The Savage Tide [IC]

[PersonMan]

Celiss will tumble to get into a better position, makes a mental note to buy something to stab things with, then attacks with a vicious elbow-to-face maneuver!

Rolls:

Spoiler

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Acrobatics: (1d20+5)[18]
Attack: (1d20+5)[25](+2 flanking)
Damage: (1d6+3)[6]

[lostsole31]

R2T16: Celiss will tumble to get into a better position, makes a mental note to buy something to stab things with, then attacks with a vicious elbow-to-face maneuver! It is a perfect strike, and easily would've made a man blinded and choking on his own blood. However, being a zombie, such issues do not bother it, though it still takes 1 mod damage.

R2T6: Rabbi Eliezer cuts his opponent across the belly for 3 damage.

R2T5: Darrius, you now are face-to-face with one of these horrifically looking (and smelling) creatures. What do you do?

[Tacitus]

Darrius

Relatively light on his feet, he shuffles back out of reach and spits again.

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Either 5ft out of reach or an attempted Tumble to get the 5ft in a direction that isn't backing me into a corner. If I can get up on some rubble (ie, difficult terrain and hard for charging, far enough in that it would disrupt a charge of course) I'll head that way.
Acrobatics for a tumble if required: (1d20+6)[21]

Ranged Touch Attack: (1d20+3)[13]
Acid Damage: (3d6)[14]

[lostsole31]

R2T5: Relatively light on his feet, Darrius shuffles back out of reach (10' to his right) and spits again. Just as the creature opens its mouth wide to get ready to run and chomp on Darrius, the latter's gob of acid-like soul-spit lands right in its mouth and practically melts its head away. And yet, by the barest shred, the thing manages to have its eyes (on the part of the head hanging at the chest by a tendril of the neck) still lolling around and its arms flailing. It's not quite done yet.

R2T4: Despite being carved by Korian, RZP3 is distracted by Celiss' strike. Its bite is very good, getting past her flurries and even her shield spell, but blocked by her mage armor.

R2T3: RZP2 bites Eliezer in the upper right arm for 6 damage. It is a nasty, nasty bite that goes right down to the bone.

R2T2: RZP1 charges Darrius and nearly breaks the man's right wrist with 8 damage! (It may actually be fractured...)

End Round Two, Begin Round Three ...

R3T18: Korian does a double swipe. The first barely strikes (5 damage), thanks to Celiss's distraction, though the second set of claws only shreds thick hide.

The wounded rabbi says, "We are all wounded, save Celiss. I say we make a fighting withdrawal to the room we came from. Each of us in turn try to hold the door and once in, then slam the door shut."

R3T16: Celiss?

[PersonMan]

Celiss nods. You can all start moving back, I'll try to cover you. Since she's both uninjured and is probably fairly hard to hit for these things, she'll stay another round.

Since these things aren't being floored by Celiss' awesomely accurate strikes, she will simply start spamming palms.

Rolls:

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Flurry of Smacks!
(1d20+2)[16]
(1d20+2)[21]
EDIT: +2 for flanking...but I'm pretty sure I hit anyways.
Damage:
(1d6+3)[9]
(1d6+3)[7]

[lostsole31]

R3T16: Celiss nods. "You can all start moving back, I'll try to cover you."

Since she's both uninjured and is probably fairly hard to hit for these things, she'll stay another round. As these things aren't being floored by Celiss' awesomely accurate strikes, she simply starts spamming palms. The first one cracks across the thing's right ear and shatters that side of its skull and jaw and cheek for 4 mod damage. For good measure, once it falls, she does an axe kick down to its spine for 2 mod damage, but the abomination is already destroyed.

R3T6: Knowing that if he goes down, than no one is left for healing quickly later. Rabbi Eliezer steps back 5' and casts his last healing spell available for the day, fully healing his wounds.

R3T5: Darrius, the call to retreat was given, but one zombie pirate has been dropped and it doesn't look like yours is barely moving. What do you do?

[Tacitus]

Darrius

He tries to slip away from the zombie thats after him, pain radiating up through his arm in subtle waves. He doesn't feel it, not yet, but if he stops for a moment to consider it he'll surely double over from the agony it will bring. Though he does not run from the room, he does his best to put others between himself and the zombies before casting another glob of spit in hopes of thinning the herd further.

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Hmm, not that it much matters for the last roll, I didn't include the ACP for the shield on the acrobatics roll to tumble.
Acrobatics: (1d20+4)[10]

RTA: (1d20+3)[8]
Acid: (3d6)[16]

[lostsole31]

R3T5: Darrius tries to slip away from the zombie thats after him, pain radiating up through his arm in subtle waves. The zombie flails at him as he tries to go, for Darrius' body doesn't respond to his command nearly as he had hoped. He doesn't feel it, not yet, but if he stops for a moment to consider it he'll surely double over from the agony it will bring. Though he does not run from the room (he is now just at the doorway, he does his best to put others between himself and the zombies before casting another glob of spit in hopes of thinning the herd further, but again - even not fully registering the pain, his aim is off and he misses his target.

R3T3: The doctor's opponent snaps its big mouth on the left side of his hip and rump for minimum (4) damage.

R3T2: Because the battle brought Darrius' zombie up towards the northern wall, the gilled man was able to target his foe. The problem is that foe now has a clear line to charge him as well. Once again, though, the weird position of its lolling head at its chest means it targets poorly and misses.

End Round Three, Begin Round Four ...

R4T18: Korian charges Darrius' foe, moving due north but ending his movement behind the near-defunct zombie. He only does 3 damage to its lower back and spine, but that is enough to finally drop the deformed zombie.

R4T16: Celiss, you would have to go just inside the room (and away from an opponet) because of Darrius' forward position. "Celiss," says the rabbi, "I'll withdraw when I can, if you can just get its attention." Eliezer's opponent is 20' from you, if you charge to a flanking position. What do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss will charge the zombie, jumping into a spinning flip partway through to land on its shoulders, hitting it in the face with both hands.

...Or just charge, if she can't do that yet.

Rolls:

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+7)[26]
Damage: (1d6+3)[4]

[lostsole31]

R4T16: Celiss charges the zombie, jumping up and bringing a hammer fist down to gorilla thump it on the head. She loses too much power in the jump and her body is disconnected, so while it would've been a nice crunchy move to a normal human head, it has no effect on the zombie.

R4T6: Rabbi Eliezer withdraws into the chamber from which you entered.

R4T5: Darrius, what do you do? The final zombie is in melee with Celiss, and you are in the square in front of the door just outside the smaller adjacent room. (Eliezer just whisked by you.)

[Tacitus]

Darrius

Darrius glances back to the zombies and, for a moment, considers simply getting as far from them as he can. His weight shifts as he begins to move again, but a look of frustrated effort washes across his face before he turns back to spit again, as cautiously as he can given the circumstances. He'll then leave the room entirely and try to get well out of sight.

Spoiler

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RTA: (1d20-1)[3]
Acid: (3d6)[8]

[lostsole31]

R4T5: Darrius glances back to the zombies and, for a moment, considers simply getting as far from them as he can. His weight shifts as he begins to move again, but a look of frustrated effort washes across his face before he turns back to spit again, as cautiously as he can given the circumstances. His pain now felt fully, and the fear of bathing Celiss in acid, causes his hissing hocker to go very, very wide. He then clears the door and moves into the smaller chamber, just out of sight.

R2T3: So sloppy and mindless is the zombie when it tries to bite Celiss that it stumbles onto the ground.

End Round Two, Begin Round Three...

R3T18: Korian, seeing the opportunity, charges the prone zombie (which happens to give him flanking with Celiss as well). His claw does 4 damage to its left upper arm. It really doesn't look like it can take much more damage.

R3T16: Celiss, you recover your balance from charging. You are flanking the last (prone) zombie with Korian. It looks like its about to give up the ghost. (Get it? Get it? I made an undead-themed pun right there. ) What do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss isn't about to take chances, so she'll hit it with a flurry of kicks to finish it.

Better overkill than a bite in the arm, as they say.

Rolls:

Spoiler

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Attacks: (1d20+4)[18]
(1d20+4)[8]
Damage:
(1d6+3)[9]
(1d6+3)[8]

[lostsole31]

It only takes one high kick to break its neck enough to destroy it ... the next kick is an axe kick to its brain pan. Just to be sure.

Rabbi Eliezer has everyone fall back to the small room after that. Doors are shut solidly this time, in case any more of these things are roving about. He then goes about seeing the damage. He has no more spells (well, healing spells, but he has realized that he has unlimited orisons), but he wants to get an assessment. He casts light on his dagger as a worklight. Though Darrius and Korian might be better at being aides, the doctor enlists Celiss since she is unwounded and therefore not as distracted. Obviously, the doctor himself can't be helped from his own pain.

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Darrius @ 50%.
Korian @ 55%.
The doctor himself ... wounds are worse than thought @ 40%.

The only person that came with food or water is Darrius. (I'll assume ...) Darrius passes around his water and shares his rations with others. (Salted fish .... nothing but salted fish.) His waterskin is now empty, but the rabbi advises against going to the water until it can be verified safe .... tomorrow. Folks have water for now.

Since everyone but Celiss has significant wounds, the Rabbi says that the group must hole up in this room for the night. For natural healing and to regain the gifts Moradin has given him. He and Celiss attempt to give care to everyone's wounds. He then asks Korian and Darrius to help him with his own wounds at that point. No watch is set ... people are too exhausted and need to heal, and Celiss needs solid rest for her spells.

The night does not pass by quietly, however .... there are plenty of times when the door to the chamber where you fought the zombies just now has pounding and scratching. You think sometimes you hear it several doors away the other way. (The first zombie set is such that you went back a few chambers and passageways and shut the doors.) Nonetheless, Celiss is able to regain her strength as well.

The night passes ...

[lostsole31]

After everyone has rested ... however long that takes, no one is quite sure.

Celiss' dreams have been particularly meditative and restful. When she awakes, she is able to finally pull the last two pieces together for some spells she's been working towards and finishes the notes in her spellbook as soon as she can ... and then studies.

Darrius' dreams have been fantastically introspective, as is wont for someone with such intuitive supernatural powers. His meditation that morning, linked with what Nae'etholi ("Quickslayer") has helped him study, opens new pathways ... including finally having the strength of spirit and body to store focused power in his crown chakra! On the other side of the fence, it seems that there is something far .... less? about him. For one thing, while his frame seems exactly the same, he has dropped a full 20 pounds. His skin is much darker. His skin used to have a slight sheen to it. No longer. His skin does not reflect light well at all ... especially the darker portions, wherein light seems to be drawn into and lost forever.

It takes Korian pointing it out for Darrius to notice it himself.

Rabbi Eliezer .... who last night offered you to call him "Lazer" (the diminutive form of "Eliezer") as a sign of equality and friendship ... also seems to have visibly lost just shy of about 10 pounds or so. But that is his non-adventurer muscles being trained better to the response of his experiences, and he walks with a surer grace than he did before. So much so, that for a dwarf ... he just might be the most agile member of the party now. It might make sense to Darrius and Korian, but while Celiss is the least agile member of the party, her intellectual motion studies as a Carmendine Monk take note of this change.

Celiss understands that a person can get stronger or faster over time, sure. But an adult usually does not go through such amazing increase so quickly. It is beyond the others' notice, and even Lazer seems surprised and not understanding .... but Celiss is pretty sure that there is something else occurring. Then again, there was that whole bit with the enlarge person spell having no effect on him. Korian's a monstrous humanoid ad is outside what most 'person' spells cover. But Lazer is a seacliff dwarf - a mild variation on a very, very common humanoid ('person'). So this is a mystery. Oh, mysteries, mysteries .... and let's not even get started with the far more dramatic and noticeable changes wrought in Darrius!

Lazer did a good job (along with Celiss) of treating wounds overnight. In turn, Korian and Darrius did a good job helping him.

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Darrius & Korian = 70%.
Lazer = 90%.
Lazer casts CLW and fully heals Darrius.

[lostsole31]

The next morning, and you explore the cavern where you defeated the zombies. While the smell is bad from the corpses (such as they are, vice zombies), you notice that the bodies have actually had chunks taken out of them. The smell was bad before, but now it's even worse. Korian, who has a very keen sense of smell, is fighting the fact that his nose is overwhelmed.

Lazer looks at the bodies, but doesn't get too close to the water, just in case. He invites everyone to take a look, but only Darrius finds the wounds/ cuttings/ whatever areas as 'familiar' but can't place it.

The room is 30' N-S by 50' E-W. On the north wall are two doors: the first is 15' from the west side; the second is 20' from the eastern side. The western wall has a door 15' from the south. The eastern wall has a pair of double doors at the south end. Past the 30' extension of the room's normal rectangular boundaries, a past cave-in and erosion make the southern edge of this room extend irregularly about 15' or so, with some 20' 'fingers'.

The main part of the room, vice any other doors, are searched. Lazer has everyone stay clear of the water. He's pretty sure that zombies didn't do that to zombies, but that it is some type of critter or animal, and likely one(s) from the water. There are no traps or anything of interest in this room beyond normal trappings as listed generally as before (rotten bunks and castoffs of useless/ broken/ rusted/ rotten equipment).

The doors are checked (and shut to keep out zombies). The eastern double doors are checked (ajar as other doors you have not shut), and this leads to the western edge of the wide p-way you came into when your first entered. You pass the door on the upper eastern wall from where you entered here originally. The northern door (eastern end) leads to a 15' E-W x 10' N-S chamber with nothing of value (it is searched). The second northern door (western end) is a 10' x 10' room (nothing of value).

You get to the western door. As soon as Darrius peers through, he sees three more zombies heading towards the door in file, the first being only 5' from the door!

Korian hears, smells, and is able to react first. He rushes forward and closes the door. *SLAM!*

Then comes the tell-tale pounding of fists on the door.

"We're primed," says Lazer. "Celiss, I am going to cast protection from evil on you, to make you even more impossible to hit. Go ahead and drop what protections you want on yourself, because you are going to hold the breech one-on-one. I'll be right behind you with healing spells. Darrius, right behind me with your spittle. Korian, you get on the outside and ready to shut the door if Celiss has to fall back; you're still a little shaky from yesterday, and far too unprotected with that terrible armor and - though agile - this broad-shouldered profile you present." [Read: Vulnerable flaw.]

Cast spells and update essentia. Lazer will cast PvE on Celiss. Let me know when done. Basically, while not as 'fun' (definitely not for Korian), Lazer is taking advantage of terrain advantage (breech) and a nearly unhittable ally (Celiss) to pound the hell out of the zombies with little damage to the party.

[Tacitus]

Darrius

Though his torc and pelt of fur remain, his black leather gloves have disappeared. Instead, he now wears a snug crown almost grown out of his own skull that seems to be made of crystal with hundreds of facets and perfect cuts to very nearly resemble coral, if only vaguely. In addition, a pair of crystalline plates of armor float just over his shoulders, completely disconnected from anything else he is wearing. At the door, he takes a few moments to shift his focus, the light in the eyes of his pelt dimming as the crystalline plates begin to glow with a dim inner light.

Spoiler

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Essentia allocation:
[1] Adamant Pauldrons: 25% Fortification, DR E/Law
[1] Crystal Helm: +2 Rest to Will vs Charm/Compulsion, +3 Deflection
[2] Dissolving Spittle: 1d6+Ed6 Acid at 30ft
[0] Worg Pelt: 2+2E Competence to Stealth

And, for the benefit of expediency, unless you object, I'll toss up my potential first round or whatnot.

RTA: (1d20)[1] (+4 attack, -4 into melee assumed)
Acid: (3d6)[9]

[PersonMan]

Celiss will cast Mage Armor on herself(and Korian, if she isn't pressed for time), then she's ready.

[lostsole31]

Celiss casts both spells, as above. Then, when the signal is given, Korian opens the door.

R1T23: Korian readies to step in if Celiss falls.

R1T19: Celiss, you are face-to-face with an icky zombie. What do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss will hit it with a flurry of punches, annoyed that she forgot to draw her sword-she'll just have to punch-spam them to death until she has an opening.

Actions:

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Flurry:
1: (1d20+3)[23]
2: (1d20+3)[12]
Damage:
1: (1d6+3)[6]
2: (1d6+3)[4]

Ready an action to draw her short sword as soon as a zombie is downed.

[lostsole31]

R1T19: Celiss smashes the first in the chest for 2 mod damage, but her second fist bouncing off of the tough hide.

R1T17: Darrius? You're actually the heavy-hitter in this fight. "Target the back line!" recommends Lazer.

[Tacitus]

Darrius

Fairly confident in the setup they've put together for dealing with the zombies, Darrius does his best to whittle away at those that are not an immediate threat, and who are easier to hit without care of injuring an ally in the process, to thin out the numbers.

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Attack the furthest one I can see.
RTA: (1d20+4)[12]
Acid: (3d6)[14]

[lostsole31]

R1T17: Fairly confident in the setup they've put together for dealing with the zombies, Darrius does his best to whittle away at those that are not an immediate threat, and who are easier to hit without care of injuring an ally in the process, to thin out the numbers. He spits and hits the third in the chest for 14 acid damage.

R1T12: Lazer takes out his dagger and hands it forward, "Here, Celiss, take this. Use it to cut, not thrust."

R1T11: The lead zombie bites and misses Celiss.

End Round One, Begin Round Two ...

R1T23/19: Korian delays. Celiss, it would take a move action to grab Lazer's dagger, but will not provoke an AOO. Then, you can take a standard action for a single attack. What do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss considers it for a moment, deciding to switch to her sword once the first zombie is down.

Thanks. She says quickly, reaching back to grab the dagger and then swiping at the zombie with it immediately.

Rolls:

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I'm assuming the dagger isn't masterwork.
(1d20+4)[10]
(1d4+3)[7]

[lostsole31]

The dagger is deflected by its hide.

Darrius?

[Tacitus]

Darrius

With no immediate threat from the far zombie, he instead goes to the one in the center, sending his own bit of caustic air mail.

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RTA: (1d20+4)[20]
Acid: (3d6)[14]

[lostsole31]

R2T19: Celiss' dagger bounces.

R2T17: With no immediate threat from the far zombie, he instead goes to the one in the center, sending his own bit of caustic air mail, hitting it in the lower abdomen and groin for 14 acid damage.

R2T12: Lazer delays until needed ...

R2T11: The zombie almost bites Celiss, but she manages to block it with her forearm.

End Round Two, Begin Round Three ...

R3T19: Celiss?

[Tacitus]

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I'm going to be away from base for the next.... oh, 36 hours or so. If I'm online at all in that time it an anomaly or my phone. As such, I'm going to toss together my next round in this here spoiler.

Darrius

With victory hopefully close at hand, Darrius aims at the furthest of the zombies and lets fly once again.

RTA: (1d20+4)[10]
Acid: (3d6)[7]

[PersonMan]

Celiss steadies herself, breathing deeply for a moment before slicing at the zombie's throat. It may not need to breathe, or have blood, but Celiss is fairly certain that if she cuts its head off it'll go down.

Rolls:

Spoiler

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Attack:
(1d20+4)[6]
Damage:
(1d4+3)[6]

[lostsole31]

R3T19: Celiss steadies herself, breathing deeply for a moment before slicing at the zombie's throat. It may not need to breathe, or have blood, but Celiss is fairly certain that if she cuts its head off it'll go down. She slashes ast the same time its arm, in trying to flail at her, knocks the dagger to the side.

R3T17: With victory hopefully close at hand, Darrius aims at the furthest of the zombies and lets fly once again. The third zombie's face and torso sport terrible caustic holes, smelling thrice worse than it already does, and it goes down.

R3T11: The lead zombie, its arm having missed (fluff, not real action) and knocked the dagger to the side, bites at Celiss but its own head is knocked aside by Celiss' off-hand fist.

End Round Three, Begin Round Four ...

R4T19: Celiss?