[Group 2] The World's Largest Dungeon - IC

[Mr. X]

Spoiler

Wow whee!! Yeah, that is bad...

Here's those rat rolls again:

Vs snake DC 18: (1d20+2)[21]

Vs Fredric DC 13: (1d20+2)[9]

Vs Fredric DC 13: (1d20+2)[10]

Haha!

Fredric lifts his robes, and steps nimbly around the rats biting at his ankles, as Taribo moves forward past Malthos to line up a better shot...

As he goes, his boot toe catches an uneven flagstone, and he stumbles forward into the room...

As he goes, the party hears an oddly disconnected *twang* noise, and it takes a moment for all to realize Taribo's crossbow has gone off...

Fredric stops his quickstep, And it takes a moment longer for all to notice the feathers protruding from the back of his neck...

He totters for a moment before collapsing face first to the floor...

And the rats begin to feed.

Spoiler

Fredric takes 5 damage from Taribo's Crit, and 2 more from the rats. He's at -4 this round, and there are still 3 rats.

[MasterofFates]

GET AWAY FROM HIM, SNAKE-FODDER!

The shaman looses a jet of flame at the rats, praying for it to miss Frederick.
Moments later, the other four snakes attempt to finish off any surviving rats

Spoiler

Damage: (1d4)[3]

Each rat gets a DC 16 reflex save for half damage.

[MasterofFates]

Forgot to mention that the other four snakes (for it is their turn again) also attack if there are any more survivors.

Here are the attacks for the snakes.

Spoiler

(1d20+5)[17]
(1d20+5)[13]
(1d20+5)[23]
(1d20+5)[8]
(1d20+5)[8]
(1d20+5)[8]
(1d20+5)[19]
(1d20+5)[22]

And poison damage.

Spoiler

(1d6)[3]
(1d6)[1]
(1d6)[5]
(1d6)[5]
(1d6)[4]
(1d6)[4]
(1d6)[4]
(1d6)[6]

These are in order.

Take Frederick, and kill the other rats!

[Mr. X]

Spoiler

I presume this spell works like Burning Hands?
Sadly, Fredric shall not recieve a reflex save against an Area of Effect. Any such attack against the rats shall hit him too.

Fredric takes a further 4 pts of damage.

Rat1 reflex:(1d20+2)[22]
Rat2 reflex:(1d20+2)[6]

If your AoE reaches the 3rd rat(in the same square as the first, nearest rat was)
Rat3 reflex: (1d20+2)[22]

Also, if it reaches that square, it'll potentially hit your snakes too so roll reflex saves for them (unless you can warn them through an empathic link, in which case they don't need to roll.)

The searing flames of Malthos divine power rip across Fredric's unconscious form, burning one of the rat's to ash, while the other two leap safely away, but also away from Fredric.

Spoiler

Fredric is now at -7 and falling...

[MasterofFates]

I already said, I commanded my snakes to attack immediately after I cast the spell. Forgot to mention it was burning hands. XD

[Mr. X]

Spoiler

Oh right, sorry... Getting to that.

The mass of snakes fall upon the remaining rats and devour them quickly.

Spoiler

Nice work, All gain 75xp.

[MasterofFates]

Malthos rushes to Fredric and casts cure light wounds three twice, replacing his detect evil and protection from evil spells with cure light wounds. He also replaces both his detect magics with cure minor wounds, and casts those as well.

The total healing is:

(2d8+4)[17]

[MasterofFates]

Okay, I think we have no choice but to rest for the night. I cannot heal anyone else until I prepare more spells. Why don't we take turns keeping watch?

[#Raptor]

/Edit 2: Nevermind. lol

Spoiler

Spoiler

To be honest, I'm a bit confused about what exactly is happening and whose turn it is... all I know is:
-heavy friendly fire
-snakes everywhere
-rats everywhere

His eyes wide in surprise and his mouth wide open in disbelief he stares at Frederics throat... as Frederic and a few of the rats surrounding him get burned by Malthos, Taribo lunges forward in front of Frederic and then turns around, trying to safe his dying comrades life.

Spoiler

Move action to get in position. Offering the rats my tasty gnome behind to chew on.
Standard action: HealFirstAid - (1d20+1)[6]
/Edit: Hooo, boy... soon its time for the Blessed Bandages I guess. Jvluso? This would be a good time to show up, as your the one was has them.

[#Raptor]

Taribo, looking very conscience-stricken, says towards Frederic "So... uh... I'm really sorry about that crossbow hit. I don't know how that happened. Stumbled over something and it just went off. You have my word, I'll be more careful in the future. Sorry again." in reaction to Malthos suggestion he sits down next to a wall, putting his crossbow down on the floor looking at it as if its not to be trusted anymore, before he quietly nods at Malthos suggestion.

[Mr. X]

Spoiler

Yeah, sorry, the turn sequence got kinda messed up. From here on out, I'll make a separate post of the acting order once all the initiatives are in, and if everyone can put up their Turn Number(ie. Initiative score) at the top of their action post, that should help sort things out.

I'm afraid me skipped Kulkov completely, perhaps more than once... Sorry about that.

The bolt pierced Fredric clean through the meat of his neck, missing the bone of his vertebra, but slicing through his jugular artery.

You'll need to remove the bolt before you heal him, or it will be much worse.

Spoiler

Whoever is going to remove the bolt, please make a Heal check. DC18, due to the speed required to conduct the procedure before he bleeds out.

And please don't botch. :-)

[#Raptor]

Spoiler

Er... okay, then my last post was in advance... that is, if we make the check.
Malthos has by far the best Heal skill, so I'll just make a Aid another roll to help him.
AidAnotherHeal - (1d20+1)[7] if its over 10, Malthos gets a +2 from my assistance.

I was thinking Kulkav was just standing behind us with the reach weapon... doing attacks of opportunity when enemies come close.
Anyways, I suggest everybody roll AidAnother to help so this won't find a deadly end.

[MasterofFates]

Malthos rushes to his fallen comrade, and carefully attempts to remove it.

I have to go now, so I'll do two rolls, one for the first, the other for if the first fails, and I use my fortune domain power.

(1d20+10)[14]

(1d20+10)[30]

[Mr. X]

Malthos takes the bolt in hand and presses the barbed head through Fredric's flesh. In a gout of blood, the tip breaks through the skin, and Fredric fades a little farther...

With a quick prayer to his gods, Malthos removes the bolt, pulling it out through the wound.

The gods smile upon his efforts, and healing powers surge forth from the Shaman... Tissue and tendons reknit, muscle moulds together, and skin reforms over the wound...

Before long, Fredric, while stile pale, is as healthy as he's ever been.

His eyes flutter open, and he mutters "I take it we're resting..? That's nice..." He glances at Taribo, "Do not worry, I find the poetry most amusing... I'll, ah, just get the door then, shall I..." He gestures weakly at the far door, tracing an arcane sigil over it... A glowing seal appears over the door.

After finishing, he drops his head to the floor, and falls directly to sleep.

Spoiler

Fredric casts 'Hold Portal' on the far door.

Our original sleeping arrangements are sort of shot, so anybody who'd like to take first watch, go for it. Oh, and thanks for saving my ass guys :-)

[Sucrose]

Kulkav sighs, and nods to the others.

"Well, so be it, then. At least we have some safety on the far door. Hopefully, our battle was far enough away from any other denizens that we did not rouse them. I can take first watch."

With that, the draconic giant parks himself against the other door, bracing it with his sheer bulk, and watching the area closely for any unconventional entrances.

[#Raptor]

Spoiler

I'm slowly beginning to gain respect for the Heal skill. :o
Used to think it becomes useless at mid-high levels, but it depends on how you handle it... since "cure wounds" does not mean "magically remove hard subjects in your throat".

And another thing... this once again proved that rerolls are one of the best powers u can have.

"Okay, then I will take second watch. But don't be afraid to wake me at the slightest disturbance, I have not cast any spells today so I don't require undisturbed sleep." Taribo says as he opens up his backpack to retrieve his bedroll.

[Mr. X]

Spoiler

Your guys encounter roll came up clean for the rest period. If anyone wants to partake in a little In Character chatter and get to know each other a little better, now's the time to do it.

Malthos, I presume you treat Kulkov as well, if only non-magically.

Kulkov, for rest and treatment, you'll recover Hp=(Your Character Level)+(Your Constitution Bonus)+(Malthos' Heal Roll).

If he doesn't make a roll, then you get just your level and Con bonus.

The hours pass by slowly. Despite the relatively short time the party's been in the dungeon, all are feeling the weight of weariness.

The sounds of more rats skittering in the walls is almost constantly coming and going, keeping the watchers on edge as there are neumerous cracks and crevasses in the walls from whence such creatures might suddenly attack.

Nonetheless, the hours pass quiety and without event.

[MasterofFates]

Malthos tends to the barbarian, wrapping a few bandages around the remaining head wounds, augmenting them with the tiny remaining spark of healing magic he still has at the ready.

Spoiler

Heal check: (1d20+8)[25]
Also cast Cure Minor Wounds (heals 1 hitpoint)

After sleeping for about two hours, Malthos approaches the Barbarian.

Few people of our experience could have survived that creature. You did an admirable job. Go, you need your rest, I'll take second watch.

So saying, Malthos sits, crossed-legged, ever vigilant. Three snakes climb onto his shoulders and head, gazing behind and to either side of him. The shaman strokes each snake slightly, then continues to stare for two hours before awakening taribo.

[Sucrose]

Spoiler

Awesome, Kulkav will be fully healed.

Kulkav smiles at Malthos's offer.

"It is a pleasure to work alongside such a magnanimous shaman; it would be an insult for me to turn down such kindness. Please wake Taribo once you are ready for sleep; he may be a bit upset that his shift will be a bit later than expected."

With that, he lays down, feet still against the door, and pack under his head, to provide at least some passive support.

[#Raptor]

Taribo wakes up, yawning heartily. He rubs his eyes, before he looks at Malthos.
"Huh? Why didn't Kulkav wake me?" He looks a bit confused. "Anyways... good work today, our dragonborn friend over here and Frederic wouldn't be in as good shape as they are now without you."

[Mr. X]

Fredric rolls over and sits up, shaking himself.
"Bwahh... Taribo, if you don't mind, I'll share this watch with you. Nerull's hand was upon me, and sleep is not helping me shake it off."

He opens his pack an removes a padded leather case. Opening it, you see it contains a portable alchemist's apparatus. He arranges the glass beakers, tubes, burners, and other bits carefully over the flagstone floor.

"You know, the first potion I ever brewed was in the basement of my father's tavern... Rotgut." He chuckles, "Back then, I never would have pictured myself dying in a place like this... Still, we pulled through all right. I don't suppose I might steal a few of those gold pieces from you, that I might replenish my lost supplies? Four pieces should suffice."

[MasterofFates]

Malthos chuckles to himself as the arcanists haggle, and whispers
May the good spirits protect you both.
before falling into a deep, trancelike slumber, his eyes surprisingly wide open.

[MasterofFates]

Upon waking, Malthos prays for an hour or so, choosing his new spells carefully based on the previous day's encounters.

Is everyone ready to proceed?

[Mr. X]

Fredric fiddles with the alchemical equipment for a time, before packing it away and spending a few hours pouring over his spellbook when Malthos awakens.
"I suppose I am finished here, and prepared to move onward if everyone else is."

Spoiler

Spells Prepared:
Lv0:Ray of Frost, Mage Hand, Read Magic
Lv1:True Strike, Magic Weapon

[MasterofFates]

Spells Prepared:

Spoiler

0: Create Water, Read Magic, Detect Magic
1: Burning Hands x2, Shield of Faith, Bless

Seeing that the sorcerers and barbarian have nothing to prepare, Malthos tells Fredric to dismiss the ward on the door and leads the party through it, preparing to strike at any creature that suddenly appears.

[Mr. X]

Opening the northern door, the party faces a long, narrow passage.

Where all the previous rooms and areas had been plain, if meticulous, flagstone, the walls and ceiling of this hallway are a mass of artistic carvings and depictions.

The uneven surfaces cast weird, flickering shadows that dance in the light of your everburning torches, accompanied by the always present, scritch scratching of the rats in the walls.

The hallway stretches East and West, turning North off to the West, and South off to the East. There are two doors in the Northern wall.

The Map:

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IMG]http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x321/chaunceyparsons/wld-marked-3.png[/IMG]

[Mr. X]

Let's try that again, sorry...

The Map:

Spoiler

[MasterofFates]

Malthos thinks for a while before nodding to himself.

I believe that splitting up would be a potentially disastrous idea, as, no offense to any of you, I do not believe that most of you could survive long without my healing. Thus, I propose that we all take the northern passage to the right.

[Sucrose]

Kulkav grins and nods.

"The contest against that strange dark mantle forces me to accept that judgement, pain as it might my martial pride. At the least, we should ensure that the halls are free before enemies that may remain within the rooms appear."

With that, he heads down the passage to the north, his glaive at the ready to eliminate anything that strikes at him suddenly.

[Mr. X]

The hall stretches on to the north. As you pass through the mess of rich carvings, you become aware of some underlying tale being told in their scenes.

Images of people at worship, vicious battles being fought, strange magics and rituals, and even stranger beings and creatures... None of whom words could accurately describe, but all of which leave you feeling slightly uneasy, as though you had witnessed some depraved evil, but were unaware as to what it was, or why... Simply a gut feeling.

The passage continues, eventually opening into a small room. Bare but for the scenes on the walls, and an odd metal cylinder tucked neatly into one corner.

The Map:

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Getting imaginative here, my computer has no internet service here, so here is a photo of the map, uploaded from my phone.

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That is Kulkov in the lead, Taribo and Malthos in the middle, and Fredric bringing up the rear.