Cheering and clapping as Kalasha freed Cain, Morin backed up further into the metal ruin.  "Okay!"  He said, doing his best to project confidence.  "If we can get it off the sand and into these tight corridors, we should be able to gang up on it and take it down.  Probably! Unless we can't beat it, in which case, uh...well, it doesn't look that fast and we can just run away.  Probably!"

MOVE: Move 15' west and 5' south, through both sets of doors.
STANDARD: Ready lasso to be thrown again.

"I don't know if it will fit."  Zorden observed.  "Which would be good for us, I think."

With Cain clear and the thing pressing up against the opening at the opposite side of the tunnel, Zorden decided to try and dissuade it from following by taking aim at it with his weapon and attempting to shoot it.

Zorden rolled 10,13 using 1d20+6,1d12+2.  Attack, (Potential) Damage

Cain is suitably grateful for Kalasha's help. "Thanks! Now lets get off this damn sand." He retreats through the doors, trying to get Kalasha to follow as well. If they have to fight this beast, at least they can do so on solid ground.

Moving back to the nozzle room.

[Private to Morin Matzylford: I wouldn't count offering the rope of your lasso as 'using' the lasso so that it has to be reset. Especially since Cain got free both times without it. Did you maybe mean to ready an attack instead?]
The party moves back to regroup and make a stand in the metal rooms, but the aberrant monster follows close behind. Zorden fires off a blast of his musket at the encroaching beast but the bullet hits the walls of the narrow stone passage instead. The beast reaches out with innumerable tentacles to grab the walls of the cave and drag itself and its stony shell forward through the narrow passage. Bits and pieces of its encasing scrape and splinter off at the narrowest points but still it moves forward. Soon, a purple, slimy liquid seeps through the sandy floor, carrying bits of sand along with it as it surges into the metal room and encompasses the feet of those in the strange foyer. The slime begins to stiffen around the feet of Cain once again and spread the now familiar tendrils up his legs(Save failed, Cain is Entangled.)
14:35, Today: Dungeon Master, on behalf of Cain, rolled 6 using 1d20 with rolls of 6.  Fort Save DC 14.
New Combat Round, everyone up
Group 0 Map Updated
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/Gamem...onditions/#Entangled
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:35, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Zorden, agreeing with Cain, begins backpedaling towards the doors.

As he goes he pulls a small sachet from a pouch and ramrods it down the barrel of his weapon.

Moving out of the room in whatever fashion is possible without blocking anyone, reloading with a paper cartridge

Cain tries to pull away as well, hacking away at the tentacles holding him in place with his sword.

Attacking tentacles, then trying to pull back 10' if I get free. I think that should be enough to force the monster to the entrance of the cave, if it wants to grab Cain again. I hope. And assuming Cain can even get free.
11:16, Today: Cain rolled 6 using 1d8 with rolls of 6.  Damage.

With an effortful grunt, Kalasha again swung her sword to free her unlucky ally.  She stayed where she was, hoping that he could get some distance and cause its aggression to fall on her.  She thought about making a joking remark about the need for him to learn not to get caught by tentacles but as she had not yet faced the challenge, she bit her tongue and focused on the duty at hand.


10:07, Today: Kalasha Roadsworn rolled 21,13 using 1d20+5,2d6+9 with rolls of 16,1,3.  Power Attack to free Cain.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Mon 17 Jan 2022.

As Cain, Zorden, and presumably Sesla backed off, Morin waited by Kalasha.  He would have preferred to back up a little more, but this should be fine.  If the beast moved just a bit closer, then Cain and Kalasha would both be able to move forward and strike through the doorway of the nozzle room.

Swinging his lasso above his head in a rough approximation of competence, Morin waited for the beast to get close enough to rope a tentacle.

READIED: Lasso Attack when the beast gets within 10'.  Total of 20 to hit touch AC. Entangles on hit.  2 hp, AC 10, Can escape with DC 15 escape artist or 23 str as a full-round action.

As Sesla and Zorden back off to prepare, Cain and Kalasha work together in scraping the grasping tendrils from the rogue before moving into the next room. The mass of tentacles whips one at Cain as he exposes his back but to little effect as it must reach around the narrow cave walls. It continues to drag itself forward, forcing the heralding layer of slime ahead of it to envelop the feet of Cain, Kalasa, and Morin but as it nears the gnome sends out a large loop of rope and manages to catch a few of the tentacles and cinch them tight together. The beast flails wildly at the inconvenient rope, but it and Morin manage to hold fast against the struggle.
New Combat Round, everyone up
Group 0 Map Updated
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/Gamem...onditions/#Entangled
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamem...ng/combat/#Squeezing

With the beast distracted by Morin's rope and trying to maneuver in the close space, Zorden attempted to shoot it again.



OOC: Zorden rolled 8,9.  Attack, (Potential) Damage

"Ha!"  Morin crowed in triumph as his lariat finally caught something.  "I got it!"

Watching the creature futilely struggle against it's bonds, the bard added: "You know, we might have overestimated just how dangerous this thing is.  Sure, it has a lot of tentacles, but it still seems mostly 'armless."  This pun, like all puns, put everyone who heard it in the mood to hurt something.

STANDARD: Use last round of inspire courage, giving allies +1 to attack and damage.

Kalasha smirked at the pun.  "Fortunately armless is not the same as unarmed, or I'd have to think about letting it keep on violating Cain's personal space," she returned.

Growing serious again, she stepped up next to the beast and swung with all her might, hoping to break through the carapace and damage the creature within.



Free: 5' adjust to be adjacent
Standard: Attack - power attack, inspire courage - 21 to hit, 15 slashing damage

00:25, Today: Kalasha Roadsworn rolled 21,15 using 1d20+6,2d6+10 with rolls of 15,2,3.  Attack the beat beast: Power Attack, Inspire Courage.  (this is at the monster, not the bard.)

Finally free of tentacles, Cain follows after Kalasha to slash at the monstrosity chasing them. His sword does little more than tickle the monster, but it's still better than staying in the back and listening to Morin's puns.

Edited my post. 5' step forward and attack. Likely minimal damage.
17:01, Today: Cain rolled 17 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 11.  Attack.
14:27, Today: Cain rolled 2 using 1d8+1 with rolls of 1.  Damage.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:09, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

If the monstrosity could scream it would probably be as hideous as the mass of tentacles looks, but instead it merely quivers, recoils, and flails about wildly as Kalasha's blade cracks through its coral shell and sinks deep into the center of the shapeless mass. Fleeing from the cause of such pain, the beast easily rips free from Morin's grip and drags the lasso along with it and it's bound tentacles as others pull it rapidly back down the narrow cave(AoOs from Cain and Kalasha). Zorden fires his musket at the fleeing beast, but although the flintlock flashes brightly there is no bang and no bullet. [Private to Zorden: Rolling 2 is a Misfire, the musket is now considered Broken.]
New Combat Round, everyone up
Group 0 Map Updated
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/Gamem...onditions/#Entangled
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamem...ng/combat/#Squeezing
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:40, Wed 19 Jan 2022.

With the creature on the run, Zorden worked on clearing the fouled charge from his weapon.

He knew it would be even worse to use now until he had time to properly address it, but it wasn't as if he'd made good use of it thus far.

"Keep it up with the lasso - maybe more people could help hold it back?"  Kalasha called over her shoulder.

She kept her focus on using her greatsword for what greatswords are good for.  She again capitalized on the tentacular beast's desire to escape and murder more helpless prey as she continued her powerful swings - once as it tried to flee, and again as she charged headlong after it.

Attack of opportunity: 32 dmg if 20 hits and crits are good, otherwise 12.
Full round action - Charge attack: 17 dmg  (-2 to Kalasha's AC until next turn)

22:16, Today: Kalasha Roadsworn rolled 24,17 using 1d20+5,2d6+9 with rolls of 19,3,5.  Attack of Opportunity.
22:17, Today: Kalasha Roadsworn rolled 20,20 using 1d20+5,2d6+9 with rolls of 15,5,6.  Crit Confim and extra damage: attack of opportunity.

22:18, Today: Kalasha Roadsworn rolled 2325,12 using 1d20+57,2d6+9 with rolls of 18,2,1.  Power attack Charge.  (strike throughs because I forgot to fix numbers for charge before rolling)
This message was lightly edited by the player at 03:23, Thu 20 Jan 2022.

As the beast attempts its silent, frenzied flight away from Kalasha and her great blade the Paladin lashes out once again, hewing apart more of the monster's coral carapace and sinking deep into the center of the mass of tentacles. Tentacles spasm about futilely and aimlessly for a few moments and the pool of slime sloshes about on the floor before the purple aberration falls still and quite dead, the pile of tentacles and their rocky home clogging up much of the stone tunnel.
Ghelarn defeated! 150 XP each.

"Well struck. Wouldn't want to face you in battle, Kalasha." Cain comments the fight as he examines the dead monster.

Can we get over it, or do we have to drag it out of the tunnel first?

Morin and his unseen servant did their best to help clear the path with the others, and performed a quick probe of the massive, coral-encrusted corpse.  He didn't expect the tentacle beast to be carrying a coinpurse, but you never knew until you looked.

"That was certainly... something."  Zorden remarked.

"Are we pressing on, or going back to regroup and resupply before heading into whatever cave area that thing lived in?"  He asked as he watched from the metal room as Morin poked at the thing.

Kalasha grabbed onto the lasso and helped pull the beast out of the path.  "It's unfortunate that our 'exchange' had to end here," She commented drily as she hauled on the rope.

She looked over and responded to Zorden.  "I'm good for pressing on if everyone else is."

Zorden shrugged.  "As long as you don't mind continuing to do all the work."  He answered Kalasha with a wry sort of smirk.

"Y'know, I can't help but feel like we're pushing our luck here."  Morin added cheerfully as the party moved further into the cave.  "We're just rolling the dice that Kay can knock down everything we run into, because the moment she gets stunned or dropped or hypnotized or whatever, we're all dead.  Well, you boys might be fine.  It's like that old joke: You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your friend!  Either way, it's exciting!  I love a good gamble!"  There was not a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"So, what's next?  Sef mentioned a metal drider, living coral, and...four armed skeletons!  I wonder if they're real skeletons, or just some skeletal-looking robots?"

"Well, at least one of us is full of enthusiasm then. Let's see where this cave leads to and we can figure out our next move from there." Cain doesn't bother searching Morin's remark for sarcasm. Putting his words into action, he again takes point and enters the passage.

Looks like we are in favor of continuing on for now? See what's there (maybe find some loot if there is any?), then decide if we wish to go back? Unless somebody stops him, Cain will push on, and hopefully will not get stuck in something this time.

Kalasha tilted her head at the gnome.  "Gambling is commerce committed by fools.  We've already overcome the metal drider and the coral, and everyone is mostly healthy.  As long as we do not let the four-armed skeletons near Ses, I think we should be fine."

She quickly follows Cain, ready to help him out of whatever trouble he discovers.