stonegod's Expedition to Castle Ravenloft: Ch. I [IC]

[stonegod]

Church Round 2

Jarith raises both pommels to the zombie in front of him, and with a quick prayer, raises his voice and speaks plainly. "By the Voice of the Flame and all that is holy, your dark energy is drained!" There is an all too brief flash of slivery light, but the malice in the walking dead fight off most of the stinging power. [7 hp damage to Z's; all appear to save]

As the light from the positive energy explodes out from the cleric, Jarrith takes the blinding second to drop off the pew and move around the zombie slightly to stop blocking others view of this potential target.

Unrelenting, the plague-bearing zombie press the attack. The first swings a solid blow against Urik, but the knight brings up his shield in time to ward it off. Another throws a clumsy blow at the shifter paladin, who easily parries it. The last attempts to throttle the Stalker; Jarrith feels its clammy hands come close as he just dodges out of the way. [All Z's miss]

"I suggest that everyone get out of my way," Janis says without missing a beat. " The priest and I are going to have a short conversation with his gods." Despite her cool tone, her eyes flash unpredictably with arcs of electricity. A cold bolt fires from her hands, smashing through the corrupted altar and slamming into the crazed clergy behind. But some evil power must be watching over Danovich as he manages to dive aside. [lightning bolt; 20 hp; 1 AP to increase save to DC 20; Danovich saves for half]

Badly singed, the priest howls, "My son! You cannot have my son!" Dark drool dropping from his chin, Davonich hobbles towards the hole in the floor and disappears into the shadowy maw.

The spellcasting zombie steps back, hoping to forestall Ashlyn with another spell. Once more, a ringing erupts in the party's ears, striking Ashlyn, Janis, Marot, and Daellin. Daellin and Janis fight off the sound, but as the sword drops from Ashlyn's numb hands and Marot reels, it is obvious the spell had some effect. [sound burst; 4 hp; Fort 18 (Janis) and 20 (Daellin) succeed, 9 (Marot) and 13 (Ashlyn) fail; Marot and Ashlyn stunned.]

The Shadowbane Inquisitor swings the axe in a wide arc... the zombie in front of him being a wonderful target. "End this fight quickly, my friends... we must not lose anything more!" The axe cuts through dead flesh, exposing black bile and bone. [AC 19 hits; 14 hp]

The lady paladin, stunned, can only look on as her new companions fight around her.

The elf continues his steady, silent assault. Again, two shaft's hit, and the foul creature stumbles. For a moment, it hangs in the air then tumbles into the darkness below. [AC 17, 33 hit; 24 hp before DR; I7 drops]

Tears streaking into his beard, Sir Urik cries, "You cannot flee Those that Overwatch! You know that Danovich! You cannot flee! Stand down and be judged!" The knight slashes twice more at the dead villager before him, wounding it slightly despite his sickness. [7 hp]

Marot clutches his head, stunned by the sound reverberating in his head.

Church Round 3

J: 22 [inspired 4 rounds]
B: 21 [Dead]
Z: 20 [F8: -25 (severely wounded), I7: destroyed, L5: -3 (lightly wounded)]
J: 16 [31/40, -700 XP, inspired 4 rounds, mirror image 68 rounds]
D: 16 [near death?]
DL: 13 [near destruction]
K: 13 [50/55, inspired 4 rounds]
A: 11 [40/49, inspired 4 rounds]
D: 10 [24/31 hp, inspired 4 rounds]
U: 10 [45/59, inspired 4 rounds]
M: 4 [30/34, inspired 4 rounds]

Map Key: A: Ashlyn, D: Daellin, D: Danovich, DL: Magic-infused undead, d: Edi, h: Horse, h: Valo, J: Jarrith, J: Janis, K: Khensu, M: Marot, r: raven, U: Sir Urik, Z: Plodding zombies
Conditions: Mist grants concealment to creatures 30' away. Cyan Border: mirror image, Dark green Border: Sickened, Light Green Border: Entangled, Orange Border: Inspired (+1 save vs fear, charm, compulsion; +1 to hit and damage), White: unconscious, Transparent: Dead, White Border: Paralyzed.

[Round 3 actions?]

 

[drothgery]

If Jarith's opponent still lives by the time he acts...

Daellin takes a step forward, changing targets to the zombie facing Jarith, and continuing his relentless rain of arrows.

(5-foot step to H8, another improved rapid shot)

 

[DEFCON 1]

"A little help here, Brother!" Jarrith calls out... keeping defenses up but not pressing his attack. He waits on the defensive until his Lumin Brother comes over. (Hold action to 13)

Sir Khensu does a quick scan of the enemies in sight, then quickly rushes forward and down the pew to arrive on the opposite side of the zombie attacking Jarrith. (Move action to K5).

With his Brother approaching down the length of the pew, Jarrith sidesteps across from him (5' step to M5)... then quickly calls forth a prayer to find purchase on an undead creature such as this, adding in a verbal cue that triggers the magical rod in his backpack to extend the duration of the spell. (Cast Grave Strike as Swift Action: Extended to 2 rounds via metamagic rod) Thus empowered, he thrusts twice at the zombie, once with each rapier. (Full Attack on zombie: +2d6 Sneak Attack damage on each attack).

Upon arriving at the zombie himself, Sir Khensu raises his axe and brings it down upon the zombie's back. (Attack action on zombie) "By the Flame, let us END THIS!"

 

[James Heard]

Janis crackles with barely contained energy as she regains her spell and fully exposed hatred before she howls with rage and charges off into the hole after the priest.

OOC: Recover the spell, jump in after the priest and attempt to engage him...somehow I guess. Unless the hole is really deep, in which case she's just made a tactical error. Oh well.

 

[stonegod]

Church Round 3

"A little help here, Brother!" Jarrith calls out, keeping defenses up but not pressing his attack. He waits on the defensive until his Lumin Brother comes over.

Undeterred by Danovich's flight, the zombie parishioners again swipe at the party. The one facing Sir Urik cannot manage to disentangle itself from the knight's shield, while the clumsy second one cannot land a blow on Jarrith.

Janis crackles with barely contained energy as she regains her spell and fully exposed hatred before she howls with rage and charges off into the hole after the priest, an army of Jani following. The baseboards catch at her clothing, fouling her jump, and she lands harder than she would like. [Jump 14 vs DC 15 fails; 1 hp non-lethal, 2 hp lethal falling damage]

As her eyes adjust to the dim light, Janis sees a basement in ruin. Amid the litter of the collapsed floorboards is a dank understory. A partially smashed laboratory work bench stands in the northwest portion of the cellar, including an iron slab surrounded by a clutter of broken equipment of incomprehensible complexity.

Looking around, Janis sees the heavily wounded Danovich leaning against a shattered table nearby, another worn scroll in his hand. Near a set of stairs she catches the shadowy glimpse of a skeleton, its bones discolored black in places. In a far corner are two more of the ever-present zombies. Unlike those she has seen so far, these do not seem Barovian, but of a more metropolitan appearance---most likely the lady paladin's lost cohorts. But what catches at her throat a moment is the horrid thing that lurks right in front of her.

The creature looks like some stitched-together corpse monstrosity with an overgrown jaw and mismatched skeletal arms. Its flesh is infused with dark stains, and a thick fluid oozes from its stained teeth. She is not sure what it is, but it is not an arcane construction---the flesh golems she examined in her texts looked nothing like this. [Kn: Arcana succeeds, no help]

A battered Danovich chants the words of the scroll. Whatever powers he now holds dear answer his prayer, restoring much of his health. [Healed to moderately wounded] As he stands, he calls to the monstrosity before Janis, "Kill her, Doru! Do not let them take you away!"

On cue, the monster steps forward, an awful groan passing its lips. "Fa-ther!" It easily bites through one of Janis' illusionary reflections, its dark spittle spraying the real one. [Mirror image destroyed]

Meanwhile, upstairs, the severely damaged spellcasting zombie acts out of desperation, and attempts to run through the now unarmed Ashlyn. Its wizened form cannot push past the paladin, but it manages to keep its feet. [DL attempts to overrun; fails. Ashlyn fails to knock it prone]

Sir Khensu does a quick scan of the enemies in sight, then quickly rushes forward and down the pew to arrive on the opposite side of the zombie attacking Jarrith. He raises his axe, preparing to strike if his brother should fail. [Move to K5; Pews cost double movement]

Jarrith sidesteps across from him, then quickly calls forth a prayer to find purchase on an undead creature such as this. His rapiers glow with a lethal silvery energy, and with them, he strikes two powerful blows to the creature. Even deadened by its flesh, the strikes inflict significant damage. [AC 22, 16 hit; 27 hp before DR]

The painful ringing in her ears subsided, Ashlyn rearms herself by drawing her dagger. She takes a swipe at the foul undead before her, dispatching it with a deft thrust to its chest. [AC 19 hits; 6 hp; DL drops]

Daellin takes a step forward, changing targets to the zombie facing Jarith, and continuing his relentless rain of arrows. Khensu's bulky form spoils two of the shots, but the other strikes true, peeling away more dead flesh. [AC 15, 10 ranged attack through cover miss; AC 19 hits; 13 hp before DR]

"Are you all mad!" Urik calls, as he swipes at the zombie before him, further wounding it. It is unclear who he is addressing.

Marot, his head cleared, steps forward to assist. His holy fire easily strikes Urik's foe, dispatching it instantly. [Nat 20 hits; 8 hp; destroyed]

Church Round 4

S: 23
B: 21 [Dead]
Z: 20 [F8: destroyed, I7: destroyed, L5: -43 (severely wounded); others: unhurt]
J: 16 [29/40, 1 hp non-lethal, -700 XP, inspired 3 rounds, mirror image 67 rounds]
D: 16 [moderately wounded]
B: 14
DL: 13 [destroyed]
K: 13 [50/55, inspired 3 rounds]
J: 22 [inspired 3 rounds]
A: 11 [40/49, inspired 3 rounds]
D: 10 [24/31 hp, inspired 3 rounds]
U: 10 [45/59, inspired 3 rounds]
M: 4 [30/34, inspired 3 rounds]

Light: Shadow illumination (20% miss chance) outside of Khensu's torch.

Map Key: A: Ashlyn, B: Stitched-together corpse, D: Daellin, D: Danovich, DL: Magic-infused undead, d: Edi, h: Horse, h: Valo, J: Jarrith, J: Janis, K: Khensu, M: Marot, r: raven, S: Blackened skeleton, U: Sir Urik, Z: Plodding zombies
Conditions: Mist grants concealment to creatures 30' away. Cyan Border: mirror image, Dark green Border: Sickened, Light Green Border: Entangled, Orange Border: Inspired (+1 save vs fear, charm, compulsion; +1 to hit and damage), White: unconscious, Transparent: Dead, White Border: Paralyzed.

[Round 4 actions?]

 

[James Heard]

Janis pauses for a split second to catch her breath, her eyes widening at the sight before her.

"Oh @#$%," she declares rather calmly, and her fingers twitch and twist into a ward against the evils before her - not that she expects that they'll amount to much good. Her free hand gestures in a less complex gesture, as she crosses them for luck.

OOC: Casting Otiluke's Suppressing Field versus [Necromancy].

 

[drothgery]

"I know I'm going to regret this." Daellin says, pulling a rope out of his haversack, and quickly looks for something to tie it to. The pew might work. "But we probably shouldn't leave Janis alone down there, and if my memory serves me, she usually doesn't keep a flight spell handy."

(move to the nearest location where he can tie his rope to somewhere that can hold the weight of a heavily armored human -- not just a lightly armored elf -- and then tie one end of his rope there and toss the other end down the hole.)

 

[DEFCON 1]

Having seen the wizardess make an ill-advised leap without taking precaution... Jarrith smirks at her audacity. Because truth be told... that's exactly the same sort of thing he would have done. "Let us end this, Brother... our electrical magess has made a... shocking... decision."

"So it would seem!" the shifter replies. Both Shadowbaners press their attacks against the zombie... Jarrith using his Lightbringer skills to add a bit more punch to his rapier thrusts (+1D6 damage for Penetrating Strike), and Sir Khensu taking a bit more wild of a swing with his greataxe to add a bit more power behind it (Power Attack: -2 to hit / +2 to damage)

**********

OOC: If the zombie goes down from the first character's attack, the second character will instead move to the hole in the floor. If that character is Jarrith, he'll leap into the hole himself (Khensu will wait for Daellin's rope).

 

[Stormwind]

Having dispatched her foe and hearing Janis curse below, Ashlyn retrieves her sword from where it lies and hurries over to the trapdoor in the corner of the room. As she does she calls to the others, "I believe that there is a way down over here."

[Retrieve sword (move action); Move to trapdoor (move action)]

 

[stonegod]

Church Round 4

With a unnatural hiss, the skeleton skitters forward, and swipes at one of Janis' images. Its claw tears through the phantom, which mimics pain as it vanishes. [Skeleton hits; image destroyed]

In the church, the remaining zombie mindlessly continues its attack against Jarrith, but the Stalker steps out of the way. Down below, the other undead shuffle forward and take a swipe. The first misses, but the second slams into Janis' image, obliterating it. [F5 hits; image destroyed]

Janis pauses for a split second to catch her breath, her eyes widening at the sight before her. "Oh @#$%," she declares rather calmly, and her fingers twitch and twist into a ward against the evils before her - not that she expects that they'll amount to much good. Her free hand gestures in a less complex gesture, as she crosses them for luck. A brief black flash indicates the formation of her ward. [Otiluke's suppressing field]

At the same time, Janis' remaining shadow moves through her, trying to maximize her protection.

The deranged Danovich smirks at Janis' defenses, and begins a chant. Janis recognizes it immediately and thinks another sour thought: dispel magic. As the abjuration tears at her magics, she feels her necromantic ward fading while her other projections remain intact. [50% chance to target Janis: succeeds. Dispel vs. mage armor fails, vs. mirror image fails, vs. suppressing field succeeds]

The monstrosity steps forward and bites at the two mage's before her. Unfortunately for Janis, it picks the real her. It tears into her shoulder, crushing bone and muscle both. A flaring pain, beyond the bite itself, sears from the wound, clouding her mind. The shock is such she hardly notices black disease spread through the wound, sickening her. [50% change to target Janis: succeeds. Hits for 21 hp. Dazed. Fort save 16 fails; sickened]

Having seen the wizardess make an ill-advised leap without taking precaution, Jarrith smirks at her audacity. Because truth be told, that's exactly the same sort of thing he would have done. "Let us end this, Brother... our electrical magess has made a... shocking... decision."

"So it would seem!" the shifter replies. Both Shadowbaners press their attacks against the zombie. Khensu's powerful chop downs the fiend, leaving Jarrith to jump after Janis. His training ensures he lands relatively softly. A wry remark dies on his lips the moment he sees the dire situation. [Khensu hit's AC 17; 19 hp; Z drops; Jarrith jumps; Jump DC 15 suceeds; 2 hp non-lethal]

Having dispatched her foe and hearing Janis curse below, Ashlyn retrieves her sword from where it lies and hurries over to the trapdoor in the corner of the room. As she does she calls to the others, "I believe that there is a way down over here."

"I know I'm going to regret this." Daellin says, pulling a rope out of his haversack. "But we probably shouldn't leave Janis alone down there, and if my memory serves me, she usually doesn't keep a flight spell handy." He elf fastens the rope to the altar the best he can, avoiding the loose floorboards as he does so.

"There's no time for that!" Urik calls at Daellin, and leaps into the darkness. He lands heavily, passing into one of Janis' images that dodges out of the way. Seeing the foes gathered, he bellows in a strong voice, "Danovich! Face me! You and your curs must face Those that Overwatch to answer for your foulness!" The priest grinds his teeth at Urik's words, calling out, "Fine, the powers that abandoned me will be your doom!" but the monstrosity is unaffected. [Knight's challenge; Danovich fails save, monstrosity succeeds; Danovich provoked]

Undeterred, Urik raises his sword. A silvery glow infuses it a moment as he brings it down on the monstrosity. But the wound is small, worsened by the man's sickness, and the creature hardly notices. [smite undead, hits, 4 hp]

Marot moves over to the hatch and attempts to open it in haste. However, it is jammed tight into the floor form discuse and the warlock cannot budge it. [11 Str check fails]

Church Round 5

S: 23
B: 21 [Dead]
Z: 20 [F8: destroyed, I7: destroyed, L5: destroyed; others: unhurt]
J: 16 [8/40, 1 hp non-lethal, -700 XP, inspired 2 rounds, mirror image 66 rounds, mage armor, dazed, sickened]
D: 16 [moderately wounded, provoked 7 rounds]
B: 14 [-4 (lightly wounded)]
DL: 13 [destroyed]
K: 13 [50/55, inspired 2 rounds]
J: 22 [31/31, 2 non-lethal, inspired 2 rounds]
A: 11 [40/49, inspired 2 rounds]
D: 10 [24/31 hp, inspired 2 rounds]
U: 10 [45/59, inspired 2 rounds]
M: 4 [30/34, inspired 2 rounds]

Light: Shadow illumination (20% miss chance) outside of Khensu's torch.

Map Key: A: Ashlyn, B: Stitched-together corpse, D: Daellin, D: Danovich, DL: Magic-infused undead, d: Edi, h: Horse, h: Valo, J: Jarrith, J: Janis, K: Khensu, M: Marot, r: raven, S: Blackened skeleton, U: Sir Urik, Z: Plodding zombies
Conditions: Mist grants concealment to creatures 30' away. Cyan Border: mirror image, Dark green Border: Sickened, Light Green Border: Entangled, Olive: dazed, Orange Border: Inspired (+1 save vs fear, charm, compulsion; +1 to hit and damage), White: unconscious, Transparent: Dead, White Border: Paralyzed.

[Round 5 actions?]