We started with more character changes. Wade had loaded the latest version of Brisco and updated his token accordingly. However, it didn’t seem like Dave had 100% decided that was the way he wanted to go. But after a month of discussion and indecision, Wade decided. So, he’s still a Druid but made Storm his primary and Leaf his secondary and dropped Wild. Storm’s focus spell is a good ranged damage spell. And while it could be debated how comparable the combat wild shapes are, the bottom line was that Dave had only used it once in 5 levels. And with a side of Medic. This makes him more of a caster and a better Battlefield Medicine healer. Wade also gave him a +1 returning trident for his troubles. Dave Green made a few changes as well. He dumped Darkvision since he’s not going to be sneaking out front anymore and took Shield Block and that Reenforced shield we earned for saving that dwarf. That qualified him for the Bastion dedication which he took at 4th. That net effect was that it made him tougher. Good now that DS stayed a caster and didn’t change to Champion as had been discussed. Once DG updated his character and DS updated his spells, we were ready to go.
First up was the last ghost on level 3. The book repairer. The previous ghost, we tried to talk into “moving on” but ended up fighting. We assumed the same would be true with this one. Wade pointed out that by merely defeating a ghost in combat, it would eventually return. So, we debated whether to even try but decided to give it a shot. She was still busy going through the motions of repairing the piles of books in her room. We tried to talk to her and make Recall Knowledge rolls but got nowhere. I think Paul suggested that if we removed the damaged books, she’d think she was done. And maybe she could rest. We moved them out, politely, however once gone she stayed at her workbench waiting for more. We then realized she was linked to her tools. We moved them out, politely, and she finally moved on. Her long dead body had a Crafter’s Eyepiece (+1 on crafting rolls, repair hit points equal to 10+10 per skill rank on a success and 15s on a critical success), a key and a gold paperweight. We moved on as well.
That last hostile being on this level was the Wood Golem guarding Belcora’s private library. Last time, we couldn’t touch it and only survived because we got out of the room. But TerStegan was confident (and eager for riches) this time. DG suggested we use its (hoped) inability to leave its room and pepper it from range. However, that would leave TerStegan mostly idle so he decided to do it his way. Basically, let him go toe to toe while the rest tried to keep him up. Once again, after the first round, it was untouched and we were battered. It didn’t help that TerStegan went last. Oakwood and Brisco used half their actions trying to keep him up. As usual, he was doing the lion’s share of the hitting and damage. The rest were either missing, failing or bouncing off its resistances. Its retribution reaction attacks were taking a toll on us but the key was TerStegan who never went down. A couple of highlights. TerStegan got good use out of his new Bless spell, getting hits from that +1. Oakwood’s Protector Tree took 30 points of damage once there was a gap for him to place it. And Brisco did a ton of healing with his spells and improved Battlefield Medicine. As is usually the case with a 4 on 1 battle, it was dire for 3 rounds and then over. The room had 4 bulk of old history books on Absolm worth a projected 20 gps. On to the 4th level.
We had previously explored two areas down there. The dining room and torture chamber which had several unexplored doors. Or the Mad Ranger(?) and his pet wolf that Otari’s ghost had led us past. We elected to follow Otari although I’m not sure that spirit has our best interests at heart. We decided to treat the Ranger as a haunt and try to figure out what he wanted. Our Druid talked to him but rolled poorly. He did manage to get him to stop growling and start talking. But it was a “None Shall Pass” dead end. We started to talk about bribing him or just going past him when initiative was rolled. As always, the monster went first, Brisco next and TerStegan last. It cast a 4d12 Lightning Bolt at everyone but Clarisa. (Once again, we were fighting in a 5-foot hallway, stacked up against each other.) So, it was a Druid. DS was insistent that this should have given him an advantage in the previous negotiations, Druid to Druid, but Wade was unmoved by his repeated pleas.
The wolf moved up to block the way and we attacked. In general, both sides rolled poorly. Oakwood did roll two 20s in the same round and took out the wolf. But the Druid went next and healed it back up. But then TerStegan took it down again. At this point, the Druid cast Grease in our hallway and retreated. TerStegan and Oakwood saved but Brisco fell. TerStegan was on its edge so he could move freely and chased after him. The rest faced a DC26 Reflex save for each square moved or taking 5-foot steps without the risk. They did that but it delayed them a round. The Druid then cast a Wall of Thorns which, in addition to causing damage and difficult terrain for those walking through it, gave him cover from most of us. But it was just another delay tactic. TerStegan mostly exchanged misses with him while the rest of us tried to get into the fight. When the Druid was almost out, he jumped into the lake below the platform we were fighting on. TerStegan jumped in after him. And missed. Oakwood and Clarisa manged to get a ranged shot but missed as well. (His AC and Defenses and damage reduction were the usual big numbers for a single foe.)
At this point it was after 1:30AM so the chronicler went to bed. I assume he was finished off unless he turned into a fish and swam away. Or maybe they stopped to start again next time. Underwater combat was another untapped section of rules that will probably take time to dig into. Unless Wade storyboarded his defeat, they probably stopped. There’s one door in there but Otari’s ghost went over the lake and into a cavern/corridor so maybe we head that way.
