Strange Aeons: The Thrushmoor Terror, Part 2 [IC]

[lostsole31]

St. Dorn and Winter both have a mind to cast spells, but then think the better of it on the very (small) chance they might surprise whatever is chittering in the next room.

Brother Jaume opens the door, and he sees some type of large room, but only a portion of it, when he does so ... and he doesn't see anything dangerous, only hears it.

[Blackhawk101]

BJ moves toward the sound being quiet as he can but knowing clanking is sure to follow from the stairs.

[lostsole31]

Meanwhile, the rest of the buffet follows him. Brother Jaume steps a few feet into the room, and is uncomfortably close (he thinks) to the noise, and is about to move a little bit more....

Surprise Round ...

S17: Something bites Brother Jaume in the left knee for 13, but Brother Jaume manages to just wriggle away from getting grabbed.

Begin Round One ...

R1T17: Before Brother Jaume can cry out, he hears a snap of something about him, and then another. With the second snap he is struck in the head for 10 (+1d4 bleed). Brother Jaume's sixth sense is operating well, though, and at the sound of the third snap he puts out his quarterstaff, feels resistance, and hefts it towards the northern wall and there is the sound of impact and pain.

R1T15: Brother Jaume, you take 1 bleed. What do you do? There is something big, invisible, with a mouth or beak and sharp-ended tentacles. Your monastic senses actually helped you unwittingly counterattack. What do you do?

[Blackhawk101]

“*Grunt!* I need some healing! It’s invisible and right here!”
The portly friar steps to the South and unleashes a flurry of rapid strikes at the invisible beastie.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

Five foot step to the South. FAA, flurry of blows, Channel Smite first attack, spend 1 ki for extra attack. All attacks with attuned fist.
Ki strike: All unarmed strikes are considered magic for the purposes of damage reduction.
to hit1 - (1d20+9)[22]
to dam1 - (1d8+5)[11]
to hit2 - (1d20+9)[13]
to dam2 - (1d8+5)[9]
to hit3 - (1d20+9)[26]
to dam3 - (1d8+5)[8]
channel - (2d6)[9] DC Will sv 15 for half

[lostsole31]

R1T15: “*Grunt!* I need some healing! It’s invisible and right here!” Brother Jaume calls out. The portly friar steps to the South and unleashes a flurry of rapid strikes at the invisible beastie. His first fist, glowing with positive energy, hits nothing. The glow diffuses. The second hit likewise hits nothing, but the third, ki-infused hits something muscular and wet. It is a solid blow, and yet something about the landing tells Brother Jaume that it might not have hurt the creature as much as he hopes.

R1T14: Vilma, there is light on your morningstar, and your shield is readied. You saw Brother Jaume step south, and from the rapid succession of attempted attacks, he only moved 5' total. Vilma doesn't see anything, but guesses where the creature probably is. What do you do?

[silphael]

Casting a spell, Vilma calls on her goddess' help before stepping in.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Standard action : Divine Favor.
Swift action, judgement (Justice so +1 sacred bonus to attack)
Move action, 2E to get into melee.

[lostsole31]

R1T14: Casting a spell, Vilma calls on her goddess' help before stepping in.

R1T12: St. Dorn casts a quick spell on Flair, "For when you need a little extra focus," before he sets off into the room beyond, heedless of any danger from a large invisible opponent.

R1T11: Flair, St. Dorn cast guidance upon you. The creature is not yet visible, but based upon the movements of others, you can get a sense of its "boundaries." What do you do?

[digiman619]

Flair quickly went over his options. An invisible enemy was going to tricky to fight, as his radiant missiles required line of sight to fire. Indirectly hitting it via area effects might be a good idea, but not one we can capitalize on if it's not undead. And while a lot of invisible things are undead, not all are. He needed more data to determine specifics on this thing.

And a surefire way to tell if something was undead? See how it reacted to positive energy. Add that to Jaume's cry of pain, Flair stepped forward and sent out a healing wave of energy, both to aid his friend and to test if it also healed their enemy.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

5 foot step forward, channel positive energy to heal Jame and stop his bleeding/see how that effects the baddie. (2d6)[6]

[lostsole31]

R1T11: Flair quickly went over his options. An invisible enemy was going to tricky to fight, as his radiant missiles required line of sight to fire. Indirectly hitting it via area effects might be a good idea, but not one they could capitalize on if it's not undead. And while a lot of invisible things are undead, not all are. He needed more data to determine specifics on this thing.

And a surefire way to tell if something was undead? See how it reacted to positive energy. Add that to Jaume's cry of pain, Flair stepped forward and sent out a healing wave of energy, both to aid his friend and to test if it also healed their enemy. An average burst of energy blew forth, and Brother Jaume was just visible enough to get 6 healing. Unfortunately, since the enemy is invisible, Flair has no idea if his burst affected the whatsit or not.

R1T7: Winter casts sanctuary on herself, asking the Lady of Graves for her protection. This means that whatever Winter does, it is likely to be passive aid for the party and not offense, which tracks with what she said of herself.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T17: When Brother Jaume countered and the big thing apparently bonked against the wall, the teetering-laughing noise had stopped. In fact, there wasn't much sense of movement. Now, however, it begins again. In the middle of battle, there is that awful, vaguely mocking laughter-like sound. There is a snapping sound and a slash appears on St. Dorn's right lower leg for 4 mod (+1d4 bleed). Another snapping-slashing across Dorn's chest for 4 mod. A third snapping sound, but Brother Jaume has been listening for it and senses he ducks just in time. Vilma, however, senses a large beak-mouth try to bite her, and she pushes back; she even thinks she almost had a chance to push the thing back a few feet but its mass resisted her.

R2T15: Brother Jaume, you are no longer bleeding. As before, the creature is still invisible, but you are pretty sure of where it is. What do you do?

Vilma on deck, St. Dorn on deck ...

[Blackhawk101]

Brother Jaume moves to the South ten feet hoping to avoid any attacks of opportunity. He draws his silver MW dagger on the way. Once in position, his form ripples and twists as he enlarges to strike at the invisible foe.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

MA: 10 ft move South
SwA: Enlarge
slash with dagger (slashing damage)
to hit - (1d20+9)[14]
to dam - (1d6+6)[8] enlarged

[lostsole31]

R2T15: Brother Jaume moves to the South ten feet hoping to avoid any attacks of opportunity. Unfortunately, hope is Vilma's gig as there is a horrific snapping sound.

Brother Jaume, roll a Ref save (you are not yet enlarged, so no DEX penalty)!

[Blackhawk101]

Obligatory text to appease the GITP gods.

Spoiler: REFLEX Save

Show

(1d20+7)[26]

[lostsole31]

R2T15: Instead of losing fingers, Brother Jaume "only" has his left arm holding his staff mauled by a horrific toothed beak for 29 + grabbed, causing the friar to call out in extraordinary pain as he is held in the clutches of the monster. Unable to freely expand he slashes at whatever is holding him, his dagger bouncing off of a slick, rubbery hide.

R2T14: Vilma, you are filled with Milani's demand for justice. What do you do?

St. Dorn on deck, Flair in the hole ...

[silphael]

Seeing her ally grabbed, Vilma sweeps around with her morningstar, attempting to bash the creature.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Well, standard action, attack with Risky Strike.

Attack - (1d20+9)[27] (with +2 from Divine Favor + judgement not counted)

Damage - (1d8+10)[16] (+1 from Divine Favor not counted)

[lostsole31]

R2T14: Seeing her ally grabbed, Vilma sweeps around with her morningstar, attempting to bash the creature, but doesn't hit anything.

R2T12: Dorn suffers 4 bleed. He steps back and away a little bit, and puts his faith in the likelihood that if Brother Jaume is being held, he is taking all of the monster's focus. He performs first aid on himself to stop the bleeding.

R2T11: Flair, you still have guidance. What do you do?

Winter on deck, Critter in the hole ...

[digiman619]

Flair makes an educated guess and rushes into the room. Once he gets past the invisible thing, he gets some distance between him and it and touches Jaume on the back. For an instant, Flair seems to shrink and Jaume disappears, but in the blink of an eye, Flair returns to his normal size and Jaume reappears behind the beast, teleported out of its grasp.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

MA: Move past my allies into the room. 1 square east, 1 square southeast, and one square southwest. On the move to southwest, I will Acrobatics to try and avoid the AoO. I can take 10 on this check, so the result is 17.
If I get attacked and grabbed, I will spend my standard action to attempt to break the grapple.
Otherwise, I will activate the Ethereal Jaunt major granted ability of Humble Obhai to teleport Jaume out of the grapple.

[lostsole31]

R2T11: Flair makes an educated guess and rushes into the room, realizing that he can't fully clear the invisible monster because of his desire to jump defensively in the places he thinks it might be. Once he safely gets past the invisible thing, he touches Jaume on the back. For an instant, Flair seems to shrink and Jaume disappears, but in the blink of an eye, Flair returns to his normal size and Jaume reappears 10' away from where he was, teleported out of its grasp, but at a new attack vector.

R2T7: Winter comes strolling right through. When she sees that she isn't attacked, she brazenly casts a spell and touches Brother Jaume for 14 healing. "Either my sanctuary spell protected me, or when it attacked Brother Jaume when he tried to move it was too focused to attack others that open themselves up."

Spoiler: OOC

Show

In other words, no Combat Reflexes from big ugly.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T17: The ti-ttering sounds seem to go right over Vilma's head and behind her into the narrow passageway behind her! If this thing is a normal large creature, that is hard to conceptualize since the ceiling is only 10' high, and Vilma never felt it brush by her. Vilma gets attacked, by something big trying to bite her, and it just barely is unable to get through her armor!

R3T15: Brother Jaume, quarterstaff in one hand ... dagger in another. Still seriously wounded even after Winter's healing. Unable to get to the monster that is now in the hallway with Vilma blocking the door. What do you do?

Vilma on deck, St. Dorn in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

Brother Jaume, who is feeling a bit like an over-used dire wolf chew toy, sighs with relief. “Whuff! Thanks Flair and Winter. That beastie packs a punch!”
Blood drips from several deep puncture wounds in his robe, pattering to the wooden floor. He drops his dagger and grasps his holy symbol and prays to Erastil for aid.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

swap a second level spell (bulls strength) for CMW.
(2d8+4)[17]

[lostsole31]

R3T15: Brother Jaume, who is feeling a bit like an over-used dire wolf chew toy, sighs with relief. “Whuff! Thanks Flair and Winter. That beastie packs a punch!”
Blood drips from several deep puncture wounds in his robe, pattering to the wooden floor. He grasps his holy symbol and prays to Erastil for aid, giving himself 17 healing.

R3T14: Vilma, this thing chose to go into the passageway and surely must be squashed into it uncomfortably. Usually, squeezing means diminished defenses and attacks. Do you hold the breech and just do what you can yourself, taking all of the hate unto you? or, do you start to try to lead it back into the larger room? What do you do?

St. Dorn on deck, Flair in the hole ...

[silphael]

Raising her shield, Vilma holds the breech, hitting from behind it.

"Come closer, I can hold it !"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I'll use Defensive Stance during my attack, at -2 attack, +2 dodge bonus to AC (total 26. I'll get +1 sacred bonus to AC per adjacent ally if people get closer as per Phalanx Fighter (with Solo Tactics) as long as the creature is Evil).

Attack - (1d20+9)[25] +2 from spell and judgement.

Damage - (1d8+8)[9] +1 from spell.

[lostsole31]

R3T14: Raising her shield, Vilma holds the breech, striking at where she thinks it is, but not hitting anything. "Come closer, I can hold it !"

R3T12: While he has a spare moment, St. Dorn casts a spell on himself and then moves up behind Vilma. "I'll give you some more protection here in a second," he says to her.

R3T11: Flair, you have guidance ready to go. What do you do?

Winter on deck, Critter in the hole ...

[digiman619]

Flair moved to Vilma's side and touched her on the shoulder, concern in his currently opaque eyes. "This should help!" he says as a symbol seems to spread cross his hands and forehead, though it vanished soon thereafter.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Obhai cooldown:4
5 foot step to just 'below' Maeni. If I have to MA to get there instead, so be it.
SA: Activate Urbo's major granted ability, giving Vilma 4 temp HP (lasts 1 minute or until used).

[lostsole31]

R3T11: Flair moved to Vilma's side and touched her on the shoulder, concern in his currently opaque eyes. "This should help!" he says as a symbol seems to spread cross his hands and forehead, though it vanished soon thereafter, and Vilma feels an infusion of fortification (4 THP).

R3T7: Winter moves in to the last adjacent spot behind Vilma. "Here, to give you a little insight to conquer this fiend," she says, and casts a spell, touching Vilma's shoulder and filling Vilma with some fleeting sense of the future.

Spoiler: Vilma

Show

You have guidance cast on you.

End Round 3, Begin Round 4 ...

R4T17: There is a snapping sound, and Vilma feels impact at her leg. But it isn't a normal direct impact so much as something attempting to pull her down. It happens again, and this time she has something briefly hook around her shin and pull towards "it" until Vilma falls. Something slashes her chest for 7 (+1d4 bleed), blasting right through the protection Flair had provided, but at least it was there for this strike. And there on the ground, something bites Vilma in her left shoulder for 7, but her prone position means she actually has better leverage than expected to use her full body weight to pull down and not be grabbed.

R4T15: Brother Jaume, what do you do?

Vilma on deck, St. Dorn in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

“Flair, can you do your teleport trick to get me behind this thing on the stairs?”
BJ asks before moving to the corner of the room and channeling healing power.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

MA: move South 15 and East 5
SA: channel energy (you can roll)

[lostsole31]

R4T15: “Flair, can you do your teleport trick to get me behind this thing on the stairs?” BJ asks before moving to the corner of the room and channeling healing power (9 healing to self, St. Dorn fully healed, 6 healing to Vilma).

R4T14: Vilma, you are currently prone, and with the friar's help you are no longer bleeding and your wound is very light. You have guidance at your disposal. What do you do?

St. Dorn on deck, Flair in the hole ...

[silphael]

Vilma stands up, and strike at the creature, her shield still up.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move action to stand up, standard action to attack on the defensive.

Attack - (1d20+9)[28] +1 from judgement
Damage - (1d8+8)[13]

Current bonus to AC/CMD, +5

[lostsole31]

R4T14: Vilma goes to stand up, but is bit in the right shoulder in the attempt, taking 12, but she is so defense-focused with friends around her that she rolls up out of a potential grasp like a resolute and angry pillbug. This time, when she attacks, her blow finally lands solidly against something rubbery-hard, yet giving. When she looks at her morningstar after the strike, there is some type of transparent fluid on her weapon's spikes.

R4T12: St. Dorn calls on Torag to protect his servant's ally, and he touches Vilma's back. There is a faint glow of a downward hammer that surrounds Vilma.

R4T11: Flair, what do you do? You have a guidance still extant on you.

Winter on deck, Invisi-critter in the hole ...

[digiman619]

Flair shouts back to Dorn. "It takes a bit to recharge, sorry!" He then charges forward to the beast, slamming his fist into the side of it. Intellectually, he knew this was a bad idea; he wasn't exactly amazing in melee, but he'd had lost enough allies to just stand around and wait for them to drop it.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Obhai Cooldown: 3
Urbo Cooldown: 4
MA: Move to the invisi-baddie. I don't think I have a line to charge at the thing, but I'll charge instead if I can.
SA: Attack. I've got Blind Fight, so it's effectively only got a 25% miss chance vs me. I've instead got my crappy attack bonus to worry about.
(1d20+3)[22]. If the number on the die is at least 12 and no more than 17, I will spend two points of Inspiration on the attack. (1d6)[3]
damage (1d6)[6] I don't remember what the [1d6+2] notation is for, but if it's applicable, use that instead. Regardless, I trust you to roll the miss chance.

[lostsole31]

R4T11: Flair shouts back to Brother Jaume, "It takes a bit to recharge, sorry!" He swings his fist around the corner, but missing. Intellectually, he knew this was a bad idea; he wasn't exactly amazing in melee, but he'd had lost enough allies to just stand around and wait for them to drop it.

R4T7: Winter looks back to Brother Jaume, knowing he'll do more in close quarters than she will. She nods from his direction to the floor at her spot, and then she steps back. She starts speaking, but instead of telling a story, she starts to act out a monlogue of a famous Ustalavan high drama. She speaks with such intensity and verve, it has a surprising, buoying effect on the members of the party.

End Round 4, Begin Round 5 ...

R5T17: Once again, the tittering sounds shift .... from the west of Vilma, echoing in the corridor .... to overhead of Vilma and Flair and St. Dorn, and into the room. The table in the middle of the room, shudders, indicating that it brushed against or is next to it, and the sounds of the tittering continue south until the creepy, quasi-laughing sounds aren't adjacent to the party anymore, but definitely sounds like it is coming slightly above Brother Jaume. That is when he gets bitten in the head for 11, but doesn't grab him. Again, because of the weird, noisy nature of whatever you are fighting, you all have a good sense of where it is, despite its invisibility.

R5T15: Brother Jaume, quarterstaff in off-hand and silver dagger in right. You know where this thing is (and you know it is 5' off the ground, with a height advantage against you, but as before ... it is invisible. What do you do?

Vilma on deck, St. Dorn in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

BJ fights back against the invisible assault.
“Get to the stairs and close the door. I will try to follow!”
He moves along the wall.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

FRA:flurry of blows, risky strike, drop dagger, spend ki point for additional attack; stunning fist all three attacks Fort save DC 16
Hit1 - (1d20+7)[21]
[roll=dam1]1d8+9[/roll]
Hit2 - (1d20+7)[8]
[roll=dam2]1d8+9[/roll]
Hit3 - (1d20+7)[16]
dam3 - (1d8+9)[14]
five foot step West

”Get to the Choppa!”