and wondering why the half-orcess had the blade to begin with.

Spoiler

Show

Standing up, delaying action/taking a potion from Rico if she offers one.

[Miraqariftsky]

The chain goes through one shield handle, knotting loosely, then clinking out and knotting around the other. Rico grits her teeth and almost bites her tongue as she concentrates on the task at hand.

While she works, her throat not yet fully healed, she croaks at Setsuna. "H-HELLGIRL. HEA-LING POTIONS-S. POU-CH. LEFT-FT HIP-P. G-GET. KKHHAaaaAhhh..."

Spoiler

Show

Talking is a free action?

Ahem. And sorry, but they're juuuuust CLW potions, mind ye.

[maggie_mcknife]

GM post

Crowfood Graul

Spoiler

Show

Can't use Run as he's cutting through the cornfield terrain, so double move at top speed!
Talking, unfortunately, is also a free action.

As Setsuna stretches forward her hand to take the offered potion from Rico, a sudden commotion breaks out at the other end of the cornfield.

From where most of you are, all you hear is the rapid whirring of birds taking to the air with panicked cries and the rustle of jostled shrubbery. Naya alone, from her vantage point in the air, beholds the spectacle of two more ravens bursting out of the cornfield in agitated flight - right before the ugliest bigfolk she's ever seen lopes out of the side of the cornfield in the opposite direction, knuckling over the ground ape-like as fast as his stubby legs can take him, a bloodied hook clutched in one boulder-sized fist.

This ogrekin is long of limb, his hide shirt hanging loosely off his rangy frame. Glancing briefly in Naya's direction as he goes, the sylph glimpses a misshapen face boiled over with warts and scars, hate gleaming in the tiny piggy eyes under a sloping brow. Upon catching sight of her graceful form bobbing in the air, the ogrekin bares a snarl with his sharpened teeth before turning back towards the farmhouse and howling aloud.

"MAW-MAW! RAISE DE FAMBLY! BADDLE HOOMANS- DEY GOT SUGAR N' N'- KILL 'EM, KILL 'EM ALL NAW-"

*****

What is Jeppo Graul doing? Nobody can see him right now, so nobody knows.

*****

Initiative Order:
25 - Jeppo Graul
> 25 - Naya
(25) - Shalelu and Vale
22 - Brin
19 - Red
3 - Rico
17 - Setsuna
12 - Crowfood Graul

It is now Naya's turn.

*****

Map

[jamieth]

Naya
HP 13/24
AC 17, FF 12, Touch 15

Naya breaths out a sigh of relief seeing the Graul fleeing; at least her companions are safe now... But still, that monster shouldn't be allowed to live. not for what he did to Miss Rico and Miss Setsuna... no, of course, for that too, but in general, for all the crimes he and his family committed. He deserved death, that was no doubt. No, the reason Naya hesitated as she flew towards the ogrekin was because she knew she'll likely have one good shot - that creature was fast! - and had to pick a spell that would do the deal... Quick, yes, but he's quite a large target; trying to cover more ground would, of course, be more reliable, but it would also inevitably lead to some of the energy being wasted. But spells that directly strike the target, they can miss altogether... but, well, quite a large target

Reaching a conclusion, Naya raises both hands and shouts the words of the spell, launcing two blue-and-white rays of electric energy at the fleeing Graul.

Spoiler

Show

Move to F12
Cast Lightning Ray
Ray 1: (1d20+8)[13] vs. touch, damage (4d8)[29]
Ray 2: (1d20+8)[23] vs. touch, damage (4d8)[22]

[Bhaakon]

Brin
35/35 HP
19 AC


Brin winces as the half-dead duo leap back into action. "Gah, you're going to tear open the wounds!" She barks, smacking the back of her left hand against her forehead. "Fine! Lady of Graves, please finish the job before they do something stupid and rip open the half-healed flesh, spilling blood and organs anew. Probably splitting a colon or something, and no one wants to deal with that mess. I mean, we saw how Setsuna griped when someone else's bowel was turned to a fine mist and sprayed upon her, so I doubt she'd be amenable to seeing her own slipping and bursting like an overcooked sausage of awful offal."

Spoiler

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Channel again: (4d6)[16]