Tales of Aequar: Runite's Rise IC III

[CoffeeIncluded]

Elsee:

As Elsee climbs up the shaft, crawling until it widens just enough for her to crouch, Naga slinks up behind her, whimpering at his separation from Badger. The tunnel is cut from dirt and laid with wood and stone, stained and worn in channels. There's a mixture of acrid and bitter smells, and the floor feels not just moist, but also oddly sticky. If Elsee looks up she can see sealed of grates and the hint of light and proper rooms up above; it seems as though this tunnel was cut out to serve as drainage from the labs. Who knows what residues are left behind--she should wash as soon as she can. There's solids left behind too, like the long slug-like deposits not far ahead.

Elsee stops when she sees an opening cut out from the side. She can see a room below, sloping down and then sharply sloping up. The center of the room is almost completely submerged in stagnant water that must be seeping in from below, and pretty much the entire room is boggy. And there seem to be things floating in the water, and other things, white, closer to the door...

Behind her, Naga, who has been whimpering this whole time from the smell and separation, stops. The whimper is replaced by a growl, which very very quickly shifts to an all-out snarl, as if he's about to attack.

Everyone else:

Kheel is busy devouring all the fresh-killed, not undead rats when Artorias motions for everyone to follow. He cautiously opens the door and everyone files into the next room...

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Waiting to see what order people want to enter the room in.

[super dark33]

[D]Kheel, come along.[D]


Surdrak signals Kheel with three fingers.

[Athedia]

Badger watched Naga climb into the hole, she wished she could go with him, but Elsee would have to protect him instead. "Okay, lets go." Badger followed closely behind Artorias, switching the axe in her hand for her bow.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Elsee:

As Naga growls, Elsee turns to the source and sees the massive slug-like deposit move towards her, inching along the ground with surprising speed, with a second one not too far behind. It reaches out tentacles to drag itself along, and as it closes in on Elsee and Naga it opens a surprisingly small mouth, filled with razor sharp teeth...

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Initiative:
Elsee: (d20+4)[7]
Naga: (d20+3)[14]
Gricks: (d20+2)[7]

Initiative order:
Naga
Elsee
Gricks

Roll knowledge (dungeons and dungeneering) to officially identify the creature in-character.

Everyone else, and Elsee if she looks:

As Artorias enters the room and Badger follows, three amorphous shapes drop from the ceiling. Two fall upon Artorias, while the third, slightly larger one, lands on Badger's head.

And then they reach around Artorias and Badger's necks with their long black spiny tentacles, wrap around their throats, cut off their air, and start throttling the life out of them.

To make matters worse, there's a rattling in the back of the room, and a splashing sound in the shallow sodden boggy "pool" in the center of the room, down a gentle slope. Four otherworldly growls rise in unison as four stripped-down dog skeletons, soft fur and a faithful expression torn away, their bones better preserved than the rats but not by much, slowly close in on the group. And then four logs in the boggy center of the room roll over and turn, and even Artorias and Badger, if they care to look despite the tentacled things trying to murder them, can see the gray rotten flesh and sunken eyes of four zombified alligators.

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Initiative:
Surdrak: (d20+3)[15]
Jadeite: (d20+2)[17]
Badger: (d20+4)[15]
Sora: (d20+2)[22]
Artorias: (d20+2)[15]
Kheel: (d20+2)[15]
Chokers: (d20+6)[16]
Skeleton dogs: (d20+7)[24]
Zombie alligators: (d20)[6]

Initiative order:
Skeleton dogs
Sora and Jadeite
Chokers
Surdrak, Badger, Artorias, and Kheel
Zombie alligators

Choker 1 attacks Artorias:
Grapple: (d20+5)[17]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[25]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[4]

Choker 2 attacks Artorias:
Grapple: (d20+5)[7]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[15]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[4]

Choker 3 attacks Badger:
Grapple: (d20+12)[21]
Opposed grapple: (d20+6)[12]
Constrict damage: (d4+4)[7]

Roll knowledge (dungeons and dungeneering) to officially identify the creature in-character.

And now I need to make the map.

Artorias manages to fling up his glaive just in time; both of the creatures wrap around his neck but neither manages to establish a firm hold. Badger, however, is less lucky as the squid-like beast wraps around her throat, the sharp spines digging into the sides of her neck, and starts to squeeze.

The skeleton dogs, roused by the sounds of battle, close in though the water and mud in the center of the room slows them down.

[Silverraptor]

Sora squealed and ducked under the rat thrown.
"Badger! Why would you do that?!"

[CoffeeIncluded]

With otherworldly howls the skeleton dogs run through the shallower edges of the near-swamp, but get bogged down partway through. Jadeite gasps as he sees the chokers strangle Badger and try to do the same to Artorias, and sees the undead dogs and alligators closing in. "I apologize for destroying such fine handiwork, but you simply must burn!" And he launches at the center of the muck, which explodes in a geyser of heat and slimy green and brown.

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SD1 reflex: (d20+4)[22]
Damage: (5d6)[21] (10)

SD2 reflex: (d20+4)[10]
Damage: (5d6)[12]

SD3 reflex: (d20+4)[9]
Damage: (5d6)[17]

SD4 reflex: (d20+4)[23]
Damage: (5d6)[18] (9)

ZA3 reflex: (d20+3)[13]
Damage: (5d6)[17]

ZA4 reflex: (d20+3)[21]
Damage: (5d6)[15] (7)

Two of the skeleton dogs and one of the zombie alligators dodge the worst of the blast, but the rest are caught in the fireball. When the muck and water settles, they see that the dogs are in bad shape. Their white bones are scorched and many of their ribs are cracked, broken and gone. The alligator also has a huge chunk taken out of him. But none of them seem to notice, and they still move to attack.

Up in the tunnel, Naga growls.

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Athedia, you're in control of Naga. The skeleton dogs have gone, so Sora's up. Then the chokers, then everyone else.

Up in the tunnel, it's Naga (controlled by Athedia) and Elsee, then the two gricks.

[Dusk Eclipse]

Note: This is supposed to go before the Chokers attack and Jadeite's counter move.
"This is weird, people normally trap stuff they want to protect, but there doesn't seem to be anything valuable in here." Artorias' hand moves towards his glaive, something just fell... off.

As they enter into the room, the feeling of danger increases, an almost inaudible noise makes Artorias look up just in time to bring his glaive to block... something.

"What the hell is that?" he yells.

[CoffeeIncluded]

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Knowledge: (d20+4)[20]

"It's called a choker," Jadeite says as the two smaller ones try to snap Artorias's glaive and get to his neck, batting away and pressing their tentacles against the wood. Meanwhile the larger one tightens its grip around Badger's throat, eliciting awful gagging noises from her. Several feet away there's still bubbling noises as the muck settles. "They're nasty predators that strangle their prey before consuming it. And they're deceptively quick."

[Athedia]

Naga growled, a low angry sound directed at the gricks. Seeing Elsee behind him he launched forward attacking the first grick he saw. Of course it wasn't a grick to him, but a weird tentacled mass. Probably dinner.

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Bite: (1d20+2)[5]
Crit: (1d20+2)[8]
Damage (1d4+1)[3]
I never rolled the stats for Naga. What hitpoints does he have?

[Silverraptor]

Sora shrikes and tries to get the thing off Badger, pulling out her dagger, she attempts to stab it off.

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Attack: (1d20+1)[6]
Critical: (1d20+1)[18]
Damage: (1d4-1)[3]

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee sneered at the slug-monsters, bearing her own sharp teeth while she was at it. Great, first she's crawling about in the alchemist's toilet pipe on date-night, now she has to fight living turds about it too. great. Juuuust great.

Ignoring the cut in the tunnel for now Elsee slowly brings herself to the closest thing to a stand she could manage, letting her teeth drag along the blade of her Kurkri as she draw it from her mouth, creating a faint scraping noise as she slowly moved forwards, uncomfortably hunched over to prevent the very top of her head from touching the ceiling. She didn't mind her hair being a mess, but she drew the line at having chemical turd in there.

Without even questioning the creature's motives, Elsee moved up to the nearest one and shot her Kurkri right towards the closest thing she could identify as a face, drawing the Kurkri's twin as she did so for later on in the fight.

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Untrained dungeoneering check if allowed; (d20-1)[19]
H'uh, Elsee has a -1 on int. forgot about that.

moving to M84 and attacking G1
Attack: (d20+6)[24]
Crit: (d20+6)[11]
Damage: (d3+2)[3]

Sneak attack: (2d6)[11]

[CoffeeIncluded]

Sora's dagger is unsuccessful at cutting though the choker. It is, however, very successful at cutting off a chunk of Badger's hair.

Elsee has more luck. Though Naga's fangs slide off the grick's hide (and Elsee knows it's a grick, a skulking slug-like tentacle thing that bashes its prey to death and devours it at leisure later) Elsee somehow manages to find a vital spot and plunge her dagger in all the way to the hilt. The grick shudders, makes a rasping noise, and falls limp.

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ill go for the chokers when I get back.

[CoffeeIncluded]

All three chokers continue to squeeze and strangle Badger and Artorias, pulling their tentacles tight around their throats, trying to cut off their air and blood supply.

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I'm rolling multiple grapple checks because they're going to try to grapple on each successful attack. Of course, once they grapple they're going to choke, so disregard any grapple checks after the first successful one. I think that's how it works, anyway. I don't like the grappling rules.

Choker 1 attacks Artorias:
Attack: (d20+6)[25]
Crit: (d20+6)[14]
Damage: (d3+3)[6]
Grapple: (d20+5)[7]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[17]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[5]

Attack: (d20+6)[16]
Crit: (d20+6)[22]
Damage: (d3+3)[5]
Grapple: (d20+5)[21]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[26]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[6]

Attack: (d20+6)[17]
Crit: (d20+6)[17]
Damage: (d3+3)[5]
Grapple: (d20+5)[17]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[27]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[5]

Choker 2 attacks Artorias:
Attack: (d20+6)[23]
Crit: (d20+6)[19]
Damage: (d3+3)[6]
Grapple: (d20+5)[13]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[26]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[4]

Attack: (d20+6)[9]
Crit: (d20+6)[18]
Damage: (d3+3)[5]
Grapple: (d20+5)[15]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[19]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[6]

Attack: (d20+6)[21]
Crit: (d20+6)[17]
Damage: (d3+3)[4]
Grapple: (d20+5)[14]
Opposed grapple: (d20+7)[19]
Constrict damage: (d3+3)[6]

Choker 3 attacks Badger:
Attack: (d20+8)[27]
Crit: (d20+8)[10]
Damage: (d4+4)[6]
Grapple: (d20+12)[22]
Opposed grapple: (d20+6)[24]
Constrict damage: (d4+4)[6]

Attack: (d20+8)[13]
Crit: (d20+8)[17]
Damage: (d4+4)[8]
Grapple: (d20+12)[28]
Opposed grapple: (d20+6)[26]
Constrict damage: (d4+4)[8]

Attack: (d20+8)[13]
Crit: (d20+8)[25]
Damage: (d4+4)[6]
Grapple: (d20+12)[32]
Opposed grapple: (d20+6)[11]
Constrict damage: (d4+4)[6]


Wow, these attacks are adding up fast. I knew they would, but I forgot just how fast. At least neither of you are as squishy as Mithril!

27 damage to Artorias, and...oh god, Badger's at -7. though I think you need to win a grapple check to throw them off you?

And you're up!

All the chokers manage to constrict Artorias and Badger, crushing their windpipe and leaving bruises. But as they shift their tentacles for a better grip, Artorias manages to grab onto the wriggly black limbs and wrench them away from his neck.

Badger, however, is not so lucky as the choker clenches even tighter. For one brief moment it looks like she'll be able to yank it away from her, but then it throttles her neck one more, before Badger can even draw a single breath of air. She can feel something being crushed inside her neck, and red specks burst to swim in her vision. And then nothing, as the world swims before her and fades out.

[CoffeeIncluded]

The grick bashes against Elsee with its tentacles, leaving residues of unknown liquids on her skin, and tries to bite with its protruding mouth.

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Attack: (d20+3)[4]
Crit: (d20+3)[22]
Damage: (d4+2)[4]

Attack: (d20+3)[7]
Crit: (d20+3)[8]
Damage: (d4+2)[5]

Attack: (d20+3)[4]
Crit: (d20+3)[17]
Damage: (d4+2)[4]

Attack: (d20+3)[20]
Crit: (d20+3)[10]
Damage: (d4+2)[6]

Attack: (d20-2)[7]
Crit: (d20-2)[5]
Damage: (d3+1)[4]

But Elsee's fast, ducking and dodging and weaving through the tentacles, the strips of her leather armor sweeping behind her as she turns and sidesteps the around the biting jaws. And then one hard tentacle smacks her to the ground.

[super dark33]

Surdrak conjurs a hand extansion which resembles the Choker's hand, and attempts to lunge at the Chocer on Artorias.

he aims for the neck.

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Aiming at choker 1
(1d20+4)[24] Att
(1d20+4)[24] Crt
(1d3+1)[3] Gnt
(3d6)[10] Eldh

[CoffeeIncluded]

Surdrak lunges at the choker strangling Artorias, slashing wildly with his hand and tearing into it. With the force behind his attacks, he rips it open and it falls limp to the ground.

As does Badger behind them with a mighty thud, limp on the ground as the choker continues to constrict her. Her face is blue, her eyes are wide open and speckled with red from burst capillaries. And only the slightest twitching of her fingers and feet indicate that she still lives. But only just.

[Athedia]

"Damn necromancers" Badger managed one thought before passing out fighting against the monster. Of all she had fought for, all her close calls THIS was how she was going to go? Helpless and choked to death. She hated being helpless, she hated it. Of all the ways she would have preferred a sword to her heart, something she got in a fair fight. This? This was to much like a hanging.

[Draconi Redfir]

Kheel flys into the fray, biting at the Choker wrapped around Badger's throat and attempting to pull it off.

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Bite:(D20+8)[12]
Crit:(d20+8[9]
Damage:(2d6+3)[10]

[CoffeeIncluded]

If Surdrak had actually helped Badger instead of seeking the glory of a one-hit-kill, Kheel's bite would have done much more damage. As it is, he still manages to tear off a chunk of leathery, rubbery flesh. But the choker is still firmly attached to the twitching, dying Badger even as it hisses.

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With charge and flank, Kheel hit.

"Badger!" Jadeite shouts as the ranger falls, too quickly for him to react. "Artorias, I am sorry but that large choker is the greater threat, and Badger is in more immediate danger!"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Naga snarls and races around the grick to bite into it again.

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Attack: (1d20+4)[9]
Crit: (1d20+4)[19]
Damage (1d4+1)[2]

But again, his teeth slide off the slimy exterior.

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee sneered and slowly backed away from the seccond Grick, she had managed to kill the first one no problem, but this one had already hit her pretty hard, and she'd rather not risk letting herself die again, with the dog missing all his bites, it would be all on her.

but first, Elsee popped open the potion of cure moderate wounds Jadeite had given her just a moment before, hoping that it would at the very least keep her alive if the thing landed any more hits on her.

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5-foot stepping backwrds one square and taking the cure mod potion.
(2d8)[11]

not sure on the caster level of the potion sooo... yea.

Ahhh that hit the spot alright! Elsee grinned wickedly as she felt all her wounds heal up, even the one caused by those rats from earlier. now all she had to do was not let this thing hit her enough times to make the entire thing meaningless.

[CoffeeIncluded]

As Elsee drinks the potion, the grick reaches up a tentacle to slam it out of her hand. It then proceeds to attack, flailing out its tentacles to bask and batter both Elsee and Naga, then biting into Elsee with its tiny yet oh so sharp teeth.

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The potion healed 14 damage, and the grick gets an AoO. This damage will be healed by the potion.

AoO on Elsee:
Attack: (d20+3)[18]
Crit: (d20+3)[10]
Damage: (d4+2)[6]

Attack on Elsee:
Attack: (d20+3)[21]
Crit: (d20+3)[22]
Damage: (d4+2)[6]

Attack on Elsee:
Attack: (d20+3)[16]
Crit: (d20+3)[5]
Damage: (d4+2)[5]

Attack on Naga:
Attack: (d20+3)[7]
Crit: (d20+3)[5]
Damage: (d4+2)[5]

Attack on Naga:
Attack: (d20+3)[20]
Crit: (d20+3)[21]
Damage: (d4+2)[5]

Attack on Elsee:
Attack: (d20-2)[16]
Crit: (d20-2)[1]
Damage: (d3+1)[2]

Most of the tentacles barely miss Elsee, but one sends her sprawling. Naga isn't so lucky--he manages to dodge one tentacle but the other one lashes against his chest. They hear ribs crack, and Naga immediately begins yelping and crying out in pain.

[Dusk Eclipse]

BADGER! Artorias redoubles his effort, he couldn't loose her, he couldn't loose any of his friends period. Breathing heavily Artorias redoubles his efforts to pry the tentacles from his neck. "Hang in there Badger, please just hang in there." Finally managing to free his left arm he touches the moonstone stud on his belt and reaches towards Badger's prone form.

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Spending the three charges to heal her (4d8)[21] hit points.

His belt glows for a moment, before the shining moonstones turn a dull grey.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Badger's eyes open, painfully. Everything hurts, her head feels light, the world swims and fuzzes. She can't quite tell what is or isn't real. But what IS real is the now-confused choker still crushing her throat and windpipe.

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badger is at 14 HP and she can go.

[Athedia]

Badger struggled against the still constricting tentacles of the choker. She just needed to get a word out. One word.

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Grapple to Escape Badger: (d20+6)[14]
Opposed Grapple Choker: (1d20+7)[16] +5 so actualy 21

[Draconi Redfir]

Elsee sneered and growled as she wiped her mouth of the potion, quickly tightening her grip on her kurkri as she tossed the bottle asside. She would have survived that hit without the potion of course, but had it landed annother like it she likely would have been dead on the ground right now.

A quickl glance of the eye was all that it took to see that Naga was in danger, jeeze what was it with her and taking care of pets all of a sudden? it was cool at first, but what was next, some dwarf kid gunna ask her to babysit his battle-hamster?

Elsee didn't have time to think like this though, and instead lunched at the Grick just as it's attention was diverted to Naga, if she could just time it right...

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Attack: (d20+7)[15]
Crit: (d20+6)[24]
Damage: (1d3+2)[3]
Sneak attack: (2d6)[4]

Attack: (d20+7)[19]
Crit: (d20+6)[19]
Damage: (1d3+2)[4]
Sneak attack: (2d6)[5]

[CoffeeIncluded]

Both of Elsee's attacks rip through the grick--it shudders and bleeds out on the ground.

There's nothing else up here, but Elsee can see the noise of battle below, about a seven foot drop from where she is now. Skeleton dogs and zombie alligators are closing in on her friends. Two small tentacled things are strangling Artorias and Badger, and Badger...Badger's face is blue, and she's gasping and scrabbling at the tentacled thing, but unable to pull it off even as it chokes her to death.

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I'll go for the undead animals later.

[CoffeeIncluded]

The zombie alligators slowly make their way out of the muck, and as the slimy water drips off their bodies everyone can see their pallid, slightly rotting flesh, the way their scales are loose and threatening to drop off, and their underbellies are swollen and scorched by Jadeite's fireball.

Two manage to lumber their way to Artorias and Kheel, but too slowly to attack at the moment.

The skeleton dogs are more mobile, and as they race through the muddy water, the muck splashing against their burnt bones and dragging against their toes as they race down the room. Their eyes glow with an unearthly light and two manage to get close enough to sink their fangs into Artorias and Kheel, unhindered by lips or gum. And Artorias, grappling with the choker, is unable to swipe out at the undead animals, is unable to bring them to a swifter rest.

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You're getting swarmed next turn.

SD1 attacks Kheel
Attack: (d20+4)[8]
Crit: (d20+4)[21]
Damage: (d6+2)[7]

SD2 attacks Artorias
Attack: (d20+4)[18]
Crit: (d20+4)[22]
Damage: (d6+2)[5]

Artorias is at 5 HP

The skeleton dog attacking Kheel misses, but Artorias isn't able to dodge out of the way and the second one bites down hard on his leg. Red blood flows over its white jaws.

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Badger!" Though Badger has managed to get to her feet, she's still desperately scrabbling, and the blue in her face is becoming deeper and deeper. And Artorias seems to be sinking to the ground too.

Jadeite leaps into action. His fingers fly faster than they ever have before, weaving a spell faster than he has ever done before. And then he grabs onto the choker, curls his fingers right around the tentacles, and casts another spell as he growls, "Time to make you calamari. Dried calamari."

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Sudden quickened true strike, followed by parching touch.

Attack: (d20+21)[40]
Damage: (5d6)[14]
Fort save or take 1 con damage and become dehydrated: (d20+4)[8]

Okay, with the con damage that MIGHT have killed it but I need to check my notes and I can't do that for a bit.

The choker shudders and shrivels under Jadeite's merciless spell. Fluid leaks from it, slipping down its rubbery exterior and moistening Badger's neck. And yet it remains upright, but only just.

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the choker is at 0 HP.

[CoffeeIncluded]

As Jadeite sucks the choker very nearly dry, the nearest skeleton dog tries to bite down on the necromancer.

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I forgot about the AoO. Here it is!

Attack: (d20+7)[16] (d20+4) = 13 and that misses.
Crit: (d20+7)[16]
Damage: (d8+7)[10]

Jadeite turns and the dog tears at swishing fabric, but nothing else.