Serpent's Skull [Racing to Ruin] (IC)

[GM_Dave]

Pim grins as he notices the bumble go bouncing down out of the corner of his peripheral vision, as if his face gleefully says “I told you so, bumble.”

“Now for my dramatic exit,” Pim orates, as he casts spider climb on himself and moves hastily 40 feet straight up the structure away from the bumble.

Spoiler: Actions

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Standard: cast spider climb
Move: hasted 40’ total directly away from bumble aligning to the center of the top of the ziggurat (unless a straight line would take him through areas 10’ around the bumble, in which case he will keep a 10’ wide berth of the creature on his way up, and will preferably try to end near an ally)

[lostsole31]

R5T29: Fronaldo shakes his head in wonder at Tor-ber’s feat of skill and strength.

Spoiler: LOL

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OMG! LOL! I was TOTALLY going to punk you by adjusting to "Fronaldo shakes his head three times" and then in spoilers mention that each head shake was a "word" and you are limited to 3 out-of-turn (or in prep for delay). Well done in beating me to it. LOL!

R5T22: Pim grins as he notices the bumble go bouncing down out of the corner of his peripheral vision, as if his face gleefully says “I told you so, bumble.”

“Now for my dramatic exit,” Pim orates, as he casts spider climb on himself and moves hastily 35 feet straight up the structure away from the bumble. It would have been 40', but it seems that Pim stops mid-climb at the end of it all as he is looking up at two charau-ka in their midst of their shrieking fury looking right down at him. Gelik is 5' vertically above, but 10' laterally from Pim, and he is standing on the air.

R5T19: The bumble takes 3 bleed and stands on its feet woozily.

R5T18: Gelik, you now have a friend up here, as Pim obviously has his spider climb running. He is at the lip of the top of the ziggurat, with two shrieking charau-ka looking down at him (and at you). Pim is 10' from you laterally, with the charau-ka another 5' past that. What do you do?

Aron on deck, Xhanfaerd in the hole, Fronaldo delaying ...

[BuckGodot]

Gelik will move another 5' away from the rock chucking simians because obviously, he hadn't moved far enough the first time before speaking...

"Ha! Now you are in for it, my furry little beasties! My comrade here brings the strength and brutality needed to deal with you and your ilk! Prepare to end in a most horrific and gruesome manner..." and he continues.

Spoiler: The elephant sneezed...

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Inspire Courage for Pim: +2 morale bonus saves vs charm and fear effects, and +2 competence on attack and weapon damage rolls.

[Blackhawk101]

Snapping out of his amazement, Fronaldo quickly mixed alchemical components and adds a dash of his own magic to apply a sticky purple goo to his dagger.

Spoiler: crunch

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SA create archanotoxin Int
Ma Apply to dagger.

[lostsole31]

R5T18: Gelik will move another 5' away from the rock chucking simians because obviously, he hadn't moved far enough the first time before speaking. "Ha! Now you are in for it, my furry little beasties! My comrade here brings the strength and brutality needed to deal with you and your ilk! Prepare to end in a most horrific and gruesome manner..." and he continues his glorious oration.

R5T17: Snapping out of his amazement, Fronaldo quickly mixed alchemical components and adds a dash of his own magic to apply a sticky purple goo to his dagger.

R5T16: Aron casts a spell. Just below the first tier, a monstrous green dragon is created, far larger than the Bumble happens to be. It gives a terrifying roar and seems to threaten, even dare, the Bumble.

R5T15: Xhanfaerd, you are mid-climb at 30'. What do you do?

Red on deck, Tor-ber in the hole ...

[silphael]

Xhanfaerd keeps climbing, trying to find a place where he won't risk getting clawed, and once on stable footing, he finally takes out his earthbreaker.

[lostsole31]

R5T15: Xhanfaerd keeps climbing, trying to find a place where he won't risk getting clawed, and once on stable footing at Tier #2 (40' altitude), he finally takes out his earthbreaker.

R5T12: Red is in a shrieking frenzy, and throws rocks down at Pim. His first rock hits Pim in his lower arm with a light crit for 7, and then another at his back for 6.

R5T10: Tor-ber concentrates while he has a breath, and a shimmering appears briefly around him to say that he has just strengthened his armor. He then does an accelerated climb, moving well to the side and finishing his movement at the top of the ziggurat next to red, who tried to bite at him as he came over the top but overthought it and failed badly.

R5T3: Blue (looming directly over Pim) tries to throw rocks at the gnome, but one misses and the other is deflected by the defending deck.

End Round 5, Begin Round 6 ...

R6T22: Pim, you are climbing and touching the top edge of the ziggurat. What do you do?

Bumble on deck, Gelik in the hole ...

[GM_Dave]

”Oooh,” Pim emotes, ”Gelik, I’m feeling like a double curse card celebration!” He jokes, as he pulls a card from his deck, and holds it up to his face. He then uses his fingers to separate two cards apart which were stacked up to look like one. With a panache, he flings both cards at the closest Charu-ka, which spark with arcane energy before they lacerate the beast, and then finally return themselves to the deck; but not before the card’s suites are revealed, which determines how lucky Pim really is.

Spoiler: Actions

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Sw: Arcane Strike to +1 dmg on cards
Full: Full attack 2 cards at closer enemy
Free: each card suit needs to be compared to pims alignment to determine crit range
Attack 1: (1d20+9)[17]
Dmg 1: (1d4+1)[2]
Attack 2: (1d20+9)[22]
Dmg 2: (1d4+1)[2]

[lostsole31]

R6T22: ”Oooh,” Pim emotes, ”Gelik, I’m feeling like a double curse card celebration!” He jokes, as he pulls a card from his deck, and holds it up to his face. He then uses his fingers to separate two cards apart which were stacked up to look like one. With a panache, he flings only one of cards at the closest Charu-ka (blue, who snaps at Pim with his jaws), which spark with arcane energy before it lacerates the beast for 4 while Pim realizes it is not as easy to do a double attack while still climbing, even with spider climb active.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spider climb still requires hands used to climb just like any normal climb, and if you were reading previous notes, you are still "climbing" even if you Climb 0' of distance to go one-handed to do one-handed activities. So you spent a MA to climb, and then a SA to attack with a single card.

R619: Well below that battle, the Bumble bleeds 3, and then staggers off from the ziggurat (40') and into the cover of jungle growth ... likely to die of its bleeding wounds.

R6T18: Gelik, you inspiration doubled Pim's damage on his single card toss, though you aren't sure what he meant by a "double curse card celebration." What do you do?

Fronaldo on deck, Aron in the hole...

[BuckGodot]

Gelik will continue his inspirational speechifying, holding any movement until absolutely necessary.

[Blackhawk101]

Fronaldo’s will dismiss the Bumble and turn his attention to attackers above. He climbs quickly to the top of the Ziggurat and attacks a foe if able.

Spoiler: crunch

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Ma:accelerated climb to top of Ziggurat. Climbing into position to attack an enemy. Use acrobatics to try to avoid AOO.
Sa: attack Charu-ka, flank if possible
Risky Strike
to hit - (1d20+11)[16]
to damage - (1d3+12)[14]
if flanking
Sneak - (3d8)[16]
plus arcanotoxin DC 18 Fort, INT based, frequency= 4 rounds, 1 sv cures.

[lostsole31]

R6T18: Gelik continues his inspirational speechifying, holding his position in the air.

R6T17: Fronaldo dismisses the Bumble and turns his attention to attackers above. He climbs quickly to the top of the Ziggurat, but in getting there he realizes he has to drop down to some stairs leading up to the ziggurat and his entire time is spent getting into position.

R6T16: Aron ceases concentrating on the illusion of the green dragon (it is still there). Aron levitates up 20' to be on the level of the ziggurat (but 15' away) and right next to Gelik. She uses her whip and trips red!

R6T15: Xhanfaerd, you are at 40' altitude, 10' offset from what was the original "vertical line" with earthbreaker in hand. What do you do?

Red on deck, Tor-ber in the hole ...

[silphael]

Xhanfaerd grumbles as he "sheathe" his earthbreaker to climb the remaining part of the ziggurat.

Spoiler: OOC

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Well, let's get closer to the charau-ka then. Let's keep climbing ><

[lostsole31]

R6T15: Xhanfaerd grumbles as he "sheathes" his earthbreaker to climb the remaining part of the ziggurat. He climbs up 15' so that he is now right near the top of the ziggurat, and Tor-ber is directly above him, and a prone charau-ka (red) is cattie-corner to him.

R6T12: Red gets up, but not before Tor-ber kicks him for 10. It then gnaws ferociously at Tor-ber, nearly getting past his armor.

R6T10: Tor-ber is just fine working with his current insight and then grapples the charau-ka.

R6T3: In its shrieking frenzy, Blue takes out its club and tries to hit Fronaldo, who in turn artfully dodges.

End Round 6, Begin Round 7 ...

R7T22: Pim, the area directly above you has all sorts of bodies, and not an easy place to go. You did see that where Fronaldo went, he seemed to climb "down" and you no longer see him, telling you that if you tried to go that way, you would be heading down as well (and don't know where you can go). So, if you are going to move, your best bet is to move (relative) west to get past Tor-ber to be able to get a safe spot to stand. Meanwhile, as you were last one-handing it, your tossed card returns to your hand, but you (needing a hand free to catch a card), end up dropping the extra card that was in your hand .... which flutters down to the 2nd tier below you. What do you do?

Gelik on deck, Fronaldo in the hole ...

[GM_Dave]

Pim will spend his turn gathering his card even though if he just threw it, his hand would have been empty to catch it. Pim will look at his hand as if it is mechanically broken, or something.

[lostsole31]

R7T22: Pim begins to climb down to retrieve his card, but not before nips his hand for 4. He clambers down to Tier #2 and picks up his card.

R7T18: Gelik, what do you do?

Fronaldo on deck, Aron in the hole ...

[BuckGodot]

Gelik lets loose with a tongue lashing so severe, his ally's ears burn... But the effect is far worse on the monkeykees...

Spoiler: ...and fell on his knees...

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Gelik casts Blistering Invective: You unleash an insulting tirade so vicious and spiteful that enemies who hear it are physically scorched by your fury. When you cast this spell, make an Intimidate check to demoralize each enemy within 30 feet of you. Enemies that are demoralized this way take 1d10 points of fire damage and must succeed at a Reflex save or catch fire. Spell Resistance can negate the fire damage caused by this spell, but does not protect the creature from the demoralizing effect.

Intimidate check: (1d20+13)[14]

Fire Damage: (1d10)[7]

[lostsole31]

R7T18: Gelik lets loose with a tongue lashing so severe, his ally's ears burn... but the monkeys do not understand Gelik's Taldane (his default, since language wasn't identified), and what could have been sick burns (literally) mean nothing to the shrieking charau-ka. Gelik also stopped his inspirational oration.

R7T17: Fronaldo, what do you do? You are right next to blue charau-ka, and you have your INT poison on your dagger.

Aron on deck, Xhanfaerd in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

With a flourish, Fronaldo fakes a slash at the creature’s face but instead drops low for a strike at its vitals.

Spoiler: crunch

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Ma to Feint (bluff) to deprive Charu-ka of its Dex bonus, spend a Guile pool for +2 bonus to the skill check.
feint - (1d20+11)[26]
Sa: Risky Strike
To hit - (1d20+11)[27]
to dam - (1d3+12)[15]
if sneak damage is applied
sneak - (3d8)[17]

[lostsole31]

R7T17: With a flourish, Fronaldo fakes a slash at the creature’s face but instead drops low for a strike at its vitals. Its arm instinctively tries to block, but that just has Fronaldo's dagger sticking right through its lower brachial artery and then pinned into its intercostal muscles and lungs for 32 (+ poison), and the charau-ka instantly drops.

R7T16: Aron casts CLW and touches Gelik for 9 healing. (The green dragon is still down there.)

R7T15: Xhanfaerd, what do you do? You are right near the top of the ziggurat, and Tor-ber is directly above you, and a prone charau-ka (red) is cattie-corner to you.

Red charau-ka on deck, Tor-ber in the hole ...

[silphael]

Xhanfaerd goes to the closest place of stable footing in melee range of the charau-ka.

[lostsole31]

R7T15: Everyone feels the power of the haste dissipate as its duration lapses. Xhanfaerd goes to the closest place of stable footing in melee range of the charau-ka, taking out his earth-breaker as he goes. He gets around to the side and brings the earth-breaker down on the charau-ka's foot for 18.

R7T12: Red ceases it's shrieking frenzy, and seems a little tuckered by all of his frenetic activity. It fails to escape the grapple.

R7T10: Tor-ber does a super-shake of red, killing it, and then tossing it off the ziggurat.

The same treatment is done for the other dying one.

Combat Ends ...

The party waits for Pim to make it to the top, and Aron gets Gelik's help to "push" her towards the ziggurat while she is also being pulled in by Tor-ber when she sends his whip to him.

The roof of the topmost tier has collapsed inward, leaving the top floor of the ziggurat open and exposed to the elements. Rainwater has collected in small pools throughout, feeding wild, dense tangles of overgrown jungle plants. There is a stairway to the north.

How does the party want to proceed, assuming you go down the 5-foot-wide (therefore single-file) stairs?

[Blackhawk101]

Fronaldo shakes his head sadly at the demise of a prospective test subject. He will have to be more careful the next time.
“We ssshould explore a bit but tread carefully. Follow me after a 15 ft interval, moving ssslow (15 ft /rd speed).
”Sssomeone mark our path to the exit as we go.”
Fronaldo moves to the stairs down when the group is ready, checking for traps as he goes.

[BuckGodot]

Gelik thanks Aron and will do his best to keep track of their progress from the exit.

[GM_Dave]

Pim, having low light vision will volunteer to go next after fron, to watch his back. He will also take a final look around the area before they move on, just in case they missed anything valuable or interesting. As they walk, Pim will look backs and request some light healing to cover up some of the bruising.

Once things get darker, he will cast light on his orbiting ioun stone

Spoiler: Actions

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Using the owl tattoo totem power to grant +5 to perception
Perception check to search the area
(1d20+16)[17]

[lostsole31]

There is nothing up here of value, however, Pim does find another set of stairs to the south, parallel to the stairs to the north.

[GM_Dave]

Pim will relay the stairs to the collective mentally, and proceed with following behind fronoldo.

[Blackhawk101]

Fronaldo will examine both sets of stairs looking for recent activity, structural stability, or anything out of the ordinary.

Spoiler: Fronaldo>>>collective

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“Which stair should we take? ...Anyone want a sun rod?”

[lostsole31]

Aron says the command word on her wayfinder to give her the light of a torch.

Fronaldo, the southern stairs might seem a little more crumbly, and there are bits of sun as if maybe the wall on the stairs below has given way to the outside.

Which way do you take?

[silphael]

Making his earthbreaker shine, Xhanfaerd takes place in the party, 15 feet behind Fronaldo.

Spoiler: Collective

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I have light for now, but stairs wise... hard to tell. Since we have no indication toward any of those, I would suggest the sturdiest for now ?