Beneath Dourstone Mine

[JPetherick]

[talk]Agreed. Let us go back to the cathedral and try the other doors, perhaps the spiral staircase upwards,[/talk] states Filge while nodding in agreement. Filge knows something of the capabilities of the trogolodyte zombies and knows that his skeleton slaves were unlikely to be a match for them.

The necromancer prepares to follow his companions, but pauses before moving. [talk]Should we secure this door? Or could this locked door beside us lead to a staircase upwards?[/talk]

[kabkal]

Lola ages to move on and will follow the group with crossbow at the ready.

[Duniagdra]

[talk]I think we try this door here and see if it leads up. If it does, then I propose a new tactic. Assuming it leads up, I say we hit them on two fronts. Some of us charge from these doors to draw their attention below the balcony. The rest of us, I'm thinking Tex and Cyrius at the least, charge the balcony from above. I would like to be one of those up on the balcony.[/talk]

[CGM3]

[talk]They might not have realized they held the advantage, or been sufficiently unnerved by our confidence to yield,[/talk] Cyrius opines as he waits for Prost to unlock the other door, still standing guard. [talk]Unlikely, I'll grant, but Athena favors the bold. And I'm not sure sending some of us back in at ground level, even as a distraction, is a good idea. I saw no way in there to get to the balcony, so they'd likely be out of the fight. Methinks the tactic here, if we find a way to the balcony and it isn't guarded by something that keeps us from advancing, is to go together.[/talk]

[smeltdm]

Prost moves to 1218 and starts to work on the locked door...

[ooc]Not sure what's happening here[/ooc]

[dice]0[/dice]

[smeltdm]

Prost moves to 1218 and starts to work on the locked door...

[ooc]Not sure what's happening here[/ooc]

[dice]81797:0[/dice]

I had to submitt three times before I got a result. Not complaining about the result thou.

[kabkal]

Lola asks [talk]"Can the skeletons use a bow? They could draw some of the attention away. I think any one down here is dead. Of course if they are smart they know we will be coming from this direction and have us one by one as we come through the door. So if death is are only option, then I will stay down to start to draw their fire and join you in a minute or two. I will try to find some cover."[/talk]

Then she says something in Amazonian and you are not sure if it is a curse, a blessings or just some random mumbling. After looking and the expression on her face (a determined one of someone who is about to kill or to be killed) you are not sure you want to know what she said.

[CGM3]

[talk]If there's no way to get from the balcony to the floor in there,[/talk] Cyrius observes, [talk]then unless those people jump down or something, they probably won't be coming at us through these doors. Maybe we should withdraw to the cathedral without Prost opening that door, and look for an alternate route there.[/talk] However, he remains at his chosen post before the double doors; war is the provenance of chance.

[tdsprouse]

Tex silently watched all the commotion with the calm of stone. Finally, [talk]They've got at least one caster, I think. I might be able distract him enough to interrupt his castings. Perhaps an arrow to his good eye. Either way, I agree, we cant just charge through these doors. But if we could get some people up on the balcony, that would be helpful.[/talk]

[Duniagdra]

[talk]Prost, did you get the door open?[/talk]

[smeltdm]

Prost moves to 1218 and starts to work on the locked door...

[ooc]Not sure what's happening here[/ooc]

[dice]81797:0[/dice]

Prost comments... [talk]I'm not sure, I'm still working on it...[/talk]

[patransom]

Round 1

Prost quickly slams the double doors. The party shuffles positions a bit while debating how to deal with the apparent death trap in the room beyond.

Quite unexpectedly, and before Prost can set to work on the locked door at 1218, the doubles doors open again, apparently of their own accord! The man at the far end of the room (Theldrick) shouts, “So, intruders, you dare violate the sanctity of Innana's Citadel, yet you fear entering the Battle Temple itself? Clearly, you are cowards! Come, face Innana's chosen, or we shall slaughter you as you flee!” To his comrades on either side of the room, he commands, “Let them enter. If they turn to run, fill their backs with arrows.”

Perception DC 29Show

The man's hand rests firmly on the arm of the throne. One might deduce that some device there offers him control over the main doors.

The Amazon on the right (Kendra) casts a spell, touching herself and the tiefling next to her.

Spellcraft DC 20 (after accounting for distance)Show

She cast Communal Protection from Good

The tiefling women nock arrows to their bows, but do not shoot... yet.

The Half-orc on the left (Garras) drinks a potion.

The one-eyed man (Theldrick) adds “Go, my minions! Give them a challenge!” In response, the troglodyte zombies walk clumsily off the balcony, falling flat on the sand (and taking a small amount of damage).

OUT OF CHARACTER

Prost, if still want to use your turn to attempt to unlock the door at 1218, I will keep your previous roll.

 

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 2 Evan Prost: antitoxin 53.6 min left, darkvision 173.3 min left Texudus TreeBender Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod (hidden in boot) ~5 hours left Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 53.4 min left, mage armor 233.3 min left, chill touch 1 left Filge's commanded skeletons (S4, S7, S8) Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 233.4 min left, antitoxin 53.3 min left, 3 hp damage Lola Theldrick (Th) Kendra (K) Tiefling 1 (T1): readied action Tiefling 2 (T2): readied action Garras (G) Troglodyte Zombie 1 (Z1): prone, 3 hp damage Troglodyte Zombie 2 (Z2): prone, 3 hp damage Fog Cloud in the room behind you (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 34.9 min left

[CGM3]

[talk]It isn't cowardice to decline sticking your, er, walking into a sausage grinder,[/talk] Cyrius observes sourly as he tries to swing the panel on his side of the door closed once more.

[tdsprouse]

[ooc]Can Tex target Theldrick? Being at teh far rear of the balcony, and 20' up? Does the elevation of the balcony play into LOS? Aside from that, i assume that he cannot see any part of the people on teh sides.[/ooc]

[patransom]

[ooc]Can Tex target Theldrick? Being at teh far rear of the balcony, and 20' up? Does the elevation of the balcony play into LOS?[/ooc]

[ooc]Yes, I drew out the elevation and Tex can target Theldrick. However, he has cover thanks to the huge freakin' statue in the way (cover adds to his AC, so I'll handle that). Also, the range is greater than 70 ft, so don't forget the -1 for range modifier.[/ooc]

[tdsprouse]

[ooc]Excellent, Thanks. But the Composite Longbow has a Range Increment of 110'.

In this case...[/ooc]

Tex casts Gravity Bow (duration: 1 minute)

[smeltdm]

Prost seems to be oblivious to his surroundings as he is single mindedly focused on opening the door...

OUT OF CHARACTER

Prost, attempts to unlock the door at 1218...

 

[JPetherick]

[yell]Get them, boys! Attack![/yell], Filge commands his skeletons. While they skeletons cannot attack the zombies, they do manage to reach the prone opponents and stand over them.

Meanwhile, the human necromancer waits impatiently for Prost to open the door.

[kabkal]

Lola will switch back to her crossbow and wait to see what is going to happen.

[patransom]

[ooc]Waiting on Marcus[/ooc]

[Duniagdra]

While waiting for prost to get the door open, marcus will stow the staff and draw the crossbow.

[patransom]

OUT OF CHARACTER

I made an error regarding the zombies last round. The first 10 feet of a fall are nonlethal damage and undead are immune to this. So the zombies were uninjured at the start of this round, although they were still prone.

 

Round 2

Prost finds the lock fiendishly difficult, but he still manages to unlock the door.

Tex casts a spell.

“It isn't cowardice to decline sticking your, er, walking into a sausage grinder,” Cyrius observes sourly as he tries to swing the panel on his side of the door closed once more. He finds that the door is somehow jammed open, far beyond his strength to budge.

Get them, boys! Attack!, Filge commands his skeletons. Meanwhile, the necromancer waits impatiently for Prost to open the door.

The skeletons march obediently toward the fallen zombies, arriving to stand menacingly over them.

While waiting for Prost to get the door open, Marcus stows his staff and draws his crossbow.

Lola, likewise, switches back to her crossbow and waits to see what is going to happen. She soon finds out.

The one-eyed man (Theldrick) shouts at you, “Fine, cowards, you may die there in the hall, rather than gloriously on the sands of the battle temple!” To his allies, he yells, “Kill them now!” Finally, he yells directly at Filge, “You think to send my own creations against me? You are the greatest fool of all!” Emitting a wave of negative energy, he commands the skeletons, “Turn back and destroy the interlopers. I, Theldrick, command it!” Skeletons 7 and 8 do as he says and turn back to face the party; Skeleton 4 remains under Filge's command [Amazingly, it made its will save against Theldrick's command undead].

The Amazon on the right (Kendra) casts a spell that reaches far enough to catch Cyrius and Marcus [who now need a DC15 will save to avoid being subject to Bane (-1 attack, -1 saves vs fear)]

The Tiefling woman on the right (T1) fires off her bow at Cyrius, missing badly.

The Tiefling on the left (T2) also misses Cyrius, although she was very close, missing only because of the cover provided by the corridor wall on her side.

The Half-orc on the left (Garras) casts a spell.

Spellcraft DC16Show

He cast bless. Just a bit too late, since it would have made one of the arrows hit Cyrius.

The Troglodyte Zombies stand up. Z2 avoids a swipe from S4's mace as it does so [The skeleton's AoO missed].

ACTIVE EFFECTS

Round 3 [list=1][*]Evan Prost: antitoxin 53.5 min left, darkvision 173.2 min left [*]Texudus TreeBender: gravity bow 1 min left [*]Cyrius of the Sudden Blade: sunrod (hidden in boot) ~5 hours left, needs a DC15 will save or subject to Bane (-1 attack, -1 saves vs fear) [*]Filge: false life (7 temp HP) 53.3 min left, mage armor 233.2 min left, chill touch 1 left [*]Filge's commanded skeleton (S4) [*]Marcus Tilsworth: mage armor 233.3 min left, antitoxin 53.2 min left, 3 hp damage, needs a DC15 will save or subject to Bane (-1 attack, -1 saves vs fear) [*]Lola [*]Theldrick (Th) [*]Kendra (K) [*]Tiefling 1 (T1) [*]Tiefling 2 (T2) [*]Garras (G) [*]Troglodyte Zombie 1 (Z1) [*]Troglodyte Zombie 2 (Z2) [*]Skeleton 7 (S7) [*]Skeleton 8 (S8)[/list] Fog Cloud in the room behind you (20% miss chance within 5 feet, 50% farther away): 34.8 min left

OUT OF CHARACTER

The map below assumes that Prost (or someone) spends a move action to open the door he just unlocked. You can't see the hallway to the east (right) or move into it unless the door is opened first...

 

[CGM3]

[dice]0[/dice]

Cyrius winces as he feels the bane take effect, tells his companions, [talk]It's never a good idea to fight on the battlefield your opponent chooses if an alternative is at hand. I think Prost has just given us an alternative,[/talk] while stepping back to 1117 (and making ready to follow the party down the newly available corridor.)

[JPetherick]

[talk]"Well, we found out who made those undead. My last skeleton will occupy them for a bit, so let's get through the door.[/talk]

Filge prepares to get across the hallway as quickly as possible and into the narrow corridor, moving as far as possible.

[Duniagdra]

Marcus will load and fire a bolt at G.[dice=total]0[/dice][dice=total]1[/dice]

[smeltdm]

Prost feeling a bit rushed tries to calm him self as he moves down the hall to 1618, checking for traps along the way.

OUT OF CHARACTER

[dice]0[/dice]

 

then moving on to the door at the end of the hall, again checking for traps along the way.

OUT OF CHARACTER

[dice]1[/dice]

 

[tdsprouse]

Tex readies an action to shoot when Theldrick casts a spell.

Atk (No Point Blank Shot, or Deadly Aim)
[dice=totalonly]0[/dice]

Dam (w/ Gravity Bow)
[dice=totalonly]1[/dice]

[patransom]

Prost feeling a bit rushed tries to calm him self as he moves down the hall to 1618, checking for traps along the way, then moving on to the door at the end of the hall, again checking for traps along the way.

[ooc]Yes, Prost does seem to be in a rush, because he's trying to cram too many actions into a single round...

1. Opening the door is a move action. It doesn't have to be Prost who does it, but until someone does it, no one's going into the hallway at all. And Prost is first to act.
2. Moving to 1618 is a move action.
3. Searching for traps on the way to 1618 is at least a move action (Prost does not have the trap spotter rogue talent); per the Perception skill description:

Most Perception checks are reactive, made in response to observable stimulus. Intentionally searching for stimulus is a move action.

Given this, what are Prost's priorities for Round 3?[/ooc]

[kabkal]

Once the door is opened Lola will follow the party down the hallway with her crossbow at the ready.

[smeltdm]

[talk]That was tricky...[/talk] Prost comments after picking the lock; Prost opens the door