Encounter at Shadow Castle Keep Parts 1 and 2

[kabkal]

OUT OF CHARACTER

I fear this is going to end badly, since only Prost and Lola have free will. They are facing difficult odds if they stand and fight. If they try to escape, they will be subject to the harpy song before reach the exit. We'll play it out, but the DM is, sadly, not optimistic...

 

OUT OF CHARACTER

I knew I should have surrendered. Haven't been part of TPK in awhile. Them's the breaks sometimes.

 

[smeltdm]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Prost has a plan...he may escape, but I fear his friends are lost

 

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Hold on! Your comrade Electro found this, which officially rules that harpies must use a standard action to keep singing: https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2l7ns&page ... Here#22460 I'm going to revise some things based on this. However, I'm about to leave the country on a brief vacation. I might get this updated tonight, but if not, it won't be until next week. Please stand by...

 

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Okay. I've revised the last few rounds to reflect the official rules. Significant changes are highlighted in purple if you'd like to review the edited posts for Round 3-4, Round 4-5, and Round 5-6 The TL;DR summary: The map above has changed; specifically, the position of the harpies and Marcus Cyrius and Worrel are still captivated and will need to follow H1 further into the lair Tex is not captivated and can act (and moving to 3015 will give him line of sight to either harpy, hint, hint) Marcus is not captivated and is actively fighting the harpies, but badly wounded Both harpies are wounded and only one of them is currently singing Lola and Prost are still facing difficult odds, but maybe things aren't quite as bad for the party as they looked before...

 

[ElectroZman]

Tex moves to 3015 and fires at H2.
Again he uses deadly aim to bring down the creature, but is not quite close enough for Point blank.

[JPetherick]

Worrel follows the harpy deeper into the lair.

[CGM3]

Cyrius lumbers after Worrel.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Do we get a new Will save every round, as against some mind-affecting spells?

 

[smeltdm]

Prost embolden by his previous success, attempts to tumble thru L8's space to 2207 and attacks L7




Also, Bleeding Attack +3 bleed dmg each round

[kabkal]

Lola, knowing she is about to die, but bolstered by her friends continuing to battle she swings her sword at the king. She mutters a silent prayer to any god that may be listening as she swings with all of her might.


to hit
damage

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Happy New Year! Catching up now...

 

Round 6 Continues

Cyrius and Worrel remain captivated and follow H1 into the east chamber [Nope, no will save each round; you get a new save if led into a dangerous area, but not otherwise].

Tex moves to into line of sight of the winged women and fires at H2, but misses

Round 7 Begins

Prost, emboldened by his previous success, attempts to tumble thru L8's space. The lizard is not fooled this time and blocks Prost's movement, although it does not manage to damage the rogue in the process [acrobatics check failed, meaning the move is lost, but the attack of opportunity missed]. Prost attacks L7 anyway and, with a classic and elegant motion, his thrust slides into the creature's upper half [5 hp damage]

Lola, knowing she is about to die, but bolstered by her friends continuing to battle she swings her sword at the king. She mutters a silent prayer to any god that may be listening as she swings with all of her might. The gods, if they are listening, must be fickle, as her swing misses.

But maybe the god of large dogs is listening, since Fluffy stops bleeding.

Marcus steps away from H2 and tries to blast her with a scorching ray. He just barely misses.

L7 and L8 both attack Prost, but are unable to make contact with the slippery halfling.

H1 continues to sing, keeps Cyrius and Worrel captivated.

H2 hops up next to Marcus. She wheels around with a massive, exaggerated swing of her morningstar, smashing the sorcerer out of the fight [8 hp damage leaves Marcus unconscious and bleeding].

Shukak the Lizard King stabs Lola twice with his trident and, as he pulls each thrust from her body, leaves small but ghastly and gore-filled wounds [13 hp damage total]. Lola defends successfully against the King's claw and bite, however, so she remains standing.

OUT OF CHARACTER

I'm not distinguishing between bright light and dim light on the map right now. The shaded area is actually completely dark, requiring darkvision to see. The yellow blobs are meant to suggest that Prost noted there might be more light over there.

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Cyrius and Worrel are captivated: Captivated creatures can take no actions other than to defend themselves. A victim within 5 feet of the creature simply stands and offers no resistance to the creature's attacks. Everyone else can hear the singing, too, but the unusual acoustics and other distracting noises in this place mean the captivating magic does not affect them... yet Round 7 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade longsword and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left, captivated by H1 (might need a save vs H2 later) 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, captivated by H1 (but not H2) 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 10 arrows left, 5 hp damage[/b], immune to H1's song (will fail if H2 starts singing again, but she doesn't know that) Round 8 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.5 minutes left 5. Lola: short sword readied, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage 6. Fluffly: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile ready, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 36 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding out, immune to H1's song 8. Lizardfolk: L1 through L4 and L10 dead, L7 5 hp damage, L9 8 hp damage 9. Feral Winged Woman H1: 26 hp damage, singing 10. Feral Winged Woman H2: 12 hp damage, not singing 11. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): uninjured

[smeltdm]

OUT OF CHARACTER

CRAP!

 

[ElectroZman]

Tex steps to 3115 and shoots at H2 again. He goes for broke using deadly aim and rapid shot. (+1 point blank, -2 deadly aim, -2 rapid shot)

[smeltdm]

Prost is a gambler, but knows a dead mans hand when he sees it. He retrieves his potion of Gaseous Form and drinks it...Prost moves east into the wall.

OUT OF CHARACTER

fly 10'

 

[JPetherick]

Worrel still stares dumbly at the harpy.

[CGM3]

Cyrius is probably drooling.

OUT OF CHARACTER

I don't suppose autohypnosis would help in this situation.

 

[kabkal]

Lola swears at Prost for disappearing. Seeing no back up, she drops her sword and drops to her knees.

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Important results happened here. It might be touch and go at this point.

 

Round 7 Continues

Cyrius and Worrel remain captivated, staring dumbly and/or drooling.

Tex steps forward and shoots at H2 again. He goes for broke using deadly aim and rapid shot. The gamble pays off as his arrows burrow deep, burying themselves in the harpy's vital core, sending her to her grave [27 hp damage was exactly what you needed!]

Round 8 Begins

Prost is a gambler, but knows a dead mans hand when he sees it. He retrieves a potion. Thanks to his handy haversack the potion is ready and waiting, so this doesn't open him to attack. Then he drinks the potions, which does allow attacks. L7 lands a forceful swing that punches straight through Prost's defenses [critical hit does 14 hp damage]. L8 misses. Prost's potion takes effect and he becomes insubstantial, misty, and translucent [move action to retrieve, standard to drink, so no movement this round].

Lola swears at Prost for disappearing. Seeing no back up, she drops her sword and drops to her knees.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus bleeds.

L7 and L8 continue to attack the gaseous Prost. Although their aim is good, their attack pass harmlessly through him [they hit, but DR 10/magic from gaseous form prevents any damage]

Seeing the devastating effect of Tex's arrows on her sister, H1 stops singing and flies at the dwarf in a rage. She swings her morningstar at him, but misses.

Shukak the Lizard King smiles a lizardy smile and says “Excellent, another prisoner for the larder!” He whacks Lola on the top of her head with the flat of his trident, knocking her unconscious [6 hp nonlethal damage knocks her out]

OUT OF CHARACTER

I'm not distinguishing between bright light and dim light on the map right now. The shaded area is actually completely dark, requiring darkvision to see. The yellow blobs are meant to suggest that Prost noted there might be more light over there.

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Cyrius and Worrel remain captivated for one more round, then free! Round 8 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade longsword and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left, captivated by H1 1 more round 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, captivated by H1 1 more round 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 8 arrows left, 5 hp damage, immune to H1's song Round 9 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.4 minutes left, gaseous form 10 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffly: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 37 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding out, immune to H1's song 8. Lizardfolk: L1 through L4 and L10 dead, L7 5 hp damage, L9 8 hp damage 9. Feral Winged Woman H1: 26 hp damage, not singing 10. Feral Winged Woman H2: 39 hp damage, DEAD 11. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): uninjured

[ElectroZman]

Tex steps back (to 3015) and fires two arrows at H1.

[JPetherick]

Worrel begins to come around.

[smeltdm]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Assuming the walls are pores

 

Prost moves next to Lola @ 2509

[CGM3]

Cyrus blinks as his mind begins to clear.

OUT OF CHARACTER

What does he remember of his "zoned out" experience?

 

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

The good thing about most of the party being incapacitated is that the rounds turn over quickly...

 

Round 8 Continues

Cyrius and Worrel begin to come around, blinking as their minds begin to clear. Although they miss the beautiful singing, they remember everything that happened during the song and that makes them miss it less.

Tex steps back and fires two arrows at H1. The harpy cannot protect herself from the ruthless spike of his first well-aimed arrow [6 hp damage]. The second, however, is not quite as well-aimed and just barely misses.

Round 9 Begins

Prost floats into the porous wall of roots, positioning his misty form next to Lola but out of reach of the lizardfolk.

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus stops bleeding and stabilizes.

With no immediate targets, the lizardfolk wait for instructions from their king...

Still angry, H1 hops up next to Tex and launches a stifling onslaught with her morningstar and talons that lands, sharp and sudden, on Tex before he can fully react [Three hits, including two confirmed criticals, for 20 hp total].

As Prost disappears, Shukak the Lizard King shouts at him, Go ahead and flee, ghost! You have no hope of defeating the mighty Shukak! He then growls at his subjects in their strange reptilian language as he moves into the intersection right behind Tex.

L5 through L9 follow the king into the intersection, blocking Tex's line of retreat. L11 remains in the west tunnel, holding his torch. L12 and L13 move over and pick up Lola's unconscious body between them.

Another group of lizardfolk (L14-L15 and LM) emerges from the west corridor. With them is another large lizardman (Ko), nearly as big as the king, wearing armor that appears to be made of the carapace of some kind of giant insect or arachnid.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 9 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade longsword and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 6 arrows left, 25 hp damage, immune to H1's song Round 10 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.3 minutes left, gaseous form 9.9 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffly: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 37 hp damage, unconscious but stable, immune to H1's song 8. Feral Winged Woman H1: 32 hp damage, not singing 9. Feral Winged Woman H2: 39 hp damage, DEAD 10. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): uninjured 11. Lizardfolk: L1 through L4 and L10 dead, L7 5 hp damage, L9 8 hp damage 12. Another big, armored lizardman (Ko): uninjured

[ElectroZman]

Cursing at the pain, cursing at the situation, and cursing at the Harpy, Tex steps to 3116 and fires two more shots at the foul beast in front of him, intent on putting it down.

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Waiting on Worrell, Cyrius, and Prost

 

[CGM3]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Oops, didn't receive a notification of new entries.

 

Cyrius moves to 3215 and slashes at H2.

[patransom]

Cyrius[/b] moves to 3215 and slashes at H2.

OUT OF CHARACTER

3215 is 35 feet away for Cyrius (remember that every other diagonal square counts as 2). Does he want to move to 3215 and throw his mindblade? Still waiting on Worrel and Prost

 

[smeltdm]

Prost will attempt to stay with Lola and see where they take her. Staying hidden in the walls were possible.

[CGM3]

Cyrius[/b] moves to 3215 and slashes at H2.

OUT OF CHARACTER

3215 is 35 feet away for Cyrius (remember that every other diagonal square counts as 2). Does he want to move to 3215 and throw his mindblade? Still waiting on Worrel and Prost

 

Miscounted the distance. Yes, Cyrius will fling his mindblade at the vile creature.

[JPetherick]

Worrel blinks, consumed with avenging himself and his companions on the harpies. He moves up to Marcus, where mutters a prayer to Mitra before bending down to heal his companion.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Move - 10 ft to 3614 Standard - Lay on Hands

 

[patransom]

Round 9 Continues

Cyrius moves into the corridor and throws his mindblade at H1. For a moment, the harpy doubles over, as the blade lodges in her midsection [5 hp damage]

Worrel blinks, consumed with avenging himself and his companions on the harpies. He moves up to Marcus, where mutters a prayer to Mitra before bending down to heal his companion [Marcus healed 4 hp].

Cursing at the pain, cursing at the situation, and cursing at the harpy, Tex steps away from the crowd of lizards and fires two more shots at the foul beast in front of him, intent on putting it down. Shooting his bow within reach of her gives the harpy one last opportunity to swipe at Tex with her morningstar. Tex is unable to muster a defense against the brutish might of her attack [7 hp damage to Tex]. He gets his revenge, however, when his first deadly shot bites into the harpy's vital core, putting her down for good [6 hp damage kills H1]. Tex adjusts his aim to direct his second shot at the nearest lizardfolk. The whizz of his arrow parting the air ends with a satisfying smack [7 hp damage to L5].

Round 10 Begins

Prost waits to follow the lizardfolk who are abducting Lola...

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus, awakened by Worrel's healing, stands up and quickly appraises the situation. He plucks the last bead from his necklace of fireballs and flings it into the midst of the crowd of lizardfolk. A chaotic wave of searing flames washes over the area. You all can see shimmers of hot vapor as the heat dies away. Most of the lizardfolk remain standing, but a couple have fallen [Shukak, L5-L9, and L17 made their saves and took 5 hp damage; L14-L16 failed and took 10 hp damage; L5 and L9, already injured, are killed]

Shukak the Lizard King ignores Tex and Cyrius (neither of whom have melee weapons ready, not that he cared) and rushes past them, shouting "DIE WIZARD!" He can't quite get into reach of Marcus, so he flings his trident at the sorcerer with great force. The tines of the weapon lodge deeply into Marcus' midsection and he falls to the ground again [11 hp damage leaves Marcus unconscious and bleeding]. There's obviously magic to the trident, because, after Marcus falls, the weapon reappears in Shukak's hand!

L6 and L7 move up to attack Tex. Both miss. L8 and L14 come forward to swipe at Cyrius, but also miss. L15 through L17, LM, and Ko crowd in behind.

L12 and L13 carry Lola to the west as L11 leads the way with his torch. Prost tries to follow, floating through the walls just out of reach. The group carrying Lola pauses and speaks excitedly to another group of lizardfolk (L19-L21) coming up and incline from the west. Prost realizes that, at the slow speed of his gaseous form, he may have difficulty keeping up with the lizardfolk, although he might be able to keep track of them from their torchlight...

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 10 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod readied, 17 bolts left 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, 3 lay on hands left 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 4 arrows left, 32 hp damage Round 11 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.2 minutes left, gaseous form 9.8 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffly: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 44 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 5 hp damage 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L5 and L9 through L10 dead, damage: L6 5 hp, L7 10 hp, L8 5 hp, L14 10 hp, L15 10 hp, L16 10 hp, L17 5 hp 10. Another big, armored lizardman (Ko): uninjured