Operation: UNDERHOLME (IC)

[pyrocide]

Mordecai moves to the tree with Brandor and the others, but decides against climbing.

"Git on up the tree then. I'll stay here and make sure we don't get ambushed from the ground."

Mordecai's reason made tactical sense, though the dwarf had another reason for declining to climb. Mordecai lived in the earth. Having the open stormy sky above him was already more than he cared for. However, climbing something and leaving the dirt completely was more than he could take. Mordecai wasn't afraid so to say, but rather uncomfortable, much as humans become uncomfortable when underground for long periods of time.

[hoverfrog]

"Are you able to describe the humanoid that is causing concern?" Boric is sure that he will be able to identify the creature, "Can this communication be enhanced so we can see through one another's eyes perhaps?"

[Chained Birds]

Doel

"Just got a Telepathy going, no 'Through each other's eyes stuff'. I've sent my Scout Nimble up the Tower to check. Heck unless the guard is knowledgable about strange Psionic creatures, Nimble will most likely go unnoticed. It looks like a rock anyways."

Doel is waiting to hear back from the Psycrystal as the creature is included in the Collective.

[Machinekng]

Once in his perch, Brandor maintained a watch on the area the two scouts had headed for. He also tried to penetrate the darkness and monitor the tower from his location ... a difficult feat at best from this distance in this weather.

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Perception: [roll0]

Your place in the perch gives you an unique vantage point. You're able to get a better look at the figure. It has visibly disportionate arms and legs, and moves in a mechanical fashion. You're also able to look into the second story arrow slits, and you can see a dim light from within the structure.

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Climb: Climb Speed 20ft
Perception Check (With Sighted Ability up to 40ft): [roll0]
- If needed as it approaches to where the figure is.
Stealth Check: [roll1]

Edit: Luckily a 1 doesn't always mean failure. And it pretty much looks like a black spider anyways...

A each member of the team begins to a feel a tingling in the back of their minds, alerting them to the psicrystal's attempt to communicate.

Yo, boz, I'm up here at the top. The guy up here ain't no yu-man-iod. Ahmz are off, legz are off, too long and thin, and it looks like e'z made of wood. Wazn't too sure til' I figured that out. Definitely not natural, no siree. Anything elze ya need, bozman?

OOC:

I'll explain my combat/encounter procedure in the OOC thread, but here is the link to the encounter grid. Everyone should be able to edit it, just reade the procedure first.

https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1...ZjSEOstVc/edit

[Chained Birds]

Doel

Doel somewhat regrets leaving Nimble in the care of some of his Svirfneblin friends during one of his missions. Their manner of speaking really rubbed off on it...

"Return Nimble, it would appear this creature was a sentry placed to cause havoc for people like us. Would be best to deal with it as quickly and as quietly as able.

Everyone, get to a favorable position for combat but continue to remain as hidden as possible. Skeller and Stalker, can you lure the Tower Creature down here? Or find a way to force the creature down if you catch my drift? I don't want anyone falling to their deaths other than that creature.
The signal to begin this procedure, will be when Nimble returns to my possession. Everybody Clear?!"

[Starbin]

Brandor's vantage yielded a wealth of information ... information that was corroborated by the Captain's spy crystal. After hearing the report from the crystal, and Doel's comment's afterwards, Brandor 'spoke' up on the link.

"Dim light inside structure. One warning - sentry golem may not be 'curious,' but only have an alarm or attack mode. What are the best weapons ... fire?"

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So hopefully "fire vs wood robot" isn't a stretch for any commando. However, for any other info about the beastie, we might need a KS (Arcana) roll ... which I think Boric might be the only one with! Not sure that we can 'lure' an automaton down to 'investigate something strange.' It may just be 'programmed' to report intruders and attack under certain circumstances. Best bet might be to attack it at range ... a la flaming musketeer!

Thoughts?

[hoverfrog]

Boric

Boric tries to match the description with what he knows about constructs. He'll clarify things with those watching the creature as necessary. "Can you describe its face at all? What equipment does it have? Does it have hands, claws or weapons at the ends of its arms? How tall is it? Dwarf height, human height, ogre height?"

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Keep an open mind. 'Moves in a mechanical fashion' may not mean that it is mechanical, it may be a mentally dominated thrall or insectoid or simply unused to the armour it's wearing.

Knowledge Arcana (1d20+11)[22]
Knowledge Dungeoneering (1d20+14)[25]
Knowledge Planes (1d20+7)[12] Just in case I match it up with anything extra planar.

Initiative roll just in case. (1d20+4)[22]

"One other thing from the observers if you please. Could you describe the tower nest itself. Is there cover for the sentinel? How high are the walls around it? Is there a trap door down or a guardhouse with an alarm bell or something? I'm wondering if the surface of the tower nest suddenly became incredibly slippery would it be likely that the sentinel would fall off or just fall over. Additionally can you see if there is a coil of rope nearby. It is possible to animate such a rope in order to entangle the guard. I would need direct line of sight for either enchantment."

[ji9zo]

"Let's head up 'ere then, shall we?" Stalker asks through the link while looking at Skeller. He then begins creeping up to and eventually up the tower. He tries to pick a path that'll pass him by at least one arrow slit so that he can get a look inside the tower.

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Climb - (1d20+12)[21]
Perception - (1d20+11)[19]
Stealth - (1d20+18)[24]

[Iron Victory]

Going against every instinct in his body, Skeller follows Stalker. The dwarf begins to reluctantly ascend the tower. "Give us some cover, we're gonna be pretty exposed if someone sticks their head out."

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Perception:(1d20+14)[28]
Climb:(1d20+15)[27]
Stealth:(1d20+19)[31] -1(should be +18)
Dungeoneering (to identify the sentry):(1d20+12)[26]

[Machinekng]

Doel

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Doel somewhat regrets leaving Nimble in the care of some of his Svirfneblin friends during one of his missions. Their manner of speaking really rubbed off on it...

"Return Nimble, it would appear this creature was a sentry placed to cause havoc for people like us. Would be best to deal with it as quickly and as quietly as able.

Everyone, get to a favorable position for combat but continue to remain as hidden as possible. Skeller and Stalker, can you lure the Tower Creature down here? Or find a way to force the creature down if you catch my drift? I don't want anyone falling to their deaths other than that creature.
The signal to begin this procedure, will be when Nimble returns to my possession. Everybody Clear?!"

Got ya boz. I'll get heading down in a jiffy!

Boric

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Boric tries to match the description with what he knows about constructs. He'll clarify things with those watching the creature as necessary. "Can you describe its face at all? What equipment does it have? Does it have hands, claws or weapons at the ends of its arms? How tall is it? Dwarf height, human height, ogre height?"

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Keep an open mind. 'Moves in a mechanical fashion' may not mean that it is mechanical, it may be a mentally dominated thrall or insectoid or simply unused to the armour it's wearing.

Knowledge Arcana [roll0]
Knowledge Dungeoneering [roll1]
Knowledge Planes [roll2] Just in case I match it up with anything extra planar.

Initiative roll just in case. [roll3]

"One other thing from the observers if you please. Could you describe the tower nest itself. Is there cover for the sentinel? How high are the walls around it? Is there a trap door down or a guardhouse with an alarm bell or something? I'm wondering if the surface of the tower nest suddenly became incredibly slippery would it be likely that the sentinel would fall off or just fall over. Additionally can you see if there is a coil of rope nearby. It is possible to animate such a rope in order to entangle the guard. I would need direct line of sight for either enchantment."

Well, it don't got much of a face. Just a flatish noze and carved eyes, some sort of mouth hole. It'z 'bout a bit tallah than a yu-man, and gotz normal lookin' handz. Normal for a guy made of wood, 'dat iz.

As for the tower, let me look again...

The nest looks like itz made of the local wood. The floor'z just logz. No trapdoor, per say, but dere'z a hole, with a ladda'. Looks like dere'z some sort of rope dere, going down the hole, but I don't see what'z it attached to. No coil, howeva. I'm heading back down now! Give me a sec!

Knowledge Checks:

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After racking your brain, you're pretty sure that the figure is a wood golem, one of the more common golem types. You remember that it exhibts the common golem traits, and that it's vulnerable to fire. The only magic that you're sure will affect it is fire magic.

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"Let's head up 'ere then, shall we?" Stalker asks through the link while looking at Skeller. He then begins creeping up to and eventually up the tower. He tries to pick a path that'll pass him by at least one arrow slit so that he can get a look inside the tower.

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Climb - [roll0]
Perception - [roll1]
Stealth - [roll2]

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Going against every instinct in his body, Skeller follows Stalker. The dwarf begins to reluctantly ascend the tower. "Give us some cover, we're gonna be pretty exposed if someone sticks their head out."

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Perception:[roll0]
Climb:[roll1]
Stealth:[roll2] -1(should be +18)
Dungeoneering (to identify the sentry):[roll3]

The surface of the tower, while worn and rough from the many years, is also rather slippery due to the storm, and it's a trouble to climb it. Both Stalker and Skeller are able to get to the second story, but when Stalker pulls himself to peak into the arrow slit, one of his feet slip, although he's able to catch himself with the arrow slit. Skeller is more successful, and is able to climb as far as he wishes to up the tower.

Stalker, when you do get a chance to look in the arrow slit, you see a humaniod, either an orc or a half-orc, sitting at a table. A candle on the table illumintates the room, and the figure seems to be reading something, hard to see what. A couple of weapons are lying underneath the table, and you think you see something small perched in what appears to be rafters, possibly the supports for old floors that have given away.

[ji9zo]

Stalker informs the others of the humanoid once he is sure he has recovered his footing.

"An Orc, it is. It seems the tower's occupants definitely aren't aware of us quite yet. Shall we continue to the top?"

The Duergar asks through the link while glaring at the humanoid within the tower.

[hoverfrog]

"Brandor, do you require additional magical protection from your wand?" He fetches the wand from his haversack and quietly chants the command to activate it.

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Wand of mage armour 2 charges

Once completed he stows the wand and pays particular attention to the tower door.

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Can I tell which way the door opens, in or out?

Perception (1d20+1)[17]

"Once the assault begins the other guards will hopefully not be aware of it. If they are somehow alerted they will probably move up to investigate or secure their defences and start a warning for the other towers. We'll need to take out the rest of the inhabitants and prevent any from escaping. I propose that we attack the door the instant the enemy is alerted to our presence."

[Chained Birds]

Doel

"Seems like these folks might be hired help from the enemy due to how recent this tower was made and the fact an Orc is present. I could send Nimble inside, but that might be too dangerous with so much unknown information about the Tower and all.
Proceed with removing the visible threat. Maybe if the Orc is the only other member here, we could coax some information out of him. If the Orc is alerted, attempt to capture him alive."

[pyrocide]

Hearing the news on the wooden warden, Mordecai chimes in through the mental link.

"My girl Vera here spouts fire with each bullet. If you want me to set up for a shot I'm good to go."

Mordecai continues to scan the area, making sure no roving security band gets the jump on the group.

[Machinekng]

"[COLOR="DarkRed"]

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Can I tell which way the door opens, in or out?
Perception [roll0]

The position of the door's hinges make it clear that the door opens inwards.

Yo Boz, I'm back!

[ji9zo]

Stalker continues climbing towards the tower's nest, trying to be more careful than before.

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Climb - (1d20+12)[15]

[Iron Victory]

Stalker drags himself to the top of the tower, trying to ignore how high he is above the ground. The inquisitor crawls around until he's opposite to Stalker, effectively flanking the wooden sentry.

[Chained Birds]

Doel

Doel will hold a Dimensional Swap ready in case Stalker falls, using Nimble as the other target... He can take the fall.

[Starbin]

Brandor raised his bow, taking aim at the wooden sentry. If the attack was to commence, he would be prepared. Over the link, his mind whispered, "Ready."

[hoverfrog]

"Ready" replied Boric, keeping a small bit of fleece dry in preparation for casting his spell.

[Chained Birds]

Doel

"Engage the Enemy!"

[Iron Victory]

Go Stalker, I'll back you up. Snipers fire! Skeller utters a few mystical words that get eaten up by the storm, then everything goes silent.

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Casting Silence on my sword.
Skeller readies and action to attack. (I want to go second because I get bonuses for flanking (+4 to hit and +1d6 damage.)
Initiative: (1d20+6)[17] (If I haven't already....)

[Starbin]

Brando held his breath for a moment as he focused - reaching for his inner calm, slowing his heart, zeroing in on the target, he froze in machine-like perfection for a long moment as he watched Stalker and Skeller scramble over the edge. He mind's voice spoke quietly over the link, "Three ... two ... one ... fire."

Then with a single, almost imperceptible movement, he released the string and let the arrow fly forward ... then rapidly fired two more arrows, all timed to fire in concert with Mordecai as well as using the cover of rumbling thunder.

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Flurry of blows w/bow. I don't think there are any range penalties (guessing the squares are 5ft, but even if they are 10ft, I should be okay); target will receive no cover bonus (Imp Precise Shot). Using Perfect Shot on the first shot and Deadly Shot

1st Attack: (1d20+9)[28] (threat) or (1d20+9)[25] (confirms threat?)
Dam #1: (1d8+9)[14] + 11 = 25

2nd Attack: (1d20+9)[11] Guessing this is a miss
Dam #2: (1d8+9)[10]

3rd Attack: (1d20+4)[20]
Dam #3: (1d8+9)[16]

[pyrocide]

"Well," Mordecai thought through the link, "It ain't in a good range for me, but I'll git it done regardless."

Mordecai slung Vera up to his eye level to aim down the sights, and when the countdown hit "fire" he unleashed a small barrage of bullets at his target. It was weak to fire, so if even one bullet hit, Mordecai knew he had done a good job.

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rapid attack with the musket (not using deadly aim due to range):
(1d20+6)[9] (10-2 for range, -2 for rapid shot=6)
(1d12)[8]+(1d6)[3] fire +4
(1d20+6)[11] (10-2 for range, -2 for rapid shot=6)
(1d12)[1]+(1d6)[3] fire +4
(1d20+1)[19] (5-2 for range, -2 for rapid shot=1)
(1d12)[9]+(1d6)[2] fire +4
Because it's outside the first range, it hits normal ac instead of touch ac.

[hoverfrog]

Boric knows that golems are often immune to spells and so keeps them for use against the non-constructs. Instead he shoots his crossbow at the golem, wishing that he'd invested in some magical bolts that caused fire damage.

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Light crossbow: (1d20+7)[25]
Damage: (1d8)[8]
Crit: (1d20+7)[13] 19-20x2
Damage: (1d8)[8]