Serpent's Skull: City of Seven Spears [IC]

[lostsole31]

Toilday, 31 Abadius 4711 AR (Waning Crescent)

It's actually a ridiculously wide-set of stairs .... and going only slowly, slowly, slowy upwards ... but still climbing high. Because of the lack of distracting other-explorables on this route, the party is able to make it to the top (today covering a total of four squares).

But in doing so the party is exposed during the worst time of day, meaning that means to abate the weather are needed. Since it usually doesn't take more than four hours, Sersheelda casts communal endure elements on the party, but endure elements on herself.

The party gets to a wide empty dais on top of the stairs, with lots of large, ornate pillars all around, and the diameter of this smooth-surfaced higher area about 160' across.

And as the party is up there, they hear a screech from the sky. There to the southwest, flying 50' altitude from the marbletop of this great platform, is a large, flying beast.

Begin Round One ...

R1T21: Sersheelda shouts a warning to the party, "Khy-mara! Old scaley ... hot breath line, short range!" She then moves to the front of the group (in relation to the khy-mara) and readies an action.

R1T17: Gelik, what do you do? The winged monster has the body and head of a lion, but two other heads split off from it ... that of a large goat, and that of a red-scaled dragon.

[Master K]

Gelik will begin his bardic performance to inspire courage among his allies

Spoiler: spoilers

Show

MA; Start Bardic Performance

[lostsole31]

R1T17: Gelik will begin his bardic performance to inspire courage among his allies.

R1T15: Xhanfaerd, you have nothing in hand right now. What do you do?

[silphael]

Xhanfaerd takes out his hammer, gathers his malice to his eyes, and sends a volley of force projectiles, before shouting at the beast.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move action to take out weapon, swift action to enter the Black Seraph's Glare stance, standard action to cast Magic Missile, with all projectiles targeting the chimera, then free action to intimidate it at +4.

Damage - (4d4+4)[15]

Intimidate - (1d20+18)[27] size difference not taken into account.

[lostsole31]

R1T15: Xhanfaerd takes out his hammer, gathers his malice to his eyes, and sends a volley of projectiles that rip into it for 15 force, before shouting at the beast.

R1T14: Fronaldo, what do you do? The monster is 50' off the ground.

[Blackhawk101]

Fronaldo bares his pointed teeth and hisses at the incoming monstrosity before whipping out a bright blue vial and quaffing it. The mini-alchemist disappears in a blink.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

SA: prepare and quaff extract of invisibility (3rd lvl)
MA: move 30’ South pulling magic dagger as he goes.

[lostsole31]

R1T14: Fronaldo bares his pointed teeth and hisses at the incoming monstrosity before whipping out a bright blue vial and quaffing it. The mini-alchemist disappears in a blink.

R1T13-11: Veress delays, waiting for a command. Fruthrin, on the other hand, becomes very wary.

R1T10: Book, what do you do? You no longer see Fronaldo.

[BuckGodot]

Book gasps! "NO!! Fronaldo! They vaporised him!!! He was too young to go! SURROUND IT AND WE SHALL HAVE REVENGE!!!" and he draws his whip and his sidearm preparing to move towards the beast.

Spoiler: Technical Information

Show

Draw whip and sidearm

Planning to move straight west to draw its attention.

[lostsole31]

R1T10: Book gasps! "NO!! Fronaldo! They vaporised him!!! He was too young to go! SURROUND IT AND WE SHALL HAVE REVENGE!!!" and he draws his whip and his sidearm preparing to move towards the beast.

R1T9: The khy-mara charges Xhanfaerd, but as it does so, Sersheelda gets off a shot ... an SLA that is her letting loose with a wad of caustic powder that hits the clumsy beast in the wing for 6 acid. It doesn't even register the pain as it lands a terribly painful bite in Xhanfaerd's vulnerable abdomen for 16 + sickened. It's flight is ended in its charge 5' above the ground.

R1T8: Aron adjusts well to the east while drawing her whip, casts a spell, and from the palm of her hand a beam of light launches forth to catch the khy-mara in the other wing for 11. She then calls Veress to attack the monster. She gives the monster a look and says over the collective...

Spoiler: Aron >>> Collective

Show

"We call it a 'chimera,' a classic monster of myth that we should be able to handle. Just be careful, though, as its heads can handle multiple attackers just fine. They are born of primordial evil, so we have no tears if we kill it."

R1T7: Veress closes and bites the monster in the foreleg for 16.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T17: Gelik, you are orating right now. What do you do?

Xhanfaerd on deck, Fronaldo in the hole ...

[Master K]

Gelik will conitune orating and fire his Planar detonation at the Chimera

Spoiler: fluff

Show

FA; continue bardic performance
SA; Planar DetonationRTA - (1d20+9)[24] Dmg - (3d6)[11]

[lostsole31]

R2T17: Gelik continues orating, and screeches his planar detonation at the chimera to hit it in the wing for 13 sonic.

R2T15: Xhanfaerd, what do you do? You are still feeling the pain from that last crit.

Fronaldo on deck, Fruthrin in the hole ...

[Blackhawk101]

Fronaldo will do some invisi-alchemy.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

SA: prepare Strength Archanotoxin max potency.
MA: apply said archanotoxin to blade
FrA: smirk happily and analyze opponent

[silphael]

In pain, Xhanfaerd changes his stance, before unleashing a heavy hammer strike.

Spoiler: Collective

Show

"Be ready to strike, just like that !"

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Swift action to switch to Internal Dominion of the Sleeping Goddess, rerolling either the first failed save, or the first attack roll hitting me.

Move action to aid myself. If it succeeds, +2 to my next attack, and +2 to all allies' attack rolls.

Standard action, Harmony Shattering Strike, spending 3 PP to share it with Book and 2 PP to increase bonus damage and DC (Will DC 20 to avoid being nauseated for one round, and the target will take 5d6 extra damage).

Aid Myself - (1d20+13)[16]
Attack - (1d20+13)[25]
Damage - (7d6+10)[39]

Defensive effects :
-rerolling either the first failed save, or the first attack roll hitting me
-redirecting to myself the first damage suffered by an ally in the collective, spending PP to reduce it without overspending PP.

[lostsole31]

R2T15: In pain, Xhanfaerd changes his stance, before unleashing a heavy hammer strike against its upper foreleg for 23.

Spoiler: Xhanfaerd >>> Collective

Show

"Be ready to strike, just like that!"

Book feels his mind fill with esoteric martial knowledge that he can use, regardless of melee or ranged (his choice)!
R2T14: Fronaldo does some invisi-alchemy.

R2T11: Fruthrin closes and actually lands a crit, biting the chimera in the gut for 15 (+1d4 bleed)!

R2T10: Book, as noted, your mind fills with martial knowledge that coul be used for a dedicated single shot or strike (SA to use). What do you do?

Sersheelda on deck, Chimera in the hole ...

[BuckGodot]

Book dashes southeast to attempt to flank the beast and using his sudden insight strikes with his whip.

Spoiler: Technical Information

Show

MA: Move 30' (6 squares) SE

Attack Action: Attack using Risky Strike and Precise Strike

Attack Roll: (1d20+12)[14] +2 from Xhanfaerd

Precise Strike (Ex): Maintain 1 panache, +6 [CL] precision damage w/ Lt/ 1H P-melee weapon.
* He cannot attack w/ a weapon in his other hand or use a shield other than a buckler.
* He can even use this ability w/ thrown Lt/ 1H P-melee weapons, so long as the target is w/in 30' of him.
* Any creature immune to sneak attacks is immune to the additional damage granted by precise strike, and any item or ability that protects a creature from critical hits also protects it from the additional damage of a precise strike.

Damage: (1d3+10)[13] +6 for Precise Strike

Sneak Attack Damage for flanking: (3d6)[10]

Debilitating Injury: Disoriented

Sneak Attack (Ex): +3d6 precision damage anytime he is flanking foe, or foe would be denied DEX bonus to AC.


Debilitating Injury (Ex): Whenever he deals sneak attack damage to a foe, he can also debilitate his target, causing it to take a penalty for 1 round.
* Penalties do not stack, but additional attacks that deal sneak attack of same injury increase duration by +1 rd.
* A creature cannot suffer from more than one type of debilitating injury at a time. If a new type is applied, old penalty immediately ends.
* Any form of healing applied to a target suffering from one of these penalties also immediately removes the penalties.
>>> Bewildered: -2 penalty to AC, but -4 penalty to AC vs. Book's attacks.
>>> Disoriented: -2 to attack rolls, but -4 to attack rolls vs. Book.
>>> Hampered: All of foe's speeds are reduced by half (min 5'), and target cannot take a 5-foot-step.

[lostsole31]

R2T10: Book dashes southeast to attempt to flank the beast and using his sudden insight strikes he realizes that ... because he had to stop short with Sersheelda in the way ... he has to use his pepperbox instead of his whip. He takes aim and fires, but misses.

R2T9.5: Sersheelda sees that Book wanted to go to that spot, and she steps away while casting a spell on herself.

R2T9: The chimera takes 1 bleed. With perfect precision and very little effort, it recovers from the charge and shifts its facing mid-hover, breathing a cone that catches Veress, Sersheelda, and Book. Veress and Book manage to totally clear the cone, but Sersheelda gets caught .... but the burning wounds show on Xhanfaerd for 3 fire (and 6 PP). Seeing little effect from the flame and its life force bleeding out, the chimera's three heads roar in frustration.

R2T8: Aron hooks to flank while drawing her short sword and stabs the chimera in the haunches for 16, Xhanfaerd's resonance and Gelik's oration helping her strike harder.

R2T7: Veress, outside of Xhanfaerd's power, nonetheless gives a staggering bite for 16 + 8 NL + grab, and then claws for 13, and another claw which boxes the ear for 14 + deafened + dropped!

Veress will savage the chimera's remains until it moves no more.

Combat Ends ...

[Blackhawk101]

After a few moments Fronaldo pops back into view, dejectedly kicking pebbles as he moves over to examine the Chimera. Hopefully it would have some useful poison or other alchemical goodies he could scavenge.

[lostsole31]

Fronaldo does indeed find ... no poison, but a variety of things on the chimera that will be good to help replace some of the materials in his alchemy crafting kit (but not as resource base for alchemically-crafted items ... just the RP for maintaining his poisons and extracts). Such a magical beast is quite useful for the maintenance aspect, as he looks at his alchemy crafting kit, and truth be told he was running low on webshooter fluid.

[lostsole31]

With nothing of value up here, the chimera is harvested for whatever good those that can make use of it can, but the team ... knowing that the flashiness so high up might attract unwanted attention, beat feet back to the camp and provide a report.

Having seen a creature unlike anything she'd ever witnessed before, Sersheelda has much to meditate upon. Amivor is putting together a map based on the team's explorations thus far, sharing his knowledge of his skill with Fronaldo and Book. Gelik enthralls the main encampment with the story of the fight against the chimera.

---

Wealday, 1 Calistril 4711 AR (Waning Crescent)

The party is ready to explore again. What route will Book ask to take today from where you were yesterday? or will he seek an entirely different split-off?

[BuckGodot]

Realising Frondo has a bit more of a chaotic nature than is required by most archeological disciplines, Book wants to resume the grid search pattern. (Noted on the map on Discord.)

2 Squares to the south from where noted is where he wants to search.

[lostsole31]

The team explores some of the long canal/reservoir sections of the city and heads past and back into the main ruins of the once mercantile district, then returns to give their report.

That evening, Xhanfaerd gathers everyone (except Harrim, who wants to meditate instead) for combat training. Later, he and Book focus down by helping Fronaldo with a request on tactics to fight off multiple attackers.

---

Oathday, 2 Calistril 4711 AR (New Moon)
Cayden Cailean Holy Day: Merrymead

Amivor tells you before you go out that in the evening he will be busy celebrating Merrymead in honor of his deity (Cayden Cailean), and therefore today is a day "off" for him, and will not be doing a debrief that night.

Book, which way today?

[BuckGodot]

Book expresses his desire to complete this section before exploring further.

Spoiler: Directions

Show

One square east and one square north.

[lostsole31]

The group continues to explore the areas of the long canals, and search a wider area given the openness of their current site. They end the day noting a body of water that is potentially not a canal to the east, but pull back before overextending.

That night, as mentioned, Amivor is drunk on some things he brought for himself. He didn't bring enough to share, sadly, only enough for him to observe the right of Merrymead as he knew he'd be in the field on this hoiiday. Meanwhile, Fronaldo teaches survival techniques to Book, Sersheelda, & Aron. Gelik entertains the other Pathfinders with many exploits of his close escapes. Xhanfaerd and Harrim each meditate on their own.

---

Fireday, 3 Calistril 4711 AR (New Moon)

Which way today, Book?

[BuckGodot]

Back to the waters edge and north.

[lostsole31]

It is during the morning exploration in the wide open section of the canals working to the water's edge that the party spots 3 boar off in the distance.

Do you wish to kill them? Do you wish to wait for them to move off?

[BuckGodot]

Book points and says, "How's our party food supply?"

[lostsole31]

Having spoken aloud with no use of the collective or desire to whisper, the boar notice the much larger group of big creatures down the way, and scurry away and out of sight. The party continues their search up to the water's edge. The water's edge here is not a natural beach, but a stone stopping point that abuts the water. The water at this point continues its edge about 200 yards to the northeast. To the southwest in the other direction, there seems to be an old ruined type of bridge or something that heads out across the water, likely coming into contact with what appears to be a large, man-made island to the southeast that is a hundred yards or so away at its closest point. The party then headds to the northeast along the edge for a couple hundred feet of exploration of the nearby structures before returning to the camp.

That evening, Fronaldo tutors Gelik on light-fingered exercises. Xhanfaerd will work with Aron on mental-spiritual conditioning, with Aron returning the favor by helping Xhanfaerd better understand and resist a variety of specific verbal enchantments. The rest of the party likewise sits in on this training.

---

Starday, 4 Calistril 4711 AR (New Moon)

What way today?

[BuckGodot]

North one square to ensure we have everything covered there and then east one.

[lostsole31]

Exploration continues per Book's direction and returns for debrief.

That eve, Xhanfaerd works on upper-level spellwork. Gelik tutors Aron on rehearsal and performance techniques. Fronaldo works on physical conditioning and poison immunity titration. Amivor tutors Sersheelda on the geography of the "Overburn." Book works on his whip-and-pepperbox combat style.

---

Sunday, 5 Calistril 4711 AR (Waxing Crescent)

Harrim stays back at camp today to conduct an nondenominational service and to see to the spiritual needs of the many NPCs of the camp.

Meanwhile, where to now, Book?

[BuckGodot]

NE one square and then North one square.