Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Wednesday April 12th, 2023 7:41:13 AM
Having proven capable of literally tying the enemy in knots and being very mobile with her helmet Stohp swims towards the front, 2nd or 3rd in line. She indicates the mound with the visible entrance as her choice.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Wednesday April 12th, 2023 9:34:52 AM Status: Water breathing, Freedom of Movement Stock takes up his position as the vanguard. He gets out his flail and tests it in the water before pushing forward toward the mound with the opening.
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=17 ; Wednesday April 12th, 2023 12:26:35 PM
Bartomus looked at each of the mounds and then over at his fellow Shields. He tried talking and saw merely a strand of swirling bubbles. He made a note of where Stohp and Stock started to move to and looked over at Zander to see if he was going upfront or not. He would fall in somewhere in that front to middle portion as best as he could without pulling or pushing everyone about. He tried using a tiny whirl of water and bubbles to point to the same mound that Stohp was pointing at.
Perception - rolled a one to get 16 - second now.
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=48 ; Wednesday April 12th, 2023 2:56:45 PM {Swim speed 30ft, Darkvision, Water Breathing}
Delia takes her bow out and then follows after Stohp. She gravitates towards the front since she will need to be close to use her bow in the lake.
She keeps a watchful eye out for any nearby plant clusters, whether they look hungry, sentient, or otherwise. She also takes a moment to attune to the natural rhythms of the underwater terrain so that she can be alert to any changes in that rhythm.
========================= Perception: 48 (nat 20 to balance out Bart lol)
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Wednesday April 12th, 2023 3:05:16 PM
Zander gestures to the opening they can see, thinking they'd work their way in from the outside. Being on of the less hindered by being underwater from his magic items he takes rearguard. "If we need more light I can cast Daylight on something. I would guess it might draw some attention though."
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Wednesday April 12th, 2023 11:24:36 PM
Stohp points toward the rightmost mound, with the visible entrance, as she moves into the 2nd or 3rd position in line.
Stock moves into the front of the lines, testing his flail along the way… which seems much happier being free to move…
Bartomus once more tried to speak, but if only he knew a language designed for underwater use… he manages some incomprehensible clicks and is glad no dolphins are nearby to chuckle over his attempts to use their clicks as some kind of simplified underwater language. He saw Stock and Stohp moving towards the rightmost mound, and then looked to see if Zanderallen was following them, and sees Zanderallen taking rear guard in the Shields’ formation, so Bartomus settles into the middle behind Stohp, once more sending gentle vortices to guide all of the Shields towards where Stock was leading them. Bartomus looks around a bit, and is quickly satisfied that no monstrous plants are coming to attack them.
Delia draws her bow as she swims after Stohp, not easily seeing Bartomus in water form, but once Delia attempts to take a position alongside Stohp, or perhaps back and to either side of Stohp, and then the “heavy water” becomes much more noticeable to her, and the gentle guiding vortices start up again, assuring her that she swims alongside and between Stohp and Bartomus. Delia has a keen eye out for any monstrous plant attackers, but sees none… for now.
Zanderallen has taken rear guard, flexing his unhindered underwater fighting ability, and suggests that he could cast Daylight if it was wise.
Armalad silently swims into a middle-front position parallel to Delia, gripping Second Elder’s Wrath as if her life depended on it, with Joker following just behind.
(OOC - SHIELDS’ northern (of the Float) cross formation:
Stock Stohp Delia and Bartomus and Armalad Zanderallen
(with Delia and Armalad alert for opportunities to “swim up” alongside Stohp for a better shot))
The northern cross stalks the Lake floor, and at times swims a few feet above it, as within three minutes the Shields arrive at the first mound. No monstrous plants to greet them it seems.
The rightmost mound is about a 50’ diameter hemisphere, with a 25’ high “ceiling.” The walls and ceiling of this dome appear to be made entirely from a mix of seaweed, reeds, kelp, and various other plant fibers. Gasps aren’t very audible when they’re from water instead of air, but nonetheless the superb natural knowledge of Armalad, Bartomus, and Delia causes each of the three to at lease pause in admiration of the organic structure and its architecture… and perhaps wonder if anyone on the Float could put this knowledge to use making underwater structures on the Lake floor directly beneath the Float.
Stock is at the front, and with his Darkvision he can see clearly inside… in black and white. Delia too, but being perhaps 10’ back can’t quite make out the farthest wall. Likewise Armalad with low-light vision can see fully inside, and in color, despite being perhaps 10’ back from Stock.
The three can all see that this mound appears empty, though someone or thing could hide just on the other side of the walls immediately around the opening. In the center are three smaller rectangular mounds arranged in a triangular formation, but without the sides touching at corners. Various small mounds are around each larger mound as kinds of concave “bowls” though empty of contents. This mound appears to have a purpose, though no visible occupants as of yet, at least while the Shields stand and float outside the 10’ by 10’ opening.
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+24=34 ; d3=3 ; d20+24=30 ; d20+20=36 ; d20+12=13 ; d20+12=26 ; d20+12=31 ; d20+10=24 ; d20+10=24 ; d20+10=21 ; d20+10=29 ; d20+10=29 ; d20+18=38 ; d20+13=19 ; d20+4=20 ; Wednesday April 12th, 2023 11:49:07 PM
Armalad and Joker study the mound and the opening, drawing upon their senses and their breadth of knowledge. Any insight they discover they will share with the group. Armalad also casts detect magic and turns her 60 foot magic detecting cone in the direction of the mound if it reaches.
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Thursday April 13th, 2023 8:05:47 AM
An empty mound. Stohp wonders if most of these are empty and how long it will take to check them all.
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Thursday April 13th, 2023 9:08:55 AM "Are these noose-reed houses? Or maybe some underwater creature's home that's been taken over?" she asks, quietly as the underwater echo allows.
She continues to stay alert to threats outside of the hut as her allies focus on the hut itself.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=33 ; Thursday April 13th, 2023 12:23:26 PM "We might have to change the name of this place from Moundtown to Mound-Ghost Town.
Rectangles and triangles are hardly shapes of nature..."
Stock enters the mound, staying just inside the entryway, and his eyes track left to right across the "room", finally settling on the various mounds and bowls of different shapes and orientations. He touches the wall of the mound and notes any reaction to his contact. ======= Perception 33, looking around
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+7=15 ; d20+16=29 ; Thursday April 13th, 2023 4:36:48 PM "Pretty Impressive," Bartomus said allowed, but all that came out was swirls of water and bubbles. He wasn't paying attention to those but rather lost in thought with the other nature-oriented members of the party looking at the weaving done to create the mound in front of them and presumably the others as well.
When Stock headed into the mound, Bartomus followed floating behind and above the dwarf.
Knowledge Nature for 15 looking at the mound and convex weavings; Perception 29 - entering the building above and behind Stock
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Thursday April 13th, 2023 10:39:09 PM
Armalad and Joker consider the mound and the opening, searching their minds for some clue that will trigger productive academic analyses. Then Armalad casts Detect Magic and begins scanning in the direction of the mound, the 60’ cone reaching just shy of the far wall. No magic detected right now, including in the triangular formation of the three smaller rectangular mounds. (OOC – since we’re in posts (and not combat, yet) please feel free to describe up to 10 rounds (1 minute of that precious Freedom of Movement duration on Armalad’s friends) of Detect Magic use per post.) While they’re thinking, Armalad and Joker continue to expand their admiration of the construction/growing techniques and/or spells that must have been needed to make plants grow in this seemingly artificial way, or were they all bound together like ropes, twined about each other? The plants certainly, with the Detect Magic not registering them as magical, are either conjured or are simply real seaweed, reeds, and kelp. Armalad, as a scholar, often frequents whatever passes for a library in the Float – the WLA’s files, the Star Mages Guild, and anywhere else that membership or a non-member price can buy access to knowledge… and she has not read or heard of anything like this… it seems within the realm of Druidic magic… perhaps Bartomus may know something, some specific spell or ritual, she thinks to herself.
Stohp jumps to the conclusion the mound is empty – there’s a lot of evidence to back that up, but no one has yet poked their head through the doorway to check behind the immediate walls surrounding the opening – perhaps sahuagin are even now floating to the sides and above the opening… no, even underwater, she’d have smelled their oily-fish smell by now!
Delia wonders aloud, as aloud as expelling and vibrating water can be loud, whether this is a mound for the Reeds, or a mound for another that’s been taken over, and then returns to being astonishingly aware of the Shields’ surroundings. No threats yet.
Stock wonders whether this is a “ghost town,” and then muses that regular shapes aren’t a thing Nature likes to do… at least not often… Stock steps inside the mound, stopping in the opening itself, and scans the whole interior, confirming Stohp’s suspicion that it’s empty of antagonists… thus far. His gaze settles on the center of the interior, pondering its implied geometry, and then touches the wall and… it’s a wall made of entwined lengths of reeds, seaweed, and kelp. A seemingly artificial structure made solely out of natural materials. Stock’s keen Darkvision assures him that nothing’s here… unless it’s made of water like Bartomus, or hidden in some way…
Bartomus is impressed by the natural materials in an unnatural configuration. He is further impressed that it’s not just one mound, but a “mound town.” Bartomus then followed above and behind Stock, creating an area of somewhat thickened water around Stohp, but Bartomus chooses not to occupy her space, allowing his water-elemental-self to stretch and elongate as needed. Bartomus begins to wonder whether the structure was crafted… or spell-crafted, that is, conjured, non-magical reeds and seaweed and kelp summoned from some other plane or elsewhere on the Wold. While he muses about those possibilities, he too scans around the mound, using his elemental body-granted Darkvision, and sees what Stock sees – nothing but the mound, the triangular arrangement of rectangular mounds in the center… and then Stock touches the wall! Bartomus half-flinches, suddenly expecting the mound to be a cunning trap, a giant vine-monster that comes alive and swallows the Shields whole in its “mouth” of rotating razor-sharp teeth! But, no such luck. The mound is the mound… today… now.
Zanderallen brings up the rear, but lacking aid to his sight, realizes it’s a bit dark in there… thinks about his one Daylight spell, but, seeing no fracas, vortices, or other clues to battle, instead focuses on watching out for a Reedy attack from the rear…
Once it’s clear that Stock is not immediately slaughtered by Reeds, Armalad moves up to scan better inside with her Detect Magic, and confirms to the Shields that there’s nothing magic here, and agrees with Stock that there’s nothing moving around inside. The triangular pattern is artificial though, and perhaps academically intriguing for long-term study… if the Shields weren’t on a mission, and a slightly-less-than-two-hours-timer on those pesky Freedom of Movement spells…
Stohp takes stock, and notes that it’s taken the Shields 3 minutes to get here from the vantage point, and 2 minutes of poking around. 5 minutes. She thinks about the whole “mound town” layout and guesstimates that if everything was empty, perhaps another 25 minutes or so for the smaller mounds, and who knows for the moundplex – is it one big chamber inside, or a series of them? Still, barring strange occurrences, the 2-hour duration of the Freedom of Movement spells should be plenty… oh, better allow for time to call the merfolk to transport the corpses, of course…
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+20=28 ; d20+24=32 ; d20+24=34 ; Thursday April 13th, 2023 11:29:24 PM
Armalad says, "Should we proceed to the next outer reed complex or go directly to mound town?"
To Bartomus she asks, "Could some druidic ritual or magic have convinced these reeds to assemble in this way?"
Whatever her companions decide to do she keeps her magic detecting cone at the ready and her eyes peeled.
Perception: 28 Know[Arcana]: 32 Spellcraft: 34
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Friday April 14th, 2023 7:58:33 AM "We might as well make a thorough search. Check each in turn. This one is empty, but we don't want to leave an ambush of enemies waiting to sneak up from behind if one of these groups of mounds has them."
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Friday April 14th, 2023 8:42:20 AM "Agreed, Stohp. Better safe than sorry. And, we need to make sure we don't miss any."
She continues to be on high alert.
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Friday April 14th, 2023 3:59:16 PM
Waiting in the rear sometimes made things drag, and sometimes it meant you got to hang out and enjoy the ominous lake floor while your friends inspected the eerie plant mound. "I agree, we can sweep out this side quickly before heading to the central mound. At the very least it will give us a known safe retreat path if things go south."
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=17 ; Friday April 14th, 2023 4:05:37 PM
Bartomus did a quick swim about the mound and shot out and over Stohp back out to where the rest of the Shields were talking. He sent a little vortex to the next mound on the same side and made his way over to it.
He waited for one of the other Shields to catch up and kept glancing at the next mound, but also tried to find the other Shields who were coming to inspect this second mound.
Perception - yep, watery Bartomus is distracted apparently as he rolled a one for the perception for a total of 17
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Saturday April 15th, 2023 9:29:18 PM
Armalad queries the group on where to go next. She then asks Bartomus whether druidic magic could have created these mounds. Armalad maintains her Detect Magic and continues sweeping while awaiting her replies. Bartomus and other Shields light up with the magic of their gear and occasional spells, so Detect Magic is functioning… just not finding anything within this mound.
Stohp suggests it would be best to check all of them, just to guard against later ambushes, if any.
Delia agrees with Stohp, continuing to be on high alert.
Zanderallen marveled at the Lake floor while listening to his companions strategize. He then agrees with Stohp and Delia to check the last two mounds on this side before proceeding into the moundplex.
Bartomus swims around the empty mound quickly, absorbed in observing its details and completely ignoring Armalad’s question directed to him. He then swims back outside and starts sending vortices towards the next mound, somewhat impatiently waiting for the other Shields to follow. Then perhaps all these vortices turned him about one too many times, because it took him a while to realize he was looking in the wrong direction for the Shields! He re-orients himself and waits patiently for the Shields to follow his vortex-walk.
Stock keeps staring at various places in this mound in turn, but finally convinces himself that it truly is empty, of all but water, despite the unnatural geometry.
The Shields soon agree with Stohp’s plan and find Bartomus’ vortices pointing the way to the next mound. Knowing that this side of moundtown only had the one visible entrance, the Shields exit the rightmost mound via its one “southern” entrance, and go clockwise around the outside, through the “alley” between this mound and the next one, and see that the next mound has a “northern” opening but the mound closest to the moundplex doesn’t, leaving its “east” and “west” as remaining possibilities.
This second-rightmost mound’s round opening is also about 10’ by 10’ and open to the Lake as well. As the Shields round the bend from the second-rightmost’s “east” to its “north” they no longer have the advantage of approaching from straight-on to see directly inside.
Armalad senses no magic on the exterior wall of this mound.
This mound, like the other hemispherical mounds, is likewise made of woven reeds, seaweed and kelp.
From your current approach, those with darkvision and low-light vision can only see a diagonal swath about 5’ deep into the opening – no sign of trouble, yet…
SHIELDS – what is your battle/exploration plan for this mound?
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=30 ; Sunday April 16th, 2023 3:46:42 PM
Bartomus turned back to the second mound in their exploration and looked about as water elements might - did that mean turning around or did they just shift front for back and back for front? He would have to ask one of the Shields about that when they were topside next.
He looked over the mound and the opening. Studied it closely. Then if he felt it was not a threat, he would push forward and enter the room. Any odd feeling would have him spin a vortex in some fashion to warn the rest of the Shields.
Perception 30 - if seems safe, he's going to pull a Stock and go on in. If not, try to warn everyone.
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+17=18 ; Sunday April 16th, 2023 10:54:02 PM
Stohp lets the others investigate the hut, keeping an eye out as best she can for other enemies (perception 18)
Armalad continues to look around using her magic detecting cone and senses looking for anything strange or threatening.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=35 ; Monday April 17th, 2023 8:52:55 AM Status: Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement
Stock bustles into the new mound in front again. He adjusts his spectacles and scans the inside of the mound.
======= Perception 35
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=31 ; Monday April 17th, 2023 9:18:14 AM
Delia swims up next to Stohp and keeps watch with her. "I hope nothing is in the third hut. But I also hope there is. This waiting... it's making me nervous," she mutters. Most new terrains she can find her way through, but underwater is finally odd enough to slightly unnerve her and bring out some agitation.
Perception: 31
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Monday April 17th, 2023 9:54:42 PM
Bartomus, feeling his water-oats, as it were, swims ahead of the Shields speedily, darting this way and that to “look” around the mound and its entrance. Then, peeking waterly around the opening, Bartomus’ Darkvision judges the coast to be clear and he enters…
Stohp Freely Moves to a spot near the Mound entrance, and then stands guard, watching for ambushes.
Armalad likewise stands guard while swimming forward, attempting to gain an arc of vision that will enable her senses and Detect Magic to peer into the opening. Her swimming is not only not as fast as Bartomus’, but also not as fast as those empowered with Freedom of Movement to hustle, nay, to run on the Lake floor. Joker is also not as fast as Bartomusm but is fast enough to playfully swim backwards just a bit faster than Armalad swims forward. Armalad realizes she is the only Shield without a magical swimming or movement aid of some kind that functions underwater, as Delia casually and easily swims past Armalad, almost as fast as Joker.
Stock has likewise left Armalad in the metaphorical dust, Freely Running up to and into the mound’s entrance, scanning around.
Delia swims to a point perhaps 10’ short of Stohp, Free Running being faster than the swimming granted by the flippers, and likewise begins keeping watch. She has been practicing “speaking” underwater, and though it feels to Delia like shouting, she is just now barely able to make herself heard clearly, without distortion, to Stohp, perhaps helped by Stohp’s head being inside a bubble of air… the Lake floor has earth, plants, even tall enough plants one might mistake some for small “trees” in height… but still the mostly-silent stillness… the water moving in and out of her lungs without drowning her… at some level Delia would give much to be on the surface again, away from this alien land… sea… scape, with the distorted sun so far above this undersea Wold…
Zanderallen continues to guard the back, Freely Running until to go further would place Armalad at the rear of the group, and then he stops, seeing Stock race inside ahead, and tenses himself for possible battle.
Bartomus and Stock, both inside this new mound, find yet another empty space inside, but this time there are but two rectangular mounds, long sides in parallel, in the center of the mound. Each rectangular mound in this chamber is approximately 10’ long by 5’ wide, and there is a kind of humanoid shape made of reeds, seaweed, and kelp lying on each rectangular mound. Approaching closer, Bartomus and Stock, each with Darkvision, see the eerie black and white image of empty “eye sockets,” and openings moreso than mouths, with purely empty space within. It is almost like a reedy humaniform body, yet hollow inside as though it were a suit of reedy armor. Curiouser and curiouser…
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+24=37 ; d20+24=44 ; d20+24=28 ; Monday April 17th, 2023 10:02:10 PM
Armalad says to the others, "I can hardly move compared to the rest of you. I don't suppose anyone has a freedom of movement spell so I could catch up to the rest of you easier."
Armalad makes her way slowly inside the mound. If she can't see anything she'll cast light on the underwater bow. If she can reach what Bart and Stock sees she wants to examine it.
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Tuesday April 18th, 2023 6:59:02 AM
As the others tell what they've found Stohp considers. "It sounds like these things are being stored for later use. Either to be worn by some group of people, or activated by some kind of magic. It might be worth trying to take apart the reed things."
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Tuesday April 18th, 2023 8:30:11 AM
Stock moves up to the reedy humanoid shape and pokes it with the handle end of his flail. He is curious if it holds its shape or is more flexible like a fabric and whether it regains its shape if it gets distorted
"Can anybody tell if these are magical?"
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Tuesday April 18th, 2023 8:48:21 AM
At the report of what's in there, Delia grimaces, "What is here that is trying to imitate humanoids?"
Delia cannot offer magical assistance to Armalad, but she does offer to pull the other archer along with her as she swims if it would speed them up at all. (light load is only 133lbs, currently carrying ~35lbs of gear, but idk how heavy Armalad+stuff is or how underwater would impact weight calculations)
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Tuesday April 18th, 2023 3:13:50 PM
Upon hearing what is inside the building Zanderallen hustles up to the front entrance, "I need to see this." Zanderallen starts to concentrate and sweeps the room and the reed bodies? with Detect Evil
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=33 ; d20+7=22 ; Tuesday April 18th, 2023 3:58:46 PM
Bartomus rolled his eyes, if water elementals have actual eyes, as Stock came rushing into the room. He chuckled and then looked over the dwarf's shoulder, which actually wasn't all that difficult, in either elemental or Taur form. The suit of reedware was what he had seen something moving about in on his first visit. He swirled about it and studied it closely. He could see that it was hollow and that got him wondering if in fact there was something else at play down here. He started making a mental catalog of the size of creatures that could fit into that reedware.
Perception 33 on the reedware; Knowledge nature for some insight into the potential wearers of the suit for 22
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Tuesday April 18th, 2023 10:43:03 PM
Armalad asks for magical aid with swimming, so she doesn’t have to be reliant on the kindness of Shields… She manages to struggle-swim to a point 30’ from the entrance and 20’ from Delia, seeing a narrow swath inside with her low-light vision, which is good because she hasn’t yet had time to cast light, having done all that swimming! None of the Shields are able to help her, but then Joker comes close, and whispers in the strange tongue of the merfolk, ARMALAD ONLY Highlight to display spoiler: {”You ok slowpoke? Boss-woman, me thought you messed up only taking the bow from the table of stuff. Look in pack. Me got you stuff!” You feel Joker open the top of your pack, rummage around, and then Joker swims in front of you, holding some gloves and flippers towards you. You recognize these as Gloves of Climbing & Swimming and most importantly, Swimming Flippers like the ones Delia is wearing.}. Joker opens Armalad’s pack, retrieving some items, and then swims just in front of her, offering her the items. (OOC Perception DC 15, if you’re outside with Armalad Highlight to display spoiler: {Joker appears to have retrieved a set of gloves and flippers.})
Stohp muses aloud about what these plant-humaniform “bodies”/”armors” might be for, and suggests the Shields might want to take one apart.
Stock moves closer and pokes it with his flail’s handle. The plant-humaniform holds its shape, as though a tightly-woven basket, giving only slightly in comparison to the strength in Stock’s legendary thews. He then moves back out to the entrance, and uses his water-filled lungs to ask the Shields for someone to check it for magic. Stohp, in an air bubble, can hear him and the air bubble creating a slight megaphone effect (heard out to 10’ instead of 5’), Stohp is able to relay this question to the other Shields.
Delia hears Stohp’s report from Stock, and grimaces at… an invasion of plant-people? No, too silly… or is it? Delia offers to help tow Armalad. Then Joker shows something to Armalad from Armalad’s pack. Delia considers the physics of one swimmer trying to tow another. (OOC – good news, buoyancy means weight is little issue… but weight brings inertia with it, so much like James the Turtle towing the dragon ship, it takes a bit to get going, but once you’re going, you can maintain. Delia, being a physical warrior type, realizes all this in half a second.)
Zanderallen too hears Stock’s report from Stohp, and then hustles up to the entrance, announcing his desire to see also, as well as starting his Detect Evil… only to realize that at this depth, and with the mount interior out of direct sunlight, his unaided human eyes cannot see a thing inside the mound, but for the entrance walls going 5’ forward, and then the sun’s rays are cut off, the distortion of the water diffracting and curtailing the usual twilight that might extend inside such a structure on the surface. His Detect Evil is another matter entirely… initially, he sees no evil ahead through the entrance and into the mound. Zanderallen considers, perhaps another Shield has a magical light… regular torches and my lantern won’t work here… my sword may flame on… or not… hmm… what to do…
Bartomus was not at all surprised when Stock gate-crashed the mound, chuckling, as only a water elemental can, in response! Bartomus swirled around the “reedware,” still viewing it in only black and white as no one had yet brought a magical light source inside. Darkvision made it easy to spot things stark contrasts could reveal, but harder, nay, impossible, to notice any nuanced color patterns, if any. BARTOMUS Highlight to display spoiler: {(OOC spoiler because Bartomus presently cannot communicate well with the Shields) finds that the “reedware” is almost taur-sized, but not wide enough across the front or back to be worn by a taur, and really, the only thing that might fit would be an oversized human, probably male… but if this were a construct, or some form of created being, then it would be incomplete, most likely, lacking whatever its creator wanted it to have inside… to Bartomus it seems equally likely to be armor for some strangely tall and skinny humanoid as it does to instead be a hollow shell meant to be filled perhaps with more plant matter, and then set loose upon the Wold… one thing is clear – if meant as armor, then any “humanoid” with a reverse-knee-joint compared to the more human-like species of the Wold would definitely NOT be able to fit in the “reedware”…} Bartomus did witness Stock poking at the “reedware” and observe its natural strength, like a kind of super-wicker-basket, or rope made from exceptionally strong grasses… or, here, reeds, seaweed, and kelp.
The Lake’s quietness is almost taunting the Shields – what are these plant-humaniforms (“reedware”)… where are the Reeds…
SHIELDS – What do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Tuesday April 18th, 2023 11:30:09 PM
Armalad reaches into her pack and dons the gloves and fins. She then moves to catch up to the rest of the shields where she will hopefully be able to cast light and examine what the others are looking at.
She says to Joker, "Thanks for that. Don't forget you have fast healing underwater."
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Wednesday April 19th, 2023 8:23:21 AM
Stohp waits for the others to complete their magic checking.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Wednesday April 19th, 2023 9:14:48 AM
Stock stows his flail again and grabs the reedware. He then tries to see how difficult it is-if it is even possible-to pull it apart.
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=33 ; d20+16=23 ; Wednesday April 19th, 2023 7:00:56 PM
Bartomus took note and started thinking of the type of creatures that might wear such armor. He wanted to show it to the merfolk, but Stock had grabbed it. He rolled his watery eyes and swam up and over the dwarf towards the other Shields. He looked at the third mound on this side and then glanced at each of the opposing mounds.
Perception 3rd mound on the right for 33; and then a perception check on the other three mounds across the way 23.
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Wednesday April 19th, 2023 9:01:06 PM "Strange. Well unless they start moving I guess we should move on." Zander will back out of the entrance to allow others to investigate but will start looking towards the next mound.
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Wednesday April 19th, 2023 10:52:03 PM
Armalad thanks Joker and puts on what appear to be a set of gloves and a set of fins. She then more quickly swims, as fast as Delia now, to the rest of the Shields gathered at the mound’s opening. Armalad then drops her Detect Magic to cast light on a handy object (OOC please describe in your next post) and looks ahead, her lowlight vision granting her color vision inside the mound, showing her a decently wide cone-shape within, the walls to either side obscuring her view of the emptiness Stock reported there. As with the first mound, the walls, floor, and ceiling are all made of tightly-woven greenish reeds, blue-green seaweed, and greenish kelp. The same with the two rectangular mounds in the center and the foreboding plant-humaniform shapes thereon. Perhaps most importantly, Armalad looks on the scene with a wizard’s eyes, one knowledgeable in the arcane… ARMALAD only Highlight to display spoiler: {Your keen elven eyes see the details on the “faces” of the plant-humaniforms from here, though the angle is poor. While perhaps Bartomus, more focused on nature, wherever he is in the area in water-form, might ponder these semi-hollow shapes to have an equal chance of being some form of plant full-plate armor as being inanimate constructs… one word comes to Armalad’s mouth (DC 15 Knowledge: Arcana, which she automatically succeeds at): golems. Perhaps golems-in-progress, but Armalad would place her gambling chips on golems under construction, even from here. She will need to get closer to improve her analysis. Her heart starts to beat a bit faster. PLANT Golems – she has never heard of even one existing - can such a thing even be created in the Wold?!? Who could cross the magic streams of the arcane and the primal?!?}
Stohp continues to guard the Shields against outside attack while the spellcasters pull out their metaphorical magnifying glasses and tomes of knowledge.
Stock stows his flail and then starts to lift one of the reedware. Stock is mighty (OOC STR 19) but finds the reedware both bulky and has significant mass and inertia, even with the buoyancy of the Lake helping him. He then moves on to see if it can be easily rended apart with his bare hands. It cannot – much like a ball of twine, it would be easier were there a loose “thread” than this construction, where any reedy ends are hidden within. Stock recalls from the battle with the Reeds that only Zanderallen’s sword didn’t face physical resistance when hitting the Reeds… and if Stock cared to, he need only draw his magical adamantine dwarven waraxe and get to work if he wanted to cart away the reedware in tiny pieces.
Bartomus begins narrowing the field of who might be capable of wearing such reedware as armor. He was about to reach for a reedware, but Stock had grabbed one of the two reedware, so Bartomus, using his Huge watery strength and size, floated the other reedware off its rectangular mound and out the entrance, startling Stohp, Delia, Armalad, Zanderallen, and not so much Stock because little impresses Stock. The Shields quickly put two and two together and realize Bartomus must be at work, even if it’s very difficult to see him right now. Bartomus’ act does bring a reedware out into what sunlight penetrates this deep, so now every Shield has seen one with their color vision, noting the greens and blues of the plants that make up the reedware. Bartomus is about to go further with his plan (BARTOMUS’s eyes only Highlight to display spoiler: { to show it to the merfolk, and then he realizes – he can’t speak in this form… he can’t speak the merfolk language… and the merfolk might, not seeing Bartomus, perceive the reedware to be some kind of monstrous attacker. Bartomous, with your great WISDOM, you know you are nigh-invisible in this form when not attacking, and you know that you can’t presently speak the merfolk language, what are the details of your plan regarding the reedware and the merfolk?} and pauses a brief moment. No Shield can see Bartomus’s “eyes” look in the direction of the next closest mound to the center, but look they do, scanning, but not finding anything more than has been seen… yet.
Zanderallen says that unless the reedware starts moving, the Shields should move on, and begins to step back out of the entrance, and then suddenly there is light from behind him! Armalad has suddenly appeared and enabled Zanderallen to see past the entrance and about 10’ more into the chamber. This is not quite far enough to see the rectangular mounds Stock described, but perhaps Armalad can light things up more inside. Still, Zanderallen realizes he would be a slow searcher inside, and so was just about to turn around when suddenly a plant-humaniform came speeding out of the chamber! They ARE attacking! They… At that moment Zanderallen and the others feel the thicker water that indicates Bartomus is moving past them in water elemental form, and Zanderallen realizes that the reedware is still inanimate on its own… it’s being “carried” by Bartomus. Still… Bartomus’ act gave Zanderallen a chance to see the reedware in what sunlight reaches the bottom of the Lake floor. Then the reedware’s motion stops. What is Bartomus up to?
Delia continues to be on guard, like Stohp.
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Wednesday April 19th, 2023 11:03:21 PM
Armalad casts light on her underwater bow as she swims into the mound to scope out the contents.
She surveys the reed structures and puts 2 and 2 together and gets plant golem? She calls out to the other shields, "Unless I am mistaken and I doubt that I am mistaken it looks like these reed sculptures are actually a kind of work in progress plant-golem. I don't know if you should be playing around with the plant golem Bartomus."
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Thursday April 20th, 2023 8:29:30 AM
Stohp passes along Armalad's message if necessary and adds again they should probably destroy the things as the find them if they are a potential threat later.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=29 ; Thursday April 20th, 2023 8:51:57 AM "Plant golem tells us wizard then. It's still possible a druid is around here somewhere but definitely wizard."
Stock starts making his way to the third mound (closest mound to the center on the right I think) and once he arrives, swims around to find the entrance and inspects the inside from the doorway again.
========= Perception 29
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Thursday April 20th, 2023 9:19:25 AM "That's great. I love fighting wizards," Delia deadpans, "So, destroy them or move on? Either way, we should do it quickly."
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Thursday April 20th, 2023 4:28:03 PM "What foul experiments are being carried on down here? If they're merely work in progress let's continue on. We do not have forever."
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=21 ; Thursday April 20th, 2023 5:26:53 PM "Well that didn't go as I thought it would." Bartomus said to himself as no one could understand him as he watched Zander nearly loose it with the reedware he brought out. He swirled about and made sure to stay out of the way of his fellow Shields and let the reedware drop down to the ground. He heard Armalad's suggestive warning and shrugged in acknowledgement, or rather he though he shrugged.
Plant Golem, interesting he thought to himself. In his mind, he had gone a completely different way, maybe like an underwater lizard, if there were such things, that could have this attached to it. It would explain the huts and a settlement. You wouldn't need a settlement for something you could create as needed, or at lest that is what he thought.
He moved on towards the other mound, but held back as others were already exploring it. He tried to follow what they were doing while also studying the tall mound. He had his suspicions that that is where they really needed to go.
Perception tall mound - 21
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Thursday April 20th, 2023 11:25:14 PM
Armalad’s bow now glows with a light spell, 20’ in radius. Using that light and her keen elven eyes, Armalad, now flippered, swims easily inside this second-from-right mound for further investigation. After careful consideration of her vast arcane knowledge, natural knowledge, and having hung around a druid and ranger for a while, Armalad announces an interesting conclusion to the Shields – the plant-humaniforms/”reedware” are most likely plant golems in the construction process. She yells, with water-filled lungs, to warn Bartomus of this discovery, but Bartomus and the other plant-golem-in-progress are a significant distance outside the mound Armalad entered… if only Bartomus knew the tongue of the merfolk she could “shout” in a way to easily reach him… instead, even after swimming back to the mound’s entrance her “shout” only reaches any Shield standing 10’ outside the entrance of the mound at best, such as Stohp, Delia, and Zanderallen, and of course Stock was basically still in the entrance from giving his report, so also heard Armalad’s discovery and “shout.” The way Stohp and Zanderallen react, their air bubbles must really help capture underwater sounds with less distortion.
Stohp hears Armalad’s warning, and, not being able to see Bartomus, but able to see the plant golem he’s “carrying,” her helm of underwater action enables her to zoom close enough to the golem to relay Armalad’s message to Bartomus about the “reedware” likely being a plant golem under construction!
Stock wastes no time in concluding a wizard must be involved, perhaps a druid too. He slides the plant golem husk he was carrying back in to the mound it came from and then [i]freely runs over to the next right-side mound that is closest to the center moundplex, seeking and soon finding the entrance, wasting no time and just stands there in the entrance looking inside with his dwarven eyes…
Delia has a bridge to sell the Shields, half-heartedly, and her joke is humored. She asks the Shields near her (Armalad and Zanderallen, since the others have moved towards the next mound to some extent or another) whether the plant golem husks should be destroyed or left as-is before the Shields move to the next mound.
Zanderallen is astonished at the possibly-foul experiments going on in moundtown, but votes that the Shields head for the next mound since spell clocks are ticking and the plant golem husks are inanimate.
Bartomus realized that Zanderallen’s reaction was not what Bartomus had planned, and began to drop the reedware just as Stohp arrived to pass along Armalad’s warning about plant golems under construction. Bartomus had assigned a low chance of the reedware being any kind of construction meant for animation, but Armalad does know wizardry… if true, that leaves the moundtown’s existence unexplained… why would one need or want several mounds if they weren’t occupied with, say, Reeds, and instead all the mounds were apparently being used for was…
After coming to that unsettling conclusion, Bartomus headed for the next mound, seeing only Stock ahead of him. He moved to a point about 40’ behind Stock, so as not to interfere by way of his Huge watery form, but still able to use his form’s darkvision to peer through the 10’ long opening and 10’ more into the mound in the usual black and white imagery. Bartomus Highlight to display spoiler: {doesn’t see far enough yet to reach the center of the room, but so far the mound walls are similar to the other two mounds, and there’s nothing besides Stock moving in the entrance hallway or 10’ deep into the chamber.} Bartomus is curious to see more inside, but also muses about simply getting on to the moundplex…
Stock has the best view of this third-explored mound thus far, and STOCK’s eyes only Highlight to display spoiler: {see that in the center of this otherwise empty chamber is one big rectangular mound, perhaps 20’ by 10’, and one plant-golem-in-progress lying on the mound, perhaps a full 12’ long, 6’ wide, and 3’ thick. Like the other two, which look like weaklings compared to this one, this plant-golem-in-progress is an empty shell… except for that eerie glowing, even in black-and-white, from a small trough just to the left side of the mound… some kind of glowing energy in the trough, and reeds and vines connecting the trough to the mouth of the plant golem husk, and it's still 15’ away from Stock in the entrance, but it looks like this strange magical (?) device is… filling… the golem?!? There might only be minutes… or a half-hour… or something… before its work is complete, and… then… what?!?}
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+24=41 ; d20+24=39 ; Thursday April 20th, 2023 11:31:48 PM
Armalad tries to reason if it is better to leave the plant golems alone or try to destroy them. She knows full-formed golems are very tough to destroy usually but maybe these partially formed golems aren't as tough and should be destroyed lest they develop to cause problems.
She decides to think for a moment about what the best course of action is. She then shares that information with Delia and whoever else is nearby considering no one else knows Aquan besides Joker
Know[Arcana]: 41 Spellcraft:39
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+17=27 ; Friday April 21st, 2023 6:24:01 AM
Stohp has stated her thoughts so will just have to see if the others agree. For now she'll keep her eyes open and pass messages for people to coordinate with her increased mobility (perception 27)
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=33 ; Friday April 21st, 2023 9:57:39 AM
Bartomus moved a bit closer towards the larger main mound (10') while continuing to be able to respond to whatever Stock had discovered in the third mound. He was still pondering what Armald had said about the reedware and what it could represent.
Perception 33
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=33 ; Friday April 21st, 2023 9:57:40 AM
Bartomus moved a bit closer towards the larger main mound (10') while continuing to be able to respond to whatever Stock had discovered in the third mound. He was still pondering what Armald had said about the reedware and what it could represent.
Perception 33
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+16=30 ; d10+19=28 ; Friday April 21st, 2023 12:51:23 PM Status - Water Breathing, Freedom of Action Stock swims back and does his best to gather the others close enough so they can hear him yell and says, "There's another plant person in there - probably a golem - and it looks like it is being built. It's being filled with some kind of energy. We should stop it until we figure out what is going on. Follow me..."
He then swim-runs into the room and draws his axe. He swings it trying to permanently damage the trough.
============ Power Attack hits AC 30, 28 damage, adamantine weapon
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 Friday April 21st, 2023 3:52:08 PM
Zanderallen follows Stock over to the next mound. He can't see inside the dark mount but Stock's words tell him all he needs to know. He feels his way inside casting Daylight on his blade. ============= Daylight Duration 120 minutes
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Saturday April 22nd, 2023 9:54:25 AM
Delia kicks off after Zanderallen and Stock, passing on his shout, or at least his obvious "there's a threat" actions" to anyone nearby who can hear her.
She keeps her bow out, trying to swim to where she can see into the mound in question.
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Saturday April 22nd, 2023 11:55:48 PM
Armalad considers the dilemma of the plant golem husks, whether to leave them alone or destroy them. She shares her thoughts with Delia.
(OOC – I saw the skill rolls, but this is purely a roleplaying choice as to the best way to deal with a potential threat while spell timers continue to count down…)
Stohp waits to see if others agree with her, and while she waits plays relay racer, passing messages between Shields somewhat far apart. She continues to watch for danger, but sees none… for now.
Bartomus moved 10’ closer to the moundplex while staying somewhat near Stock in case he needs help. He continued to ponder Armalad’s analysis of the reedware and whether she could be right.
Stock Freely Runs about, gathering the Shields for communication. He may not know where Bartomus is, but his frantic actions draw Bartomus’s attention and he draws near to the crowd of Shields Stock has summoned.
Stock reports his findings, ‘yelling’ to about 10’ distant with his water-filled lungs, that this third mound has a plant golem inside, under construction, and even now being filled with energy! He implores the Shields to stop it now, before it’s too late. Stock directs the Shields to follow him, drawing his axe as he [Freely Runs] back inside the mound.
Zanderallen listens intently to Stock, absent-mindedly tapping the side of his helm of underwater action and then, a few tiny bits of banana fall out of the edges of the helm, floating there in the Lake, and at once glass lenses slide down from the top of the helmet and cover Zanderallen’s eyes. He can now see about five times farther, and about five times more clearly, than the light and water distortion allowed before! Bananas… oh, that Wiz-Bang at the Catacombs!
Zanderallen then Freely follows Stock back to the third mound, casting Daylight on his blade to ensure that between the helm’s lenses and his spell that he will see! As he finished his spell, at once the inside of the mound is illuminated, so that all with a view can see, in color, the astounding vision of the blue-green reed/seaweed golem being filled with strange arcane energies from a small trough just to the side, the energy travelling along reeds and vines from the trough to the plant golem! The energies are multispectral and ominous for all that they are silent…
Delia’s legs pound the Lake waters, propelling her forward about as fast as she could move on land. Delia repeats Stock’s key points to ensure everyone heard his underwater ‘yell’ distinctly, then swims to where she can see inside the now-Daylight’ed mound, drawing her bow as she arrives. Stock and Zanderallen are a bit in the way, but she can still see much of the multispectral energies – not so bright that they were illuminating outside the mound before, but still astonishing to view with the Daylight making them clear at a distance!
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=24 ; Sunday April 23rd, 2023 5:56:46 PM
Bartomus took up a guard position turning outward towards the open water knowing that at his size, he couldn't rush into the space. He glanced back over his shoulder as the effort was made by Stock to destroy the energizing trough and feeding system.
Hold any action and going "on guard" to scan the area to see if there is any response to the attack on the charging station.
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+20=21 ; d20+18=28 ; Monday April 24th, 2023 12:30:44 AM
Armalad and Joker follow Delia in going after Bartomus keeping eyes peeled for potential threats
Perception: Armalad:21 Joker:28
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+17=32 ; Monday April 24th, 2023 7:39:30 AM
Stohp has neither the strength or weaponry to break these things so just has to watch and guard the area (perception 32)
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Monday April 24th, 2023 8:48:22 AM Status - Water Breathing, Freedom of Action
Stock moves up to the trough filling the golem and slams it with his axe.
"This probably won't make us any friends down here."
============ Rolling over the attack from the previous post - Power Attack hits AC 30, 28 damage, adamantine weapon
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 13/13 SE 5/5 d20+21=31 ; d8+17=24 ; Monday April 24th, 2023 2:28:27 PM "Not usually in the business of making friends with things that eat people." Zander moves alongside Stock and starts hacking at the reeds and vines connecting the golem to the trough, hoping to sever the connection without causing too much damage to the golem itself. He marvels once again at how freely his sword swings through the water. ===================== 31 to hit 24 slashing damage
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=47 ; Monday April 24th, 2023 6:24:23 PM
Delia will pull out one of her adamantine arrows, look at Stock and Zander, and tuck it back into her quiver.
She will examine, without touching, the trough the magic is coming from.
Perception: 47
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Monday April 24th, 2023 10:39:41 PM
Bartomus stands guard at the third mound, facing outward until the entrance is less clogged with Shields. He watches Stock begin to enact the plan to destroy this plant golem being fed by strange energies, nearing completion! Bartomus expects an ambush once the Shields begin attacking the plant golem construction site.
Armalad and Joker join Bartomus and Stohp in guard duty, watching with keen vision, somewhat affected by the distortion of the water, but still able to (with lowlight vision) see at far distances.
Stohp, recognizing that she’s specialized in nonlethal attacks for the most part, also stands guard outside.
Stock Freely Runs inside, adamantine waraxe in hand, and raising it high over his head, Freely Chops down, aiming to split the trough and its multispectral contents in half, commenting as he swings that the Shields have let slip the dwarf of war…
Zanderallen agrees with Stock, and Freely Runs behind Stock, arriving alongside as Stock raises his axe over his head and begins his downward swing, Zanderallen likewise having raised his sword, aiming for the connecting reeds and vines, and beginning his own downward stroke…
Delia briefly pulls out one of her adamantine arrows, looks up and over at Stock’s adamantine waraxe held high by mighty dwarven warrior thews, and puts it back into her quiver. She follows Zanderallen and Stock into the mound, letting them race forward as she stops at the end of the entrance, no need for her Goggles of Darkvision while Zanderallen’s Daylight spell is active, and peers deeply at the trough with multispectral light and energy radiating, suffusing the reeds and vines reaching out of the trough and up and onto and into the plant golem lying on the huge rectangular mound… in the brief moment before Stock’s adamantine waraxe begins to (attempt to) cut at the trough, Delia marvels at what appears to be, to a primal spellcaster, arcane energies traveling primal conduits to slowly build an arcane construct of primal materials… Armalad’s words ring true in her mind as Stock’s waraxe strikes the trough…
Few things in the Wold can stand up to an adamantine edge falling upon them with only the force of the Wold’s gravity pulling it down – neither leather nor even iron or steel would do well. Add to Woldian gravity the irresistible mighty thews of an experienced dwarven barbarian… well, nothing short of some of the strongest magical weapons or armor can take such a hit. The trough is clearly heavily infused with magic, but not of the kind that makes its woven reedy sides and ends impenetrable to an adamantine edge with nigh-incalculable force behind it…
Stock’s adamantine waraxe swiftly separates the trough’s glowing woven reeds from glowing woven reeds all the way to the Lake Floor, and Zanderallen’s sword cleaves through yet more connecting reeds and vines as the energies of the trough go out… and then explode in a blinding flash!
No Shield “hears” or “feels” the force of any explosion… waves of multispectral light expand from the (presumably) sundered trough (Stock’s mighty thews think it’s sundered!).
Bartomus, Armalad, Joker, and Stohp were all facing away from the entrance when Zanderallen’s Daylight suddenly grew in intensity, blasting out of the mound, past and around the three, who each reflexively closed their eyes with the extra split-second of warning that facing away gave them.
Stock, Zanderallen, and Delia:
Fortitude Save DC 30 vs. the multispectral light, or be blinded!
(OOC – Stock, yes, Dwarven +2 vs. spells/spell-like abilities applies.)
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Monday April 24th, 2023 11:16:01 PM
Armalad asks, "Should I switch to my adamantine arrows too? I only have 40 of them so I don't know how much of the plant golems I could damage."
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Tuesday April 25th, 2023 7:09:44 AM
Stohp reviews what the others have told her. "If energy was still being sent to these things then they may be incomplete. It might be better to rush to the center and deal with the source then spend a lot of time destroying each of the golems on the way."
She'll resume acting as messenger so everyone can hold a real conversation despite the underwater difficulties and help guide the blind until their vison clears or someone magically restores them.
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+12=17 ; Tuesday April 25th, 2023 9:30:46 AM
Fort: 17
Delia recoils as the light she was examining explodes. She shields her eyes, but it was too late. She'd already been incensed.
She opens her eyes, blinking away tears (an extra strange feeling underwater) and rubbing her eyes. She looks around frowning, pulls her darkvision goggles back on over her eyes, then freezes. She turns white as she says, voice tinged with panic "Uh guys? I can't see."
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+20=37 ; Tuesday April 25th, 2023 9:43:41 AM Water Breathing, Freedom Stock has a momentary thought that his inner reservoir of rage would be useful to sever this conduit (and survive what comes after) but severs it anyway. He blinks away the stars that fill his vision and turns to Z.
"Wow. Did you know that was going to happen? Problem solved I guess."
He inspects his work to make sure the golem threat is truly ended.
======== Fortitude 37
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=26 ; d20+16=24 ; Tuesday April 25th, 2023 10:52:04 AM
Bartomus saw the flash of something that illuminated the area and wondered what his fellow Shields had actually done to cause it. Surely, he thought to himself, it couldn't have been from cutting up the reedware?
He scanned the other three huts to their left and then scanned the tall mound for any response to the flash of light. He suspected that such an event would be a bit hard not to have noticed.
Perception three huts - 26; Tall mound -24
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 d20+21=34 ; Tuesday April 25th, 2023 11:51:22 AM
Zander throws his shield in front of his face, slamming his eyes shut as the explosion of magical light blasts out. He blinks several times, first fearing blindness but his eyes adjust back to the normal light and he looks around. He nods to Stock, "Didn't expect that, but that should solve it. Of course if anyone was looking vaguely this direction they know we're here."
He sees Delia reaching around in the start of a panic and quickly moves over to her, taking hold of one of her hands. He automatically slips into a re-assuring tone, "I'm here, don't fret Delia. I'll have you sorted in a moment. Just stay calm." Zander intones softly and his hand starts to glow with white light. He gently touches Delia's face and with a warm glow her vision should return. ========================== Fort Save: 34
Lay on Hands Mercy: Blindness on Delia 12/13 remaining
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Tuesday April 25th, 2023 10:40:18 PM
Armalad saw, before the blast, Delia considering adamantine arrows and asked Shields nearby whether she should use any of her 40 such.
Stohp considers the fact that these husks were under construction, and suggests to the Shields that they all head for the moundplex to cut off the head of the snake, as it were. Then she resumes being underwater messenger, looking to see if anyone was fully blinded by the multispectral explosion. Stohp soon finds and helps Delia, who seems to be the only Shield so affected.
Delia recoils from the sudden star birthed before her eyes… reflexively trying to blink away tears while rubbing her eyes. It takes her a moment, but then she realizes and exclaims simultaneously that she’s blind!
Stock thought about raging during the strike, but trusted in his mighty thews powering adamantine, perhaps straining harder than if he had raged, and because of that, by a fluke, happened to close his eyes from the exertion as the waraxe cleaved through the trough… and entirely missed being blinded! Blinking away some afterimages from the light that did penetrate his eyelids, Stock turns to Zanderallen and expresses his astonishment, and then his elation that the problem in this mound seems to be solved. He then looks over the finely severed woven reeds of the trough… reminds him of something… reminds him of how against the Reeds, Zanderallen’s blade for once seemed as or more effective than his own flail… Stock realizes that all these Reeds seem somewhat vulnerable to slashing weapons, something the Shields had briefly mentioned in the aftermath of the battle with the Reeds, but this moment made it transparently clear to Stock.
Bartomus was startled by the increasing Daylight, at least that’s what he thought it was at first, and kept his watery eyes “away” and “closed” from the sudden intensity behind him, wondering what had happened with the Shields who’d entered the mound once more! After a moment he opens his “eyes” and “blinks” them over and over, freshening the water that makes his “eyes.” Able to see again without afterimages, Bartomus scanned the farther three huts, though the distortion was somewhat significant at this distance, and did not see any approaching foes or large movements visible hundreds of feet away. Then he looked at the moundplex for a more local security response from the Reeds, but the moundplex’s opening is far and pointed away from this mound, so anyone…thing… inside may have seen nothing at all… he hopes… but continues his vigilance.
Zanderallen had an eye on Stock while his own blade was heading down to sever connecting reeds and he saw… something… sundered (?)… in the multispectral energy coming from the trough and reflexively raised his shield and closed his eyes as he felt his blade slice through some connecting reeds, then hitting empty air, all while his closed eyelids lit up like someone shining ten bright lanterns at his eyelids at the crack of dawn! Then the light faded away, and, feeling it safe, he opened his eyes, blinking many times as if he thought himself blinded, but there was his vision and he turned and saw Stock, the trough split in twain, and several connecting reeds also severed. Zanderallen tells Stock that he didn’t expect it, but agreed this mound was solved, though anyone with the correct vantage point would know something had happened!
Zanderallen turns to look out the entrance, perhaps to begin cheering on the Shields, when he sees Delia blindly groping about. He is swiftly by her side, the water not slowing his free stride at all, and begins reassuring her. Then Zanderallen summons Domi’s mercy, his hand glows with white light and, lifting up Delia’s Goggles of Darkvision a bit, he touches Delia’s forehead between her eyes… and just like that, Delia’s vision returns!
Stock looks around the mound once more and reports that the danger seems gone, but that in the trough are some unusual, even rare, materials, previously hidden by the multispectral light! Stock sees in the cleft trough (Stock’s Eyes Only, for now: Highlight to display spoiler: { a mix of rare, raw, and uncut gemstones in a rainbow variety of colors, leaves and reeds and sticks of various colors and type, some recognizably above-ground only, even if Stock might not know their names.})
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+24=34 ; d20+24=34 ; Tuesday April 25th, 2023 11:04:49 PM
Armalad wonders out loud, "Do you think if the golems become fully formed and you destroy one it blows up in blinding blast like that one did or do you think that one had that blinding blast because Stock destroyed it while the magicks were still creating it so the disruption of the magic needed an outlet?"
She puts her own knowledge of Arcana to the task and then posits the most likely explanation
If it is the former she says to the others, "We'd best press on to the central mound as I would imagine that blinding feature is present once they become fully formed and having us all go blind in combat would be most unfortunate, so if we can destroy whatever is powering them at the source maybe it won't come to that?"
Know: Arcana - 34 Spellcraft: 34
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Wednesday April 26th, 2023 7:33:50 AM
Stohp resumes her position for their traveling formation and is ready to head to the central mound.
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 Wednesday April 26th, 2023 10:00:20 AM
Bartomus moved forward after hearing the others indicate that the central mound was their objective. He swims forward angling towards the opening as he continues to monitor the large mound,
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=24 ; Wednesday April 26th, 2023 10:01:07 AM Perception 24 -- forgot to add it before hitting submit.
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Wednesday April 26th, 2023 11:49:16 AM
As a hand touches hers, Delia recoils and snatches Zander's wrist defensively. Hearing his voice, she releases the hand and waits. She breathes a sigh of relief as the pain in her eyes fades and the darkness bleeds back to light, "Thank you. That... yeah, thanks."
She takes a moment to settle herself, again reaching for Hawky before realizing he's gone. Then she joins the others, ready to go to the center mound.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Wednesday April 26th, 2023 2:03:54 PM Water breathing, Freedom of movement
Stock inspects the severed trough, picking out any uncut gems that look valuable and says, "A lot of this stuff - rocks, vegetation - is stuff that I can recognize is from the surface. Makes me think whoever is running the show is at least familiar with the surface, if not from the surface."
"Agreed, Armalad. Onward to the center then."
Stock half swims half runs out and toward the central mound to find a way in. "If we can't find a door, I bet I can cut a doorway in from the outside."
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 Wednesday April 26th, 2023 3:07:49 PM
Zanderallen keeps a hand near as Delia regains her sight to make sure she keeps her balance. He smiles gently at her unspoken words simply answering, "Domi's gifts are for all." His face hardens again as he turns back to the task at hand.
"Somebody with plant knowledge from the surface, this sounds like something Briadoc would be involved with. We better get moving now." Zander freely jogs along the lake bed towards the center mound. looking for an entrance but staying with the group.
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Wednesday April 26th, 2023 9:42:23 PM
Armalad wonders whether a fully operational plant golem would explode in a blinding flash when slain. Pondering deeply, she thinks, and then announces to the Shields that she believes the latter explanation is more likely… perhaps the trough had been magical itself, in addition to having arcane energy to send to the plant golem husk… not quite a retributive strike as from breaking a powerful staff, but perhaps similar… Armalad suggests that it’s time to move on to the moundplex.
Stohp falls into the Shields’ traveling formation, ready to move on to the moundplex.
Bartomus, having heard the Shields discuss moving on to the central mound, flows ahead of Stohp, crossing back towards the moundplex and flowing around it, spotting a dark spot (it’s a good distance past 60’ darkvision) that may or may not be the entrance. Bartomus sees nothing he would recognize as a threat.
Delia, ever on guard, even when blind, recoils when an unknown hand touches her, then groping to “see” and grabbing the wrist she finds! Then her waterlogged hears hear the somewhat distorted voice of Zanderallen as it leaves his air bubble and vibrates the water on and in her ears, and she relaxes at the sense of familiarity. The sigh of relief from sight restored to her eyes couldn’t come soon enough, but it came, and delight is written all over the archer’s face! Delia thanks Zanderallen curtly, but with respect. Momentarily looking for Hawky, left above on the dragon ship, she soon remembers where he is and then falls into Shields formation with Stohp.
Stock rummages around in the trough, coming out with handfuls of shiny stones. He briefly describes some of what he sees, including that the trough’s materials are part undersea plants and part surface-dwelling plants. Stock agrees with Armalad about moving on to the moundplex and falls into Shields formation at the head, and then Freely Runs forward, towards the moundplex, looking this way and that, feeling the limitations of darkvision that only reaches sixty feet, and beyond that is no better than standing on the surface under the Wold’s sun. He picks a direction and begins circling the moundplex to the left.
Zanderallen is ready to aid Delia, should she require it, as she recovers her sight. He assures her that Domi wants all to receive Domi’s gifts. Zanderallen’s face then becomes as granite as his focus turns to the next task: the moundplex! He comments that with parts of surface plants on the Lakefloor, perhaps Briadoc is involved. Zanderallen urges the Shields onward toward the moundplex, freely jogging into Shields’ formation and then urging the Shields onward.
Resuming the Shields’ Cross Formation, the Shields somewhat quickly make their way to the moundplex’s entrance, a mere process of elimination to circle around until the entrance presents itself.
(OOC – Map! (more details added as the Shields can observe them.)
stocK is placed on the map, bottom left. The Shields’ Cross, with each Shield’s actual present size, is up top; note that Bartomus’ Water Elemental Form is Huge while stohP is merely Large. )
Stock has led the Shields, with Free Barbarian Speed, to the entrance, about ten feet wide and circular in shape as with the prior mounds. This moundplex is much larger, however, and has not just one gigantic room, but one or more corridors as well!
At the entrance, under normal circumstances, Stock, Bartomus, and Delia all have Darkvision 60’, and based on their marching order, Stock would see out to (column M) where a 10’-wide opening appears on the left-hand wall, and Bartomus and Delia only see to (column J) and might, by squinting, believe a turn or opening is coming up on the left. Armalad’s low-light vision would enable her to see all the way to the end (column Y), though not in great detail. Still, she’d be aware of the 10’-wide opening on the left, that the corridor continues, and that it appeared to come to an end. Zanderallen and Stohp both have helms of underwater action, granting them five times normal sight distance than a human would see at this depth and looking ahead through so much water, and this would be enough to see similarly to Armalad, but only to (column J) because the interior goes from kind-of-light to no light very rapidly.
Yet, all of that is irrelevant because Zanderallen’s Daylight spell will be shining 60’ ahead for quite a while, enhancing both his and Stohp’s helm-vision, as well as Armalad’s low-light vision! From Zanderallen’s back rank, Daylight springs forth 30’ past Stock (through column G), where Stock has Darkvision another 30’ beyond that (column M). Armalad can see clearly all the way to the back (column Y). Bartomus and Delia’s first 50’ of vision are in bright Daylight and their last 10’ of vision (column J) is in Darkvision. Zanderallen and Stohp can both see to the end (column Y) as well, because five times normal daylight vision is pretty far.
What the Shields see, lighting up the moundplex with Daylight is even more intricate and tightly-woven reeds, seaweed, and kelp walls than the other mounds. The blue-greens of the deeper waters permeate the moundplex in some kind of alien fractal pattern, would that the Shields even knew what fractal meant in this time-lost Wold! The floor and ceiling inside this first corridor are woven reeds and seaweed as well as the walls.
Dare the Shields enter a… building (?)… so natural and yet so alien?
SHIELDS – duty calls you forth, but in what marching order, now that the corridor’s size prevents the Shields’ Cross and will force Bartomus the Elemental to Squeeze through the corridor, his water packed so tightly that none can pass through him?
First, pick a spot to be on the map, anywhere up through (column J) but no further. Second, in your post include what square (B35, D36, etc.) you want to be in. Third, if you are bigger (Bartomus and Stohp), then pick a square where your UPPER LEFT CORNER will be (keep your starting square in row 35).
SHIELDS – what thoughts and preparations do you discuss amongst yourselves just before entering the moundplex? (include all spells you cast, note the durations, and observe that spells lasting 1 minute/level or less (15 minutes at most, depending on caster level) may or may not last the entire time you spend in the moundplex. Assume you have up to 2 minutes to cast everything you need to, but no more, because Stock is impatient about smashing evil... (DM grin))
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+21=41 ; Wednesday April 26th, 2023 11:24:10 PM
Armalad uses the pearl of power in her Mage's guild pendant to recast her Mage Armor spell targetting Joker.
As far as positioning goes it will be F35 and F36 for Armalad and Joker
Armalad keeps an eye out for traps as they move through the mound
Perception: 41 when searching for traps
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 10 hours - Joker Mage Armor = +4 AC for 10 hours - Armalad (this one was cast when we first went down here) Water Breathing = 20 hours worth of water breathing, can share up to 9 other people, dividing the duration by those it is shared with gloves and fins: swim speed with swim bonus
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Thursday April 27th, 2023 7:17:46 AM
(I'm getting a 404 error when I click on the map)
Stohp will get directly behind Stock so she can provide support with her greater reach.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Thursday April 27th, 2023 9:12:14 AM Status: Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement Stock swim marches ahead. His only preparation is to psych himself up and ready his axe - now that he knows it appears to be the right tool for this job.
"Z - you are my conscience at times like this. Do we take prisoners?... I must be growing soft if I'm asking that before we fight." [i]======= Move to J35 Here's a correct map link: Map
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=34 ; Thursday April 27th, 2023 5:03:27 PM
Delia swims up to just behind Stohp, confident in even her underwater ability to aim around her Taur friend and leaving the spot next to Stock for Zander.
move to G35; perception 34 to observe any threats through water echoes, disturbances, or other not as reliant on sight methods since she can't see too much underwater or around Stohp
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 Thursday April 27th, 2023 5:42:20 PM
As they approach the entrance Zanderallen will pray to Domi to enhance his blade with a divine spirit. He pushes up towards the front with Stock, "At the moment we're still trying to talk to somebody, but this is looking less and less like a random attack on the Float so I'm preparing for the worst." ================== Move right behind Stock at I35
Divine Bond - Upgrade sword to +5 Flaming Speed - Duration: 15 minutes
Armalad focuses on her pearl and then casts Mage Armor on Joker. She then begins looking for traps. It appears there are none near her present position.
Stohp freely walks directly behind Stock, to take advantage of her long arms.
Stock freely strides, just reaching the corner of the opening on the left. He then, with watery lungs, turns to Zanderallen at his side and asks whether prisoners will be taken or not.
Delia closes in just behind Stohp, and readies herself for archery, not really needing her Goggles of Darkvision because Zanderallen freely runs past her and by Stohp to take the lead with Stock, his Daylight now illuminating the entire corridor and into the next opening. Delia is at once thankful for being able to see, though the water distorts things at farther distances, but also grimaces in that the Daylight has likely cost the Shields all hope of surprising any Reeds here… presuming the Reeds have eyes or something like them. Did they?
Zanderallen has just finished freely running to the front, and skids to a stop a little bit, if one can do that underwater! Then he summons Domi’s blessings and his blade strengthens, any stronger glow being dwarfed by the Daylight spell on it. Zanderallen replies to Stock that he’d like to speak to someone, but the situation looks not at all like a random attack on the Float…
Armalad was staring at the floor, walls, looking for traps when all of a sudden all of the Shields came rushing past her, their wakes pushing some loose reeds this way and that in the weave. Well, maybe not all. She hadn’t felt Bartomus’ living water push past her, so he must be behind her, probably close by.
Bartomus, seeing that the narrow corridor might force him to be front-line if he raced ahead, and his watery form were compacted enough, so he paused to allow the Shields to take their pick of marching order positions while he considered what preparatory spells he might cast, if any.
(OOC – Bartomus, next post please feel free to “step back in time” and note what your two minutes were spent doing prior to the Shields getting in place to explore the moundplex.)
SHIELDS – now that you are in position, only Stock, and to a greater extent, Zanderallen, are able to peek around the corner and see further than the first 5’ of the opening. They see the opening leads into a large room with the back wall some 40’ or so away from the opening. The blue-green patterns on the reeds in the walls, floors, and ceilings continue as far as Stock and Zanderallen can see. There are two very small traces of what appear to be viscera in the entrance, each no more than might fit between a human index finger and thumb tightly close to one another.
What do you do?
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Friday April 28th, 2023 6:21:22 AM
Stohp follows the lead of the pair in front, hand on her flail in case of combat or ambush.
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=42 ; Friday April 28th, 2023 8:39:39 AM
Delia swims forward after Stohp, fanning out to the side as the enter the larger room. She has her bow in her hand, largely relying on her magically improved legs to propell her. She keeps an eye out for any reeds that don't quite move with the current or any other threat Zander's miniature sun reveals.
Perception 42
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +17 (2d6+9) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=18 ; Friday April 28th, 2023 10:27:30 AM
[2minutes prior - sorry] Bartomus swam upward and waited for the others as he was going to have to squeeze into and through that space. When the others get assembled and start working their way into the mound, he finished casting two spells for his own needs.
He squeezed himself into the corridor feeling his density increase as he did so. He wondered if his pressure had any effect on the walls he was slipping past and pushing against. When he turned and got into the larger area, he adjusted accordingly and looked about. Move to J30
Spells cast - Command Plants will last for 15 days Bull's Strength - raises strength to 28 - adding an additional plus two to damage and attack
Perception once coming to a stopping point at J30 - 18
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 Saturday April 29th, 2023 8:15:11 AM
Zander nods to Stock and the rest as he see everyone stacked in the corridor. Knowing his light is giving them away anyway he walks around the corner into the room, calling out, "Hello, anybody home?" ======== Move to L33
Stohp follows the lead of Stock and Zanderallen, her flail ready for battle!
Delia follows behind Stohp, intending to fan to one side once the Shields enter the large room. Her bow in hand, magical flippers propelling her forward, she is alert for any danger, especially minute disturbances from reeds, even ones that are part of the moundplex.
Bartomus had swam upward, waiting for the Shields to assume their ‘marching’ formation (and oddly, to Bartomus, three of the Shields were in fact marching, not swimming!), then he considered the spells he wanted to cast. Command Plants would require him to target specific plants at Close range, so despite its lengthy duration he knew he needed to cast that in battle, once any Reeds or other monstrous plants revealed themselves, or were found. He elects to just cast Bull’s Strength on himself, which he knows will last 15 minutes… enough time to find at least the first battle of however many battles there will be today!
Zanderallen nods to Stock and the Shields in formation, and then boldly walks around the corner and calls out a greeting.
Stock, anxious to deal with the Reedy threat once and for all, maintains formation and wordlessly moves ahead with Zanderallen. (OOC – to K33)
Armalad moves alongside Delia, looking for traps. (OOC – DM rolled 4+20 = 24 base, 25 for traps) Joker moves just to the side, able to peek around the corner.
Bartomus fully squeezed into the corridor, coming up just short of being able to see more than where Stock and Zanderallen had progressed.
All seems peaceful…
Delia shatters the silence, but with water in her lungs only those 10’ away can make out what she says - Bartomus, Stohp, Armalad, Joker ONLY: Highlight to display spoiler: { “It’s a trap – there’s a Reed RIGHT THERE!!!!”}
Still, while the water garbled her words too much for Stock and Zanderallen to understand, each turned back to see if she was calling for help, but she was dead serious, her left arm outstretched and using her bow to point at a section of moundwall (M33 and M34).
Delia has her bow in her left hand and has nocked an arrow, looking for a target in that direction. She shouts again, out to 10’ - Bartomus, Stohp, Armalad, Joker ONLY: Highlight to display spoiler: { “The Reed is right there, I bet it’s going to attack Zanderallen! Lift your helmet eyecovers so you can see! This is an ambush!” }
All is quiet on the moundplex front, other than Zanderallen’s greeting and Delia’s frenetic words from her water-filled lungs.
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Monday May 1st, 2023 12:49:40 AM
Armalad casts message targetting the party and tells everyone, "Delia says that it is a trap and that there is a reed ready to attack Zanderallen"
Mage Armor = +4 AC for 10 hours - Joker Mage Armor = +4 AC for 10 hours - Armalad (this one was cast when we first went down here) Water Breathing = 20 hours worth of water breathing, can share up to 9 other people, dividing the duration by those it is shared with gloves and fins: swim speed with swim bonus
Spells Prepared: 0th - Ray of Frost, Light, Message, Detect Magic 1st - Magic Missile, Mage Armor - cast, Mage Armor, Shield, True Strike, Detect Hidden Doors 2nd Selective Burning Hands (DC 17), False Life, Mirror Image, See Invisibility, Hideous Laughter, Invisibility 3rd Water Breathing - cast, Water Breathing, Lightning Bolt, Invisibility Sphere 4th - Selective Fireball (DC 19), Confusion, Resilient Sphere, Black Tentacles 5th - Cone of Cold, Selective Shout (DC 20), Cone of Cold
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Monday May 1st, 2023 7:06:36 AM
Stohp will reach out and touch those in front of her to indicate they should halt then repeating Delia's message to them.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=26 ; d20+25=43 ; Monday May 1st, 2023 9:04:50 AM Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement[i]
Stock turns around and scans the area as he moves left to make room for the rest of the group to enter.
[i]========== Perception 43 Move to G30
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +17 (2d6+9) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+1=16 ; Monday May 1st, 2023 10:10:45 AM
Bartomus, hearing that there is a reed mat ready to attack attempted to speak in the language of water elementals and water plants (?) with a command to the reed mat to stand down in its attack. He tries to emphasize this command in hopes that it can be heard by any other reed mats ahead of the party.
Command plants - Charisma role of 16 versus its Charisma if this can work; 60' range; Will save negates command effort it appears http://legacy.aonprd.com/coreRulebook/spells/commandPlants.html#command-plants
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+24=35 ; d8=1 ; d6=1 ; Monday May 1st, 2023 6:17:04 PM
Delia nocks an arrow and draws, and then pauses as she hears what seems like a spell echoing out of Bart's water-form.
She readies to fire should hostilities begin.
====================== Readied Attack: 35 -1 for each 5ft of water between Delia and the reed who would be doing the attacking. Damage: 15 (14 piercing, 1 cold)
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) d20+10=23 ; Monday May 1st, 2023 9:49:09 PM
Armalad casts Message and with the barest of whispers is clearly heard in the ears of the rest of the Shields, repeating Delia’s warning about Zanderallen being in danger.
(OOC – On the Message cantrip –
Message is not a voice channel where everyone can speak and be heard by everyone else – Armalad, the caster, is like a dispatcher for a taxi service, capable of speaking to any number of recipients, even all of them, at once, BUT the rest of the Shields may only use Message to speak to Armalad alone, otherwise they may have to “shout” with water-filled lungs, etc.
If you use Message to communicate during a post, use the phrase, “[my hero] Messages Armalad that XYZ is happening…”
Hugh can simply write, “Armalad Messages Shields A, B, and D only as follows:” or “Armalad Messages all Shields the following” etc.)
Stohp, simultaneously with Armalad’s spellcasting, taps Stock and Zanderallen on their shoulders and repeats Delia’s warning to them. Then Stohp gets a bad case of echo when Armalad’s magical voice appears in her ears via Message.
Stock turns around at Stohp’s touch and communication, and then as he begins to slowly move out of the way of other Shields (to J33) and scan the area around him he begins hearing Armalad’s Message.
Bartomus listens to Armalad’s repeat of Delia’s warning. He still wishes he knew one of these underwater languages, but he knows Command Plants will enable him to communicate with any plant who fails to resist the spell, so after casting the spell in the general direction of the wall behind Zanderallen, he begins trying to somehow make his watery body make sounds. He hadn’t seen an attack start yet, but still he forced out the command to stay still and hoped the Reed would have to obey.
Delia nocks an arrow, pulling back in anticipation of battle as she listens to Armalad repeat everything she just said… and then there is churning of the water, something not quite like the ‘sound’ of Armalad spellcasting next to her, yet vibrating her eardrums – Bartomus must be spellcasting! She does not let loose her fingertip of doom just yet, but Readies to shoot the first Reed, plant, whatever to attack the Shields!
Zanderallen is looking around, puzzled that nothing is moving or responding, and then Stohp touches his shoulder and repeats Delia’s warning. Then Armalad’s magical Message comes in with stereo effect. He turns to look at the walls to his right again, facing them with sword in hand. He stares intently (PER = 23) but cannot see anything but the woven reeds and seaweeds and kelp of these strange moundplex walls. Then almost imperceptible waves of water touch him, flowing past. Too far away to realize Bartomus has cast a spell, he dismisses them as mere coincidence to the task at hand. Looking at the wall again, the reeds had been ever so slightly rocking back and forth with the motion of the Lake, but now they did not move at all. Curiouser and curiouser thought Zanderallen.
Armalad keeps her eyes peeled for any threats, ready to communicate to the party anything that she sees
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 7:12:39 AM
Stohp waits for someone to make a decision to advance, attack, or otherwise deal with the ambush. Presumably someone who's spotted the enemy and can do something about them.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=30 ; Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 9:24:55 AM
Stock keeps pushing forward, wall on his left and Shields on his right. He does not see an obvious target or threat. He pushes forward to the opening at F27 and takes a look.
========= Perception 30
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=25 ; Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 10:24:24 AM "Well, now that's fascinating," Bartomus said aloud when the reed beast didn't attack Zander. Or, at least that is what he heard while the others simply saw bubbles and probably heard gurgling, swishing sounds.
He followed in behind the Shields and turns to the reed beast. He nodded at the obedient mat and smiled at it. He then looked about at the walls to see if there were any mats.
Perception - 25
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 d20+22=38 ; d8+18=26 ; Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 1:55:52 PM
Zander holds for a moment, not quite sure what is going on. With no further developments he shrugs his shoulders and walks into the center of the room, ready to attack anything that attacks him. ==================== Move to J30
Ready attack 38 to hit, 26 damage
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=33 ; Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 4:23:35 PM
Delia stays put for the moment, continuing to watch for any reeds moving out of the natural water current and trying to keep aware of Bart's water current and ready to defend.
===================== Perception 33 Readied Attack repost: 35 -1 for each 5ft of water between Delia and the reed who would be doing the attacking. Damage: 15 (14 piercing, 1 cold)
Whack-a-Mound (DM Wayne) Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 9:06:42 PM
Armalad actively looks for threats, the slightest bit of motion worthy of an arrow, or perhaps at least a Messaged broadcast to all the Shields and Joker. Armalad ONLY Highlight to display spoiler: { Her narrow focus makes her think that she sees a Reed, or Reeds, in (M33, M34, N34)… not a bit of movement, well-blended in, but Zanderallen’s Daylight (M33, M34) and her low-light vision (N34) combine to tell her that she must be looking at the Reed Delia warned about… but… what to do? It… or (shudder) they… seems to be a part of the very walls itself! }
Stohp readies to follow the next plan another Shield directs, weapon in hand.
Stock begins to move in the direction of the next exit to the room, but walks 10’ (J33 to I31) and stops – the whole wall is bluish-greenish woven reed, seaweed, and kelp, but (Stock ONLY) Highlight to display spoiler: { Zanderallen’s Daylight illuminates (F30, F29) just right and Stock sees a 10’ by 10’ area (ceilings are 10’ here) where some occasional streaks of red are visible… a strange, alien red that Stock has only seen once before on that tiny plant that almost ate Hasan’s thumb! The weave seems to be moving more than the slow rocking of the Lakewater would account for… Stock knows what he must do. }
Stohp sees another Shield finally advancing and falls in step behind Stock. Zanderallen later runs around and then in front of her, on her right, and then he stops, noticing Stock is staring at a particular section of moundwall…
Bartomus whispers his amazement, but the only one that hears it is Armalad, via the Message, though it comes to her as garbled watery noises, not as an actual language. Bartomus sees Stohp move ahead, which creates enough space for him to ooze forward another 10’, still squeezed and compacted, but now his ‘head’ is at the front, and with Zanderallen’s Daylight (Bartomus ONLY) Highlight to display spoiler: { can look at the Reed whose location he guessed (M33, M34) from Delia’s warning. Odd, he thought… Zanderallen wasn’t attacked… he trusted Delia on the location, but stare as he might he can’t tell the Reed from the wall, especially after he commanded it to stop moving. His only clue of success is that none of this wall section is slowly rocking with the slight motion of the Lakewater, when other wall sections around him do have that slight movement. Bartomus pauses and wonders, given the 60’ range of the spell, whether he caught any more Reeds than this one, and if so, whether they resisted his spell. He’d need to get closer to (M32 and beyond) to see if they too are frozen in place. }
Zanderallen pauses a moment, still a bit puzzled. Following Armalad’s Message he doesn’t believe anything has changed, so he shrugs and moves to (J30) and walks abreast with Stock towards the next opening when Stock stops walking, and turns to face the wall to his left (F30, F31), staring at it intently. Zanderallen stops too, in the center of the room, blade ready for action!
Delia feels Bartomus’ compacted water flow past her, and silently thanks him for leaving a walkway into the room. She notes (Delia ONLY) Highlight to display spoiler: { that the Reed she spotted earlier (M33, M34, and now also N34 she sees) is frozen stiff, not even the slightest movement. Did Bartomus’ spell slay it or command it? Probably the latter, given his reverence for the Wold’s nature. }
The Lakewater is so thick it seems one could cut it with a knife!
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Tuesday May 2nd, 2023 11:53:04 PM
Armalad messages to the team, "I think I see the reeds that Delia warned about but they seem to be part of the wall itself. I could shoot it with an adamantine arrow but would it make more sense for someone to take an axe to the reeds? Delia or I could tell you if you were getting warmer to the specific reed and then you would take the axe to that reed maybe breaking it?"
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 7:04:29 AM
Stohp is starting to get a little antsy. Whatever they are doing they should do it.
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=26 ; Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 9:11:32 AM
When an opening appeared, or if he could squeeze and flow between the others, Bartomus tried to move into the room. He continued to scan the walls and ceiling where ever he was at.
If possible, move to K28 - Perception looking at the walls in this room first at the one patch of wall identified and then elsewhere including the ceiling.
Stock (JonM) HP: 203/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 0/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+16=32 ; d10+19=26 ; Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 9:41:27 AM
Stock turns to the others and bellows out, "Looks like that angry red reed is buried in the walls I'm on it. There are few problems with walls that axes can't solve."
Stock moves up to the wall and slams it with his axe.
=========== Move to G30 Power Attacking the wall! hits AC32, 26 adamantine slashing damage
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 1:11:29 PM
Delia will point the enthusiastic dwarf towards the specific reeds that were trying to attack Zander, moving into the open room as well. As she passes everyone, she will inform them, "With Bart's spell, these plants shouldn't be a problem for a while. Not sure if that will last if we start killing them though."
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 159/159 AC: 15 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 6:54:41 PM
Zanderallen continues to hold in the center of the room. "So the walls want to kill us, but then Bart did something, and now Stock might make them angry? Is that the gist of it?"
"It's a Trap!" - Admiral Ackbar (DM Wayne) d20+16=26 ; d20+16=26 ; d20+16=26 ; d20+16=22 ; d20+16=21 ; d3=1 ; d20+16=31 ; 2d8+7=14 ; d20+16=34 ; d20+16=35 ; d20+16=17 ; d8=1 ; d8=6 ; d20+16=24 ; d20+16=35 ; d20+16=32 ; 2d8=4 ; d20+18=28 ; 2d8+7=15 ; Wednesday May 3rd, 2023 11:44:43 PM
Armalad Messages the Shields that the Reed(s) Delia spotted seem to be part of the very moundwall itself. She suggests that she or Delia guide Shields to strike with adamantine weapons at the correct wall section.
Stohp hears Armalad’s Messaged plan of action, but no one has given the “go” order yet, so Stohp is more than a bit unsettled by the pace.
Bartomus finally sees a path where his temporarily “heavy water” wouldn’t crush a Shield against the wall, so he flows (squeezes) to a point where he’s more the size of a watery hydra (height of 10’) than a watery giant (height of 15’) (center of mass K28) and looks around the two walls closest to him (top and right of room), benefiting from Zanderallen’s Daylight, seeing easily in color. Bartomus ONLY Highlight to display spoiler: { does not specifically see Reeds in the two walls nearest him, but as he traveled past the suddenly frozen-still moundwall where he’d cast Control Plants on the Reed Delia spotted approximately (M33,M34), now he sees that at the border of two 5’ wall sections (M28, M29), one of them is frozen despite the gentle rocking of the Lakewater (M29), and one is not (M28). Could his spell, with its 60’ range, have controlled more than one target? Two… wait, if they’re all 10’ by 10’, then three monstrous plants were affected (counting 10’ at a time from the 30’ diameter of M34 through M29)!!! Hmm… Stock’s still staring at that far section of wall… could that be a… fourth… monstrous plant? }
Stock, his lungs filled with water, shouts to the Shields, but only Zanderallen, Stohp, and Bartomus are close enough to hear his voice, so he also whispers a reply to Armalad via Message, leaving only Delia and Joker unaware of his call to battle against the “angry red Reed”. Then Stock rushes the wall like a runaway horses-and-carriage, adamantine waraxe in hand, and his weapon easily cuts through regular woven reeds… and apparently tougher monstrous plant material too!
(OOC – this is the Surprise Round – only Stock makes an attack this Surprise Round)
In the depths of Turtle Lake, there is little sound but for the movement of air bubbles, perhaps a momentary flow of rushing water, whirls, and eddies, little more sound than the Woldian Void… but Stock hears… feels… his water-filled grunt of satisfaction as many blue-green woven reeds fall from the wall, strange sap/not-sap, liquid/not-liquid falls from the many red petals now visible!
Stock, and all other Shields inside the room, see a wounded but apparently fully adult version of the tiny red thumb-eater plant in a ten-foot section of the moundwall, rising up and ready for battle, ready to respond in kind to Stock’s wounding first strike!
Delia moves into the open room Messaging her comment to Armalad, picking a spot by Stohp (K30), and then actually gurgling water in her mouth and lungs to tell Stohp and Zanderallen the same thing. As she finishes, she thinks Bartomus is nearby too. Surveying the room, functionally very hard of hearing due to being underwater, it is not until she looks around for Stock, who seems to have moved first and gotten ahead of her, that she sees what the other Shields see in the room – Stock with waraxe in hand and ahead of him a towering and very Large version of that thumb-eating tiny red plant! Her right hand is already reaching into her quiver for just the right arrow as she considers if now is the time to begin shooting…
Zanderallen holds his position in the center, and puzzles out the happenings aloud, wondering if Stock might make them angry at precisely the moment Stock’s waraxe cleaves into the moundwall and exposes the Blood Lily!
(OOC – Round 1 of battle begins!!!)
Its silent howl of pain, if it has one, completed, the heretofore legendary Blood Lily is before the Shields!
Hundreds of long and thin blood-red petals form a spherical shape atop its central stem. A pair of stout vine-like appendages sprout from either side of its central mass. In the room, Bartomus and Delia marvel at its large radiant blossom, a ball of scarlet spikes reminiscent of a sea urchin.
AT ONCE the scarlet “sea urchin” fully faces Stock and launches four flaming-red flechettes, that is, four of its hundreds of petals become stiff and sharp as knives and are launched like porcupine spines at sullen Stock, but Stock is able to freely dodge two of them and angles his waraxe to block the other two! Stock stands unharmed… for now.
From an adjacent wall (F32, F33) a Reed bursts forth, a tangled mass of thick reeds extending from a bulbous pod split by a wide thorn-toothed maw, occupying part of the room, and two familiar tendrils lash out from it to strike and grapple Stock! The tendrils are upon Stock in a flash and as Stock ducks out of the way of the first one, the second one scores a solid hit!
(STOCK – take 14 damage)
A tiny wisp of Stock’s blood enters the Lakewater…
And with that, the strangely cunning monstrous plants all make their move… those not under Bartomus’ spell!
From the top wall (I25, I26) reeds rotate in the moundwall, revealing sinister scarlet in a 10’ by 10’ shape, which fully bursts forth from the moundwall with a diagonal step and slings two scarlet spikes at each of Stock and Zanderallen, one of them piercing deep into Stock!
(OOC – second one was a critical threat, but is not a critical hit; damage is 1 point (this one fails to beat Stock’s DR), and 6 points (this one gets some damage past Stock’s DR). The petal spikes are excessively sharp and the second hit Causes a Bleeding Wound to STOCK. (because it beat his damage reduction)
STOCK, at the START of each of your posts in this combat, take 1d8 Bleeding Damage (DR does not apply). Bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or through the application of any spell that cures hit point damage.)
(ZANDERALLEN – please update your AC in your posts – you have Freedom of Movement and are wearing your Full Plate – your header says AC 15 instead of 31 right now)
Of the other two aimed at Zanderallen, one veers wide but the other strikes deep in his right side (Zander – it Critically Hit you for a total of 4 damage!) and Causes a Bleeding Wound to ZANDERALLEN!
ZANDERALLEN, at the START of each of your posts in this combat, take 1d8 Bleeding Damage (DR does not apply). Bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or through the application of any spell that cures hit point damage.)
Suddenly, another Reed moves forth (from K25, K26) and brushes past nigh-invisible-watery Bartomus on its way to strike at Stock. (BARTOMUS, Take An Attack of Opportunity!) It greedily reaches out towards Stock with a tendril, flanking with its two “friends” on the other side of Stock, just hitting through its pure cunning! (STOCK - take 15 damage)
Finally, another Blood Lily becomes visible (in M27, M28) but cannot get through Bartomus’ Huge watery form so it moves through the Moundwall, between the top Blood Lily and Reed (B2 and S2 on the map) until it fully emerges beyond them, then turns to “face” Stock.
(BARTOMUS – If you have Combat Reflexes, this is your Second Attack of Opportunity in this Round.)
SHIELDS – it’s your half of Round 1… Fight!
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+10=21 ; d20+20=23 ; d8=3 ; d6=4 ; 4d6=12 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 2:37:34 AM
Armalad whispers at Joker, "Create an illusion of an ink cloud and stay close to me"
Joker uses the wand of silent image to create a 4x4 ink cloud covering Armalad, Joker and the 2 squares in front of them and follows Armalad as she moves to K 33. Joker is at L 33 and there are 2 squares of illusionary inkiness at K 32 and L32
(Armalad's save vs Illusion: 21)
Armalad fires an arrow targetting B1 as Armalad has concealment from the illusionary ink cloud and B1 is within 30 feet, B1 should be sneak attacked
Armalad is using both deadly aim and many shot with this attack
23 vs B1's Flat Footed AC, if that hits 1d8 (3) + 1d6(4) electric + 11 x2 + 4d6 (12) = 28 + 8 electric + 12 sneak attack
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+21=22 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 8:03:55 AM
Stohp has handled the reeds before so she'll move towards one of them to grapple (not sure what each enemy is, can you add them to the map key and move Stohp towards a reed?). Unfortunately she isn't able to get a good grip (22, nat 1. I think it's technically replacing an attack rolls, so can auto miss on a nat 1?)
Stock (JonM) HP: 220/248; AC: 26/24/14; DR 3/-; CMD: 36; Rage: 1/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d8=2 ; d20+19=31 ; d20+14=24 ; d20+9=25 ; d10+23=27 ; d10+23=32 ; d10+23=30 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 9:17:19 AM Status: Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement and now RAGING! Stock yells out, "Found them!" He sees wisps of his blood floating in the water. This drives his rage forward and he lets loose on the reed in front of him, cutting and slashing at the red reed.
Somewhere in his brain he notes the blood leaking out of him but he rationalizes that he still has plenty more to give. ====== Map Link Just confirming on damage last round, you weren't including DR right? So 14->11, 1->0, 6->3, 15->12 2 Bleed damage Also confirming enemies close to Stock - B1 is the one that struck first, S2 struck last, S is Stohp right? But it also looks like it attacked? So is S outside of the wall Stohp but S inside the wall an enemy? Raging Power Attack vs B1 hits AC 31, 27 damage PA vs B1 hits AC 24, 32 damage PA vs B1 hits AC 25, 30 damage
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+6=19 ; 2d6+6=10 ; d20+6=16 ; 2d6+6=12 ; d20+6=16 ; d20+6=19 ; d20+6=25 ; 2d6+6=11 ; 2d6+6=14 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 10:24:28 AM There were a group of them here and some aren't moving. Bartomus said to himself and tried to process the information that he observed. Then Stock let loose.
"Wait Stock, wait," Bartomus tried yelling affirming what Delia and others were saying, but dwarves gotta dwarf.
Things started to move and Bartomus watched as a reed mat with one of its telltale tendrils brush past him and slammed it with both of the watery fists he formed. Then he looked about and saw both a reedy mat come out of the wall and a blood Lilly right behind it. Bartomus slammed one fist at the reed and then looked hard as he aimed for a weaker spot where slammed a second fist.
AOC - two slams - 1st with a 19, for 10; 2nd with 16 for 12; Does not have that feat, but does have cleave..will consider that the next round
Attack on S2 - two slams 1st with a 19 for 11// second for 25, and using Vital Strike for 2xs regular damage of 14x2 = 28
I don't believe I can use Cleave after this set of attacks, will use that next round
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 147/159 AC: 31 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 d8=8 ; d20+10=12 ; d20+22=34 ; d20+22=32 ; d20+17=33 ; d20+12=14 ; d8+18=20 ; d8+18=20 ; d8+18=19 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 6:11:28 PM
Zander barely notices the initial scratch but holds back a yowl as the salt water hits the bleeding wound. He'd deal with that later. He finally had something to hit. He steps up to the reed closest him, free movement and magically enhanced speed making a blur under the water. ============== AC Updated: sorry about that
Bleed Taken: 8
Divine Bond: +5 Speed 15 minute original duration
5 foot step to I29
Full attack on S2 Spellcraft 12 no fire 34 to hit, 20 damage 32 to hit, 20 damage 33 to hit, 19 damage 14 misses
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+18=31 ; d20+18=24 ; d20+13=14 ; d20+8=11 ; d8+14=19 ; d6=3 ; d8+14=16 ; d6=5 ; d8+14=20 ; d6=6 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 10:56:41 PM Reminder that Stock, Zander, and Stohp are affected by Freedom of Movement and the reeds cannot grapple y'all
Delia blows some annoyed bubbles at the blood lilies she has to fight underwater as she repositions closer with her swim speed and raises her bow.
===== 5ft "step" to J30 should be 20 ft away from B1 (-4) - forgot to add point blank to attack roller Attack 1: 32 to hit; 22 & 21 damage (19 piercing, 3 cold, 16 piercing, 5 cold) Attack 2: 25 to hit; 26 damage (20 piercing, 6 cold) Attack 3: 15 - nat 1 Attack 4: 12 to hit;
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Thursday May 4th, 2023 11:13:18 PM
Time slows down for Armalad and Joker as combat heats up. (OOC: Checking In)
"It's a Trap!" - Admiral Ackbar (DM Wayne) d20+16=22 ; d10=6 ; d20+16=18 ; d20+15=18 ; d20+16=26 ; d20+16=31 ; d20+15=27 ; 2d8+7=17 ; d20+16=23 ; d20+16=24 ; d20+16=21 ; d20+16=18 ; d20+16=18 ; d20+16=34 ; d8=4 ; d20+16=33 ; d20+16=27 ; 2d6+4=12 ; 2d6+4=6 ; d4=1 ; d4=4 ; Thursday May 4th, 2023 11:21:49 PM
Armalad and Joker move into action, entering the room and then in quick succession Joker uses a wad to create an inky cloud.
(OOC - DC 12 Will Save for any Shield interacting with it to “see through” the figment. STOHP – roll that Will Save since Joker created the figment with 1 square of you inside it! Success = behave like it’s not there; Fail = it’s dark there and hard to see through!)
Armalad nocks an arrow on the go in Second Elder’s Wrath and shoots at B1, the arrow flying as though on the surface, in air, narrowly missing Stohp on the right and Reed #1 on the left, catching Blood Lily #1 flat-footed from within the ink cloud! The arrow sinks in deep, electric arcs cauterizing the leaves and petals as it goes!
Stohp moves forward to grapple a Reed (“Stranglereed,” thus S# on the map; here she reaches for S1.) but fails. (OOC - Reeds are CMD 32 for grapplers, etc. Combat maneuvers fail on a 1 just as attacks fail on a 1. Core Rulebook, p. 198.)
(OOC –
STOCK – yes, your DR calculations are correct – apply your own DR. I noted that you did not Bleed from the petal that hit you but failed to beat your DR.
Re: “S” and Stohp – the Legend in the top left of the map (row 6) indicates Stohp is represented with a P. No Shield is represented by an S. I neglected to make “S” into “S1” which I have since fixed.
Now added to the Legend, beginning in G2 and G3:
S# is a Stranglereed (“Reed”) B# is a Blood Lily. B on its own is Bartomus (currently taking up 9 squares as a Huge Water Elemental
B1 is the Blood Lily that struck at Stock first, but missed with all 4 attacks. B1 is also the Blood Lily Stock cut out of the moundwall with his first strike in the surprise round. B2 is the Blood Lily who launched 2 petal blades at each of Stock and Zanderallen, wounding both of you.)
Stock yells that he’s found them, but everyone except Armalad (via Message) is too far away to hear Stock’s water-filled vocal cords gurgle his announcement. Then he notices his own blood in the water from the petal-blade, with more oozing out, and becomes enRaged! Stock, Freely Attacking, executes a Full Attack routine so completely that the water swirls about him violently, his first swing glancing off a suddenly hard and sharp group of petals and then on the backswing he beats the plant’s defenses and cuts deep with his adamantine waraxe!
(OOC – Blood Lilys are AC 25 when not flat-footed.)
Bartomus considered that there was more than one monstrous plant here, some not moving. And then Stock happened. He reflexively called out for Stock to wait, but the only one who heard his static-y gurgling in no particular language was Armalad via Message.
(OOC – An Attack of Opportunity is 1 attack – it is not a Full Attack. Bartomus lacks Combat Reflexes, so he only gets the 1 attack of opportunity this round.)
When Reed #2 (S2) leaves the wall to go attack Stock, not noticing the watery Bartomus, Bartomus takes the opportunity to swing a large watery “fist” at it, missing (result = 19, AC is 23 for a Stranglereed / “Reed”). When the third Blood Lily also moves past him, Bartomus is not able to re-orient himself in time to strike at it. He re-orients himself and then sets about water-pummeling the Reed (S2) into submission! (OOC – I am ignoring the second d20 roll in your post, since it was for an AoO you didn’t qualify to take) Bartomus’s right fist swings hard at the Reed, but rolls off the Reed like… well… you know… and then he brings his left fist down in a hammer-like blow, striking harder but still rolling off… Bartomus reshapes himself in anticipation of his next attacks…
Zanderallen shrugs off the critical hit, but then the water hits the bleeding wound and he stifles a yelp! (Turtle Lake has less salt than one might think – Turtle Lake appears to drain to an ocean from the official Woldipedia player map of the Crying Wood region, but Lakes are typically freshwater… estuary effects at most.) The stifling is made easier by the call to battle in the somewhat silent deep – the air bubble of his Helm makes the occasional sounds a bit clearer than if he was fully immersed in water. Then, like a flash, Zanderallen is next to a Reed in a 5’ step (S2) and with his blade’s Speed, creates violent turbulence in the Lakewater around him as he executes… strike, spin, parry, thrust, turn, stab, and slice… water on that last attempt. Zanderallen’s first three cuts leave many stray bits of tendrils and other plant matter floating around him!
Delia swims 5’ and unleashes her fusillade of arrows upon the Blood Lilys, her multishot freezing its last moving parts and shattering it like an ice sculpture! Quickly selecting a new Blood Lily, since her arrows sink so deep in them compared to Reeds, she spies (B2) readying a run towards Stock and hits it with her second shot, with the wounded Lily nimbly zigging when Delia’s final two arrows zagged! (B2) continues on towards Stock…
The plants now have two sources of fresh blood in the water… what will they do?
Round 2
A Reed (S1) saw and felt the touch of a meaty fist, and it rotates in place, orienting its mouth of shark-like teeth at Stohp, attempting to strike/grab with its tendrils and bite with that serrated orifice! (ignore Roll #2, the d10; accident) It tries mightily, but Stohp completely eludes its grasp, from tendrils and orifice alike!
Another Reed finds its pain caused by the source of fresh blood in front of it (S2) and likewise it attempts to grab and bite Zanderallen, striking him with only one tendril (17 damage) and attempting to grip him, but Zanderallen freely escapes its grasp!
[deleted reference to B1’s rolled and missed attacks since Delia posted just before I was about to post.]
Another Blood Lily (B3) explodes four scarlet spikes at Stock, who freely dodges three of them, but then the fourth one strikes home (4 damage, so 1 beats DR, but Stock is already Bleeding, and Bleeding does not stack.)
The final Blood Lily (B2) moves past its comrades and partially merges into the Moundwall, leaving enough of it exposed to flail two vines at Stock, striking twice!
(STOCK – the first hit is 12 damage. The second hit is 6 damage. Both get some damage past your DR, injecting strange and alien plant toxins into your dwarven blood… Two doses of Blood Lily poison are active in you – you are now bleeding copiously from all of your pores!
Roll TWO DC 23 Fortitude saving throw at the start of EACH of your next SIX posts. (frequency is 1/round for 6 rounds).
This poison takes TWO consecutive successful saving throws to cure – make one save, miss the next, you start all over again.
Specify which save is for “dose 1” and which is for “dose 2.”
Track each dose’s saves separately – if you get two consecutive successful saves against one dose, you are cured of both doses.
Failed Save = 1d4 CON damage and Sickened.
Round 2 poison info:
Fort DC 23 (once each)
IF Dose 1 fails = 1 CON damage + Sickened. IF Dose 2 fails = 4 CON damage + Sickened.)
SHIELDS – it’s your half of Round 2… Fight!
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+21=29 ; d20+21=40 ; Friday May 5th, 2023 6:54:19 AM
Stohp tries this grappling thing again, failing on her first try but succeeding on her second (grappling is a move action for her, 29 and 40)
Stock (JonM) HP: 200/248; AC: 26/24/14; DR 3/-; CMD: 36; Rage: 2/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d8=7 ; d20+23=34 ; d20+23=34 ; d20+19=30 ; d10+23=28 ; d10+23=33 ; d20+19=32 ; d20+14=26 ; d20+9=22 ; d10+23=28 ; Friday May 5th, 2023 9:47:31 AM Status: Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement, RAGING!, Bleeding Stock keeps churning up water steadily filling with chunks of vegetation and his blood. As the Blood Lily closes to attack he swings once...and then keeps swinging. He is humming a dwarven cooking song as he chops...although in this water it's unlikely anybody else can hear it.
========= Bleed - 7 damage Dose 1 Save: 34 Dose 2 Save: 34 - OOC Fortunately Stock's save against poison is +23 right now so just a Nat 1 is a failure. I'm assuming if I get two consecutive passes on both doses AND there is not a third dose then there is no need to keep rolling right? Using Unexpected Strike for first attack - Power Attack vs B2 hits AC 30, 28 damage Full attack - Power Attack hits AC 32, 33 damage (accidentally rolled damage first) Power Attack hits AC 26, 28 damage Power Attack 3 hits AC 22
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=22 ; d20+6=21 ; d20+6=10 ; Friday May 5th, 2023 10:48:11 AM
Bartomus looks upwards to get a sense of the height of the chamber they are in and then goes forward with his effort to pummel the reed next to him. But, both attacks missed their mark.
Attack for 22 against 23 miss, attack for 10 against 23 miss on S2
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+20=39 ; d20+20=27 ; d20+20=21 ; d20+15=18 ; d20+10=16 ; d8+14=17 ; d6=3 ; d8+14=20 ; d6=2 ; 2d8+28=43 ; Friday May 5th, 2023 2:06:27 PM Water Breathing, Swim Speed 30ft, Darkvision 60ft Sorry for late post! I had one mostly typed out and then got pulled away but had it in my head I had finished it
Delia kicks again to reposition, taking a half second to resettle with sights on her new blood lily target, countering range with range. The power of her first shot takes her a little off guard underwater and her later shots suffer because of it.
==================== 5ft swim to I30. Full attack at B3. Point blank shot and I think -3 for range. Second target would be B2. Attack 1: 39 to hit - crit threat, 27 to confirm; if confirmed: Damage 63 & 22 (17+43 piercing, 3 cold) & (20 piercing, 2 cold)
Attack 2: 21 to hit; nat 1 Attack 3: 18 to hit; Attack 4: 16 to hit;
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 127/159 AC: 31 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 12/13 SE 5/5 d8=3 ; d20+22=36 ; d20+22=27 ; d20+17=19 ; d20+12=19 ; d20+10=13 ; d8+18=19 ; d8+18=25 ; Friday May 5th, 2023 8:11:22 PM
Zanderallen marvels at this freedom as his arm just slips out of the vines embrace without a care. But the pain of the slice keeps him grounded in combat. Almost detached from the fight a train of thought goes through the back of his mind that the lake is fresh water, so why does that Blood Lily petal string so much. Questions for another day as the active part of his mind brings his blade to bear on the Reed in front of him. ======== Full attack, Spellcraft 13 still no fire 36 hits, 19 damage 27 hits, 25 damage 19 misses 19 misses
"It's a Trap!" - Admiral Ackbar (DM Wayne) d20+21=29 ; d20+16=30 ; d20+16=25 ; d20+17=26 ; 2d6+4=9 ; d20+16=20 ; d20+16=23 ; d20+15=18 ; d20+16=17 ; Saturday May 6th, 2023 11:27:31 PM
Stohp redoubles her efforts and lands a grappling hold on S1!
Blood Lily (B2) didn’t notice until after it had moved in and struck at Stock that Stock struck back! Not only did Stock strike back, he then enters a rage-nado of blows, agitating the water around him like something not yet invented in the Wold! The Blood Lily (B2) is cut deeply twice more by the adamantine-bladed Stock vortex, but remains in place, flexing its petal-blades and vines!
Bartomus optimizes his shape as best he can, and thankfully unlike the other mounds where the ceiling was 20’ high only at the very center of the hemisphere, this larger moundplex seems to have a 20’ high ceilings in this room, but the entrance and the entry hallway was but 10’ by 10’ by 10’. He swirls and agitates his water and tries to give a jab-hook combination like he’s seen Monks do, but without their training each of his slams barely misses his target (S2).
Delia quickly repositions herself and unleashes a fury of arrows at the farther Blood Lily (B3), her first shot sinking in so deep the fletching can no longer be seen, but the resonance of her bowstring throws off her aim with her next few shots, which all miss by a few inches.
Zanderallen smiles as he freely and easily flows out of the Reed’s grasp, though still pained by the petal-blade that seems to have severed a minor artery… Still Zanderallen presses on, willing his blade to enflame… but it goes out as soon as it appears, and the magical steel edge, everpresent, cuts on… one… two… water doesn’t make a “whiff” sound when he misses… twice… and the fight rages on, though the Reed (S2) seems heavily wounded…
Armalad appears lost in thought, though ready to act once she decides on a course of action.
Round 3
Stohp’s foe (S1) tries to put Stock under its control, but barely fails to break Stock’s hold on it!
Stock’s foe (B2) lashes at blood-covered Stock, all of his pores oozing his blood, with its vines and one of them hits (9 damage, START AND TRACK DOSE #3 DC 23 Fortitude Save), but fails to yank Stock off his feet.
(OOC – I forgot last round, but a Blood Lily vine strike is not just damage and poison, but also a free action trip attempt that does not provoke an AoO.)
Zanderallen’s foe (S2) angrily tries to grab and consume its metallic prey once more, unable to penetrate Zanderallen’s full plate armor with either its tendrils or its shark-toothed maw.
Delia’s foe (B3) cunningly moves back slightly and then out of sight, only to reappear a moment later next to Stock and strike at him with one vine, zigging when Stock zags, missing him!
SHIELDS – it’s your half of Round 3… Fight!
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 2d6+6=8 ; 2d6+6=15 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 12:05:29 AM
Bartomus smiled, if water elementals could smile, and transforms himself into a vortex of water whirling about where his center is (base 10' at J27/28 K27/28) and moved into and behind the reed next to him. His vortex went to the roof of the room they were standing in. He continued to move along the woven wall and into the blood lily that was attacking Stock
Vortex/whirlpool slam into S2 and move, as I understand it, to G27/28 & H27/28 - Reflex save of against 23 to avoid taking slam damage - Damage for S2 if failed = 8; has to make a 2nd reflex save to avoid being pulled into the vortex.
Same for B2 - Reflex save against 23, otherwise take 15 points damage. Not sure if B2 & S2's volume would exceed the vortex.
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 2d6+6=8 ; 2d6+6=15 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 12:05:32 AM
Bartomus smiled, if water elementals could smile, and transforms himself into a vortex of water whirling about where his center is (base 10' at J27/28 K27/28) and moved into and behind the reed next to him. His vortex went to the roof of the room they were standing in. He continued to move along the woven wall and into the blood lily that was attacking Stock
Vortex/whirlpool slam into S2 and move, as I understand it, to G27/28 & H27/28 - Reflex save of against 23 to avoid taking slam damage - Damage for S2 if failed = 8; has to make a 2nd reflex save to avoid being pulled into the vortex.
Same for B2 - Reflex save against 23, otherwise take 15 points damage. Not sure if B2 & S2's volume would exceed the vortex.
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 d20+18=27 ; d20+18=36 ; d20+13=22 ; d20+8=23 ; d8=2 ; d6=6 ; 4d6=16 ; d8=7 ; d6=3 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 12:51:54 AM
(OOC: Sorry I fell asleep and woke up after midnight; if I'm gonna post on Sundays for Fridays I need to post earlier rather than later)
Armalad makes a full attack action against B3 from within the inky illusionary cloud as Joker maintains the illusion
(OOC: Armalad has precise shot, so she can fire into melee without risking hitting her friends)
(1d8+1d6 +1d6 Shock +11) x 2 on first of full attack +4d6
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20+26=38 ; d20+26=45 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 7:36:46 AM
Having secured the grappling advantage Stohp tries to repeat her trick of tying the monster up with it's own tentacles (grapple 38 to maintain and pin, 45 to tie up)
Stock (JonM) HP: 189/248; AC: 26/24/14; DR 3/-; CMD: 36; Rage: 3/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+23=38 ; d20+23=42 ; d20+23=31 ; d8=5 ; d20+19=24 ; d20+14=34 ; d20+18=25 ; d20+9=15 ; d10+23=25 ; d10+23=32 ; 2d10+46=54 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 9:46:31 AM Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement, Raging, Bleeding Stock's rage chopping continues. Beneath the raging exterior he is starting to get annoyed that they just. won't. die. His focus drifts momentarily to the similarities between this and chopping wood. Sometimes it is a chore and you just need to keep working; keep chopping... He snaps back to the present and chops away at the weed.
======= Poison Dose 1 Fort Save: 38 (2 saves in a row) Poison Dose 2: 42 (2 saves in a row) Poison Dose 3: 31 (1 save) Bleed Damage: 5 PA1 vs B2 hits AC24, 25 damage if it hits PA2 hits AC34 Threat, confirms (?) with 25, If it doesn't confirm - 32 damage; if it does confirm - 86 damage PA3 hits AC15 Map Link
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+21=33 ; d20+21=28 ; d20+16=27 ; d20+11=16 ; d8+15=16 ; d6=2 ; d8+15=21 ; d6=5 ; d8+15=20 ; d6=1 ; d8+15=23 ; d6=6 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 4:00:47 PM
Delia continues her barrage at the same target, despite its repositioning. She forces a thick breath in and out, steadying herself from the previous volley's odd interaction with the underwater combat.
============================================= Full attack at B3 (-2 range, +1 point blank shot) Attack 1: 33 to hit; 18 & 26 damage (16 piercing, 2 cold) & (21 piercing, 5 cold) Attack 2: 28 to hit; 21 damage (21 piercing, 1 cold) Attack 3: 27 to hit; 29 damage (23 piercing, 6 cold) Attack 4: 16 to hit; miss
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 158/159 AC: 31 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 11/13 SE 5/5 d6=4 ; d6=1 ; d6=2 ; d6=6 ; d6=3 ; d6=1 ; d6=6 ; d6=3 ; d6=1 ; d6=5 ; d20+22=29 ; d20+22=42 ; d20+26=41 ; d20+17=33 ; d20+12=13 ; d20+10=27 ; d8+18=23 ; d6=3 ; 2d8+36=52 ; d6=5 ; d8+18=24 ; d6=6 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 4:01:30 PM
Zanderallen quickly heals some of his wounds, stopping the irritating bleeding in the process. He then takes a short hop to the left, moving to support Stock as the Reed he's fighting seems to be wearing down. "For being legends these Blood Lilies are awfully hard to kill." ============= 5 ft step to H29
Swift Action - Self Lay on Hands 29 healed plus bleed stopped
Full Attack starting with S2, if S2 drops remaining attacks into B2 27 to bring the FIRE 29 to hit, 23 damage + 3 fire Nat 20, 41 to confirm, 52 damage + 5 fire 33 to hit, 24 damage + 6 fire Nat 1 misses
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Monday May 8th, 2023 8:16:44 PM
Time slows down for Armalad (OOC: Checking in; will try to post earlier tomorrow)
"It's a Trap!" - Admiral Ackbar (DM Wayne) d20+11=21 ; d20+11=29 ; d20+9=16 ; d20+9=29 ; d8=3 ; d6=4 ; Monday May 8th, 2023 11:00:24 PM
(OOC – BARTOMUS – rules on Whirlwind (a Supernatural Ability).
Bestiary p.306, Whirlwind (Vortex is just an underwater version) – “The whirlwind is always 5 feet wide at its base, but its height and width at the top vary from creature to creature (minimum 10 feet high). A whirlwind’s width at its peak is always equal to half of its height. The creature controls the exact height, but it must be at least 10 feet high.”
Bartomus, with a 20’ ceiling here, you/vortex are one 5’ square at ground level, and 10’ by 10’ at the ceiling (20’). Some back of the napkin volume calculations (not exact math, but starting from one 5’ by 5’ cube the first three height increments and four at the top you’re at a minimum of 7 cubes, maybe even 8 to 10. The plants are all size Large, (eight 5’ by 5’ by 5’ cubes) but a lot of that is vines/tendrils ‘occupying combat space’ so…
You can hold up to two in your vortex.
BARTOMUS – next, a Supernatural Ability takes a Standard Action to activate. (Core Rulebook, p.183, in the table of actions that take a Standard Action to use.)
Finally, my copy of the Bestiary p. 127 indicates a vortex DC of 22, not 23.)
Bartomus begins swirling his watery body around and around with Supernatural speed, forming a water vortex that is 5’ wide and long on the mound-ground (J28), and 10’ wide by 10’ long at the top, and a total of 20’ in height. Nearby, Zanderallen and Delia can feel the vortex-waves at their strongest, except, of course, for the Reed next to all three of them (S2) which Bart-vortex plows into! S2 is battered (8 damage) and looks like it might stop moving at any moment, but is still animate enough to not be caught up in the vortex!
Bart-vortex continues moving into the nearby Blood Lily (B2), which likewise is battered (15 damage) yet remains animate and is not caught up in the vortex! (OOC - Natural 20!) (Though for the moment it remains within the Bart-vortex as Bartomus stopped movement in (G28))
Armalad continues her innovative trick of being inside an illusionary ink cloud that she herself can easily ignore and opens up with a fusillade from Second Elder’s Wrath at the Blood Lily (B3) actively poking its vines out of the wall to sneakily attack Stock! Armalad’s shots are not as precise as those of Delia – she must still take her allies into account to avoid hitting them in the back! Here, Armalad is fortunate – a corner of (B3) can be shot without shooting Stohp in the back (F30) – and Armalad threads that needle, needing only her first shot to sink deep into the hapless Blood Lily, electrocuting its way into, through, and out the other side of its thick trunk and with that, it ceases moving but for the gentle rocking motion of Turtle Lake!
Armalad looks for her next target, and again threads the needle, avoiding Delia and Stohp as her second arrow plunges deep into (B2, at G29)’s trunk, not coming out the other side, but with the same result – (B3) slowly stops moving as well!
Figuring Zanderallen can take an accidental hit easier than Stohp, Armalad again shifts targets to (S2, at I27), thankful that the swirling water mass moved out of the way – she might have had to try shooting over Zanderallen’s shoulder… hmm… the ceilings are 20’ tall in here… she thinks to herself that she could simply swim higher in any future battles and not have 6’6” masses of steel in the way of her shots.
(OOC – Armalad could have done a vertical “5-foot mini-swim (step)” upwards to avoid any chance of her Medium allies granting cover to the Large foes from her arrows… likewise with 20’ ceilings, each Shield will have some ability to control their height by simply swimming up (or down), as though all of the Shields could fly…)
Armalad’s third shot misses (S2), but her fourth shot just barely hits its central bulbous pod, sinking in, strange sap-like substance oozing out, and it too stops moving!
Stohp’s muscles move with the memories of her prior hog-tying of the Reed during the attack on the fisherfolk and she quickly works a second tendril into her grasp and then ties the tendrils in a knot! Surely a prisoner-plant for questioning?
Stock lets out a small gasp as in but a few seconds Armalad has finished off three of the four remaining combatants and Stohp has hog-tied the fourth! Battle over? Stock’s wound still bleeds and visions of the murdered fisherfolk enhance his Rage as the poison leaves his system (all three doses) and he moves (5’ step to G31) just enough to unleash his own vortex of adamantine upon the doomed (S1), who thankfully has fewer defenses than a Blood Lily, and is grappled and pinned to boot! Stock’s first blow is nothing special – it hits, it cuts deep, but his backswing, oh, that backswing, it comes in at an angle the hog-tied Reed wasn’t expecting and nearly cuts it in half! The Reed is still moving… barely playing dead enough for Stock’s third swing to miss it!
Delia, left with only one target, but impeccable aim, finishes off the Reed with her first arrow, neatly severing it in half at the point Stock left unfinished, no easy trick with an arrow, underwater!
With that, the Shields’ foes, not counting any of those Bartomus Commanded earlier, are no more.
Zanderallen heals some of his wounds and then steps to assist Stock, but Stock no longer needs his help! He surveys the scene and sees the fading electric arcs indicating Armalad’s three kills, along with a Reed that looks largely like only Stock cut it apart! Zanderallen’s sword then lights up in flame, but no visible targets remain.
Armalad… is satisfied, though with the inky cloud none can see her expression.
(Stohp missed my instruction to make a DC 12 Will Save vs. the Inky Illusion, as part of her was in it at the time – if made, then Stohp alone was able to see exactly how pleased Armalad was after dropping three plants in one round!)
Armalad Highlight to display spoiler: { notes, on the eastern (right) wall, about a 30’ wide section (M29 to M34) is completely frozen and not moving like the woven reeds on the other wall sections. Curiouser and curiouser. }
SHIELDS – you’re out of combat time, but Stock is still visibly bleeding – what do you do?
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) d20=3 ; Tuesday May 9th, 2023 7:25:05 AM
Stohp does not make the will save so cannot see through the cloud (11). She notes the sounds of combat dying down even if she can't see all of it and starts to relax.
Stock (JonM) HP: 159/203; AC: 27/25/15; DR 3/-; CMD: 33; Rage: 3/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d8=5 ; d8=8 ; d8=2 ; d8=5 ; Tuesday May 9th, 2023 9:15:00 AM Fatigued, Underwater Breathing, Freedom of Movement
Stock scans for any more moving weeds. Not seeing any, his shoulders slump and blood continues to seep out of his wounds.
"Bah. It's just a scratch. It doesn't seem to want to stop though and I don't want to attract any other underwater life with its smell."
He takes a potion out of his bag, and hillarity ensues as he pops the cork and puts his entire mouth on the vial. trying to force as much of the fluid as possible into his mouth. He then waves his arms at Zanderallen, pointing to his various cuts and bruises with eyebrows raised pleadingly. ======== Bleed - 5 pts Potion of Cure Serious 20 pts, bleeding stopped
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=36 ; Tuesday May 9th, 2023 3:15:23 PM
Delia started to move towards Stock to stop the bleeding, then let a small smile slip out at his struggles with underwater drinking. Once she sees his wounds no longer actively spewing blood, she turns her attention away and looks for any additional threats.
============= Perception: 36
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 158/159 AC: 31 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 10/13 SE 5/5 d6=4 ; d6=4 ; d6=6 ; d6=6 ; d6=1 ; d6=1 ; d6=6 ; d6=1 ; d6=2 ; d6=1 ; d6=5 ; Tuesday May 9th, 2023 4:00:36 PM
Zanderallen gives Stock a blank look for just a moment before shrugging his shoulders and starting to turn away. Then he walk swims over to his dwarven friend, "Alright, where did the plant try and eat you?" He then provides some requested healing. ============= Lay on Hands - Stocks Heals 33 HP 10/13 remaining
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=29 ; Tuesday May 9th, 2023 4:49:59 PM
Bartomus let the moment of the vortex end tossing anything he had swirling about towards the far corner of the room. As he did so, he made mental notes on how his vortex worked versus how he thought it might work.
Then, he resumed his form at the opening of the hallway next to him. GHI 26/27/28 He scanned it for any signs of additional reeds, blood lilies, and the like.
Perception 29
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Tuesday May 9th, 2023 8:08:29 PM
Armalad tells Joker to drop the illusion and uses her message spell to tell the others that there is a section of wall that appears to be frozen and not moving like the other reeds.
"It's a Trap!" - Admiral Ackbar (DM Wayne) Tuesday May 9th, 2023 11:08:53 PM
Stohp, like the rest of the Shields, has lost track of Armalad due to the inky cloud near the room’s first entrance. She notes all of the plants ceasing their movement, especially the one she had hog-tied, making it easy prey for Stock’s waraxe and an arrow from a Shield archer, and takes an audible breath within her air bubble…
Stock’s rage runs out, and he takes deep inhales and exhales of Lakewater, as his wound keeps bleeding. He pulls out a healing potion and uncorks it very close to his mouth, being quick to suck in as much as he can before it merges with the Lakewater. His bleeding finally ceases. Stock smiles as he waves at Zanderallen with one arm and points to his wounds with the other.
Delia was concerned for Stock’s babbling brook of blood, but once his intense labors rewarded him with healing from a potion bottle and the bleeding stopped, she had a smiling sigh of relief and then set to guard duty, alternating her gaze between the two exits.
Zanderallen is puzzled at first… Stock, really… Charades in the middle of this mission? … OH! RIGHT! and then regains his senses and freely walks to Stock, inquiring as to his wounds, given that Stock bled from all of his pores at once after the Blood Lily struck him! Zanderallen then sets about healing Stock with his devotion to Domi.
Bartomus shifted back into his Huge Water Elemental form, once more occupying vast amounts of space in the room. He considered his theories before using his vortex ability in the fisherfolk attack, and in this battle, and felt much more confident that he now knew instinctively how his size and shape changed in vortex form, what it was good for, and what it was not good for. Bartomus looked over the short hallway in front of him and saw that he’d have to move further in to see what was around the corner. He recalled that the other Reed(s?) he Commanded before the battle were still back at the other entrance, merged into the Moundwall. He knew his spell would last for about two weeks, and hoped no one would figure out a way to break his hold over them. Bartomus considered… hmmm… once the Shields have solved this “moundtown,” what should the Shields do with the plant(s?) under his command before his spell runs out?
Armalad directs Joker to cease concentrating on the inky cloud, and Joker does so, the cloud soon fading from view. Then she Messages the Shields that there is a section of wall unmoving, resisting the ebb and flow of the Lakewater that gently moves the reeds on all of the other walls.
SHIELDS – what do you do?
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Wednesday May 10th, 2023 8:17:11 AM
Stohp is ready to move on when the other's are.
Stock (JonM) HP: 192/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 3/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed Wednesday May 10th, 2023 9:32:48 AM Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement
Stock tries to get a grasp on where Bartomus is...and then where his head (?) is, if there in fact is something like a head on the elemental. He then yells, "I'll still lead the way." He squeezes past the watery form and moves ahead to see what comes next.
======= Move -> E25
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 d20+28=44 ; Wednesday May 10th, 2023 11:12:15 AM
Delia swims over to the unmoving wall Armalad pointed out and examines it closely. If her visual search leads to nothing, she pokes it with an arrow.
Perception: 44
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=35 ; d20+11=19 ; Wednesday May 10th, 2023 4:15:54 PM
Bartomus watched as the other Shields went to inspect the very obedient reeds... and did Delia have an arrow in her hand.
He tried yelling no, and then instead directed a small swirl of water at her moving hand as he stepped further into the small corridor.
perception around corner 35; range role on the stream/current a Delia's arrow hand 19 for the super soaker current.
"No... no... no... it cannot be!" (DM Wayne) Wednesday May 10th, 2023 10:45:13 PM
Stohp readies herself to move on once the Shields begin moving. She gets her wish as Stock gurgles something to Zanderallen and Delia and begins moving in to the new corridor. She freely follows, though some ‘thick water’ gets over/around her in the process. Is her head inside Bartomus?!?
Stock looks around, trying to recognize Bartomus’ watery head while deep underwater, and the closest he can come is reaching out with his right hand and feeling the water being a bit ‘thicker’ in certain places, if that’s possible. He then walks close enough to Zanderallen and Delia and the ‘thick water’ to tell the three Shields that he’s still going to lead the way, and freely proceeds ahead down the twisting corridor, after passing through some ten feet of ‘thick water…’
Delia swims over to the unmoving wall Armalad noted, and looks over it closely. Delia (only) Highlight to display spoiler: { sees this is actually a 30’ wide by 10’ tall section of moundwall that’s frozen in place compared to the wall to the left, or even above the 10’ mark. She notes a Reed (M29-M30), a Blood Lily (M31-M32), and another Reed (M33-M34). While Bartomus’ watery form has kept him silent for the most part but for occasional vortices, Delia recalls when the Shields were about to enter that she felt spellcasting nearby (OOC – spellcasting is always an obvious act, even if the verbal component is expressed differently by a druid in water elemental form), and since no one else’s lips or arms were moving, it must have been Bartomus. He has somehow… Commanded the Plants to remain still. Delia has adventured long enough to know that if this is remotely similar to the novice spell Charm Person among wizards that if she pokes any of this wall with one of her arrows it might break the spell on that plant and set it free to attack the Shields, starting with her. She considers her options.}
Bartomus watches as Delia swims to inspect the moundwall, arrow in her hand. He desperately tries to gurgle a “Noooooooo….” but fails, so he sends a minor vortex to push her arrow hand suddenly but not violently. Then he flows towards the new corridor and peeks around the corner, having flowed into the 10’, 15’, and 20’ heights of the inner Mound, no longer squeezing between Shields, but above them!
Delia is not at all injured by the vortex, but does notice Bartomus’s now-familiar watery “touch” and considers whether the two are thinking the same thoughts right about now. Delia’s arrow hand does not yet jab into the moundwall, though it may…
Meanwhile, back around the corner, with Stock, Stohp, and Bartomus… Stohp’s vision comes to an end 10’ inside the new room (Zanderallen hasn’t begun walking his Daylight over there yet and the mound is pitch black this far inside without his lit blade), but Stock and Bartomus see ahead, in the black and white of Darkvision:
The wide, spacious hallway continues around a somewhat sharp curve that reverses your direction, and as the water flows in and out of your lungs, bringing life-giving energy as though it were air, the hallway opens up into a very large room, wider than it is long, and still with ceilings as high as a column of three very tall human men, were they able to hold themselves in place. There are two large seaweed mounds in here, each about 5’ tall and 20’ long, apart, but at a right angle to each other. At the end of the one on the left, that parallels your path, is the hand and lower arm of a humanoid, and likewise straight ahead of you on the left edge of that seaweed mound are the fingers and hand of an adult human man, the gently rolling waters almost making it seem like the fingers… the hand… is waving at you just a little bit. Bile makes a valiant attempt to rise out of your stomachs, but the Shields’ tummies are made of cast iron and Stock and Bartomus hold back the physical expression of their recognition of the semi-intact viscera ‘waving’ at them…
(OOC - STOHP can see her immediate position from the Daylight and about 10’ into the new room, but even her enhanced eyes cannot resolve the berm 20’ ahead of her, let alone the small body parts, until more light comes into her zone.)
The two mounds, or berms, are made of the same material as the moundwall, but rising to a height of 5’ tall (blocking Stock’s vision straight ahead due to his height). Stymied by the opaque mounds, Stock simply freely moves straight up 5’ and can fully see the room (but for row 12 just yet; out of Darkvision range of both Stock and Bartomus).
SHIELDS – What do you do?
Armalad (Hugh) HP 91/128 AC25 / Touch 19/ Flat 18 CMD 27 Wednesday May 10th, 2023 11:25:16 PM
Armalad moves to catch up to the others and if she saw what Bart did to Delia she messages him asking, "What do you know about those strange unmoving reeds?"
Stohp (Mitch) HP: 97/111 AC: 27/15/23 CMD: 26 (+4 vs grapple,+6 disarm, trip) Thursday May 11th, 2023 8:12:44 AM
(Can you relink the map so I don't have to scroll up several weeks to find it again?)
Stohp waits for the group to get back together again expecting another ambush up ahead.
Stock (JonM) HP: 192/203; AC: 28/25/16; DR 3/-; CMD: 35; Rage: 3/38 used; 30 ft. Swim Speed d20+25=37 ; Thursday May 11th, 2023 9:12:14 AM Water Breathing, Freedom of Movement
Stock makes his way into the room and takes a long look at the mounds and the body parts, trying to piece together what is happening here.
[/i]========= Map Link Perception 37, are the body parts attached to these mounds or just adjacent to them?[/i]
Delia (Hannah) HP: 115/115; AC 29/17/23; CMD 39 Thursday May 11th, 2023 1:54:44 PM
Delia connects the dots in her head about the unmoving section of plant matter on the wall being due to Command Plants. She nods to herself, knowing that they will be a non-issue for quite some time. She waves her hand to him in acknowledgement as she moves away from the wall to follow Stock into the next room.
If they are regathered, she will comment out loud that, "Those reeds were hit by Bart's plant spell. They'll stay the way they are for, oh a week or two, if nothing messes with them."
(OOC) I currently have Command Plants prepared so I'm making the assumption Delia completely knows how it works
Bartomus(Rod) HP: 123/123 AC 21; Slam +6 (2d6+6) Glv +16 2d8+2 Slng +14 CMD 11 Melee 11/6/1;Perc+16;Heal+11 d20+16=27 ; Thursday May 11th, 2023 4:07:49 PM
Bartomus flowed into the room above Stock and began looking about at the situation they had discovered. He realized that in one way, they might be able to just negotiate to take the remains that were being used as trophies, maybe, he thought. Or, were those something else?
Move to F/G 19 Perception of the room its ceiling - 27
Zanderallen (Zachary H) 158/159 AC: 31 T: 13 FF: 14 CMD: 31 LoH 10/13 SE 5/5 Thursday May 11th, 2023 5:31:13 PM
Zanderallen moves up to the berms and pushes up on top to shed light on what his allies are looking at.
LOG ON