Curse of the Crimson Thread: Escape from Old Korvosa [IC]

[lostsole31]

"We'll take turns keeping each other safe," says Amin.

[Rithryn]

"Very well, make sure you take care of yourself and we will see you soon. If things go south we can always meet up at the boats."

[lostsole31]

And with that, the party (sans Linzi) follow Jacintha, who seems to know where she is going based on Amin's directions.

The group finds themselves on a rickety pier that parallels the waterline on the so-called "Wave St." While there is a pier that cuts north to the address Jacintha believes is where she is supposed to go, next to it there is even more ruinous. What once might have been a small house has been obliterated, collapsed from within by a twenty-foot-diameter sinkhole. Water from the Narrows fills the hole, creating a muddy pit strewn with jagged bits of timber and flotsam. The edges of the hole are slick and patchy with fungus. Immediately south of the sinkhole, the boardwalk has also collapsed, creating a dangerous tangle of timber and crazily tilted pilings.

Oh, and in that big sinkhole are three big, disgusting-looking creatures just wallowing in the water that filled in the hole!

Begin Round One ...

R1T23: Runa, you are astride Diva. What do you?

[Sienna]

"...Think we ought t'do something about these things or just find a way 'round?" Runa asks, simply standing by for the time being in absence of any overt hostility from the creatures. They're just wallowing; who doesn't like a good wallow every now and then?

[lostsole31]

R1T23: "...Think we ought t'do something about these things or just find a way 'round?" Runa asks, simply standing by for the time being in absence of any overt hostility from the creatures.

R1T18: Hearing someone speaking somewhere, one of the creatures lifts a tentacle that was drooping in the water. That tentacle's bitter end looks like something an ill cross between a Venus flytrap and a flypaper with eyes stuck upon it. There is burbling at the water around it, as if a gaseous release occurred. But this fell creature doesn't otherwise stop its leisurely wallow.

R1T17: Jacintha, what do you do?

[Dusk Raven]

"I'd like to avoid fighting if possible," Jacintha says, calling her psionic kukri to one hand and drawing her physical blade with the other, "We're not at our best right now. But that might not be doable. Let's not make any sudden moves and see if they'll let us pass."

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Standard Action: Conjure psionic kukri.
Move action: Move 20 feet to the north, drawing her other kukri at the same time.

[lostsole31]

R1T17: "I'd like to avoid fighting if possible," Jacintha says, calling her psionic kukri to one hand and drawing her physical blade with the other, "We're not at our best right now. But that might not be doable. Let's not make any sudden moves and see if they'll let us pass."

R1T16-15: One of those disgusting creatures makes its way out of the sinkhole while another clambers onto the rickety edge of the pier!

R1T14: Ernak, what do you do?

[Ason]

Ernak's face contorts in disgust. "Otyugh: sewage-eaters. Best leave them be, if they're not harming anyone. Just move nice and slowly before they get any ideas."

Putting his hands out before him in a "easy there" posture, Ernak shuffles north to place himself directly to the east of Jacintha.

Spoiler: OoC

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Move Action: move 5 feet west, 15 feet north, and 5 feet east to place himself directly east of Jacintha
Standard Action: change his Tactical Presence to Indomitable Presence (allies w/in 30 feet gain Die Hard feat and +5 morale to Fort saves vs death effects, fatigue/exhaustion effects, or poison effects

[lostsole31]

R1T14: Ernak's face contorts in disgust. "Otyugh: sewage-eaters. Best leave them be, if they're not harming anyone. Just move nice and slowly before they get any ideas."

Putting his hands out before him in a "easy there" posture, Ernak shuffles north to place himself directly to the east of Jacintha.

R1T13: Vivino, what do you do?

[Moriar]

Vivino eyes Ernak warily and says, "Better start saying some of those pretty words or whatever one does to pacify those things."

He moves up a little and readies his scythe in a defensive position.

Spoiler: Not in the face

Show

Vivino moves 5' to the west and then does an action for Total defense.

[lostsole31]

R1T13: Vivino eyes Ernak warily and says, "Better start saying some of those pretty words or whatever one does to pacify those things. He moves up a little and readies his scythe in a defensive position.

R1T9: Dane, what do you do?

Green on deck, Runa/Diva in the hole ...

[Rithryn]

Hammer in hand Dane whispers to his group.
"If were going we better do it now before the beasts come at us."

Spoiler

Show

readies action to move with the party if they leave or attack

[lostsole31]

R1T9: Hammer in hand Dane whispers to his group, "If were going we better do it now before the beasts come at us."

R1T3: The last of the three otyughs lumbers out and closes on the party, and with a big, wet, clumsy command of Taldane it speaks with that big central maw. "Name Steve. You look tasty. You join our mouth?"

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T23: Runa/Diva, what do you do?

Jacintha on deck, otyughs in the hole, Dane with a readied action ...

[Sienna]

"Ah, uh... Maybe some other time, we've got a prior obligation at the moment," Runa says, a touch confused at being politely asked to get in its mouth.

[lostsole31]

R2T23: "Ah, uh... Maybe some other time, we've got a prior obligation at the moment," Runa says, a touch confused at being politely asked to get in its mouth.

R2T17: Jacintha, what do you do?

Otyughs on deck and in the hole ...

[Dusk Raven]

Jacintha, for once, hesitates - a dangerous thing to do, normally. Even so, she shuffles a little bit to the side, bringing her blades up in a defensive stance before adding to the conversation: "Yeah! We're not food!"

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Full action: Total Defense
Free action: 5-foot step to the west.

[lostsole31]

R2T17: Jacintha, for once, hesitates - a dangerous thing to do, normally. Even so, she shuffles a little bit to the side, bringing her blades up in a defensive stance before adding to the conversation: "Yeah! We're not food!"

R2T16: Red moves along the pier and then up on the mud, getting closer to Jacintha. "We taste you, 'kay? See if you taste foody," as from 10' away it undulates its disgusting body to pop out its hip to bite at Jacintha from 10' away. Jacintha easy dodges the attempt. Frustrated, it bellows, "Hey! Let us taste you!"

R2T15: Blue doesn't even move, but whips a tentacle at Jacintha from a surprising distance. Even with her parrying blades, only her acrobatic skill is enough for her to avoid that wretched limb.

R2T14: Ernak, what do you do?

Vivino on deck, Dane in the hole ....

[Ason]

"You wouldn't like us: we taste too spicy," Ernak says with a shrug to the three otyughs, "Even our smell can sting the eyes."

Ernak then begins to spin a sorrowful tale about how various monsters have tried eating the party before, only to spit them out again once their harsh peppery flavor was discovered.

Spoiler: OoC

Show

Free Action at Start of Turn: Tactical Flanker, picking the square south of Ernak
Move Action: inspire courage +2 bardic performance, as his sarcastic storytelling boosts his allies' egos
Swift Action: use the Spellsong feat to hide the spell he's about to cast with a Perform check
Standard Action: cast Glitterdust, centered on the grid intersection in the middle of Red such that it also catches Green and Blue while avoiding Jacintha

A Bluff check may also be needed, since Ernak's storytelling is probably complete nonsense, but I'll defer to the DM on that one. If this is doubling up on skill checks too cheesy or what-have-you, Ernak will still do the Glitterdust and inspire courage actions but not Spellsong.

[lostsole31]

R2T14: "You wouldn't like us: we taste too spicy," Ernak says with a shrug to the three otyughs, "Even our smell can sting the eyes."

Ernak then begins to spin a sorrowful tale about how various monsters have tried eating the party before, only to spit them out again once their harsh peppery flavor was discovered brilliantly acting out his monologue. But Ernak discovers a lesson in the matter of line of effect as he can't form a spell inside of a monster (but could have gone over it, which he didn't do). The glitterdust effect goes off as soon as the magic hits the otyugh and erupts in a poofing cloud of goldne particles that cover everything. The monster is quiet angry as it bellows from being blinded. The cloud does cover Jacintha, but at least she isn't blinded by the effect.

R2T13: Vivino, you were evoking Total Defense. What do you do?

Dane on deck, Steve (Green) in the hole ...

[Moriar]

"It doesn't seem like they are taking the hints," Vivino comments. "Might be time to discourage them directly"

Vivino tumbles up to green and strikes powerfully down with his scythe.

Spoiler: Chop Suey

Show

Acrobatics to move 10' to the west: (1d20+11)[23]

Scythe risky strike to attack

to hit (1d20+10)[20]

Damage: (2d4+12)[19]

[lostsole31]

R2T13: "It doesn't seem like they are taking the hints," Vivino comments. "Might be time to discourage them directly."

Vivino tumbles up to green and strikes powerfully down with his scythe for 31, but he takes 3 himself.

R2T12: At nearly the same time, Dane "moves with the party" and was going to move forward 10' as Vivino, but he stops short as he realizes the area of the pier he was heading to has a hole in it that he likely would've gone through.

R2T3: Steve (Green) bites Vivino with his massive maw, the bulk of it striking Vivino in the neck for only 4 mod. One tentacle misses Vivino, and the other bounces off of Dane's armor.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T23: Runa, you are currently mounted on Diva, who is standing on the pier. No weapon is out, and you are feeling as described in the Discord DM. What do you do?

Jacintha on deck, otyughs in the hole ...

[Sienna]

"Well... Can't say we didn't try," Runa says, hopping off Diva. "Flank 'em, Diva," she adds, pointing at the one in front of Vivino and Dane as she raises her holy symbol to cast a spell.

Spoiler

Show

Fast dismount, then casting Prayer!

[lostsole31]

R3T23: "Well... Can't say we didn't try," Runa says, hopping off Diva with alacrity. "Flank 'em, Diva," she adds, pointing at the one in front of Vivino and Dane as she raises her holy symbol to cast a spell, intoning primal words of power to Gozreh. A wash of visible, aquamarine energy washes over all of the current participants, filling the heroes with a sense that they can overcome any obstacle.

R3T22: Diva dips to the south and around to try and stay out of tentacle range for as long as possible before committing to the command given, avoiding a tentacle slap from Steve.

R3T17: Jacintha, you are currently using total defense. What do you do?

Otyughs on deck and in the hole ...

[Dusk Raven]

Seeing Diva get into a good flanking position, Jacintha nimbly steps around the pier, looking to get into a flanking position herself. As she moves, she does her best to avoid the enemy's tentacles, dodging and weaving in unpredictable ways. Once she arrives in position, she swings hard overhead at her target.

Spoiler: Actions

Show

Move Action: Moving at half speed so-as not to increase the Acrobatics DC, I'll move one square SE, one square S, and one square SW, to get into a flanking position on green.
Standard Action: Assuming that succeeds, I'll attack green with my psychic kukri. Using Risky Strike.
Attack Roll: (1d20+12)[17] Damage: (1d4+12)[13] plus Sneak Attack (4d8)[15]

[lostsole31]

R3T17: Seeing Diva get into a good flanking position, Jacintha nimbly steps around the pier, looking to get into a flanking position herself. As she moves, she does her best to avoid the enemy's tentacles, dodging and weaving in unpredictable ways. Once she arrives in position, she swings hard overhead at her target to strike for 31 + disoriented!

R3T16: Red manages to clear its eyes and its eyestalk tentacle and attacks Jacintha with bite and tentacles.

R3T15: Blue moves south and attacks Diva .... clearly failing.

R3T14: Ernak, do you continue to inspire courage? What do you do?

Vivino on deck, Dane in the hole ...

[Ason]

Ernak's saga of the party's bad taste evolves into a tale about how their prickly defenses also make them unappetizing. He regales the party and otyughs alike about how--just last night--big red bugs attempted to devour them, only to be smashed into a pulp.

He then takes a deep breath of relatively clean air and flexes his muscles for the muddy, disgusting journey ahead. Ernak then walks westward and then slightly southwest, heading off the pier and into the mud to better surround the otyughs. The Shoanti man then swings his earthbreaker down at the northernmost otyugh.

Spoiler: OoC

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Free Action (at start of turn): tactical flanker on the square directly south of him; maintain bardic performance
Swift Action: adopt Primal Warrior Stance; can ignore difficult terrain on charges (irrelevant b/c fatigued), gains +1 size if helpful for CMB/CMD/resisting special attacks; +2 size for melee weapon damage
Move Action: 20 feet west off the pier onto mud, 5 feet southwest (costs 10 feet of movement due to mud?) to get into flanking position on Red with Vivino;
Standard Action: risky strike at Red; attack roll (1d20+14)[25]; damage roll (4d6+14)[28] (does not include fatigue penalties on either roll, nor bonuses from various party abilities / flanking)

Ernak's maneuvers need to be reset from the last fight. He should not have been in primal warrior stance to start this battle, but he's adopting it now anyways and has gained now advantages from it so far in this fight, so it all works out.

Also, sometime after this battle, Ernak will want to spend 10 minutes during the next moment of downtime to change his readied maneuvers for the day, as I forgot to change them up during the rest. I will remember to call this out when that moment happens, as this is on me as a player, but I'm also stating it here for my own reference.

[lostsole31]

R3T14: Ernak's saga of the party's bad taste evolves into a tale about how their prickly defenses also make them unappetizing. He regales the party and otyughs alike about how--just last night--big red bugs attempted to devour them, only to be smashed into a pulp.

He then takes a deep breath of relatively clean air and flexes his muscles for the muddy, disgusting journey ahead. Ernak On his way, the now sighted Red swings his tentacle at Ernak. it hits Ernak in the knee for 4 ... definitely an accidental strike than a dedicated one; had Ernak been closer, it might have been an opening for him to instantly grab at the monster. Ernak does a hop down into the mud into a position to better surround the creatures. He finds that the hop down and the mud keeps him out of reach, so he closes as intended, but Blue manages a tentacle smack against him at a great distance that slams against the side of Ernak's neck for 8.

R3T13: Vivino, what do you do?

Dane on deck, Green in the hole ...

[Moriar]

Vivino nods thanks to Diva and then proceeds bring down two powerful strikes against green.

Spoiler: harvest time

Show

With prayer and flanking (bonuses not included)

Risky strike 1: to hit (1d20+10)[17] and
damage: weapon (2d4+12)[17] and vicious (2d6)[5] and sneak if allowed (4d6)[16]

Risky strike 2: to hit (1d20+4)[19] and
damage: weapon (2d4+12)[17] and vicious (2d6)[8] and sneak if allowed (4d6)[18]

[lostsole31]

R3T13: Vivino nods thanks to Diva and then proceeds bring down two powerful strikes against green. Both strikes hit, and completely tear apart the otyugh, with Vivino taking a total of 5 from his weapon.

R3T12: Dane, what do you do?

[Rithryn]

Dane moves up to the creature ad swings his hammer over Vivinos head at the beast.
"Duck Vivinno."

Spoiler

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moves next to vivino south of red and risky strikes vital strikes the otyugh. (1d20+12)[26] (4d6+16)[30]