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Excalibur: a NeoGAF Pathfinder Play by Post Campaign

M

Mike M

Nick N
Dreadstone tails along as the Ruby Keep forces sweep forward ahead of him, wiping the Orphan forces away as they progress. Here and there one of their number yields and surrenders, but lacking the manpower to take them into custody, the men settle for hog tying them with manacles and rope for the time being. It'll last until one side or the other wins and can spare the time and manpower to deal with them properly.

Coming upon the fallen Jake, Dreadstone pulls up short, kneeling down to inspect the corpse and its bizarre encrusting of crystals.

"What the hells happened to 'im?" he asks of Draco.
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
"Other then me killing him, I'm not entirely sure..." Draco says as he begins to study the body, hoping to figure out 'What the hells happened to 'im'.

((can I make a Knowledge check for this?))
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
Still riding a wave of exuberance from the fight, Tiberious sombers up when coming upon the deceased Jake.

"Damn, wasn't expecting to see him down here, especially not like this. The man loved his booze. Shit, he could drink me under all kinds of tables. I never had him figured for a bad guy though."
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
"Me either," Dreadstone mutters. "Why on earth would he throw in with this lot? What would they have t'offer 'im?"

Raising his eyes to the darkness ahead, he adds, "Wonder what other surprises they got fer us."
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
At the campsite where Jake was found, a glow that shines within the deep orange of the flames that light your way can be found. It is a shattered mug for drinking, and apparently whatever contents it had has crystalized the ground around it as well.

<That was a detail I had already shown earlier. Knowledge Arcana or Religion for more information.>
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
Thaddeus reunites with the others as they mull over the drunkard's body.

"Good to see you're all well," he says. "A number of good men died today, but I'm confident in declaring this a victory for the Kingdom. All that's left now is to find the divining necromancer and Excalibur, yes?"

((I don't think Thaddeus ever encountered Jake, so he won't comment on the body. This is more of a checking-in type post))
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
None of what Draco sees before him lines up with any official Arcanic studies he's partaken in, suggesting something entirely new. Being a brilliant liquid that crystalizes surrounding objects lines up with Dorthlenne's notes that you've procured and read about a vast pool of water formed by the blood of the gods.

Jake most likely injested the liquid to boost his power in some way.
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
"Whatever it is, there's 'posed t'be a lot more where that came from," Dreadstone remarks. "We find it, we find Excalibur."
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
<I'll need to prepare some stuff for the next battle. Just a fair warning, once that battle is done I'm going to be taking full control over events so I can end this game ASAP and not have any unexpected things causing delays. I'm ready to kill this campaign ASAP so please let me have some freedom to do so.>
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
In the aftermath of the battles, you regroup with the army and take a count of the casualties incurred during the battle.

In total, most of the losses come from soldiers following Tiberious' lead instead of obeying orders and being taken advantage of for attempting to mimic a fighting style unsuited for fighting as a unit. Those that had survived are being grilled for their disobeying commander's orders and risking the loss of everyone.

The rest of the soldiers managed to exceed expectation of survival based on original calculation of risks in the orders given thanks to the party managing to act as the brunt of the power in the army, showing great strength that surpasses sheer numbers. Everyone is soon hailed as heroes for their great feats, and although Tiberious is asked not to lead soldiers any longer, it is followed up with saying that Tiberious would save more lives this way as he alone racked up an astronomical kill count.

Draco's efforts won't be left unappreciated. His assassination of key leaders of the Orphan unit prevented them from retreat and reporting back to superiors.

You are able to continue on, albeit with a much smaller force to work with. It is calculated that there is still a couple of days before you will reach Wormwood where the geographical artifact is located.
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
Initially, Tiberious takes offense to the suggestion that he should no longer lead soldiers, and is on the verge of going into a poorly thought out spiel on how the soldiers didn't adopt his moves well enough as a line.

This is quickly forced out of his head when they speak of how well he did on his own, putting him back in the more comfortable area of having his gladiatoral ego stoked. "Oh, I see! When fighting around people already fighting, the best thing to do is just go all out instead of trying to get them involved too!" Tiberious looks for a notepad or something to jot some notes down on, in case he ever finds himself giving a combat performance for people who are themselves in combat while he's performing combat.

As the party continues on, Tiberious continues telling outlandish stories to the smaller group of soldiers. They are not as well received, due to the combination of many of the soldiers having been chewed out for following Tiberious, and the perception among some of them that Tiberious is directly responsible for the deaths of many of their friends. Sure, they still respect his combat prowess, and for everyone who blames him for most of the deaths, just as many think of his incredible kill count as an important portion of the victory. Still, even with respect and even admiration from many of the soldiers, those joint stigmas are hard to overcome. Those who do more than just shoot him angry glares or ignore him listen to the tales warily, taking them as nothing more than the ramblings of a crazy man.

Naturally, Tiberious fails to connect the change in treatment with his actions on the battlefield. He just assumes that the soldiers are missing candy after being underground for so long, and hands a considerable amount of gold to one of the wizards, instructing him to go out and get sweets for everyone.

Upon an explanation from the wizard, the soldiers look at the candy as a cheap attempt to gloss over the mass of deaths. When it fails to return things to the way they were, Tiberious decides that they're just collectively cranky from homesickness, something he can't pay a wizard to fix.
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
<Welp, I'm moving on.>

Blades clash against shield once more, screams of agony from both sides echo in the underground, bodies silhouette against the glowing light protected by the enemy army.

Days have passed, and you have encountered the force protecting the pool of the gods behind them. Your Wizards scramble to call for reinforcements to arrive, the soldiers along side you struggle to out fight Excalibur's most well trained, the most close to her that you have seen on the Island before.

A scout arrives to meet Dreadstone and the others, "There's a great cave full of crystal ahead, and the leader is back there.. and some kind of huge lizard creature." A nearby commander tells the party, "Let us handle the main force! We need you to get to Lucretia and take her out once and for all!"
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
KittenMaster said:
"There's a great cave full of crystal ahead, and the leader is back there.. and some kind of huge lizard creature."
Click to expand...
ooxseHo.png
Click to expand...

Dreadstone is all too happy to relinquish command to one of his subordinates. Not only have they proven themselves capable warriors, but for this battle there is no one he would send to face their opponent other than himself.

Tightening the straps of his armor, he unslings his bow and checks the positioning of his quiver at his hip. "It's been an honor servin' with all y'all," he says grimly as the core party reassembles once more to venture forth into the unknown one last time. "Let's put that wench down once and fer all."
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
Tiberious can barely contain his excitement. A final showdown? An unexpected giant lizard? It's so dramatic! And dramatic is perfect for him. Eager to get do this, he falls in with Dreadstones and the others.

"Our big finale as a team, huh? We'll have to make it one hell of a manly finale."
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
"It is not so dramatic as all that," notes Thaddeus. "This is naught but a routine arrest, if perhaps somewhat more high profile. As for a giant lizard, I wager you've encountered larger specimens on Dinosaur Island. Come, let us bring this criminal to justice."

((If at any point the enemy comes into sight without a battle immediately initiating, I want to activate my sword so that I get a Haste attack))
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
"A dragon? I'm not about to take this one lightly..." Draco says as he pulls out some supplies. He then hands two extracts to Thaddues, Ablative Barrier(makes for a sick combo with you swift action lay on hands) and Fly, then two more to Leo, Blur and Spider Climb and gives one last one to Dreadstone, it being Greater invis(this one is a short duration so you don't want to use it till we are at least 1 round away from fighting).

Draco then, of course, pops a few extracts for himself. These being his mutagen and extracts of Fluid Form, Expeditious retreat, Heroism and Shield.
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
KittenMaster said:
<I'm gonna time limit it to one turn worth of buffing (unless you want me to stack buffs as well).>
Click to expand...

((If the dragon has reason to believe we are coming, I don't see why not. Unless we are already face to face with it, then that might be weird. If we don't have dispel magic(i think paladin is the only class that has it in our group, and he's got that -3 caster level to worry about), that's our problem. Should make the fight interesting at least.))
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
KittenMaster said:
<Well, if you want to do a huge battle preparation, I will most likely do so as well.>
Click to expand...

((I'd rather not spend time in the battle buffing if i can avoid it, I imagine the dragon would feel the same. And I assumed he is probably waiting for us and it will take us time to reach him anyways, so he'd have time to buff either way. Unless he is less then 40 feet away from us on the other side of a door or something.
IDK does everyone else wants to risk him casting four buff spells on himself(or three, since one round of buffing is apparently free for us)?))
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
((I'm fine either way. I guess it comes down to whether you think the buffs we're getting will be a net positive or negative when considered with the dragon and Lucretia buffing up. I can also finally use my potions and oils if we're going the everyone buff up route))
 
Jackben

Jackben

bitch I'm taking calls.
((This is the part in the RPG where every item that you've saved up for hundreds of playtime hours gets used, like those ethers or that mega elixir you didn't want to use because you never know if you might need it later))
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
((I took additional reinforcements as given.

I vote for not doing further buffing, seems that we'd just end up at a draw or disadvantage with the enemy getting equal time.))
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
((Looks like I'm the deciding vote so I'll vote for buffs all around for everyone. Buffing during battle always feels like a drag to me anyway, and if its the final battle then I want to feel like I'm operating at maximum capacity))
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
((I actually thought it was just gonna be the dragon or w/e... if there is more stuff, then I really want to buff up before the fight. Also its pretty much the only way I can actually make good use of my extracts.))
 
T

ThLunarian

Member
((Finally getting around to applying that 11th level. I'm also casting Bull's Strength on myself now that I remembered I could do that. I'll be ready by the time your next post is up.

Rolled a 3 on my HP (boo), putting me at 86 max HP))
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
ThLunarian said:
((Finally getting around to applying that 11th level. I'm also casting Bull's Strength on myself now that I remembered I could do that. I'll be ready by the time your next post is up.

Rolled a 3 on my HP (boo), putting me at 86 max HP))
Click to expand...

((We're level 12 now, thanks to the chrismas bonus level))
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
((Since we're buffing up, I'll go ahead and drink the potions Draco gave me. Also consuming my potion of barkskin +5 and putting Greater Magic +5 on his Falcata. Right before we enter the room, using his potion of enlarge person too, since that one's on a shorter time (one minute) ))
 
D

DeadPhoenix

Member
Mike M said:
((Baaaah, gonna have to consult prepared spells when I get home. I know I've at least got Gravity Bow on tap.))
Click to expand...

((Hope you got instant enemy prepared... although you have to use that one in combat, but its a swift action i think, so probably not a problem.))
 
M

Mike M

Nick N
((Sorry for the slowdown in posting, I’m getting hit six ways from Sunday between work, photo work, and the fact that I’m scrambling to fly out of town this Friday for some more photo stuff. Chloe’s spell list only appears on desktop, but I the site’s blocked at work and I haven’t been home beyond sleeping for a week, but here’s what I had jotted down prior to the last level up: Detect magic, Stabilize, Enhanced Diplomacy (Guess I thought she might stick around longer than just the final battle, LOL), Burning Disarm, Bless, Entropic Shield, Sanctuary, Blinding Ray, Pilfering Hand, Communal Protection From Evil, Spear of Purity, Dispel Magic, Glyph of Warding, Prayer, Wind Wall, Spark, Forbid Action, Greater Stunning Barrier, Freedom of Movement, Shield of Dawn. For her domain spells, she had Protection from Evil and Cure Moderate/Serious/Critical Wounds.

Anyway, Dreadstone has Gravity Bow, Enemy Insight, and Quarry for Attack roll bonuses, plus he’s got a casting of Ice Slick on tap. Currently thinking of casting Gravity Bow, downing the Greater Invisibility Extract at the last moment, and maybe burn the first turn of invisibility on Enemy Insight against the presumed Dragon and Quarry against Excalibur, then go full round attack monster for the remaining rounds.))
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
<Alright, locking you into your spell choices before battle.>

With eyes studying every detail of battle, every facet of small victory and defeat is responded to with a voice; a voice that dictates change all about this woman that leads the army, a voice that seeks to fix problems foreseen by managing others in such a way to guide them to a solution.

In the back of her mind Excalibur always knew this battle would take place. The problem was, she never intended for it to take place anywhere other than the Kingdom. Somehow, despite her impressive secrecy on the location of her base, they have managed to find the entrance to get to it.

Just as Loinel appears from a Dimension Door, Excalibur says to him, "If we survive this battle, we will have to deal with Charles Montague at some point." Loinel responds, a brow twisted with perplexity, "Montague? That is a strange first priority, your highness." Nodding, she answers, "I know... but only he could have talked, even after all I have done for him and his sister. This isn't just out of spite, Savis, this could mean that the Thieve's Guild, maybe even the entire West itself, may turn into a bigger enemy than we thought without Montague to control them."

"Perhaps.." he says, "But as of right now we can't think forward to the future just yet. The adventurers Ruby Keep hired are here, and I've been scrying them this whole time. They're currently casting spells on themselves in anticipation of fighting us." Excalibur grits her teeth and barks, "Damn! Loinel, go back to protecting the sorceress, I must do whatever I can to prepare a defense."

With this new knowledge and a command given, Loinel teleports back whence he came. She draws a monster of hers closer, a crocodile that had swam and lived in the glimmering waters behind her, and given baptism in its powers. She soon calls for a unit to fight with her. She details the situation and what they must do to prepare. Despite her having already defeated the adventurers, she knows that the biggest losing battle is against the temptation to hold back and expect a simple outcome. She also knows that if she manages to kill them once and for all, they can no longer do damage to the rest of her army.

---

The adventurers arrive.

Excalibur and others stand against a backdrop of brilliant water and glowing crystal surrounding the pool. In the back, beyond Excalibur, beyond the waters, trapped within the crystal is a faint shadow of something huge, something vague.

Surrounding Excalibur are Mages and archers, and in front of her a massive crocodile glimmering and glowing with crystal. She hails the party, drawing her crystalline sword, "I don't know how you survived our last battle, but I fully intend a repeat of what had happened. We cannot let you have access to this place, at any cost! The foolishness of your kingdom will only doom everyone." Her face is oddly gray in coloration, as are the shade of skin the archers have.

Before the party has a chance to get any closer, their view is soon obscured by a wall of wormy wisps of horrified faces in darkness that grow from the ground and separate the party from Excalibur's. "Stop now."

---

<Map

Party goes first.>
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
((Before typing up turns, would anyone in the party be able to make a knowledge check on the wall of faces that popped up to figure out what it is and what it does?))
 
K

KittenMaster

Member
<I put it on the map. 20 ft high. EDIT: Reptile is Gargantuan sized. Sprite ended up having some negative space that makes it slightly thinner tile-wise.>
 
A

Axelhortsemchi

Member
((Ok, I think I've got my move planned out. Going to try and weaken a lot of the back row (unless the 20ft wall proves impassable or crippling. If it is, we're about to see what it does!))

Faced with Excalibur's forces and a mysterious wall, Tiberious does the only thing he knows how to in this situation. He rushes forward. Barelling through the faces and past the giant lizard, he rushes towards the back line. drawing his falcata.

Once properly situated, he puts his gladiator training to work, doing the kind of moves he'd normally use to drag out a show and toy with an enemy. He attempts to break an archer's bow, sweep a spellcaster to the ground, and knock Excalibur's sword from her hands.

"A repeat of last time? Please! The only repeat is that you'll fail to kill us once again!"

((Daredevil charge to Q/R 11 and Q/R 12. Sunder on Archer B's bow, disarm on Excalibur, and trip on spellcaster B. Invoking power attack so sunder is more likely to actually work. Naturally, the wall may invalidate all of this, I don't know.))
Code: 
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=80537]Sunder: 1D20 + 31 = [16]+31 = 47
[/url]
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=80538]Sunder Damage: 1D8 + 27 = [7]+27 = 34
[/url]
Code: 
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=80539]Disarm: 1D20 + 22 = [20]+22 = 42
[/url]
[url=http://roll.coyotecode.net/lookup.php?rollid=80540]Trip: 1D20 + 17 = [3]+17 = 20
[/url]

((Updated map: http://beta.ditzie.com/52645/54b6ecebe98a8))
 
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