Mythic, Charging, Flying, Mounted Combat and You

Before getting into our adventures during book 2 of "Wrath of the Righteous" I'm going to delve a bit into some mechanical issues that have been cropping up. Why? Because I like game mechanics, that's why. I like poking them, and prodding them, and shaping them to my needs. This is one of the first "D&D" groups I've been in that has had sufficient leveling-up+mythic options to provide the granularity I really enjoy in builds. I'm starting to have concerns about power level/over-optimization, but for right now I'm going to ride this for all it's worth.

(Spoiler) I'll be discussing elements of Autec's build that come into play later in the campaign. Here is the character sheet.

My DM has two relevant "houserules" because mounted combat, as written, is a half non-working, half confusing mess. While searching will get you *many* discussions of the issues, here is a good one: Mounted Charging in Pathfinder

1. When mounted, Pax acts on my initiative and I choose which order things happen during the turn. This is a tricky one, but saves time/confusion and 90% of the time I'd be delaying whichever character rolled better initiative to sync them up anyway.

2. Feats and mythic abilities relating to charging are considered to affect both myself and Pax if mounted. This is primarily relevant for Improved Overrun and the Burst Through path ability addressed below. This is a very gray area of the rules.

Here is the relevant rules text for what I'm looking at - all from the handy, dandy d20pfsrd.

Beast's Fury - Guardian's Call Ability - As a swift action, you can expend one use of mythic power to imbue your animal companion, cohort, eidolon, familiar, or bonded mount with some of your mythic power. As an immediate action, that creature can move up to its speed and make an attack with one of its natural weapons. When making this attack, the creature rolls twice and takes the higher result. Any damage dealt by this attack bypasses all damage reduction. A creature affected by this ability can take these actions in addition to any others that it takes during its turn.

Burst Through - Guardian Path Ability - Whenever you charge, you can move through squares containing allies and opponents almost as if they were not obstructing your charge. You can move through squares containing allies freely, but you must succeed at an overrun combat maneuver check for each opponent that obstructs your path to the target of your charge. If the result of the check exceeds the opponent's CMD, you may move through the opponent's square and continue toward the target without provoking an attack of opportunity from that opponent. If you fail any of these combat maneuver checks, your movement ends in the square before that opponent, but you may resolve the charge attack against the foe that stopped you.

Ride-by Attack - Feat - When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.

Wheeling Charge - Feat - When you are mounted and use the charge action, your mount can make one turn of up to 90 degrees as part of the move, as long as each part of the move is at least 10 feet. You may make an attack during any part of this move. Your total movement for the round can’t exceed double your mounted speed. Allied creatures do not impede your charge, though you cannot attack from or end your move in an ally’s space. 

Amazing Initiative - Tier 2 Mythic Ability - At 2nd tier, you gain a bonus on initiative checks equal to your mythic tier. In addition, as a free action on your turn, you can expend one use of mythic power to take an additional standard action during that turn. This additional standard action can't be used to cast a spell. You can't gain an extra action in this way more than once per round.

Call to Action - Level 2 Golden Lion Maneuver (STD action) - With a mighty blow, the disciple aids an ally by providing an opening in combat to move by an opponent. The initiator makes a melee attack, inflicting an additional 2d6 points of damage and granting an adjacent ally an immediate move action.

Improved Overrun - Pax Feat -  You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing an overrun combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to overrun a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense whenever an opponent tries to overrun you. Targets of your overrun attempt may not chose to avoid you.

Okay, so, that's a lot to digest. Take a second. Then give your buddy a second, then take another second, then maybe give another buddy another second. Zip around the battlefield like a Jack Russell Terrier on speed. Repeat next round. Gross. While MP intensive, these abilities all combine to create an action filled "nova" that is brutally effective, relatively safe, and incredibly confusing.

So what does it actually do?

• Barring very tight quarters or movement reductions, no one is safe from a charge. I can generally maneuver Pax into a position where a charge is viable through Beast's Fury and Wheeling Charge.

• Piggy-backing on the above, I can prone a lot of smaller adversaries by finding a good line to my actual charge targets. Action economy through the roof here - knocking down a mook or three takes up effectively half their turn at no action cost to me. Charging combatants are typically very strong vs. one BBEG (big bad evil guy), but weak if the charge misses/they get attacked by all the dorks standing around afterward. Now this is no longer a problem.

• The "nova" itself. Ideal circumstances I get to start by Beast's Furying Pax into a good position and dropping a quick (double rolled, DR piercing) bite on whatever is closest. Then we get to charge thru that guy and anyone else in the way to our target. Thanks to reach, I get to stab it before Pax finishes her charge/pounce. If the 3x damage lance mounted charge doesn't finish the target Pax gets to launch her four attacks (bite, claw, claw, gore) as well. Then, I burn an MP for Amazing Initiative to take another standard - Call to Action. If that hits, Pax gets another move action to get us the heck out of full-attack range.

Problems and common sense issues? Ugh, yea, a lot of 'em.

What happens if my charge kills the target before Pax connects with her charge? Does she still get an attack? On what? Where? Adjacent? Or potentially on other stuff I Beast's Fury/Call to Action her close enough to during the turn?

What happens if my Burst Through charge fails to overrun a target? Do I get an attack with my lance even though it is a reach weapon? Can I make an attack against an alternative, actually in range target? What if I fail the first overrun on an adjacent target? Do I get no charge/no attack? Does the attack include +2 atk -2 ac for charging even though I never moved?

How in the heck does all this work while flying? For that matter, how does ANYTHING mounted work while flying?

Honestly, I don't have good answers for these things, and my DM just looks at me cross-eyed when considering all these ridiculous corner cases.

Next week I'll take a look at possible answers to some of these questions from a design standpoint and pick up with our meeting Queen Galifray in the ruins of Kenabres.

Gotta Kill 'Em All: Learning about New Kinds of Demons the Exciting Way, Power Overwhelming

Assault on the Grey Garrison Part 2

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 9

I'm growing tired of dretch and the foul clouds they summon. I've asked Sitzva if he possesses any magic capable of rendering them tolerable, but nothing back thus far. I only mention this because moving up the stairs to the second floor of the Garrison proved quite difficult after Pax sprayed them down. Ugh.

Fortunately, everyone was in reasonably good health and weathered the volley of tiefling crossbow fire upon opening the door at the top just fine. The 10 ft. wide hallways and wide doorways end up costing them dearly in the brief scuffle as Pax and I have no trouble maneuvering. Learning to cast Reduce Person was a good decision and we easily pierce deep into their formation. Ralan followed up with a charge and Kesh with some well placed shots to end the battle quickly.

We set off in a random direction, having no idea where the wardstone fragment may be. We first find and cleanse what appears to be a map/logistics planning room of some sort. Cultists of Baphomet are waiting to greet us with glaives, but Katsa hyponotizes them long enough for our volley to end their scheming. We quickly jam all the relevant looking papers into our bags and press on.

Too fast, perhaps, as a trapped door fireballs both the party and our ranger complement. We should really not all stand in a clump in tiny hallways. Doors are hard! And so is our luck, as the room doesn't even contain anything more exciting than an already emptied strongbox and some barrels of water.

The next room at first appears to contain nothing but gnawed upon humanoid remains and dirty straw, but we are quickly greeted by a peryton. The massive stag-headed bird of evil struck hard from above, diving and swooping back out of reach before we could retaliate. A tanglefoot bag brought the beast down in a tangle of dark feathers and we ended its thrashings in a round. Ralan's smite ability to pierce the damage resistance of our foes is, literally, a god-send.

We next come upon a room containing three human-headed abyssal flies, seemingly being used as couriers by their demonic keepers. They engage us by spitting thin streams of acid while blanketing the room with darkness. We retaliate with a wand of daylight and three arrows thud into each one as our rangers let loose. They fall shortly thereafter and we gather a few, hopefully important, documents.

Kesh unlocks the next door in the hallway for us and we move cautiously into a thoroughly burned out library. As we enter, a halberd wielding goatman shimmers into existence and gores Pax. Sitzva identifies it as a Schir type demon and warns us away from its poisoned weapon. Unable to get clear shots into the room, our rangers shuffle around while we lay into the thing. It delivers some nasty strikes to Ralan, Sitzva, and I before our combined might brings it down. We expend some Wand of Cure Moderate Wound charges before breaking down the door across the hallway.

An alabaster basin filled with entrails fills most of the next room and six human zombies fill the rest. We let them come at us single file through the small doorway and take our time carefully slashing them up with no damage to our side. We continue through the fetid room and find a set of stairs leading downward, past the first floor and into some sort of basement. Peering around the corner, Kesh spots a bat-winged minotaur wielding a greataxe and seemingly unaware of our presence. Seemingly overcome with rage at the desecration of this once holy place, Ralan charges in and trades massive blows with the towering brute. After a third blow from the enormous axe he nearly falls, but calls upon the blessing of Iomedae and manages to close some of his gaping wounds. I Haste a good portion of the party, Katsa unleashes a dazzling Burst of Radiance, and Kesh leads the ranger squad in a furious volley-loosing 4 arrows in six seconds. Sitzva forces healing energies into our flagging paladin and we rally, dropping the minotaur just in time for me to Open/Close the now unguarded door.

Inside, a scythe-wielding, tattooed elf woman glows with the fell, enhancing magic the minotaur was buying her time to put in place. Behind her, a large metal cage contains what must be our goal, the wardstone shard. Fortunately, with our Haste still active, she poses no threat and doesn't land a blow before being grappled by Pax and swiftly pin-cushioned.

The party takes a moment to rest and recover as Katsa and I discuss what to do about the shard. Not knowing what will happen, I volunteer Pax to whap it with the Rod of Cancellation and everyone else leaves the room. What a trooper she is, always willing to potentially explode for the, ah, more mortal members of the party. While that doesn't happen, something else even more unexpected does.

In a massive rush we are all shunted mentally through time and space, viewing the lifetime of the wardstone system in mere seconds. Simultaneously, we become aware of a malign presence that we *know* is the demon-witch, Areelu Vorlesh. She casually snuffs the lives of our mongrelmen rangers but is unable to bring the same fate upon us. As the golden light swirls around the room it suffuses our bodies, bolstering us with burning, holy power. That same power overcomes the corrupting influence of Vorlesh's magic and lashes back at her furiously, scourging the flesh from her bones and the membranes from her bat-like wings. The ruined witch manages to sever her connection with the failing wardstones and teleports herself to safety, but not before creating a portal through which five Babau demon's emerge.

Enhanced beyond mortal means by the wardstone's energy, we annihilate the assassin demons with nary a scratch. While the rush of power swiftly fades, I sense that we have changed forever and are truly in the hands of fate now.

(OOC) With the defeat of the Garrison we are now Mythic Tier 1. For those unfamiliar with this additional system, each tier we are granted a Mythic path ability depending on our chosen path. I went with Guardian for the ability to spend a mythic point (we have 5/day) to give Pax an immediate move+attack. I also got the path ability Burst Through which lets me charge through allies and overrun enemies to get at a charge target. Mythic points can also be spent to Surge, adding 1d6 to any d20 roll.

Due to various activities performed while assaulting the Garrison (primarily Ralan's obsessive shrine cleanliness) we are granted a vision of Iomedae and her blessings as we embrace our Mythic destinies. This blessing takes the form of a permanent +5 hp, +2 to a skill of our choice (UMD for me), and a bonus feat (Spirited Charge). This feat also marks the true beginning of my build, granting 3x damage on a mounted charge with a lance. While Pax won't be large enough to ride full-time for another few levels, my Enlarge Person (Pax) and Reduce Person (myself) spells allow me to be mounted with a high uptime and incredible mobility. Let the rocket-tag begin.

Also, my apologies for the lack of updates - we're back on schedule and I've got a back-log to get to work writing up. Expect more very soon!

The long awaited mission: How to Clean Shrines the Iomedaen way

Assault on the Grey Garrison Part 1 

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 9

After obtaining healing from the resident crusader clerics we passed an uneventful night in our quarters in Defender's Heart. We were awoken shortly after dawn the next morning with a request for our presence from Irabeth. The last evening had proven very fruitful for her scouts and she wished to discuss our aid in an important mission.

Essentially, the demons had managed to locate a shard of the shattered wardstone and were intending to corrupt its purpose through a ritual being enacted in the Grey Garrison, a former crusader base of operations across town. Irabeth requested that we infiltrate the Garrison and destroy the shard through the use of a rod of cancellation provided by Quednis, the leader of the Riftwardens library. To assist our attack, she would divide her remaining crusader forces around town and launch simultaneous attacks on key demon holdings far from the Garrison in an attempt to lure them out. While extremely dangerous, our growing reputation as demon slayers and friends of the crusade demands our aid.

Before leaving, Lann of the Mongrelfolk/First Descendants offers us the services of a squad of six rangers to aid in our assault and we readily agree to take them on. After hearing of our mission, Aravashniel also offers us a cache of Riftwarden equipment scavenged from the remains of the library. I picked an exquisite cold iron lance from the pile and we were able to secure enough cold iron arrows for the newly expanded party.

The Garrison lies 400 feet or so ahead of us. Fortunately, we managed to avoid the eyes of any demonic patrols on the way here and seem to have the drop on them. Ahead of us, the building looms, solid and imposing. There is one, small, boarded window that we are able to see, but quickly dismiss it as a viable entry point for our force of 12. Two figures stand to either side of the large front doors, even this far away Kesh is able to identify them as animated corpses. Our assault begins with a full volley by the party. Our new ranger allies acquit themselves well and the corpses fall unmoving well before closing to melee. We spend a moment readying our weapons, buffing (Enlarge Person, Mage Armor and Shield for Pax), and, with a prayer to Eadro, we approach the doors.

Pax is the first one through the door and takes a surprise crossbow volley from the pack of tiefling rogues lurking in the shadows of the entry hall. Our initiative is terrible, giving them a second full round of sneak attack boosted crossbow shots on my poor octopus. Fortunately, with my new level four AC evolution, mage armor, and shield, Pax is up to 28 AC and doesn't just keel over dead. This was a *really* rough start to our assault and I'm pretty sure if any other PC had been the first through that door we'd have started down a man.

The tieflings are no match for our martial fury and go down quickly once we push into melee combat. Our damage output is very high, but we're overall lacking in area of effect capability. The entry to the Garrison is strewn with filth and the leavings of the now, also messy, tieflings. Ralan identifies the next, also filth filled, room as a shrine to Iomedae and, after seeming to suffer some sort of religious seizure, refuses to continue the assault while the shrine is desecrated by tiefling offal. He sets to work scrubbing and washing while the rest of us shrug and press onward. (Ralan was out this session and this was an in-character / tongue in cheek way of occupying him while we proceeded with the session. That is would turn out to have extremely positive repercussions for our party amuses me greatly.)

Pax leads the way, barreling into the next room and we startle a pair of Abracondilu demons enacting a puppet show with the severed head of a crusader as the puppet. They don't appreciate our interruption, but seem suitably receptive to our cold iron criticism of the performance. One bites a ranger, but tis but a scratch.

Continuing our blitz, we clump a bit too much around the next door and everyone suffers a nasty hit from the alchemist bomb that comes sailing out as we open it. Pax rushes in to give the bomb hurler a big tentacle-y hug and I go roll around to stop being on fire. A few more tieflings materialize from behind the statues lining the hallway we are fighting in and rush to clog things up. Due to her Large size, Pax manages to keep hold of the alch for a few rounds as we meat grinder our way through the tiefling mooks, but he finally slips the leash and resumes wrecking our rangers and Katsa with bombs. Fred sets up a triage outside the room and a number of us retreat, on fire, while Pax continues flailing at the alchemist. Finally, the dice fall my way and Pax fells the alchemist in a flurry of claws. We have a healing party and Sitzva helps considerably with a number of positive energy channels.

Quickly searching the alchemist's quarters turns up a fine wooden sword case radiating magic. We throw it in the loot sack and, remembering the duration of our fleeting buffs, head upstairs.

Death of a friend, Irabeth at last, how to walk into traps

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 7

Annevia is dead. Her home was a trap.

Things started out well on the journey across town to her place. Well, in that no one died when we were ambushed by a cat-like howler demon near our destination. While the beast was clever in its maneuvering amongst the rooftops, it posed no real danger once we had a clear line of attack. Kesh continues to prove his worth with an increasing number of well-placed arrows and Katsa seems to be taking pride in showing off her newly enhanced magic missile spell to our foes. My own mastery over Pax's form continues to grow as well, just recently I learned how to augment her physical strength. I'm thinking about adding a horn...

Annevia's home seemed undamaged from outside and she quickly headed in, shouting Irabeth's name. We followed, less loudly. The home was modest, but tastefully furnished. Unsurprisingly, Irabeth wasn't just waiting around for us. She (this note couldn't be fake!) had, however, left Annevia a message to come join her at the Defender's Heart, a rallying point for the survivors across town. I'm guessing reading the message was some sort of trigger, as, with a soft "pop" of displaced air, we were assaulted by two lesser devils, ugly little blobs of flesh known as lemures.

This was startling for two reasons: 1. Similarly to demons, devils are capable of summoning more devils. 2. These two were clearly summoned, which likely means we're under attack by something we can't see.

We shred the two lemures in a flash of cold iron and tentacles just in time to meet the next wave of summoned creatures, three abyssal beetles about the size of my head. Pax isn't necessary to clean these up and I send her flailing through the room, hoping to bump into our mysterious summoner. This maneuver causes our assailant to cease summoning speed bumps and start summoning fireballs, a much more threatening strategy. I catch a glimpse of him as his aggressive spell breaks his invisibility; a medium sized orc in red scaled armor.

The orc's first blast is a tactical disaster and catches all of us except Kesh. Annevia goes down immediately, dead or dying, the rest of us not far off. Ralan manages to knock him down, but our flailing doesn't manage to disrupt his casting. The last I remember is Pax's screech and waves of light bearing me into darkness.

I survived, as did the rest of the party, though it was a very close call. Calling upon his holy healing powers, Ralan managed to weather the blasts while the rest of us were knocked out. Weakened and floorbound, the sorcerer was no match for his righteous fury. Kesh may have done something as well, but this is the story I got from Ralan.

A quick round of healing potions later, we're all back on our appendages and, after a few moments of discussion, decide to take both bodies to Irabeth if she still lives. Eadro smiles on our path and we don't run into anything on our short trip to the Heart.

The large structure was once a tavern, but has been converted into the impromptu headquarters of the remaining crusaders. We flag down a guard who brings Irabeth to us, an armored half-orc female. She catches sight of the bodies we carry and stumbled, but quickly regains control of herself before asking us what has happened and who we are.

Ralan fills her in on where we've been, our information on the cultists, and the death of Annevia. She is clearly saddened by the news, but stoic nonetheless, and excited to hear of our knowledge of the cultists movements. She tells us she will send a contingent to speak to the "First Descendants" under the city, and thanks us for providing a useful ally to the cause.

She also tells us that she had arrested the orc we killed, Vagor, years ago. Apparently he had slipped out of jail during the confusion and was waiting in ambush at her home. Some people can really hold a grudge.

Irabeth wastes no time in accepting us into the cause and enlists our aid to investigate the three cultist safeholds we had identified in Staunton Vale's letter to Hosila. A crusader cleric heals our burns from the fight with Vagor and we decide to head out immediately to the Topaz Solution, the first hideout.

Approaching the building, an apothecaries store, Sitzva casts a spell that allows him to scan the surface thoughts of those around him and sweeps the first floor. The only people inside turn out to be a trio of scavenging mercenaries with a small sack of magical goodies they'd dug out of the ruins. Sensing that our need would be the greater, I trick them into handing the mix of potions, bolts, and scrolls over or risk becoming demonically tainted. My ruse succeeds, but the kitty gets caught with his paw in the cookie jar when he tries to lift some of their coinage as well. Fortunately, it doesn't come to blows and they scoot.

After some searching, we locate a hidden basement filled with magically altered plants and a work area. I summon up a water elemental and instruct him to physically sweep the area for traps before we descend. This works out very well, as the cultists had, in fact, left two nasty surprises for us, somehow knowing that we would be coming. The first is some sort of magical fog that fills the area and causes all sorts of unpleasantness for the few of us that catch a whiff. The second is that one of the plants animates into a blood-thirsty and inhumanly strong mandragora. Ralan and Sitzva don't seem to mind the fog and engage the plant-baby-thing in close range. They suffer considerably from its blood-draining bite, but manage to bring it down.

We find a snarkily insulting message from the cultists after clearing the area. Glad they've got a sense of humor about their impending demise. Ralan scoops up the numerous Iomedaean holy symbols they seemingly left for us to find. With darkness falling, we decide to head back to the Heart and rest before investigating the next hideout.




Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 8

Our next stop is a tower nearby, once used as a guard post by the crusaders. Sensing the structure is inhabited by cultists this time, we manage to bluff our way inside to speak to the leader using Terendelev's scales. Ralan demonstrates surprising self control by continuing our charade and convincing the cultist leader that we were member of another group reporting our patrol of the city. He tells us of the current plans of the demon lord Minago to finish the destruction of Kenabres through the use of a piece of the sundered ward stone. Ralan thanks him by taking firm hold of his robes as the rest of us ram home our weapons. He goes down without a whimper and we secure the large pile of loot the cultists have been collecting. Katsa also makes sure we take a large, magical, brass bull's head mounted on the wall, as it is quite valuable to the right types.

We slay the remaining cultists on our way out and rush to tell Irabeth of the impending threat to Kenabres. As I write this, Irabeth is meeting with her scouts and advisers to determine our course of action. I suspect we will all be involved, but, for now, we can rest.

Out of the depths and why is the sky so red?

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 5 

Everyone seems excited to be off early this morning and we make good time to the area Chief Sull has indicated as the traitor’s compound. On the way, we brainstorm a method to either sneak or bluff our way in, but a number of us are... conspicuous at best. We decide a frontal assault should be sufficient to cow the weak-willed mongrelmen and put that to the test moments later.

The corrupted tribe has prepared the narrow entry tunnel with chest high boulders, but Pax doesn’t give a damn and lets rip a ululating warshriek she has been practicing. Their return volley of crossbow bolts doesn’t stop our charge and we force one to die and the other to retreat. Ralan and Pax go in after him as the rest of us bludgeon the last mongrel down.

The next room is slightly larger, with 3 doors leading off in different directions. Also a lizard and some more mongrels being hacked up by Ralan. The lizard gets the upper-limb on Pax during a grapple, but Katsa blasts it off with a magic missile, saving Pax an untimely trip back to the twisting nether.

As we slay the rest of the mongrels before they can escape, a womanly shriek of pain rings out from behind one of the doors. Ralan valiantly rushes in, presumably in an attempt to rescue the damsel, but encounters only a spider-woman with more arms than is attractive and an arrow along the cheek. Bereft of maidens, he goes and gives her a crushing bear hug anyway. She doesn’t seem to like it and attempts to duck down a hole cut into the floor, but Ralan clings to her like a lost child and we take the opportunity to fill her with holes.

With spider-lady down, we take a moment to survey our surroundings: 

Ralan pokes his head down the hole and narrowly avoids the bolt that whizzes upward to clack against the ceiling.

With his sensitive nose, Kesh lets us know that one of the doors holds nothing but garbage and another fresh water.

Undaunted, Simi starts digging through said trash heap attempting to find Eadro-knows-what. While she doesn’t find anything, a small slime digesting the debris does find her hand and gets to go for a wild ride when it burns her hand. Ralan yanks her out as we shake our collective heads.

We hear muffled chanting from the third door and rush into another battle vs. some nasty looking tiefling clerics that prove no great challenge despite their time spent buffing. We retreat to the crossroads room and Kesh investigates the fresh water smelling door.

He finds a rope dangling down a hole that leads to a small underground river. Seeing nothing, he gives me the all clear and I dive down into the waiting jaws of two large and angry garr. As they rip my tender flesh, Pax alerts the others to the emergency and dives down the hole. Katsa manages to get a bead on me under the water and uses one of Terendelev’s scales to levitate me out. Pax rips up the fish in spite.

With the entire party now on the banks of the small stream someone notices the nearby wall looks a little off and we discover a hidden chamber. Ralan also discovers the hidden pit trap in the chamber, but we lift him out and loot the long forgotten chest for some goodies.

After climbing back up, we continue onward into the mongrel’s complex and soon find further resistance in the form of more crossbowmen and a human woman with a nasty glaive. A wounded Sitzva maneuvers into a close position to nullify the Baphomet worshipper’s longer reach, but is dropped by a mongrel club to the head. Kesh retaliates by feathering the throat of the club wielder in a beautiful shot and we struggle to regain control of the fight.

Ralan and Pax restrain the woman while Kesh and I are beaten to within an inch of our lives, but in the end we triumph with no casualties. Though it was close with a bleeding out Sitzva, Simi and Katsa managed to force a healing potion down his throat at the last moment. Upset at being knocked out, Sitzva begins interrogating the cultist, Hossila, rather severely as the party secures the room.

She admits to being a Baphomet worshipper easily and it is clear she believes her fellow cultists have the upper hand. Eventually, she angers Sitzva sufficiently that he staves her head in with his morningstar before the rest of us are able to stop him. She was rather unpleasant, but I feel we could’ve gotten more information out of her, who knows.

Kesh locates her personal effects and we gather to read through a letter we find on her. 

While thoughts are on escaping this underground hell with our lives at the moment, we should probably check those out if we reach the surface.

Ralan also takes charge of some paladin-loving sword Aravashniel recognizes as the weapon of a previous crusader-hero. I don’t pay much attention to the long and boring human historical details, but the sword is called Radiance and it glows, exciting.

Sitzva takes a moment to tend our wounds and, mostly hale, we proceed down the last unchecked hole. We are attacked by three, large, mangry (mangy AND angry) rats after disturbing their pile of crap. Why does that keep happening!? Run away you freakishly aggressive beasts! We stomp on ‘em and are accosted by two more mongrels as the tunnel narrows. I give them the option of unconditional surrender or certain death. One of them agrees to the certain death by trying to fight, Pax and I are happy to oblige. Simi convinces the other to throw down his arms, and, though he won’t lead us through the maze behind him (citing demons infesting it or some such silly excuse), he agrees to accompany us back to Sull’s village. The others seem convinced that this mongrel can be spared and will aid our fight against the demon. He doesn’t strike me as repentant, but Ralan claims he isn’t evil, so I go along with it.

Back at the village, Sull is happy about our victory over the traitorous mongrel clan and cultist accompaniment. He accepts our prisoner/parolee and reminds us to secure diplomatic terms with the crusader leadership, if such a thing still exists. We rest up and finish healing our wounds. The trip back to the maze entrance is uneventful.

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 6

Turns out that mongrel wasn’t lying, the maze, is, in fact, occupied by a few demons of the lowest order, dretch. Fighting them in the narrow tunnels filled with their own magical noxious breath proves annoying, but they don't present a very large danger with their unimpressive claws. We take turns alternately puking and stabbing them until they get out of the way. The “maze” turns out to be very tiny and un-mazelike, but leads to the surface quickly, so I guess I can’t be that upset.

Kenabres is another story, and “upset” would be one way to describe it. From our vantage in the hills on the SW side of town, it appears that the demons have control of the city. In the distance, the fortress of Kite is a smoldering ruin. The sky above us glows red with arcane lightning and large swarms of giant insects buzz through the air. Rough.

Aravashniel want us to see if the Blackwing Library still stands and claims that is contains information that will aid us. Annevia counters by requesting we accompany her to see if her wife is okay at their home. We agree to help her, but, as the library is closer, we will go there first.

Skirting from ruined building to ruined building based on Aravashniel’s directions we encounter a man and woman about to be killed by an abracondalu, a minor demon of destruction. We rush to their aid and are able to dispatch the beast without a scratch. In between panicked, wheezing breaths, they tell us of the dire situation in Kenabres. The crusaders have been scattered and no longer present a force in the city as far as they know. The demons control the streets and are hunting down the last, few, remaining holdouts. Possession is a possibility with anyone we meet and we will need to rely on Ralan’s senses to guide our trust. They are unaware if the library still stands. I give them some clubs to defend themselves (though they seem not at all eager to fight…come to think of it, why were they wandering the streets unarmed?) and they agree to accompany us for protection.

We reach the library before nightfall, a rather large metal blocky building surrounded by the ruins of a larger structure. Aravashniel tells us that the ruins are the rest of the library, and only the inner sanctum remains. He is deeply troubled by this and tells us of his job as a Riftwarden here at the library, their semi-secret headquarters. He believes they have been specifically targeted for destruction by the demons due to their abilities and the threat they would pose. He demands we head inside to salvage what we can and check for survivors. We comply.

Inside, a rugged man in crusader’s garb is instructing a woman in a robe to pile books around a group of people bound together with rope. Knowing that this isn’t how libraries work at all, Pax, Ralan, Kesh, and I engage the traitorous crusader while Simi and Katsa free the bound librarians. He presents no threat to us after the dangers of the underground and we quickly subdue him. He begs for his life and claims the demons were forcing him to commit these acts. Though the librarians inform us he was just trying to get on the demon’s good side, my companions choose to spare his life in hopes of redemption. He tries to run off at the first opportunity, but both Pax and Kesh’s arrows are considerably faster. I don’t give third chances.

Back at the library, our less blood-spattered members learn that the library was, in fact, intentionally targeted by a man-shaped demon formed of thousands of worms and wielding enormous magical power. Sounds like a mess. Aravashniel decides he will stay at the library to assist further refugees. We will set out soon for Annevia’s home to the north. I don’t actually expect her wife is foolish enough to have stayed there and doubt we will find anything, but the woman is clearly grasping at whatever seagrass she can reach. We agree to accompany her and settle down to tend our wounds and browse through the rubble for anything useful.

Fungus amongus and a perfectly normal looking group of people

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 4

I'm getting sick of this below ground, slithering around business...

We start out the day with a hearty breakfast of travel rations and darkness before moving further into the cave system through the vertical shaft freshly slicked with crazy dwarf blood. After stumbling along for some time we are greeted by an odd sight in a large chamber dominated by a once floor to ceiling tower, now collapsed. Two humanoids seem to be trying to dig something out amidst the rubble and having a hard time of it. With the two beings absorbed by their work, we are able to approach close enough to see that they are both grotesquely melded with animal parts and attempting to free another of their number. 

Apparently sensing no ill intentions, Ralan greets them and asks if we can be of assistance. A man...ish thing introduces himself as Lann and welcomes our aid. I offer to enlarge Paxaea, but the party declines and we collectively throw our backs out hoisting the boulder off the unfortunate mongrelman. Ralan demonstrates a new ability and lays a healing hand on the crushed leg we unearth. While this god given healing does nothing for the deformities of the man, some color does return to his cheeks and he pronounces himself able to travel with aid. Aravashniel is informed of goings on and quickly begins harassing the mongrelfolk with scholarly, none too polite, questions about their origins which they ignore. They seem very happy with the rest of us and offer to lead us to their chieftain who will hopefully be able to guide us to a way back aboveground. We agree and set off on the path they indicate.

A few hours later, our guides are surprised by a small chasm stretching across what they claim was once a useable tunnel. Probably the quake. I drop a lightstone into the depths and we find it is only 30 ft. deep. Kesh climbs the wall around the gap and investigates the far shore, but is unable to locate anything to hitch a line to. We collectively decide that climbing down the crevasse and then back up the other side should work just fine. It does, crisis averted. We proceed.

A few moments later, Lann warns us that he has been forced to lead us down a more dangerous path due to the quake cutting off key routes. Ahead, he says, lies a sporecougher and begins to describe some sort of fungus with hallucinatory poison. One of our bookworms identifies the specimen as some ridiculous sounding fungus and informs us that it possesses hallucinatory poison. Super helpful, that.

I chuck lightstones around the room in question until we spot the thing gloating (or digesting) over its last meal of two oddly accoutered bodies in crusader garb. Never one to let the opportunity to charge something go to waste, Ralan springs into action and rushes the cougher. I send Pax in after him and the rest of the party plinks away with sling bullets and arrows. I must admit, I think I inhaled some of the thing's spores and can't remember the rest of the fight – reminds me of the time I ate that puffer fish on a bet. I wake up a few moments later and have a short chuckle at Pax all covered in spores. Katsa scrapes a pile of 'em off Ralan into a flask and stows it in her gear, perhaps for recreational purposes?

We investigate the corpses and find a healing potion and scroll of fear, along with what Sitzva identifies as a holy symbol of Baphomet, a demon god. This seems fairly damning in conjunction with their glaives and spiked gauntlets, known weapons of that god. Aravashniel takes it as evidence that the cultists have infiltrated the crusaders and seems just a little too excited that his theory was correct. I secure a body to Pax's back to bring to the leadership if we ever manage to escape this place. I also take a moment to swap out my tattered hide vest for one of their fine chain shirts. Looking a proper crusader now, aren't we Pax?

The rest of the trip to the mongrelfolk's village passes without incident with Lann leading us and we arrive shortly thereafter. The village is situated in a very large cavern housing an underground lake with numerous islands upon which the mongrels have carved their homes. Some sort of luminescent green fungus coats the walls of the cavern and I finally dispel the light spell I've had going forever. 

We are ushered in to see Chief Sull, who looks and sounds suspiciously like a rat. Ralan relates our story thus far and the chief claims to know a way back to the surface, but, of course, there is a catch.

The only exit he is aware of lies beyond the territory of another group of mongrelmen allied with the cultists. If we manage to destroy the deviant 40-odd member clan we will have a clear shot at the surface and a ready ally in Sull's united tribes if we manage to convince the crusader leadership they're not all demonically tainted. This seems somewhat suspect, as Sull admits that they are, in fact, the descendants of the cursed first crusaders. Aravashniel is beyond giddy at this fact and continues to pry until Simi tells him off. Sull does promise to provide more information to our inquisitive members if we manage to save the world.

While unable to offer us any manpower due to the increased cultist presence on his borders, Sull is able to provide us with a satchel full of restorative potions and even gives his magical morningstar to Sitzva to smash some traitor skulls in. We take the rest of the day to inquire around town for goods and hawk some of our junk. The mongrels have a stash of magical items they have sifted from the rubble, perhaps it would be worth our time to negotiate in the future for some of them. I take a welcome rinse off in their lake, but don't locate anything interesting beneath the gentle waters. Tonight we'll rest in accommodations provided by Sull and set off early tomorrow to meet the renegade tribe head on.

Human celebrations are much more exciting than anticipated

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 1

I appear to have climbed onto the shores of Kenabres on a fortuitous day, for today is the start of the local Armasse Festival. From speaking to locals, I've learned that primarily human celebration hosts many tests of arms and I have enrolled myself in the jousting tournament which starts tomorrow. Hopefully these softskins will not be too frightened at the sight of Paxaea in her full glory.

 

Following the orders of our seers, I will attempt to contact the leadership of the crusaders here in Kenabres to offer my services as soon as possible. Paxaea tells me that the people here are nervous at our collective appearance, but I have a hard time reading their expressions, so who knows. If they are nervous, they haven't been nervous enough not to take some of the scant coin provided to me for lodgings. The induction/recruitment ceremony starts early tomorrow, so tonight I will take in the sights of the city, perhaps I will attend the opening ceremony presided over by Lord Hulrun – word is it will be quite a show.

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 2

While I may have scoffed at our provisioners for overburdening Paxaea, I couldn't be more happy now. Disaster has befallen Kenabres. The fortress of Kite has fallen, along with its wardstone. Demons are among us. During the opening ceremony of the festival the demon lord Khorramzadeh smote the fortress with a giant pillar of lightning and fire and engaged a magnificent silver dragon which emerged from the crowd — I guess it was in disguise? As the plaza collapsed around our earholes the dragon found the time to save our lives, as well as the lives of a number of weirdos around me, before we all fell to our deaths. My last sight was of the dragon being beheaded. Seems bad, glad I'm down here. 

The plaza has collapsed into some sort of underground cavern system and I, and 9 other strangers, seemed to have survived relatively unscathed. I say relatively, because one of us is now short two eyes, another has a broken leg, and another is grotesquely fat and obnoxious. I'm not sure that last one was because of the demon attack, but who knows.

The one with the burned face is an elf by the name of Aravashnial, a mage of some knowledge and occupant (previous occupant more likely) of Kenabres. He seems the sort to see the fronds from the seagrass, to look forward into the bright future, to lead us all by his great sight and wisdom. I let him direct us as he seems inclined, the more the merrier after all, eh Pax? The woman with the broken leg is Anevia, a scout crusader, she seems to be responding well to this catastrophe and I'm glad to offer her Pax's assistance in moving around. The others in our survivors group introduce ourselves, I sense an aura of power amongst these individuals, almost like they are far more important than the ones I spoke of above.

First is Fred, a woman with bright, shiny red hair and fiery eyes (Pax told me later she thinks the lady might have a bit of divine blood in her) that I quickly found out loses all communicative abilities in times of stress. I'm sure that won't be a problem. 

The next is Katsa, an oddly proportioned woman with an elongated head. I sense magic about her, but she is otherwise inscrutable.

The next introduces himself as Ralan, a human paladin in training/cum altar sweep of Iomedae. His armor is oddly shiny.

Some sort of fuzzy man introduces himself as Kesh, a ranger hoping to enlist in the crusades. He wields a bow with admirable skills, but smells very strange.

A heavily cloaked and robed individual introduces itself as Sitzva, a priest of Pharasma. Something doesn't smell quite right about this one either, but Pax says 1. It is a she. and 2. She is okay. So we're fine for now.

There is also some blue lady, but I can't seem to remember anything about her, perhaps I'll update this entry later.

After introductions, we start to move out across the cavern, but are quickly stopped by a shriek of "spider!" and stop to slay the rather large specimen with no casualties. Some scales of the slain silver dragon apparently landed in its web during the collapse and we quickly scoop up one apiece for the important folk. Fred attempts to convince Aravashnial, Anevia, and Horgus Gwerm to continue accompanying us through the dangerous underground and while the first two seem amenable, Fats McDumb disappears shortly later in a huff. Pax claims his departure will be a net loss as could've fed 'em to some beastie chasing us, but I value my regained peace of mind much higher.

Moving onward into the caverns we spot a backpack likely lost during the collapse near the ceiling of a room. Kesh scrambles nimbly up the slick walls and fetches it down for us. That's a good kitty! It has some healing potions and other useful sundries. We move on.

Into a world of hurt. Well, the whirling cloud of fiery cockroach fury looked painful to everyone else anyway. I stayed out of it. While I admire the zeal of my fellow crusader hopefuls, I wonder if perhaps this fight could not have been avoided by walking away. I guess that tactic will be unlikely to work against our demonic foes, but resources and morale are low for now...

Fortunately, the others manage to disperse the swarm by throwing oil on it and lightning the whole mess up. We find a non-magical pretty little brooch in the remains of a camp and head into the next tunnel.

The next area had sustained some significant structural damage during the collapse, as the poor, partially crushed snake that greets us could've attested to...had Kesh not failed at wooing it with his snakelike ways. It strikes and Pax rips it to shreds. We press on.

A crossroads ahead, and we choose the path presumably less traveled into a funny green glow. Looks exciting. We find a small stone structure with a warhammer motif on the walls, seemingly abandoned in a small cavern. Our more studious party members identify it as a shrine of Torag, some dwarf god that made the universe or whatever. I humor their beliefs, though Pax and I both know the universe was formed by Eadro in his great majesty.

After forcing our way into the structure, Ralan's evil senses go off and we quickly realize the mouldering pile of dwarf we find inside is now possessed of a violent unlife. We dispatch what appears to have been the keeper of the shrine, but not before he rips Pax off this plane. See you soon, buddy! Ralan fires his radar around a bit more and we determine the area is secure for now. A few of the religious folk spend some time reconsecrating the shrine while I scout around with some summoned beasties. Nothing turns up and we spend a quiet night in the creepy dwarf shrine all cozy like.

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 3

Pax had a restful night as well and rejoins us the next morning, or what passes for morning in this lightless pit. Moving on. We enter a large chamber with some martially accoutered statues carved into the walls, all wearing somber expressions. Upon hearing of this, Aravashnial tells us of a long disbelieved legend that the demonically tainted children of the first crusader may have carved themselves a kingdom below Kenabres. Seems possible.

We spot some beasties lurking on the ceiling and get a treatise on the weird things from our party bookworms. While the info that they could summon magical darkness and can fiercely grapple a man's face to death was useful, I could've gone the rest of my life without knowing darkmantle mating habits or the particular magical applications of their droppings. We slay them in a hail of ranged weaponry while they inconvenience us slightly. Pax grabs one of their corpses, still projecting darkness, and totes it along. Might be useful.

Sadly, this does not prove out as we next encounter a thoroughly insane, dirty little dwarf mage that threatens the crusade before plinking Ralan with some magic missles. Tired and angry, we teach him the error of his ways over the next 15 minutes with a rather comical chase up a shaft carved into the rock involving lots of levitation, invisibility and pointed sniffing. We retreat to the freshened up shrine of Torag and recover. Tomorrow we'll climb the shaft and try to find a way out.

Campaign Log of Autec the Landbound, Day 3.5

I woke up last night with Aravashnial's voice echoing in my ears "You're level two now." What a weird dream.