Encounter at Shadow Castle Keep Parts 1 and 2

[smeltdm]

Prost continues to follow Lola. If he loses sight he will try to follow torchlight to where they take her.

[ElectroZman]

Tex steps back five feet and casts Abundant Ammunition on his quiver.

[CGM3]

Cyrius materializes his mindblade as a free action, takes a 5-foot step to 3415, and hews at Shukak.

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Waiting on Worrel

 

[JPetherick]

Worrel advances upon Shuhak before attacking with his longsword, swinging with all his might. His swing goes wide, however.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Move - 10 ft to 3415 Standard - attack with longsword (power attack) OUT OF CHARACTER

 

[patransom]

Round 10 Continues

Cyrius materializes his mindblade, steps up, and hews at Shukak with a downward stroke that falls like a spring rain, unavoidably [10 hp damage]

Worrel advances upon Shuhak before attacking with his longsword, swinging with all his might. His swing goes wide, however.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Moved you to 3315, since Cyrius took your spot

 

Tex steps back and casts Abundant Ammunition on his quiver. Glancing behind him, Tex observes that the corridor begins to slope steeply downward, so he'll need to be cautious if he decides to step further back. He also notices a smell emanating from the bottom of the slope: the stink of waste and decay fills this hall. The air down there is thick with flies and a semisolid conical pile of rotting food and animal bones covers the entire floor in a small area. Mushrooms and moss grow in scattered patches on its outer surface.

OUT OF CHARACTER

The slope behind Tex counts as difficult terrain, so he won't be able to 5-foot step any further back (unless he wants to slide into the compost pile at the bottom)

 

Round 11 Begins

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

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus bleeds.

Seeing Cyrius' blade appear from thin air, Shukak the Lizard King taunts him, “Another wizard, eh? You'll die as easily as the other one!” He attacks with his trident, his free claw, and his teeth. Most of these strikes don't land, except for the claw, which scythes through the air, intersecting Cyrius' path and cutting deeply [5 hp damage]

At 2814, the burnt corpse of a lizardfolk felled by Marcus' last effort begins to pulsate from within. A horde of tiny green worms bursts out of the crispy flesh and begins writhing about on the floor. The nearest lizardwoman (LM) leaps back from the worms at her feet and calls out to her fellows. Most of them look back and begin speaking all at once. You're not sure what they're saying, but this distraction prevents them from doing anything else this round.

L11, L12, and L13 carry Lola deeper into the lair as Prost does his best to follow. They are moving relatively slowly, so they haven't outdistanced him yet.

L18-L21 move into the intersection, arriving in time to join the discussion about the worms that just appeared.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 11 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left, 5 hp damage 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, Abundant Ammunition 2.0 minutes left, 32 hp damage Round 12 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, 45 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 15 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

[ElectroZman]

Tex tries to take down the two Lizardfolk in front of him. He fires first at L7 and misses completely.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Not sure what you do with Natural ones. I hope nothing! My followup was another 1!

 

He then clears his head and shoots it again.




Then he will step forward to 3116.

[CGM3]

Cyrius charges his mind blade with psychic energy (move action) and with a shouted invocation -- Athena, aid us in our plight! -- slashes at Shukak:

OUT OF CHARACTER

Oooh, so close, the rapier form would threaten a critical

 

[JPetherick]

Worrel swings at Shukak, hoping to eliminate the threat posed by Shukak. This time, his swing is accurate and he carries through to attack the second lizard man.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Activating Cleave, so AC now 22

 

[patransom]

Round 11 Continues

Cyrius charges his mind blade with psychic energy and with a shouted invocation -- Athena, aid us in our plight! -- slashes at Shukak. His mind blade tears open a long gash in the Lizard King's side [16 hp damage]

Worrel swings at Shukak, hoping to eliminate the threat.This time, his swing is accurate and his blade claws into its target like a wild beast, opening a glistening wound [16 hp damage to Shukak]. He carries through to attack the second lizard man. Although this other foe attempts to parry with a flurry of desperate blows, Worrel bats each one aside and decisively cuts the lizard down [9 hp damage kills L8]

Tex tries to take down the two Lizardfolk in front of him. He fires first at L7 and misses completely. He then clears his head and shoots it again. This time the arrow slides neatly to a halt, lodging deep within the lizardman's core and interrupting their life for good [7 hp damage finishes L7]. Then he steps forward, creating some distance between himself and the slope behind him.

Round 12 Begins

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus bleeds.

Hearing Cyrius' prayer, Shukak response “So you're a priest, not a wizard? No matter, you'll die just as easily.” However, instead of attacking, he steps back and retrieves a potion from his harness. This action allows Worrel an attack of opportunity, and the chop of his sword carves a crescent-shaped wound [15 more hp damage to Shukak]. Shukak drinks his potion and some of his wounds close, although it doesn't seem like this sequence of actions was a net benefit to him.

The tiny worms that appeared from the lizardman corpse shrivel up and die on the floor. Nevertheless, whatever Shukak said to his subjects last round as they discussed the worms seems to have enraged them. In particular, Kotobas (Ko) lets out a mighty roar and rushes forward with blood in his eyes. He claws at Worrel, but cannot quite penetrate the paladin's armor.

The rest of the lizardfolk also surge forward angrily, although there isn't much room for them to join the fight. L6 and L15 attack Tex and L15 manages to land a bite. With an unnerving thunk, its teeth sink into the dwarf [4 hp damage].

L11, L12, and L13 continue to slowly abscond with Lola while Prost does his best to follow the direction of their torchlight.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 12 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left, 5 hp damage 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, Abundant Ammunition 1.9 minutes left, 36 hp damage Round 13 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.1 minutes left, gaseous form 9.7 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffy: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 46 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 62 hp damage, but healed some 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L5 and L7 through L10 dead, damage: L6 5 hp,L14 10 hp, L15 10 hp, L16 10 hp, L17 5 hp 10. Another big, armored lizardman (Ko): uninjured

[JPetherick]

Worrel shouts "Aid me, Mitra!", as he swings at Kotobas. Worrel is calling upon his connection to his god to empower his attacks. He again swings at both of the opponents in front of him.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Activating Smite Evil - granting +2 CHA bonus to attacks and +5 bonus to damage vs Kotobas(presuming that he is evil), that bypasses DR; +2 deflection bonus to AC vs attacks from Kotobas

 

[ElectroZman]

Tex steps back to 3117 again and fires at the two Lizardfolk in front of him.

First L15



If L15 goes down, then L6

[CGM3]

Cyrius takes a 5-foot step to 3316, charges his mind blade with psychic energy, and takes another swing at Shukak--

--only to miss miserably.

[smeltdm]

Prost continues to attempt to follow Lola and captors...

[patransom]

Round 12 Continues

Cyrius steps forward, charges his mind blade with psychic energy, and takes another swing at Shukak, only to miss miserably.

Worrel shouts Aid me, Mitra!, as he swings at Kotobas. Guessing correctly that Kotobas is evil, Worrel calls upon his connection to his god to stagger the raging reptilian with an onslaught of strikes [14 hp damage]. Then he follows up with a harsh cut that shreds a piece of Shukak into the air [10 hp damage].

Tex steps back again and fires at the two lizardfolk in front of him. Choosing vital areas, each of his arrows is a bulls-eye that sends its target to the next world [5 hp kills L15, 9 hp kills L6]

Round 13 Begins

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus bleeds.

Shukak shouts Mitra and Athena are false gods! Ilthane the Black is the only true savior! In spite of this blasphemy, two daring slide thrusts from his trident connect, shanking deep into Cyrius. To follow up, a decisive swing from his free claw also shears across Cyrius [31 hp damage total].

Kotobas claws angrily at Worrel and manages to land a simple overhead hack that cuts into the paladin's midsection [11 hp damage]

L14 closes with and swipes at Tex, but misses. Though their numbers have diminished, the rest of the lizardfolk horde continues to crowd forward angrily, their efforts to reach the intruders frustrated by the narrow corridors.

L11, L12, and L13 continue deeper into the lair with Lola. Prost manages to keep them in sight, thanks to their torchlight.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 13 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: mindblade and sunrod readied, 17 bolts left, 36 hp damage 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, 3 lay on hands left, 11 hp damage 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 4 arrows left, Abundant Ammunition 1.8 minutes left, 36 hp damage Round 14 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 178.0 minutes left, gaseous form 9.6 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffy: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, mage armor 5 hours left, 47 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 72 hp damage, but healed some 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L10 and L15 dead, damage: L14 10 hp, L16 10 hp, L17 5 hp 10. A big, armored lizardman named Kotobas (Ko): 14 hp damage

[ElectroZman]

Opening himself up to an attack of opportunity, Tex fires again, first at L14.




Then at L16 when (if) L14 goes down.



EDIT: He stands his ground at 3117.

[JPetherick]

"Prayers to your false god will not avail you!," replies Worrel. The paladin continues to attack Kotobas and Shukak, not relenting in his focus and efforts.

His sword hits Kotobas so hard that Worrel staggers, missing Shukak.

[CGM3]

Doggedly persistent, Cyrius swings once more at Shukak with his psychically-charged mind blade.



Athena be praised!

[patransom]

Round 13 Continues

Doggedly persistent, Cyrius swings once more at Shukak with his psychically-charged mind blade. A swift, advancing step leaves the Lizard King unable to defend against this attack [critical for 20 hp damage]

"Prayers to your false god will not avail you!," replies Worrel. The paladin continues to attack Kotobas and Shukak, not relenting in his focus and efforts. His sword hits Kotobas so hard that Worrel staggers, missing Shukak [critical for 39 hp damage to Kotobas].

Opening himself up to an attack of opportunity, Tex fires again. L14 swings and misses. His first arrow whizzes into L14 with devastating speed, knocking them down once and for all [10 hp damage kills L14]. His second arrow sings through the air, silencing itself and L16 simultaneously [11 hp damage kills L16].

Round 14 Begins

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus stops bleeding. Because he has run out of blood. He's dead.

For once Shukak is silent as he focuses his full attention on Cyrius. His concentration is rewarded and he hits twice with his trident and once with his free claw, a series of jarring strikes that leaves Cyrius vented like a sieve, through which his soul might drain slowly away [32 hp damage total leaves Cyrius unconscious and bleeding]

Twisting his hips while swinging his claws, Kotobas snarls as he brings the full weight of his body snapping into Worrel [8 hp damage]

L17 rushes forward to fill the gap in front of Tex. He misses.

Although L11, L12, and L13 have begun to outdistance Prost, he continues in the general direction of their torchlight.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 14 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod dropped, 17 bolts left, 68 hp damage, unconscious and bleeding 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, 3 lay on hands left, 19 hp damage 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 4 arrows left, Abundant Ammunition 1.7 minutes left, 36 hp damage Round 15 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 177.9 minutes left, gaseous form 9.5 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffy: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, 48 hp damage, DEAD 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 92 hp damage, but healed some 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L10 and L14 through L16 dead, damage: L17 5 hp 10. A big, armored lizardman named Kotobas (Ko): 53 hp damage

[JPetherick]

Worrel continues to attack Kotobas, swinging hard enough to carry on to Shukak.

[ElectroZman]

Tex stands his ground and fires at L17, again leaving himself open for an attack.


If he's still standing he'll fire at it again, otherwise he shoots at L19



Then, with a grim look on his face, he plants his feet and readies another arrow.

[patransom]

Round 14 Continues

Cyrius stops bleeding and stabilizes.

Worrel continues to attack Kotobas, pursue the lizard's death with great vigor, chopping and slashing along the way [14 hp damage]. He tries to carry through to Shukak, but is not successful.

Tex stands his ground and fires at L17, again leaving himself open for an attack. L17 is not able to connect, though, so Tex's shot sings through the air, silencing itself and L17 simultaneously [8 hp damage kills L17]. His second arrow bolts towards L19 and strikes them true [9 hp damage]

Round 15 Begins

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus is dead.

With a grim laugh Shukak begins repositioning himself to give his subjects room to join in the attack. At the same time he knocks aside Worrel's guard, allowing him to bring home multiple attacks with his trident and claws [27 hp damage total]

One of Kotobas' claws also painfully rakes across Worrel [9 hp damage]

L18 moves up to attack Worrel, but misses. L19 misses Tex. The rest of the lizardfolk continue crowding forward.

L11, L12, and L13 disappear around a corner with Lola, but Prost continues in their general direction.

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 15 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod dropped, 17 bolts left, 68 hp damage, unconscious but stable 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, 3 lay on hands left, 55 hp damage 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 4 arrows left, Abundant Ammunition 1.6 minutes left, 36 hp damage Round 16 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 177.8 minutes left, gaseous form 9.4 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffy: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, 48 hp damage, DEAD 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 92 hp damage, but healed some 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L10 and L14 through L17 dead, damage: L19 9 hp 10. A big, armored lizardman named Kotobas (Ko): 53 hp damage

[JPetherick]

Worrel mutters a prayer to Mithra, knitting together some of his wounds.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Swift action - Heal self with Lay on Hands (2d6)

 

He continues to attack the lizardmen, starting with Kotobas. Hopefully, he can drop one of these opponent and move onwards.

[ElectroZman]

Tex stands where he is and fires at L19, then L21 should the first one go down.





Then steps up to 3116.

[patransom]

Round 15 Continues

Cyrius is unconscious.

Worrel mutters a prayer to Mitra, knitting together some of his wounds [healed 7 hp]. He continues to attack the lizardmen, starting with Kotobas. Heavy overhand swings end in pure butchery, dropping Kotobas and L18 [16 and 12 damage, respectively kill them]. His attempt to move onward to Shukak, however, fails.

Tex stands where he is and fires at L19. Both arrows dart into the lizard with an eerie thunk and herald their passage into the afterlife [18 hp total kills L19].

Round 16 Begins

Lola is unconscious.

Fluffy is unconscious.

Marcus is dead.

Shukak mutters a curse when Kotobas falls, but growls instructions at his remaining followers. He re-positions to Worrel's flank and waits for L20 to step up and provide a distraction. This maneuver is not completely successful. Shukak misses with his first, heaviest trident jab, landing only two of his three attacks [12 hp damage total leaves Worrel still standing, just barely]. L20 also misses.

L21 moves up to attack Tex and the force of its uppercutitng morningstar physically lifts the dwarf, but does minimal damage [3 hp damage]

LM seems particularly enraged when Kotobas dies and moves into position to attack Worrel. This lizard misses, though.

Prost floats through some walls in the direction the lizardfolk took Lola and soon finds her. Peering through the roots he sees the lizards he was following have stopped. The room they are in is different from the others in the lair. Decorations made of wood and clay beads hang from the walls, with egg symbols the most common element. A small pit of stone and clay holds the remnants of a fire, and several open pots of herbs stand near the fire pit. A pool of water surrounds a cluster of tree trunks in the center of the room.

Lola's abductors are talking to a stooped lizardfolk wearing necklaces and bracelets of animal’s teeth stands at the ready (Hi on the map). There is a snake (V) coiled nearby. In one corner of the room are two human prisoners—a male soldier (blue S) and a female mage (blue M, picture below)—unconscious and bound.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Prost can make a sense motive check

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 16 Continues 1. Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod dropped, 17 bolts left, 68 hp damage, unconscious but stable 2. Worrel: longsword and shield readied, 38 arrows left, 2 lay on hands left, 1 smite evil left 60 hp damage 3. Texudus TreeBender: longbow readied, battleaxe dropped at 2713, 4 arrows left, Abundant Ammunition 1.5 minutes left, 39 hp damage Round 17 Begins 4. Evan Prost: short sword and loaded slingstaff readied, 6 +1 bullets left, darkvision 177.7 minutes left, gaseous form 9.3 minutes left, 14 hp damage 5. Lola: short sword dropped, 49 bolts left, 39 hp damage + 6 hp nonlethal, unconscious 6. Fluffy: 16 hp damage, unconscious but stable 7. Marcus Tilsworth: wand of magic missile dropped, 42 bolts left, 48 hp damage, DEAD 8. Shukak the Lizard King (Sh): 92 hp damage, but healed some 9. Lizardfolk: L1 through L10 and L14 through L19 dead, L20, L21, and LM uninjured 10. A big, armored lizardman named Kotobas (Ko): 83 hp damage, DEAD

[ElectroZman]

OUT OF CHARACTER

Hi, see the end of my post. I wanted Tex to step up to 3116 so he can possibly get a shot at Shukak.

 

[patransom]

Hi, see the end of my post. I wanted Tex to step up to 3116 so he can possibly get a shot at Shukak.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Sorry, I missed that. Tex is at 3116 and L21 at 3115, then. I'll correct the map when I get a chance.

 

[smeltdm]

Prost tries to make sense of what he is seeing...

[ElectroZman]

Tex steps to 3015 and fires 2 arrows at Shukak.


(Cut and paste error in the comment below. Should have been Shukak, not L19)

OUT OF CHARACTER

And misses both I assume?

 

Tex curses.

[patransom]

Prost tries to make sense of what he is seeing...

Prost cannot interpret the lizards' strange body language well enough to guess what they might be talking about.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Map updated above. Waiting on Worrel.