[Pathfinder Planescape] A Stone in the Tide Party #1

[DeusMalum]

For party #1, the current party composition is as follows:

Player | Character | Sheet
Arthurian | Kurik Frostfang | http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=475986
Axinian | ‘Sunrise’ Nara | http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=477284
Cardrian | Jalon Laathol | http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=477253
PChubby | Azgrim Barithur | http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=459237
Shugyosha | Abroshtor | http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=464214


[Note, I’ll be reserving this color for NPC speech text. Please let me know if this color is a pain in the butt to read, so I can change it sooner than later. Please reserve a color in your opening post and I’ll add it to this OP for bookkeeping.]

[Please field OOC questions and statistical info here if possible, using [] tags for ease of reading. Dice rolls should take place in spoilers. OOC chatter should go in here: OOC Thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263527)]

Something stirs in Blackwood Swamp. Long thought by the Pathfinder Society to sit atop the ruins of a vast and ancient Azlanti city, the swamp is a harsh and inhospitable marshland that surrounds the Taldan port city and trade hub of Cassomir, situated at the mouth of the Sellen River. With the exception of the city itself, long ago cut from the swamp and protected by a vast moat, the only stable structure is the causeway, an elevated road cutting through the swamp eastward from the main gates of Cassomir and providing the only land route into the city that isn’t plagued by monsters, quicksand, and man-eating plants. The Taldan Phalanx, the spear-and-bow-wielding core of Taldor’s army, constantly patrols the road. Few merchants dare to travel it without a dozen experienced guards.

And something is stirring. In a month’s time, Cassomir’s city guard have fought off incursions of monsters and marauding humanoids in far greater number than in any time since the city’s founding. Phalanx patrols have reported similar problems when any patrols have made it out of the Blackwood to report at all. There is no organization or apparently deliberation behind these attacks; rather, the creatures seem to be rushing out of the swamp, as if driven forth and fleeing something worse than the spears and arrows of the guardsmen and Phalanx soldiers.

All signs point to the rise of some new, terrible power within the vast murk that has been displacing the indigenous creatures. With the guard and army busy keeping the road and city safe, it has fallen to adventurers such as you to venture into the marsh and find the source of the troubles. Your party has spent the day working their way inwards from Cassomir, spending painstaking hours looking for some sign of what may be disturbing the locals, avoiding hydra lairs, quicksand pits, and other hazards. You’ve passed the ravaged ruins of a lizardfolk village, its inhabitants slaughtered down to the last youth, their mound-like dwellings ripped apart and burnt. Many of the air-breathing humanoids show signs of a drowning death, while others show deep puckering wounds and signs of poison.

The sun is still above the horizon, the blackened, rotten trees providing little barrier to its waning light. Ever since passing the village you’ve been unable to shake the impression that you’re being watched and followed, but have so far been unable to spot anything that would confirm this feeling. The stench of death and decay, permeating the mire, grows progressively more and more repulsive as you continue past the village and the day draws to a close, and you now continue to find the corpses of various denizens of the Blackwood. You get the impression you’re clearly heading in the right direction, but the continued discovery of old and fresh kills in this area provides an ever heightening feeling of unease. Silence reigns here, the air lacking even the ever-present buzz of insect life you’d grown accustomed to. The pall that hangs in the air carries with it an odd feeling, almost one of anticipation, as if the swamp itself is waiting for something to happen.

With progress made and night falling, with unseen stalkers and signs of death and mayhem, decisions and paths lie before you. Do you continue onward, or attempt to trudge southward to the causeway? Do you find a dry enough patch of land to make a camp for the night, or continue onward, slowed and forced to be even more careful of quicksand and other hazards in the light of the full moon slowly rising to the east.
The decision is yours. What do you do?

[Given we're starting late on a Wednesday night, let's set Saturday night as the close-out period for posts in this cycle, with an update to follow on Sunday.]

[Edited: Grammar and a few spelling mistakes I didn't catch earlier.]

[Axinian]

Nara is uneasy. Not just because of the scenes of death and destruction she has been seeing lately, though they don't help matters. She is uneasy because such a destructive force shouldn't be so hard to find. She set out on this journey eager for a pitched battle against the forces of evil. Now she just wants to put a bullet in the beast and be done with it.

She releases a heavy sigh. "I vote to pitch camp around here soon, what do you all think?"

(Dibs on green)

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

The little gnome gave a gruff answer, "Fine fine..." He was anxious, the sight of destruction did that to him. Destruction seemed to follow him whether he wanted it or not. He had been good, for his mother's sake, but it was getting harder and harder. He needed release soon. He yearned for the heat and needed to watch the flames dance...

[TherianTheorist]

Brief description of the character and tactics (Jalon): Jalon Laathol, Undine (Water elemental heritage)
Blue skin, blue hair. Generally helpful and easy-going, but has a hatred of evil outsiders, and is not likely to be shaken from a cause once he starts.

Inquisitor (Water domain powers as cleric), a physical fighter with decent range of spontaneous castable buffs and cure x wounds spells, detect any alignment at will. Will buff someone at the start of any major battle, can use polearm or archery as needed.

Can breathe underwater, and Resist Cold 15. So he can be "Aquaman" if he needs to. Also of note, a +21 skill mod to Sense motive checks.

Starting Active Effects: Detect Evil, Detect Magic.

"If you wish it, I won't oppose you." Jalon's sounds a bit more concerned than his words might imply. He walks around the campsite to be, still annoyed by the idea of an unseen observer.

Perception check: [roll0]

[DeusMalum]

Jalon notices a set of ripples in the water of the bog about 30 feet to the west of the party's soon-to-be-campsite. Incongruous with the absence of any visible animal life, and with the absence of any discernible wind, Since passing the lizardfolk village the only such ripples you've seen in the dirty water have been your own, in the places where a solid path was unavailable. They seem to originate in an arc, as if from the wake of something swimming fully submerged beneath the water. It is too muddy and murky to see under the water's surface from where he's standing. After a few second's observation, the surface settles to a general flatness once again.

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"I suppose it would be good to stop for the night." Azgrim says with a sigh as he wipes his brow. "Given all the death and mayhem we've seen, we could all use a little rest. Lets if we can find a dry spot in all this muck." The dwarf an eye out for a safe dry spot.

Perception: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1] (if applicable)

[PChubby]

Stupid preview blew away rolls.

Perception: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1] (if applicable)

[DeusMalum]

Azgrim spots the same set of ripples Jalon did. He also knows that the relatively dry patch of land about fifty feet ahead of you would make a decent camping spot, and should be dry enough to get a fire going.

[Just wanted to say, since Arthurian dropped out, all 4 of you have posted well in advance of the deadline I set. This is kind of a first for PbP's I've run, so thanks, guys.]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"That spot up ahead looks as good a place as any. My only concern is whatever that is moving in the water over there." Azgrim says with a nod to the west. "I'd sleep better if we scare it off or flush it out before we settle in."

Welcome to PbP. Still semi-new to it myself compared to some.

[Axinian]

Nara's hand reflexively goes to her gun at the mention of the thing in the water. Realizing that it's better not to waste bullets, she scoops up some pebbles and starts throwing them into the water with practiced precision, trying to hit something in the general area where Azgrim nodded.

"Over there?" She confirms with Azgrim.

[DeusMalum]

As you deliberate on setting camp, and consider the disturbance in the water off the trail, the sun begins to set. As the last of Nara's pebbles strike the water, a single, clear tone is heard, sounding like the ringing of an enormous bell. The sound seems to emanate from off in the distance in the direction of your travels, and washes over the land around you, causing...changes.

A sickly, cancerous green light begins to glow brightly, low in the sky, in the same direction from which the bell-tone originated. The stench of rot and death goes from merely uncomfortable to practically overwhelming, though you manage to overcome your nausea for the moment. No response follows from Nara's tossed stones, but of a sudden you're gripped with a sudden feeling of presence. The watched feeling you've had for the past half hour intensifies, the hairs on the backs of your necks (those of you who HAVE hair on the backs of your necks, at least) stand starkly on end. Amidst the death and decay of the swamp, and the death and decay recently added to it, you are most certainly not alone.

As the sun dips past view, it seems to darken from within, as if suddenly and inexplicably eclipsed.

[Note: We're not in combat yet, so no need for initiative or setting up an order of action. Also, does anyone have any objection to my rolling initiative for everyone when combat DOES start? That way we can avoid an extra posting cycle just to determine who gets to go when.]

[Axinian]

[Note: We're not in combat yet, so no need for initiative or setting up an order of action. Also, does anyone have any objection to my rolling initiative for everyone when combat DOES start? That way we can avoid an extra posting cycle just to determine who gets to go when.]

OOC: Sounds good.

"I don't know about the thing in the water, but it seems like a bigger problem is headed our way." Nara puts her hands on the handles of her holstered guns.

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"Looks that way. And here I hoped to have a peaceful night after running off what was in the water." The dwarf says with a sigh as he notches an arrow. He pauses a moment searching his memory back to his days in the monastery library for a hint of what could cause such an ominous tone and glow.
History: [roll0]
Religion: [roll1]

DM rolling initiative works for me. Saves a round of posts.

[DeusMalum]

Azgrim can't recall anything from his training that would correspond to what you're dealing with now.

[Actually, if anyone happens to have Knowledge (the planes) feel free to roll it now.]

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

The gnome actually smiles as the hairs rise on the back of his neck... there was action...

As the sun light fades he calls forth some magic and lights his shield. He follows the direction indicated by the dwarf.


[roll0] Knowledge Planes

[DeusMalum]

[Lemme get some perception rolls from everybody.]

As the sun continues downward and darkness falls, the light off in the distance holds constant, seeming fixed in the sky as if sitting on a hill in the distance.

[PChubby]

Perception: [roll0]

[TherianTheorist]

"Seems we still have some work to do before we can can rest for the night."

Perception: [roll0]
Knowledge (Planes): [roll1]

I vote for DM Initiative.

[Axinian]

Perception

[roll0]

[shugyosha]

Perception
[roll0]

[DeusMalum]

DM stuff:[roll0]

Azgrim notices another faint pattern of ripples moving towards you from the east, the source clearly trying to keep itself hidden. Beneath the water, he can clearly make out a creature with a frog-like body, eyes that look dead and milky and with a wide face split by a fanged maw. It propels itself through the water with clawed hands and feet and seems ready to pounce on one of your unsuspecting companions. You don't think you've seen something like this before in your wanderings.

None of the others notice this.

[Let's assume for the sake of argument you're standing in part of the bog, in a rough diamond pattern, with Azgrim to the south, Nara to the west, Jalon to the east, and Abroshtor to the north, close together with maybe a five foot circle of space between you.]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"Look out! There's something headed right for us in the water!" The dwarf yells as he catches sight of the creature in the water. He arches his back and quickly lets loose a flurry of arrows.

Ranged Flurry of Blows (Zen Archer)

Arrow 1:
Hit: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Hit: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3:
Hit: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] + [roll8] electric
Arrow 4:
Hit: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] + [roll11] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

The gnome steps back and immediately casts a quick and simple spell.

casting snapdragon fireworks.

[TherianTheorist]

Jalon points at the creature, releasing a spearhead shaped shard of ice.
Standard Action: Icicle power granted by water domain
Ranged touch attack: [roll0]
Cold damage: [roll1]
Uses/day left: 7

[Axinian]

Nara draws both pistols and aims in the supposed direction of the beast. I'm assuming she can't actually see it yet, but if she can, she fires a shot from "Justice"


If there's concealment or something: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
1 barrel is still loaded.


Edit: Fantuckingfastic. First shot of the campaign is a misfire. So automatic miss and I'm gonna spend a grit point and a move action to undo the broken condition with quick clear.

"Gods blast it!" Nara says as the gun makes a noise it clear should not be making.

[DeusMalum]

[Ax: Ouch, yeah I've had that happen before, it's annoying as hell.
Shug: I'm assuming based on the entry for the spell that you can start designating target squares this round. If so, I'm assuming you're aiming for it?]

Warned of impending attack, your party manages to ready themselves in time for the large aquatic creature to burst forth from the bog, leaping briefly out of the water to land in front of Jalon. Now out of the water, the creature stands almost 10 feet tall.

With a clear line of sight and enough forewarning, Azgrim lets loose a volley of arrays, 3 of which manage to hit their mark. They strike the monster's flabby, bloated chest, the clustered arrows penetrating its tough skin and eliciting a brief, electrified shower of ichor and a pained grunt. The creature seems to shrug off part of the electrical nature of the arrows, though the shock still seems to hurt it.

Jalon, meanwhile, lacks the crucial seconds of awareness Azgrim had, and the sudden appearance of the creature hinders his aim. His icicle shard misses, striking and felling a dead tree a few dozen feet past the creature.

Nara's gun jams, but she manages to clear the chamber without damaging Justice, and the weapon seems fine.

Abroshtor mutters and gestures, tossing up a bundle of cloth with something that smells of brimstone wrapped inside it. The cloth explodes in a shower of small, dragon-shaped fireworks that fly upwards, the sudden flare of light briefly blinding in the growing darkness. One of the dragons zips towards the monster. Abroshtor is forced to set his will against the creature's, the monster seeming to have a natural well of resistance to his spell, but ultimately the tiny wizard succeeds, and the dragon strikes true. The creature shrugs off the burst of fire entirely, though the brilliant light and sound temporarily dazzle it.

Rolls:
Reflex save: [roll0]
SR [roll1]
Claws [roll2]


DM Notes:
15 damage, 15 electrical after DR and resistances. Dazed for 1 round.

[DeusMalum]

[Ugh, I keep forgetting this thing doesn't like it when you add in rolls to an existing post. See below for Initiative rolls.]

Caught off guard by the sudden noise and light, and by its ambush having failed, the creature delays a critical few seconds, giving all of you a chance to act again.

PC Initiatives:
Abroshtor Initiative: [roll0]
Azgrim Initiative: [roll1]
Jalon Initiative: [roll2]
Nara Initiative: [roll3]

[Axinian]

Nara immediately brings "Mercy" to bear while fixing "Justice," and takes two shots from the right-hand gun, throwing another shot from "Justice" between them. She bites her lip hoping to be spared the embarrassment of another misfire.


Two-Weapon Fighting
Attack 1: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack 3: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]

[Axinian]

OOC: And now "Mercy" misfires! Freakin great! So neither of those shots count, but Justice gets a critical so:
Crit Confirmation: [roll0]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

The dwarf shakes his head at Nara's luck. "Glad I chose the simple path." He says with a wry grin as he lets another volley fly.

Ki Arrows: Swift Action 1 ki to make all arrows 2d6dmg this round.

Deadly Aim: -3 to attacks for +6dmg

Ranged Flurry of Blows
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3: Perfect Strike roll attack 2x
Attack1: [roll6]
Attack2: [roll7]
Damage: [roll8] + [roll9] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack2: [roll10] Damage: [roll11] + [roll12] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[PChubby]

Rolling to confirm crit for Arrow 2:
attack: [roll0]

Yeesh a crit to confirm a crit. Azgrim is stealing Nara's luck.

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

The sparkles and dance of the fire brought glee the gnome's face. People thought that he love the chaos fire brought, but he knew better. Fire had rules, and he knew them well.

He pointed at the creature again and another blaze of fire jets out; snaking a path to its target. Then the little gnome calls forth more fire and out of the air a burning ball begins to chase the monster.


Move Action: shooting a firework DC19
[roll0] spell resistance
[roll1] damage
Standard Action: Casting Flaming Sphere DC20
[roll2] spell resistance
[roll3] damage
Free Action: 5 ft step away from creature

[TherianTheorist]

Jalon was the closest to the creature, and that was the way it was, fate could be just as fickle as the sea, and who knew the sea better than he did?

Drawing his spear, he makes a pair of swift jabs at creature.
Attack 1: Hit [roll0] Damage [roll1]
Attack 2: Hit [roll2] Damage [roll3]

[DeusMalum]

Abroshtor's firework washes up against the monster's resistance, dissipating harmlessly against it. Perhaps weakened by the first spell, his second bypasses the barrier, but the fire doesn't seem to affect it much.

Azgrim's arrows find their mark again, four arrows sinking to their fletching in the creature's skull. As it collapses to the ground, the electric enchantment on the arrows causes it to twitch violently a few times before it settles to the ground in a broken heap.

You take a moment to catch your breaths as stillness settles upon the swamp once again.

Nara:
Given the initiative order and the fact that Azgrim just killed it, I think it's safe to assume your attacks, and thus the botch on Mercy, didn't happen.

[Edited out an unnecessary roll.]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

The monk cautiously moves closer to the fallen creature, an arrow still nocked in his bow. "Well, that answers what was in the water." He says as he nudges the corpse. "But now there's the problem of that strangeness." Azgrim nods in the direction of the light & sound squinting as if guessing the distance.

Trying to gauge how far away the disturbance is.

Whichever works...
Perception: [roll0]
Survival: [roll1]

[DeusMalum]

The light seems to be about a mile away, at a heading roughly north-northeast, situated above the ground as if on a steep hill, though the area around here doesn't get that mountainous as far as you're aware.

Off to your right you see shapes darting swiftly away from the light, sinuous and inky-black like the creature you just killed, though shaped differently and skirting above the ground rather than through the water. They're a good distance away from you and moving south, off into the swamp.

[Axinian]

Nara is still anxious, having not been able to work out her stress on the beast. "Perhaps here isn't such a good spot..."

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

"Do we go after them?" he asks in an anxious voice.

[DeusMalum]

[Given the distance and their speed it would be somewhat difficult to catch up to them unless you risked a full out run after them.]

[DeusMalum]

[...Guys?]

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

Hearing no response, the gnome goes back and readies himself for bed.

[Axinian]

Nara holsters her weapons. "I'll take first watch."

[DeusMalum]

Off in the distance, in the direction the creatures went, you begin to hear the screams of dying animals and other creatures. The sickly green light seems to grow brighter. In that glow, you see the dead trees around you crumbling into the mire, reeds withering and curling under the surface of the water. Darker things move in the night around you.

[TherianTheorist]

"Something wicked is at work here." Jalon sheathes his spear, muttering a short prayer for safety during the night.

[PChubby]

Azgrim

After the group settles in, Azgrim walks the edge of of camp. Occasionally he scoops a bit of moss and leaves or tears loose a branch and strategically places it around the area trying his best to keep the site hidden from the outside.

"I'm still not comfortable this close to that weirdness. Keep the fire low and don't hesitate to wake me if there's any cause for concern." Azgrim tells Nara. Before turning in, he covers his bedroll with moss and leaves.

Not sure if you allow stealth to be used like this but it's worth a shot for safety's sake :)

Stealth(campsite) [roll0]
Stealth(self) [roll1]

[DeusMalum]

The night begins, with fitful, difficult sleep. The screams continue for a few minutes growing steadily further out. The ground is soggy, mossy, and difficult to sleep on.

[Sorry for the short post, things are going to happen before Nara's watch is over, but I don't have time to write it out. Birthday weekend is starting early. Expect a post up Sunday during the day.]

[DeusMalum]

The dampness of the swamp likely having fouled up their machinery, Nara spends some time fiddling with their mechanisms as she maintains her watch, keeping a careful eye around her while she works. The night continues and the screams die down, the creatures you saw earlier perhaps having run out of victims. The light in the distance provides a

Fifteen minutes after the watch starts, the feeling of presence your party felt earlier comes back, and Nara gets the feeling she's being watched. The green glow in the distance provides little light to see by, but this proves little obstacle for the aasimar gunslinger, whose darkvision provides clarity in the vicinity around your camp. However, despite that unshakeable feeling, she can't, as of yet, see anything.

As Nara finishes her work on the her guns, she feels a sudden constricting pain around her torso as a tentacle grips her from an unseen foe. An involuntary scream of agony escapes her lips as a debilitating poison courses through her veins. The rest of the party is awakened by her cry, and as you rise from your sleep and take up arms, her attacker emerges from the water.

Standing seven feet tall and heavily muscles, this hideous cross between a lobster, an octopus, and a human stands a few feet from Nara, powerful claws clicking together as a pair of writhing tentacles squeeze the life from your companion. It draws her towards it, using her body as a shield against you. Nara's arms are free, and the tentacles do not cover her holsters.

[The poison takes hold for a moment, Nara takes a point of temporary constitution damage. The creature goes after Nara and Jalon, before Azgrim and Abroshtor.]

Surprise round over: Initiatives below
Tentacle damage: [roll0]
Nara Fortitude Save: [roll1]
Abroshtor initiative: [roll2]
Azgrim initiative: [roll3]
Jalon initiative: [roll4]
Nara initiative: [roll5]

[Axinian]

Nara quickly suppresses any fear she was feeling. At first she wonders what the horrible thing grappling her is, but then she realizes that she doesn't care.

"To the Abyss with you!" She says as she draws her guns and fires.

OOC: Do I get a full attack or just one? I'll roll for a full attack.

Justice:
Attack 1 [roll0]; Damage [roll1]
Attack 3 [roll2]; Damage [roll3]

Mercy:
Attack 2 [roll4]; Damage [roll5]

[DeusMalum]

[You get your full attack.]

The first shot from Justice plinks harmlessly off the creature's armored carapace, but the other two land solid hits. While they don't appear to do much damage on their own, a brilliant flash follows Nara's second shot; the enchantment placed upon Justice appears to cause additional harm to the creature.

It is now Jalon's turn. Despite the injuries, the creature seems to find something amusing in what Nara says. It laughs, briefly, in a voice that sounds like a water being sucked down a drain, "The Abyss? That you would be so lucky."

Bane [roll0]

DM Notes:
13 damage

[PChubby]

[Is Nara considered Grappled? If she is, does PF have the same random chance to hit either grappler?]

[DeusMalum]

[Yes and sorta. Near as I can tell it's a -4 to ranged attacks fired into a melee but there's no random chance of friendly fire. However, as you have Precise Shot, you don't even take the -4. Which adly robs this of some of it's intended difficulty.]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

Hearing Nara's scream Azgrim quickly reaches for Weraja as he leaps to his feet. "I knew this place wasn't safe." He takes a split second to examine the situation before he lets fly a flurry of arrows, ever mindful of his companion in the creature's grasp.

I'm fine with a -4, I just didn't want to risk hitting Nara. I've nightmares from an old game involving a ranged character, a roper, & shooting himself due to wonky rules :)

Swift: stand from prone if needed (Monkey Style)

Ranged Flurry of Blows:
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3:
Attack: [roll6] Damage: [roll7] + [roll8] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack: [roll9] Damage: [roll10] + [roll11] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[TherianTheorist]

Jalon sighs, "It seems we have a guest, I had hoped they would wait till morning." He now stands in a combat stance, going though the motions of a horrible shriek.

Move Action: Stand from prone if needed.
Standard Action: Casting Ear-Piercing Scream on the creature.
[roll0] sonic damage, chance to daze.

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

Seeing how this creature may have resistance to fire, the gnome pulls out a rod and casts an evocation. Three beams of light leap out at the creature.


Elemental Spell (Cold) Scorching Ray
[roll0] range touch attack
[roll1] SR
[roll2] damage
[roll3] range touch attack
[roll4] SR
[roll5] damage
[roll6] range touch attack
[roll7] SR
[roll8] damage

[DeusMalum]

As your party responds to the creature's sudden attack Jalon, with a quick study of its features and characteristics, can tell what it is. Recalling his studies of the planes, he knows that you now contend with a Piscodaemon, a creature from the plane of Abaddon, an uncompromisingly evil creature that delights in inflicting pain and misery over a protracted period of time. Given its poisonous tentacles it's likely that some of the deaths inflicted on the lizardfolk village were caused by this creature or another of its kind.

Putting that in context with what you remember of your encounter earlier in the day, Jalon realizes the monster that Azgrim's arrows brought down before you made camp must be a Hydrodaemon, a similar aquatic daemon that likes to drown its victims.

It is likely most of the other creatures you saw running off in the night, away from the green glow to the north, were also daemons, off to torment and kill anything in the area.

You know that creatures of this sort are highly resistant to magic, immune to acid and highly resistant to most other elements, making your choice of a sonic attack one of the few that it has little defense against, beyond its toughened carapace. If given half the choice and injured but not killed, it will likely attempt to flee, to attack again later when your guard is down again.

Jalon Knowledge: [roll0]

[Going to roll for your spell resistance check and then post the results of combat.]

[DeusMalum]

Jalon's spell triggers, and you hear a keening scream directed at the piscodaemon that reverberates in the air but fails to overcome to the daemon's resistance.

The daemon shouts something in a language you don't understand, a language that crawls across your skin and makes you feel as if you need a bath. Suddenly a cloud of thin, greenish gas manifests around you accompanied by a smell that almost makes you retch, the greasy air reeking of death and rot to an unnatural degree. You manage to hold back your nausea for the moment.

Fighting through the smell, Azgrim lets fly with a volley of arrows, all of which strike true. Again, the creature seems to resist much of the attack, but you see black ichor seep from its wounds.

Several lances of blistering ice shoot forth from Abroshtor's wand, though only the last seems to cause it any inconvenience.

Off in the distance, you hear answering cries in the same foul language of the daemons. It's unlikely you'll be dealing with a solitary enemy for long, though for now it's Jalon and Nara's time to strike.

Rolls:
Jalon Spell Resistance: [roll0]
Fortitude Save: [roll1]

[Forgot to add Fort saves for the Stinking Cloud, but you all passed this round.

DM Notes:
47 damage

[DeusMalum]

Guys? Actions?

[Axinian]

With a quick buck of the hips and fancy handwork Nara loads a bullet into Justice, hoping to blow the creature's face off before it can pull her in.


Accounting for the outsider-bane this time
Attack ; Damage [roll]=1d8+12


Edit: Since that damage roll didn't work, I rolled with a real die and got a 6, so 18 damage, I got 9 additional damage from the outsider-bane. Just wanted to avoid double-posting.

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"Time to step things up a bit. This thing might have back-up soon." Azgrim says launching another volley, his arrows streaking towards the beast aglow with Ki energy.


Sorry my cable modem died NYE and the replacement was buggy. Been stable since cable guy came yesterday tho.

Swift: Ki Arrows: 1ki to turn all shots to Unarmed Damage

Ranged Flurry of Blows:
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3:
Attack: [roll6] (Perfect Strike: roll attack 2x take best; if crit use other roll to confirm)
Attack: [roll7] Damage: [roll8] + [roll9] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack: [roll10] Damage: [roll11] + [roll12] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[TherianTheorist]

"Begone daemon, you do not belong here!"

Jalon draws his spear, infusing it with divine energy.

Move: Draw weapon (Spear)

Swift: Judgment (Justice) Second Judgment (Smiting)

Standard: Casting Weapon of awe

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

It was obvious that this creature was resistant to most of his spell. He thought it best to save his strength. Healing might be needed later.

Instead he readies a defensive spell


ready action: counter spell with Dispel Magic

[DeusMalum]

Will have a post up tomorrow.

[DeusMalum]

[Correction: putting a post up now.]

Nara manages to load and fire her guns in spite of her predicament, scoring a solid hit. The shot rips through one of its tentacles and it lets go.

At roughly the same time, Jalon's spear erupts into brilliant, awe-inspiring light, difficult to look at directly.

While it appears pained and staggered by the accumulated damage, the creature is alive and undeterred. With a brief, sweeping motion of its hands it begins to tap into its magical abilities, attempting to summon support. The summoning succeeds, and a trio of the same type of creature you fought earlier, hydrodaemons, appear in a triangle immediately behind the piscodaemon, drawn forth from the swamps and mires of Abaddon by the stronger daemon.

As they materialize, Azgrim's next volley finds its mark, sinking deep into its daemonic flesh and sending jolts of electricity through its frame. The creature remains upright, though it is on its last legs. Off in the distance you hear movement heading your way. With enemy reinforcements on their way, and some reinforcements already here, pitched battle may not be the best course of action.

[Edit: I screwed up, Abroshtor's readied action to dispel would start up AFTER the creature's current actions, so he can dispel the next ability the creature attempts to use, or any abilities the hydrodaemons attempt to use, or instead decide to dispel the ongoing Stinking Cloud. As a result, the summon attempt succeeds. My bad. Also because I've already done rolls for this post, I'm going to set their initiative at the creature's initiative for simplicity's sake. So turn order is now: Nara, Jalon, creatures, Azgrim, Abroshtor.]
[Lemme get a Fort save from all of you for Stinking Cloud's ongoing effect.]

Rolls:
Dispel Check: [roll0]
Summon chance: [roll1]

DM Notes:
114 damage

[PChubby]

Azgrim

"BAH! It decided to call in friends. Anyone have a way to slow them down in case we have to make a hasty retreat?" Azgrim turns a steely gaze back to the piscodaemon, sending more arrows to bring the beast down.

If the piscodaemon is dead before Azgrim's turn he'll shoot the closest hydrodaemon.

Fortitude: [roll0] (-5 if Stinking Cloud is NOT a spell/spell-like)

Swift: Ki Arrows: 1ki to turn all shots to Unarmed Damage

Ranged Flurry of Blows:
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll1] Damage: [roll2] + [roll3] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll4] Damage: [roll5] + [roll6] electric
Arrow 3:
Attack: [roll7] (Perfect Strike: roll attack 2x take best; if crit use other roll to confirm)
Attack: [roll8] Damage: [roll9] + [roll10] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack: [roll11] Damage: [roll12] + [roll13] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[Axinian]

Fortitude save
[roll0]

[TherianTheorist]

Fort save: [roll0]

[shugyosha]

fort
[roll0]

[DeusMalum]

Busy weekend and Monday, I'll shoot to have a post up tonight.

[DeusMalum]

Abroshtor and Jalon have to fight back the urge to vomit, and are unable to act this round, losing precious time in the battle. Nara and Azgrim manage to tough it out, suppressing their nausea long enough to fight back.

[I need an action from Nara before I process Azgrim's attack and the creatures' actions. You feel you have at least a couple minutes before the cavalry arrives to assist your enemies.]

Edit: and sorry for the week long lag in getting a post up, I've been sick and a little out of it for the past week or so, and it's made posting feel like a bit of a chore. I'm getting back up to speed, so once I get an action from Axinian I should be able to get things moving again.

[Axinian]

Nara attempts to move out of range of the daemon's tentacles and the stinking cloud towards the party, performing quick zig-zags and roll to avoid retaliation. As she loads another bullet into Justice, she says "As fun as this is we should leave before we have too many players!"

Acrobatics to avoid AoO: [roll0]

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

The gnome doubles over gagging and gasping.

[TherianTheorist]

Jalon is sickened by the cloud.

[PChubby]

[Waiting on the creatures response to Nara's action before I post for Azgrim. ]

[DeusMalum]

I know. Internet's back as of this weekend but ze superbowl was yesterday. I'm posting tonight for sure, both parties.

Mea culpa.

[DeusMalum]

As Abroshtor and Jalon double over with nausae, Nara manages to gracefully disentangle herself from the daemon. It advances, while its compatriots spread out to the sides, obviously seeking to box you in should you not beat a retreat in the near future. Having lost an opportunity to strike out at the gunslinger due to her deft maneuvering, the monstrous outsider instead seeks Jalon as a target, striking at the undine with its tentacles, seeking to contact and poison him rather than grab him, thus allowing the daemon to keep its freedom of movement. Jalon is strike square in the chest by the thick muscled appendage, one of its suckers finding a bare patch of skin and latching on briefly, leaving behind the same debilitating poison Nara was exposed to. He is similarly weakened by the toxins.

As it finishes the attack maneuver, a blanket of darkness covers it entirely, obscuring it from view. The effect is clearly magical, the outline of the darkened region making an almost perfect sphere in the dwindling light, and likely conjured up by one of the new arrivals.

Azgrim despite the sudden obscurity, has a chance to attack. The three other outsiders are also easily in range, and still clearly visible.

[Jalon takes 12 damage and 1 point of Temporary Con damage.]

Tentacle: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
Jalon Fort Save: [roll2]
Poison: [roll3]

[PChubby]

Azgrim

The dwarven monk takes aim at the outsiders through the darkness and does his best to remove as many as he can from play.

Azgrim shoots the closest enemy, if it dies he'll fire the remaining shots to next closest enemy

Swift: Ki Arrows: 1ki to turn all shots to Unarmed Damage

Ranged Flurry of Blows:
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3:
Attack: [roll6] (Perfect Strike: roll attack 2x take best; if crit use other roll to confirm)
Attack: [roll7] Damage: [roll8] + [roll9] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack: [roll10] Damage: [roll11] + [roll12] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

[DeusMalum]

[Just to clarify, only the piscodaemon you've been fighting so far is hidden in darkness. The other three, hydrodaemons similar to the one you killed earlier, are moving around trying to fence you in, and are clearly visible. You're aiming at the nearest of those?]

[PChubby]

[ I missed the piscodaemon was the only one in darkness but yes, Azgrim attacks the closest thing he can see.]

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

Taking out his other metarod the gnome casts another fire spell. Three jets of flame leap from his hands towards the hydrodaemons.


Maximized Scorching Ray:
[roll0] over come SR
[roll1] over come SR
[roll2] over come SR

[Axinian]

[Provided nothing special happens, I'm gonna take my turn]

Nara follows the gnome's lead and fires a pair of shots into the nearest hydrodaemon


Justice (with bane): [roll]1d20+19[roll], [roll0]+[roll1]
Mercy: [roll2], [roll3]

[Axinian]

fixing a roll

[roll0]

[DeusMalum]

Azgrim's shots strike true at the nearest Hydrodaemon, the one closest to the globe of darkness surrounding its stronger ally. The arrows gouge and shock terrible wounds in the creature's flesh, wounds immediately made worse by the sudden and violent blasts of flame Abroshtor strikes the outsider with. Badly wounded, the creature has no time to retaliate as Nara delivers the coup de grace, placing a bullet right between its bulging, frog-like eyes. The creature collapses into a dead heap on the ground as its allies move to attack.

The piscodaemon doesn't emerge from the darkness, but as the remaining lesser daemons move to circle around, they attempt to strike out at the nearest adventurers. For one, this is Nara, the other, Jalon, the creatures striking out with pairs of razor-sharp claws. Each lands a single hit against their target, causing painful but non-life threatening lacerations as they find the unarmored parts of your bodies.

Off in the distance you hear the steady sound of the reinforcements' approach. To make matters worse, similar shouts of daemons can be heard, farther out, to the southwest of your position, back in the direction you came from. Whether these are approaching or heading further out into the swamp you can't, as of yet, determine.

[Actions!]
[Edit: Stinking Cloud has cleared, no more Fort saves needed.]

Attack and Damage rolls:
Attack Jalon: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]
Attack Jalon Claw 2: [roll2] Damage: [roll3]
Attack Nara: [roll4] Damage: [roll5]
Attack Nara Claw 2: [roll6] Damage: [roll7]

DM Notes:
Damage unchanged for Piscodaemon, Hydrodaemon 1 dead, rest uninjured. Second wave now 7 turns away, third wave making presence known.

[PChubby]

"Nice shot!"Azgrim says as Nara finishes off the hydrodaemon. He pasues for a moment, staring at the darkness surrounding the piscodaemon.

"Anyone have a way to clear that darkness? We're going to need clear shots once we get rid of these distractions." The dwarf turns attention back to the enemies he can see and launches another volley.

Same as before, Azgrim focuses on the closest enemy attacking, if it dies he'll fire the remaining shots to next closest enemy.

Swift: Ki Arrows: 1ki to turn all shots to Unarmed Damage

Ranged Flurry of Blows:
Arrow 1:
Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] electric
Arrow 2:
Attack: [roll3] Damage: [roll4] + [roll5] electric
Arrow 3:
Attack: [roll6] (Perfect Strike: roll attack 2x take best; if crit use other roll to confirm)
Attack: [roll7] Damage: [roll8] + [roll9] electric
Arrow 4:
Attack: [roll10] Damage: [roll11] + [roll12] electric

Conditional Modifiers:
- Add 1 to attack & damage if it's w/in 30 ft.(Point Blank Shot)
- Total all damage before applying damage reduction (Clustered Shots)

Limited Use Stuff:
Ki Pool: 10/13 left
Perfect Shots: 5/9 left

[TherianTheorist]

"I'm afraid I can't do anything about the darkness, anyone else?"

Jalon appears to scream again, but nothing can be heard.

Casting Ear-Piercing Scream on one of the visible Hydrodaemons.

Caster level check vs SR [roll0]
Damage roll: [roll1] Sonic damage, chance to daze.

4 1st level spells/day left.

[shugyosha]

Abroshtor

"Let me try." At the request of the others the gnome waves his hands at the on coming darkness.


Dispel magic (Let's if I can actually get this off and do something this time)

[roll0] Caster level check for dispel