Roger, historically, your picks had to be in before kickoff of the games.  Tann has allowed in the past for people to just drop the Thursday night pick and then to pick the weekend games later, if you so prefer.

Looks like the party leader has a call to make.  Either call might save the group.  Or might doom it (or part of it).

Just to make sure that everyone understands the rules - if you turn and run from melee, every enemy in range gets a free shot at your back, ignoring your shield bonus and most bonuses related to dexterity.  You're talking about roughly ten extra attacks at the group. 

Zombies do suck, but it's a serious risk - especially to those with fewer HP. 

Of course, if you stand and fight, you are committed.  Disengaging probably won't be an option again. 

You guys beat similar odds in the Inn already... but the dice were kind.  I really didn't see y'all getting into this exact situation, so this encounter has become more difficult than I imagined it would be.

Of course, citizen.

All memories up to the last few moments before death are available to the replacement clones.  Friend Computer has decided in its infinite wisdom that memories of death could cause serious mental health issues. 

An unfortunate side effect of this is that it can prevent clones form remembering who may have betrayed them, if such a thing were to ever occur...

Sure, I'll play!

I figured you were kidding, Brom.  Just wanted to toss that out there.  I think that "Gib the fallen priest, saddled with guilt, seeking redemption for his sins" would be an incredibly compelling read, but you might not speak to me after he loses divine favor, so I wanted to be sure that you understood the implications of that.

lol @ every bitch for themselves.

Sorry, nope.  If you're raised as zombies, you have no minds, so there is no RP.  Ghouls have intelligence and cunning, but the change ruins their minds; little but madness and hate and hunger remain. 

An "undead servants of D'hurgen" has some shine to it, though... I can dig it. 

Just going to point this out, in case you hadn't considered it - Therassor's teachings are all about honor and chivalry and doing battle for justice and good and the "right" things.  While his teachings do not forbid retreat in and of itself - it is obviously wise to live to fight another day in many cases - abandoning a companion to an undead buffet will probably be viewed as a big, ugly sin in that religion.

edit - no doubt, great post there, breebles.

Turn undead is a once per encounter power.  Both priests have used it in this fight; it's not avialable any longer. 

Cedric's staff is still glowing. 

I mean, I'm all for trying to throw Kith into a tree.  It sounds entertaining (if not super good for her HP). 

Eol is 100% correct.  Ghoul paralysis prevents any movement, but it does not impact consciousness or the senses.  She is fully aware of her surroundings, can feel, see, hear, smell, etc.  This is why death by ghoul is quite horrible; you cannot move to escape, but you can feel every bite, every tear as they eat your guts.  They seem to favor ripping out entrails while you are still alive and in unthinkable agnony.

ROFL

You are the best sort of player, no doubt.

>Lol, I thought that you might have forgotten about my bow. I ain't no cheater!

Sweet.  I'll make sure that Kith's death is quick and painless.

>Though I *do* remember Ch'dau learning Meteor, so I think we should all honor that.

Scratch that.  Queuing up one abomination baby to claw its way out of her womb now, to feed on her guts while she begs for a death that will not come...

It's like Wreck it Ralph. 

I'm bad, and that's good.
I will never be good, and that's not bad.
Tthere's no one I'd rather be than me.

I am back to working on a modern, flicker-free chat.  We shall see...

Oh, sure.  Adventurers throwing weapons around all willy-nilly, sticking them in trees and so forth, but **I** am the bad guy.

Yeah, okay.

I mean... scouting is a great idea.  Anyone can hear Gib from a mile away. 

Alone in the dark woods with ghouls... that's where you went wrong.

Thanks for the shortbow reminder, I had forgotten. 

I'ma go see if I can pick up some SZR!

Haha.  Gib's crossbow isn't stuck in a tree like Ch'dau's falcata, but he's going to have to survive this fight to use it.  Recall that he dropped his crossbow in order to rapidly draw his blade.  The weapon is undamaged, but it's on the forest floor behind the zombie line.

Maybe Kith can sneak around and go get it for him when she wakes up. 

Peeing out the fire?  I like it!

If you guys do elect a full retreat, I need to know how you will proceed if any of those "free shots" result in a party member being downed.

As a gentle reminder, I do use optional bleed out rules (aka death's door):

+ hit points = character is up and able to fight, function, etc
0 hit points = character is unconscious, but stable. 
- hit points = character in unconscious and bleeding out. 

If a character is at negative hit points, they lose at least 1 HP per round (can be more if they have a particularly terrible wound).  A character's class and constitution scores determine how low into negative HP they can go.

Warrior - base -10
Priest - base -8
Rogue/mage - base -6

Any con bonus (or penalty) modifies this.

If a character reaches their "death number", that's it.  They are dead.  Given that no one in the party has resurrection magic, and that none of you are distinguished enough heroes for a deity to likely consider weakening themselves to grant such a miracle, anyway... their adventuring career is over. 

If a dying character is bandaged, they can be stabilized (healing check required).  No HP will be regained, but the threat of immediate death is removed.  If a bandaging character does not have the healing proficiency, they can still attempt to stop bleeding, but will receive a penalty to their check.

If a dying character is magically healed, they gain whatever HP from the spell and they are stabilized (even if still at negative HP).  The threat of immediate death is removed. 

Mages lose the ability to cast spells until they rest after visitng death's door..

Death number examples:

Midge is a mage with a CON of 15 (+1 modifier).  His death number is -7. 
Gib is a priest with a CON of 11 (0 modifier).  His death number is -8.
Aranwen is a warrior with a CON of 15 (+1 modifier).  His death number is -11.

I have a fantastic tactical suggestion.

First, open up some barbeque sauce.  It can help some with the gamey flavor of certain humanoids (*cough cough* Midge *cough cough*), but will be appreciated all around.  Luckily, you have no khords in the party, so you can chalk that up as a "bright side" item. 

Well, I dunno how tactical this is, but the zombies will likely appreciate the effort...

It's dark, wooded, and chaotic.  It's really hard to say.  Everytime you cut one down, it seems another takes its place. 

Spitballing, you'd have to guess that you are outnumbered two or three to one.

She is defrosting.  It might be a round, it might be four.  Who knows?

I mean, **I** know, but you know what I mean...

You may want to provide actions for Kith to take IF she gets up.  Of for me to mock.  Whatevs.

If the party turned tail and ran, they could absolutely outdistance the zombies.  Zombies are quite slow - fast enough to continue pressing you as you defensively withdraw, but not fast enough to keep up with even Midge at a full run.  Do note that zombies do not tire, do not rest, do not stop.  This means that if they know where you are, it is very difficult to actually escape them.

As for repercussions?  If you turn your back on melee range foes, they each get a free attack at your backs, with said attacks at bonus levels (shields don't count, most of Aranwen's defensive bonuses require him to be facing a foe and aware of them, dexterity bonuses are lowered or removed... you cannot dodge what you cannot see).  

Are you tough enough to soak that damage?  What do you do if they take down even one of your number? 

Hindsight being 20/20, it probably would have been more profitable to either (a) grab Kith and run immediately, not trying to heal or turn undead... or (b) get her behind you, keep an eye on her, and have Ch'dau's considerable martial abilities in your defensive line. 

Of course, (a) could have led to an ambush, to someone tripping in the dark woods, etc... and (b) could have led to a ghoul sneaking behind you to kill Kith, ala Atharis.  So you may have been danged if you did, danged if you did else, danged if you didn't. 

Not that you still couldn't get flanked now...

I wanted to give you folks a chance to step in.  We're three or so rounds into battle.  The main party is making very slow progress in the tactical withdrawal, as the foes refuse to break engagement.  The turning of the undead resulted in nine(!) zombies being removed from the fight, but you are still badly outnumbered.  I have thus far resisted the urge to have a rapeghoul paralyze Ch'dau and end the satellite party, though I am unsure where I have found the willpower to do so.

Note that slow moving as they are, the zombies are beginning to overtake you with your "fighting retreat" tactic - it's not a line versus a line any longer, it's a longer line beginning to wrap around the flanks of a shorter one.

Health:
Ch'dau - light wound
Aranwen - moderate wounds
Gib - light wound
Kithran - moderate wounds
Midge - moderate wound
Cedric - moderate wounds

Magic:
Midge has six mana points remianing.

Cedric is down one 1st level spells and one bonus light spell. 

Heedless of anything else, Cedric focuses solely on tending Kith's wounds.  His prayers to Solanis do not go unanswered, and the worst of the rogue's injuries are miraculously improved.

Gib drops his crossbow and weilds his blade aloft, crying out to Therassor to turn the undead abominations.  The Honored General likewise does not abandon his servant, and a huge swath of the shambling creatures fall back as if burned, fleeing from the might of the god.

Ch'dau pulls at his falcata, but the blade is buried deep in the tree trunk and will not budge.  Without time to wrestle with it, he abandons the blade and scoops up the motionless form of Kithran, though distaste for withdrawal seems to radiate from his very fur.

Midge whips a stone through the night, where it connects solidly against the stomach of one of the rotters, though the abomination seems to not even notice.

And then, the zombies are upon you.

Cedric and Gib are both pummeled by the initial onslaught.  The young man pulls his holy symbol aloft, commanding the undead to flee in the name of Solanis.  Several do, but many more take their places. 

The cleric of Therassor bashes with his shield, knocking a zombie back - but it cannot fall far due to the press of bodies. 

Midge intones an incantation, steps up, and flames leap from his fingertips, setting three of the zombies ablaze.  One collapses, but the two other press on, one delivering a punishing blow to the cidal.

Aranwen lays about with her blade, felling two of the undead.   

The group gives ground, tries to stay cohesive, but the numbers of their foes are great.  The moments that follow are tense, fraught with peril.  Aranwen trips on an unseen root as she retreats, and is able to recover by the slimmest of margins before her blade touches the soil.  Cedric is struck again, as is Aranwen.  Gib fells another.  After recovering, Aranwen wounds another greatly, but all told, it is all that the comanions can do to hold them off.

Meanwhile, Kith moans, begins to twitch a bit - feeling is beginning to return to her body. 

Ch'dau has tried to not outpace hids companions by too much, to stay only far enough ahead to keep Kith safe, but it is obvious that his blades are sorely missed.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Sure enough, the duty roster needed updating.

Please refer to page 1 of the thread, on the post titled "hijacked - schedule per station" - this schedule is 100% accurate as to who is on duty in a given shift.