As Quintus is awoken by the blaring horns, he prepares himself for the battle, making it a point to wear some fancy gloves that totally aren't hiding anything, then heads outside, summoning a badass phantom steed and, what the hell, he goes ahead and cast fly on it(though he'll spend most his time on the ground only using fly when he doesn't need to be somewhere in a hurry). After hearing about the portal, he charges over there and once in sight he flies above and uses a sculpted grease spell on the area surrounding the portal... and then lights it, and all the orcs, on fire with Burning Hands.
((...too much? only spell i actually had prepared was phantom steed and the grease, but i assume we are ignoring minor issues like that right now.))
((Actually, looking back, maybe I should be doing more?))
((...too much? only spell i actually had prepared was phantom steed and the grease, but i assume we are ignoring minor issues like that right now.))
((Actually, looking back, maybe I should be doing more?))
((You're the one telling the story. Once all four (five, if Ivor shows up) of you make a post, I'll pick up where you guys left off. Until then, if you feel you should do more, you are more than welcome to edit in some cool stuff))
((I guess I should go ahead and post then, was hoping to play second fiddle to Tarkus. Since I'm apparently allowed to I'm going to be overpowered in this post.))
Sarm, along with the other Clerics, focuses on healing injured men during the battle and saving their lives. At one point he notices an Alydar guard struck down, and rushes forward to slam the offender away with his mace and fight to take the orc down so that he can carry the victim back to safety for healing.
Quintis has already fired a volley of fire at the enemies, but Sarm would cast his own Burning Hands at another wave of orcs that arrive, the clothing of the cults and the skin of their fleshes burning and melting together, as if symbolic of what they have become and how it has destroyed them.
Noticing an orc that has not been burned by his previous spell, he casts Produce Flame, then pushes his arm back and then quickly thrusts his palm forward, shooting the fireball like a cannon at the orc, blasting him back and burning a hole in the insigna of the Vecna cult.
The blaring of the watch horns reverberates in Tarkus head, yanking him from his sleep with a jolt. His blood begins pumping quickly, grogginess burnt away by adrenaline as he jumps to his feet hastily dons his armor. He hefts the Greatsword +2 bestowed upon him by Quintus over his shoulder and rushes outside, ready to christen the blade in a crimson shower.
It is the early hours of morning but somehow ominous clouds appear to hang in the sky, covering Alydar in a grim darkness pierced only by torch, bright bursts of light and the sounds of battle bursting through the chill air.
As Tarkus rushes outside, a short man in studded leather with blood running down the side of his head stumbles over. “Castra…command post…has been overrun!” he cries, his words punctuated with great gasps for air. They are coming out of some kind of portal!” Tarkus nods and directs the man to a respite inside, asking him to secure the tavern.
Rushing onward, the sound of a great ‘WOOSH’ and a burst of bright light fills the sky. With the rumbling clash of steel against steel sings in his ears, Tarkus realizes his best laid plans have just gone awry. Shaking his head roughly he rushes on, rallying a group of armored soldiers toward the makeshift command post in the center of town.
Billowing and appearing to touch down right inside the fortification center of town, an ethereal purple mist covers the ground, warriors leaping out to attack, clearly the result of some foul magick. As the soldiers rush in to meet their foes, Tarkus identifies the source of the flaming tempest as Sarm & Quintus.
“Starting cookout early?! he yells to them.
Tarkus catches one of the surviving berserker’s blows with edge of his blade.
“You forget to pack knife!” he yells as he quickly ripostes in a sweeping blow, cutting the Orc down at the knees. He helps two to a similar fate, his Greatsword hacking limbs away with a morbid crunch. Rushing into the fray with abandon, Tarkus yells savagely and grits his teeth, falling into a rhythm of battle. Many foes on, he missteps and a berserker slices into his arm quite badly, but Tarkus brushes the blow aside and slams his sword into the attacker in a retaliatory mortal blow. The pump of his heart is driven faster by his wounds, the beat of his internal drum delivering molten lava into his muscles for the will to carry on.
Tarkus wipes his brow as he falls back following a lull after the second wave of invaders. After being patched up by Sarm and seeing all him administer healing to the group of soldiers he directed here earlier reminds Tarkus he has other duties himself.
He peers through the darkness to look for each of the battle units in their fortification positions. There appears to be some kind of synchronized chaos at least, the soldiers at the west gate rushing forward to help fortify the fallback company of footmen who are engaged with the growing force in the center of the town.
Tarkus yells over the din at a Ruby Keep mounted knight galloping by. The rider pulls up next to Tarkus. “I’m going to check East gate! Pull all men from West. We need rider here NOW! Set up patrol, PUSH ALL ANY RUNNERS BACK…Keep contained here!”
The man nods and rushes off to relay the message.
Tarkus rushes through the fortifications to the east. Several patrols of men run past him towards the gate. There appears to be a large scale ground skirmish around a small hole blown in the side through which Vecna troops are pouring through, but so far they are being kept bottlenecked by the size of the hole and the great piles of bodies shored up near it. The east gate brigade appears to have things under control so far, but clearly they will need reinforcements should the gate not hold.
Tarkus clambers on top of a nearby crate for a better view just in time to hear a man’s scream. It’s cut short as the man falls from the top of the town walls, his body peppered with arrows like a hedgehog. Tarkus looks up the wall to see a squad of archers above where he fell, ceaselessly firing upon some unseen foe. They are frantically loosing as many arrows as they can, short on time but not on targets.
One of them peers down at his fallen comrade, his face white as a sheet. Tarkus runs over and hurls the fallen man’s quiver back up onto the wall. The white-faced man snatches the quiver and quickly adds its contents to his own, color returning to his face as he calls down:
“THOSE BASTARDS’LL PAY FOR WHAT THEY DID TO WILHELM!”
The archer turns around and kicks at a nearby pot of boiling oil, sending it’s contents splashing down the walls. Lighting the tips by a nearby torch, his fingers move in a flurry, unleashing a torrent of flaming arrows down on some unseen group. The flash of light and anguished cries emanating from beyond the wall tell Tarkus the arrows found their oil-soaked prey.
The man calls down to Tarkus once more before rushing down the battlement:
“WATCH OUR BACKS DOWN THERE! I DON’T WANT TO LOOK BACK AND SEE MY HOME UP IN FLAMES, ALRIGHT?”
Tarkus grunts and raises his fist before rushing back towards the center of town. Bodies litter the streets, friend, foe, some by their attire clearly unprepared for combat. Maybe one’s too stubborn to leave… The Half-Orc pauses a moment and peers around the battlefield, the reality of this battle becoming clear as the heat off the burning buildings and screams of the dying punctuate his mind.
Tarkus steels himself:
The sacrifice of the fallen must temper our blades for vengeance!
Shouts back to Tarkus, "What else was I to do? Our guests decided to arrive early!" then proceeds to cast dispel magic on the portal, in an attempt to close it for good. It takes quite a few attempts, but eventually the portal is shut. Unfortunately, not before a few archers are brought in to take him down though.
After a few arrows get a bit to close for comfort, Quintus lands some where relatively safe and casts a few spells(mage armor, shield, false life, and fly in case his steed is taken out) on himself so as not to die. After that he decides to give the eastern entrance a quick look-see, having his horse gallop there, stopping only to grant Leeta and a group of town soldiers a haste spell so that they could mop up the orcs they were fighting.
Once finally reaching the Eastern wall, he flies up and finds a regiment of archers incoming. Still a bit upset about the archers from before, he uses a sculpted Glitterdust to blind them for a while. It looks like his action have once again attracted attention to him self as he soon after finds he is the target of several spells...
((Awesome job so far, guys. Just FYI, assuming Val is able to make his post today, I still won't be able to make mine until late this evening because I'm going to need access to some sourcebooks that are at my house. Just know that I'm very happy with how this experiment is turning out.
Oh and it may not have been clear in the initial description, but this invasion is happening a full day earlier than you guys were expecting, and no one has been able to evacuate yet. Right now the entire town's population is still there.))
Oh and it may not have been clear in the initial description, but this invasion is happening a full day earlier than you guys were expecting, and no one has been able to evacuate yet. Right now the entire town's population is still there.))
When Sarm hears this pointed out by a watchman while tending to an injured person, he calls for Suvne to be summoned to him knowing that she has not left the city. He would ask for the Rod of Pelor back, telling her that his plan to bring it away from the city where the cultists can find it has been foiled. At least this way, he can feel closer to Pelor again. He dismisses her to either return to the civilians or fight as she pleases.
The cacophony of the blaring alarm horns violently rouses Val from slumber. His plans for accompanying the evacuation of civilians having gone horrendously awry, he suits up in his armor and straps his rapier to his waist without any particular plan in mind. Details will come later, right now he needs to get outside and assess the situation.
Running out the doors of the Golden Griffin, the full sensory impact of the ongoing assault assails him. The sky roils with the columns of oily black smoke coming from orange glows that can only be fire, and the sounds of combat and slaughter fill the night. Val hears the stomping of armor-clad individuals draw near, and instinctively dives into an alley and crouches behind a rain barrel. A trio of men clad in the red armor of Ruby Keep run by, presumably heading towards the center of the battle.
Val is sweating profusely, his heart hammering in his chest. For a moment he forgets where he is and thinks it is once more that dread night in Ruby Keep where he lost so much. Sorting it out in his mind, he recalls where he is, but it is small comfort. This scenario is, if anything, even worse.
It doesnt take long for him to determine that there is significant action occurring at the center of town. Apparently the Arm has not only arrived ahead of schedule, but have breached the walls to boot. Much like everything else that has been planned in recent weeks, the carefully crafted defense and evacuation of Alydar has summarily been scuttled by unforeseen circumstances.
In retrospect, it might have been a good idea to try and meet up with his companions, but at this juncture he has no idea where they might have gotten off to at this point. Theyll probably be off protecting high value targets, like anywhere civilians might gather, or the mayors manse, or...
Oh gods. Valerie.
Abandoning his hiding spot, Val takes off down the streets as fast as he can manage in the direction of the manse. Rounding the corner, he nearly runs headlong into a squad of city guard heading in the opposite direction. Before he even has opportunity to speak, the lead member points his sword at him, and bellows CULTIST! to his compatriots. Vals face contorts into an expression of confusion before he remembers that hes been using the same armor since the kidnapping of Clementine.
You know, the set he got off the dead assailant.
The green one.
Oh fuck.
Vals flight through the streets is suddenly a not only a mad dash to Valerie, but a race to stay alive. Fortunately, the guardsmen are significantly more well equipped, which means they are heavier than he. Still, he cant keep this up forever, he needs to shake them quickly. Rounding another corner, he dives down an alley before they can re-establish line of sight with him. Their desperate shouts of inquiry of which direction he went slowly fade as he emerges back on the main thoroughfare at the end of the alley as he continues his trek to the manse. He hadnt even gone a block before a trio of orc invaders materialized from the smoke and haze heading directly towards him. The abruptly halt and gaze at him quizzically, one of them saying something in a guttural tongue Val takes to be orcish.
Val continues marching directly up to them and adopts a commanding tone and posture. You will speak fucking common when addressing your field commander! What are you doing? Just where do you think youre going? Youre not even in the right area, you are supposed to be one street over to the west! Val points up a side street that intersects both this street and the one that he had just left his pursuers on, if he recalls his mental map of Alydar correctly.
The orcs look slightly unsure of themselves. After a moment, one of them timidly ventures, But we thought...
Val savagely interrupts them, No, you didnt bloody think at all, now did you? Youre not here to think, youre here to put this entire town to the sword, but we cant very well do that if we have two squads on one street, and none on the other! Get your moldy green asses in line and get fucking moving!
The bewildered orcs obey and trot off down the side street as Val instructed. Moments later, he hears another familiar shout of CULTISTS! and ensuing battle. He hopes that none of the city guard are hurt by his actions tonight, but that is in the hands of the gods.
The rest of the trip to the manse is uneventful, in a relative sense. People fleeing in all directions and armed guards rushing down various streets, but none of them seem to notice him. At times he catches glimpses of fights down the roads he crosses, but the way before him is unobstructed. The way to the manse glows bright against the darkened skies, like a beacon guiding him to his sister. When at last the manse comes into view, he sees that the entire roof is engulfed in dancing flames.
Running towards the burning manse as fast as he can manage, he sees that a pitched battle is occurring in the courtyard. He cant see Valerie directly, but the ring of ghostly swordsmen attacking all who cross their silent line bespeaks of her presence in the melee. Finally, he sights her, fighting back to back with one of her red-clad guards, each engaged with an orc. As he rushes to their aid, Val witnesses as the guard is staggered by a particularly savage swing of the orcs crude battle axe, which is followed by a second blow between the neck and shoulder, cleaving the man down to his chest. The guard doesnt even cry out as he slumps over lifelessly behind the oblivious Valerie.
The orc grins maliciously as he raises his axe above him with both hands, ready to deliver a particularly brutal blow to Vals sister. His armor is ill-fitting though, and leaves a gap below his arm when raised above his head like that. A gap that is just the right size to allow for the narrow blade of a rapier slip in between his ribs and puncture the left lung and heart of the hapless warrior.
The orc gazes in surprise at the soft and squishy human poking a piece of metal into him. Val withdraws his blade and prepares to engage, but the orc only touches his wound and looks confused at the copious amount of blood gushing forth before crashing to the ground. Valeries own foe disengages and vanishes into the melee, and she pivots around and finds Val grinning at her, covered in sweat, soot, and blood.
I cant leave you alone for a second, can I?
Valeries rushes forth and embraces Val fiercely in her arms, and Val returns the favor. Wordlessly the separate and assume a back-to-back fighting stance, ready to fight until the end for each other in the light of the burning manse.
As Suvne returns the Rod of Pelor to Sarm's possession and unsheathes her own longsword, she says, "If the choice is mine, then I choose to fight beside you, m'Lord," she says with such conviction and battle-hardened resolve that Sarm is likely taken aback. She looks to him expectantly, waiting to follow him wherever he chooses to go, when they are both distracted by a VERY large explosion near the center of town, one so intense that even from this distance they must brace themselves against the torrent of hot, ashy air. Exchanging troubled glances, they both wordlessly break into a dead run toward Ground Zero.
--------
Tarkus battles his way through the thick of combat, taking down attackers one by one, and soon two by two, until he suddenly finds himself outnumbered four to one. He dispatches the first and second with two quick flicks of the wrist; the third very nearly cuts him in half as he dodges out of the way of a scythe at the last moment, retaliating with a fatal blow to the head. The fourth is moving too quick, he can't move his arm fast enough to parry, and in what he believes is his last moment on this plane, Tarkus braces himself for the after life----
....and a beat later, he realizes he's still alive. He opens his eyes, just in time to see his attacker laid out on the ground, and a female elf driving the butt end of an exquisitely-carved ironwood staff into his throat, completely cutting off his circulation and ensuring the end of his life.
"This," grunts the whore from the Golden Griffin - now clad in adorned chainmail and other protective gear, a far cry from her Lady of the Night attire - "Is why I hate orcs." As she says that, she grabs Tarkus's injured arm and mutters a few unintelligible arcane syllables; the wound mends itself amid a soft, minty-green glow until all signs of injury have disappeared.
Before he has a chance to reply, a massive explosion nearly knocks the two off their feet. Tarkus and Arianna look at each other in silent alarm. "The Mayor's manse," she says urgently, and together the two rush to see what's happened.
------
Quintus has hardly any warning before a barrage of magical spells are sent his way. He is able to avoid many of them, but those that hit, hit hard; every one of the protective wards Quintus has placed on himself are undone in the face of this as-yet-unknown threat, and when his Phantom Steed is dispelled, it's all he can do to spend another casting of Flight on himself to keep from becoming but a splatter on the pavement.
"So," says a distantly familiar voice, "You're the one who closed my portal. Poetic, isn't it, Quintus?"
The man is hovering in the air, at a slightly higher altitude than Quintus, and he is young. He sports wild, blue hair, and is wearing elaborate robes befitting a highborn noble, of the same shade of green as the rest of the Vecna cultists. The hair and the color of the robes, coincidentally, match each other very well.
Quintus instantly recognizes him as Theon, part of his graduating class at the Emerald Bay Academy. The two hadn't been friends, exactly, but they had been rivals with a certain mutual respect for one another. Last Quintus had heard, Theon had stayed behind at the Academy, to work on becoming an instructor.
"You and your meddlesome friends have made this more difficult than it had to be," he says, though there isn't one whiff of frustration in his tone; Theon seems to be enjoying this. "Unfortunately for you, all this means is that we proceed to Plan B."
He points an arm at Quintus and unleashes a swarm of gnats, before flying toward another part of the city. The gnats are more an annoyance than anything, but they do have the effect of slowing Quintus down. Once the swarm is dealt with, he takes off in pursuit of his former classmate.
------
As Val and Valerie disengage their embrace and reenter battle-ready stances, Valerie says, "Look!" and points up. Val follows her hand, and sees a flying man descend nearby and raise both hands in the direction of the already-burning mansion. He begins to glow a fiery orange color, and an instant too late, Val realizes what this man is trying to do.
He attempts to shield Valerie from the explosion with his own body, but his reflexes are too slow. The building erupts in a booming, fiery conflagration, hurling both Val and Valerie well over fifteen feet backward; by unfortunate circumstance, Valerie ends up being the one who breaks Val's fall, and he cringes as he hears a sickening crunch come from somewhere in her body. Despite his own disorientation, he makes a point to check Valerie for vital signs; to his relief, she is still breathing and her heart is still beating, but she is unconscious.
As the echo of the boom subsides, the bone-chilling laughter of a madman fills the air. "There, Quintus, you see? In one great masterstroke, the backbone of Ruby Keep has been broken! All of the King's Council, engulfed in the flames of destiny! A fitting metaphor for the future of this pathetic kingdom!"
Quintus descends nearby and looks on in disbelief at the flaming husk of the Mayor's Mansion.
Moments later, Sarm, Suvne, Arianna, and Tarkus arrive on the scene; not far behind them are Leeta, Lysa, and Elmina.
Theon grins. "It appears that I am severely outflanked," he says in mock regret. He pulls a dagger out from behind his robes. Suvne gasps; both she and Sarm can sense that the dagger is awash in horribly dark magicks. "Quintus, I have a message from the new Headmaster. He says--"
Theon's sentence is cut off and gasps in actual surprise as the point of a longsword erupts from his lower belly, then disappears just as quickly. Theon falls to his knees, and behind him stands a battered, blackened, yet still-alive General Eladamri Bonaparte, breathing heavily and looking extremely angry. "That," he pants, "Was for the Council."
Theon begins laughing again, though. With the last of his strength, he inserts the dagger into the bloody hole that's already been created in his stomach, then pulls it out and plunges it into the grass. Immediately the ground begins to rumble, and around the dagger the ground begins to give way, opening into a pit. The General scrambles to find footing, but the ground is falling too quickly. He is unable to find purchase, and ultimately falls screaming into the hole, which continues expanding into a fifteen-foot radius. Flames lick the edge of the pit, and something begins to climb out of it.
It is well over ten feet tall, and half as wide; once it has fully emerged from the pit, the hole closes itself, having swallowed Theon's body and the General whole.
Those trained in Knowledge Planes would recognize this as a Bone Devil.
Knowledge Planes DC 20
This thing is from the depths of Hell itself, and is immune to poison and fire, and resistant to cold and lightning. It also has Spell Resistance (meaning you have to roll a Level Check just to affect it with any spell) and Damage Reduction, though the Damage Reduction is bypassed by any magically Good-aligned weapon. It also has a Fear Aura that affects anyone coming within 5 feet of it.
As if things couldn't get any worse, a sizable contingent of troops in mid-combat choose this moment to enter the grounds of the flaming manse, having been attracted by the explosion.
"You five take care of that thing!" says Arianna, "We'll hold off these Orc bastards!" She, along with Leeta, Lysa, and Elmina, get to work on keeping the melee away from the site of the summoning, leaving Val, Quintus, Sarm, Suvne, and Tarkus to deal with the hellish creature standing before them.
The five of you are surrounding the creature on all sides, and are each currently about twenty feet away from it.
((Whew, that was a long one. Okay, we're out of narrative mode and back to following the rules. If you'd like, feel free to react in-character to the events leading up to this, and then make your Initiative Roll and take your turn. Good luck - this is going to be a tough one! Ivor, if you come back and it's in the middle of this battle, send me a PM and you'll be able to enter the fray.))
((Edit: If you saw this message before I edited it, I just changed Theon's last words))
Quintus almost can't believe his eyes when he realizes who the attacking wizard is, but once he thinks about it, he can't say he is all that surprise he would stoop this low and says, "So Theon, did they promise you power, or just a women that would actually lay with you?" Before he can continue, Quintus is given a face full of gnats.
Quintus follows as soon as he is free of the pests, but only catches up it in time to watch quite the screen unfolding...
Quintus first cast slow on the creature, hoping to keep it in check, if only for a little while.
Code:
Caster Level Check: 1D20+6 => [ 4 ] +6 = 10
((having such a hard time getting good rolls today...))
After that, he flies around the beast to the area above Sarm(or as close as he can get), shouting, "That fancy rod of yours can be used as a weapon I hope, because I think you are gonna need it for this thing!"
The concussive force of the explosion sends Valerie and Val sailing through the air. Even though his ears are ringing from the explosion, Val's hearing is not so diminished that he can't discern the sickening crunch as Valerie impacts the unyielding cobblestone pavement.
Screaming her name, he attempts to rouse her to no avail. Stripping off a glove, he is able to find some modicum of relief when he detects a pulse, but doubtlessly she cannot last long without healing intervention. He replaces his glove upon his hand and returns his attention to the commotion in the courtyard just in time to witness the man who had been flying above him mere moments ago plunge the bloody dagger into the soil and summon forth the infernal horror that now towers amongst them.
Driven by a discomforting mix of familial and romantic concern for his fallen sister, he intersituates himself between Valerie and the creature, waving his arms to signal to the others to spread out and surround the thing. It is undoubtedly highly dangerous, but maybe they can outflank it. Val himself isn't quite sure how to proceed, his weapon of choice looking decidedly inadequate for the task at hand. The monster obviously bests him on reach, and he's willing to bet is capable of moving much faster than he.
Eying Quintus above Sarm, he shouts to him, "Did you do that... thing... we talked about? Any chance it can do us any good?"
Adopting a defensive posture, he adds, "I am incredibly out of my depth here, any and all advice is appreciated."
Code:
Initiative: 1d20 + 5 = 9
((Well that ain't good.
Total defense this turn, dodge bonus on the bone devil until he inevitably splits or summons henchmen or something. Heh.))
((Mike's well written posts are inspiring me to try to to be much less lazy with describing stuff. It's been showing lately.))
It must be what is nighttime now glazed with an abnormal red ness of the fires, A glimmer of the tragedy catches his and presumably Suvne's eyes as they approach, the reflection of the fires igniting his pupils in a show of what he must feel inwards.
Removing the Rod of Pelor from the sachel and wielding it in his right hand, Sarm responds to Quintis in a bold voice, "So be it. I will use its power to fight the hatred that has manifested from our unknown enemy..." He discards the sachel he was hiding the rod in like a morsel of rotten food, and sides his other hand into the brace of his shield.
Suvne stands in front of Sarm and takes a total defense stance, while Sarm himself casts Prayer: +1 to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for all allies within 40 ft., and if it is not resisted, a -1 to the same for enemies within the same range.
((I'm with Kaff aka. Val aka. Steve on this one. Gonna play defensively first turn, and also use a buff for once even if it doesn't seem like much.))
while Sarm himself casts Prayer: +1 to attack rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for all allies within 40 ft., and if it is not resisted, a -1 to the same for enemies within the same range.
((Rolling Sarm's Caster Level check for him: d20 + 6 = 15; the spell fails to affect the bad guy, but it still gives bonuses to everyone - we will suppose that everyone is within the 40 feet))
Tarkus roars in frustration and despair and grips his weapon tightly as he realizes a fatal mistake: The Council! All this time they were targets yet...no plan to protect them.
Gritting his teeth he prepares to charge toward the madman until he is stopped in his tracks by the General's preemptive strike. And then just as suddenly, Tarkus jaw drops as bizarre events begin to unfold before him. He stares in disbelief as both the General and the cackling sorcerer collapse into the gaping chasm that has opened itself before them. Out of which crawls out some kind of horrible, spindly, bone-chalk white demon as if straight out of a nightmare.
Tarkus swallows the growing lump in his throat and taking the lead from his allies quickly realizes the time for reckless abandon has passed. He reattaches his Greatsword+2 to his back harness and equips himself with his Heavy Steel Shield and Bastard Sword, ready to protect his friends from the colossal foe before them.
Code:
Initiative: 1d20+6 = 24
Tarkus channels the rage he feels from failing the council into his muscles and bristles himself up as much as he can before letting out a hoarse battlecry directed at the beast:
"Face my wrath, wretched spawn!"
Code:
Activating "Come and Get It" in combination with "Intimidating Prowess"
[B]Intimidate Check[/B]: 1d20 [13] + 9 [Tarkus modifier + Sarm's Prayer] = [B]22[/B]
((Pasting these for the benefit of everyone since one is an ad-hoc pathfinder feat and the other is a custom feat approved by ThLunarian. Hopefully it will be enough to distract him for a bit and keep him on me. If so it should let everyone else to take up better positions as this guys seems like the nasty type that could 1-shot someone without proper defense. I'm thinking probably range attacks as much as possible until we see what he can do...Also I'm guessing by the Rod of Pelor mention that the monster has a weakness to divine weapons?))
"Come & Get It!":
You may take a Standard Action and use your Intimidate check to try to force your opponents to attack you. Each enemy who can see you must make a Will save with a DC of your Intimidate check. If they fail the save, and are capable of attacking you without endangering themselves, they will attempt to do so either until you fall unconscious, or until someone else attacks them.
Intimidating Prowess:
Your physical might is intimidating to others.
Benefit: Add your Strength modifier to Intimidate skill checks in addition to your Charisma modifier.
Current AC: 23
((Sorry about that, edited it in hopefully properly))
((Question about Come and Get It: What would constitute an enemy endangering themselves? I am guessing it won't work if it provokes or causes them to knowingly set some kind of trigger that harms them?))
((Question about Come and Get It: What would constitute an enemy endangering themselves? I am guessing it won't work if it provokes or causes them to knowingly set some kind of trigger that harms them?))
((Basically, if the enemy would have to incur opportunity attacks or subject itself to some environmental hazard in order to get to Tarkus, then that enemy isn't subject to this ability's effects. It doesn't send the enemy into a blind, reckless rage; it just makes Tarkus their preferred target, all other things being equal. I based this heavily on a class feature of the Knight, from the PHB2, and that's how they describe it, too.
Also Tarkus, you forgot to actually roll your Intimidate check. If I had time to make a full-fledged post right now, I'd go ahead and do it for you, but I have to go to bed, so I'll leave it to you.
And one more thing, Tarkus: Since your AC can easily change from turn to turn because of feats you've taken and other factors, it would be helpful to me if you could end each of your combat turns by telling me what your final AC tally is for that turn. Thank you!))
((actually... Pathfinder already has a feat that basically does that http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/antagonize no big deal though. that said skill check bonuses are often much higher then will saves can ever hope to be, making it a very powerful ability))
((Also, it just has a Damage reduction versus everything but Good aligned weapons... which means most other physical attacks will do a lot less damage.))
((That's cool Quintus, thanks for the link. Whatever gets the job done! Hopefully Sarm's +1 helps a little although I bet the Hand of Vecna and Rod of Pelor will do the most damage. Anything else we can do to buff ourselves? I've edited theLundarian, but it's also here AC: 23))
EDIT: ((also looks like I didn't calculate my skillpoints for first level right, my bad. So here is an updated Intimidate check with increase skill modifier, using the same d20 roll))
((Bone Devil's initiative roll = 19, so you guys will go first, thanks to Tarkus.
Bone Devil's spell resistance protects it from Slow and from Prayer. It fails the will save against Tarkus's ability.
Bone Devil steps forward and performs a Full Attack action on Tarkus.
Bite: 23 to hit. 11 damage.
1st Claw: 21 to hit.
2nd Claw: Natural 1
Stinger: 24 to hit, 8 damage. Make a Fortitude save, DC 20. If you fail the save, lose 5 Strength.
Bone Devil activates its Fear Aura. Tarkus, make a Will save, DC 17. If you fail, you are Shaken for 7 rounds.
If anyone else comes adjacent to the Bone Devil, you must make a Will save as described above. Suvne's Paladin ability "Aura of Courage" gives her immunity to this effect. Additionally, anyone within 10 feet of Suvne will get a +4 bonus to that saving throw, also because of that Paladin ability. That currently does not apply to Tarkus, though.))
The Bone Devil's gaze moves from one party member to the next, silently assessing its foes. It then speaks without moving its lips, through some form of widespread telepathy: Mortals. You shall see the flesh flayed from your bones.
The creature effortlessly deflects Quintus's magicks with some profane barrier, and although Sarm's prayers for divine providence are answered and a sense of purpose and confidence is bestowed upon the party, Pelor nonetheless seems unable to shake this beast's will.
Val stays close to Valerie, not yet wishing to leave her exposed, as Tarkus steps forward and shouts at the creature. It settles its attention on him. You wish to challenge me, pitiful creature? it says telepathically. Very well. You shall be the first to know the horrors of the Nine Hells. The beast takes one enormous step forward and tears into Tarkus with its teeth. Tarkus is able to successfully block its claw attacks with his shield, but is unprepared for the stinger, which comes down on him from above and injects its foul poison into his blood.
Tarkus also feels a strange, unnatural sensation which is telling him to despair and become afraid of this unholy monstrosity, and he does his best to ignore it.
Tarkus braces himself for impact as he sees the Bone Devil approach him at frightening speed. He takes damage as it bites into him but absorbs the first claw attack with his shield and manages to pivot to avoid the second.
The demon's stinger stabs deep into him and Tarkus winces in pain. It takes all his concentration to hold his composure against allowing the poison from circulating through his body.
Code:
Fortitude save: 1d20 [14] + 8 = 22
He manages to withstand it's affects for the time being.
However, Tarkus eyes widen as the demon's voice invades his mind. As it approaches him he feels a cold go over his body and attempts to expel the growing fear threatening to engulf him.
Code:
Will save: 1d20 [7] + 2 = 9 ((booo))
Despite his best efforts Tarkus cannot shake the voice inside telling him his worst nightmare has come alive in this creature, the icy grip of fear overtaking him. His muscles stiffen and his breath catches in his throat as the demon threatens to unleash the horrors of the Nine Hells upon him with a voice like the sound of a broken glass and a thousand twisted souls.
Tarkus takes a retaliatory swing at the Bone Devil with his Bastard Sword.
((Best bet for anyone else going melee range is to stick near Suvne. I'd also recommend anyone with less than 15 AC to keep to range attacks from a distance if possible or you could get one-shot by a full attack. Hopefully Tark can take at least two more rounds))
((I can have Sarm stand behind Tarkus to help heal him and maybe Suvne can stand at the edge of the tail to attack it? A mace likely isn't capable of removing a tail so it would be better if a sword was assigned that task.))
((Eh, I'd think it'd make more sense for Sarm to be on point since his weapon is good aligned. Maybe if Quintus uses that embiggen person spell on him to up his damage output? Idunno.))
((Called shots aren't supported by DnD rules, however if you have a weapon that can deal Slashing damage (not a rapier or a mace), it would make sense to allow a Disarm attempt.
On a successful Disarm attempt, you would slash the tip of the creature's stinger off and make it useless as a weapon. However, it will be pretty difficult to pull this off, as you can probably tell by reading what's in the link.
Also, a bit of advice: Tarkus will NOT be able to take this thing down on his own.))
((Improved init doesn't do you a whole lot when you fail on a roll like I did...))
((started this post, but then went afk for a few hours in the middle of it... IMO, everyone willing to go into melee with this thing(everyone but me pretty much), will want to surround it so you can get flanking bonuses, even if you can't do much damage to it as increasing Sarms chance to hit(+2 when flanking) will help a lot. And since this thing is only large it would also put all of you in position for me to haste... speaking of which, what class is Tarkus? I assume Fighter so he should be able to do at least two attacks as a full round action right? Also Sarm, this would be the time for your pocket paladin to smite evil, as I believe that does bonus damage to outsiders and undead... though strangely enough I am not 100% sure if it is undead or not, it is almost certainly an outsider.))
Quintus curses under his breath and says, "This thing can shake off magic like its nothing to him... Fortunately I have a few other tricks up my sleeve." he then flies over and attempts to cast haste on all allies, including himself, focusing on Sarm and Tarkus, in case anyone else is somehow out of range.
((just for clarification, other then the extra attack(with your full attack bonus) that haste grants, you also get +1 attack, +1 AC and +1 reflex))
((Improved init doesn't do you a whole lot when you fail on a roll like I did...))
((started this post, but then went afk for a few hours in the middle of it... IMO, everyone willing to go into melee with this thing(everyone but me pretty much), will want to surround it so you can get flanking bonuses, even if you can't do much damage to it as increasing Sarms chance to hit(+2 when flanking) will help a lot. And since this thing is only large it would also put all of you in position for me to haste... speaking of which, what class is Tarkus? I assume Fighter so he should be able to do at least two attacks as a full round action right? Also Sarm, this would be the time for your pocket paladin to smite evil, as I believe that does bonus damage to outsiders and undead... though strangely enough I am not 100% sure if it is undead or not, it is almost certainly an outsider.))
Quintus curses under his breath and says, "This thing can shake off magic like its nothing to him... Fortunately I have a few other tricks up my sleeve." he then flies over and attempts to cast haste on all allies, including himself, focusing on Sarm and Tarkus, in case anyone else is somehow out of range.
((For clarity's sake, yes, everyone is in range to get hit with Haste. And Tarkus is a Fighter; this means that including Haste, he can attack 3 times as a full action. Val will enjoy that same benefit if he gets closer to the creature (not this turn, though, since he has to do a Move action to get up close.
Also, with your Knowledge check, you know that this thing is NOT undead, and that it IS an outsider. And it's definitely evil, so Smite would be a good thing here))
((Completely related to combat, but I got sick of some of the crappiness of my old avatar being old, so I switched out with something slightly more action packed.))
The Cleric can see that Tarkus can take physical abuse even more than he can, but still knows that he will need to heal the powerful warrior soon. After a quick nods between teammates and Quintis' advice he decides to go on the offensive to work on an early favor.
Sarm and Suvne would quickly move to synchronize against the evil creature with the combined power of the Rod of Pelor and the innate holy powers of a Paladin's just smite, both of them swinging at the exact same time.
((Despite my description only Sarm would actually get the flank bonus due to turn order.))
((Basically damage reduction(aka DR) reduces the damage(surprise surprise!) of all physical attacks that don't bypass it. In this case only Good Aligned weapons can bypass it. How much it is reduce depends on the creature's stats. Also it now occurs to me I was thinking of Pathfinders smite evil, which gives bonuses to using it on undead and outsiders, but in d&d 3.5, not so much... Still if there is a time to use Smite, this is it.))
((Just realized with +2 to hit because of prayer and haste it pretty much cancels out the to attack penalty of shaken, good stuff. Gonna skip on disarming, I think I have some anti-venom anyway if we end up needing it. Be aware if we are sharing the damage that healing could get hectic if he decides to summon help. Obviously prioritize Sarm since he just got a pretty brutal beat-down))
((Yeah, so not doing that disarm thing then... All of Val's feats are focused on deception, all I've got on tap for combat is melee melee melee. He's turning out to be kinda fragile lately, I really ought to prioritize upgrading his armor. Anyway...))
Steve Val clutches the sides of his head as the bone devil's unsolicited telepathic communication invades his mind. He'll probably never get used to this sort of thing, and this creature's communication in particular has a quality of unbounded malfeasance to it that sends shivers down his spine.
"Yeah, well fuck you too, pal," he responds in his mind. If the bone devil heard him, it shows no outward reaction. Instead, it has clearly decided to make Tarkus the focus of its wrath, and unleashes a series of blows against him.
The beast's back to him, Val moves in to lend assistance, keeping a wary eye on the tail whipping about, crowned with a stinger pull of otherworldly venom. As he draws near, a palpable wave of dread hits him with considerable force...
Code:
Willpower save: 1d20 + 2 + 1 + 4 = 25
((I envision the current layout as the bone devil in the middle, Tarkus directly in front of it, and Suvne, Sarm, and Val occupying the other cardinal directions? I included Suvne's Aura of Courage bonus just in case I'm considered within range, but apparently didn't need it anyway.))
Val crams down the rising panic and attempts to focus. Tarkus needs him clear headed. Valerie needs him. Damn, all the planes need him. Shitting his pants with fear will just have to wait.
Hoping that the anatomy of denizens of hell is analogous to those of this level of existence, he plunges his rapier forth where he hopes it will do the most damage.
Code:
Attack: 1d20 + 12 + 1 + 1 = 15
((Think I did that right, +1 from the buff, +1 for the size difference? Is flanking in effect this round, or next? Rolled a 1 so I won't worry about including the damage roll (It was a good one!), but I want to be sure I'm getting all the modifiers right.))
((Because Mike's post made me realize I need to roll Will and Sarm is no longer in Aura of Courage's range I don't think.))
Code:
Will: 1D20+12+1 => [ 16 ] +12+1 = 29
((I think I need to make a graphical representation to see who I can have in the range of her Aura.))
((EDIT)
((Is this positioning correct? The yellow is the AoE for Aura of courage, so if that is correct then Tarkus and Val should get the +4 for their Fear saving throws.))
((To answer Val: The fact that he's easier to hit because of his size is included in his AC, so you don't add that yourself. Your layout seems fine; at this point everyone is getting a flanking bonus as long as they're adjacent to the enemy, since you guys now have this thing surrounded. Though you're also right that a 1 is an auto-miss. Oh, and don't forget that everyone gets an additional +1 to hit because of Haste. That's a total of +2 to hit, +1 to damage, +1 to AC, and +1 to all saves and skill checks, when you take both Prayer and Haste into account.
I rolled Sarm's Will save since he forgot, and he got a 34 so he's fine. Sarm and Val are immune to the Fear effect for the remainder of the combat. Tarkus won't have to make any more rolls for it either, even if it goes past the 7 round duration.
Bone Devil bites at Sarm: 20 on the die; potential critical hit. Confirmation roll is a 17, which I think confirms. 19 damage
Bone Devil first claw on Sarm: 29 to hit. 3 damage
Bone Devil second claw on Sarm: 15 to hit.
Bone Devil stinger on Sarm: 23 to hit. 8 damage. Make a Fortitude save versus poison, DC 20. If you fail the save, lose 6 strength.
Tarkus, go ahead and edit your other attacks into your post if you haven't already))
Quintus, sensing that magical attacks directly against the creature are a losing proposition, instead turns to enhancing the abilities of his teammates.
Tarkus does his best to fight through the supernatural fear which seems to have gripped him, and lashes out in three quick strikes at the creature. To his dismay, despite landing direct hits on it, they barely seem to have scratched it at all.
Sarm and Suvne seem to fair much better, however. The pair of holy warriors charge at the beast from opposite sides and strike simultaneously, and each of their weapons seems to harm the creature significantly; it actually opens its mouth and releases an audible cry of surprised pain.
Val, at a loss for what else to do, also decides to charge headlong at the creature, but very nearly trips on a stray piece of burning shrapnel and is just barely able to avoid falling on his face, ending adjacent to the Bone Devil and somehow resisting its call for despair.
Angered at having a chunk taken out of it, the beast immediately turns its attention to Sarm, telepathically speaking as he does: Insolent little man. No one ought wield that cursed stick, least of all a mortal such as yourself. Feel my wrath, and despair. The Devil rips into Sarm with its bite, both claws, and tops it off with his brutal stinger attack, missing only with the second claw and forcing Sarm to attempt to resist the effects of the hellish poison.
((For lack of a better idea I'm just gonna attack 3 times again))
Code:
Attack 1: 1d20 [15] ((yes again)) + 11 + 2 [Flanking] = 28
Damage: 1d10 [6] + 5 + 1 = 12
Attack 2: 1d20 [20] + 11 + 2 [Flanking] = 33
((C-C-CRITICAL HIT. iphone lock button is borked or I would screenshot)
Damage: 1d10 [7] x 2 [Crit] =14 + 5 + 1 = 20
Attack 3: 1d20 [1] ((wow omni-dice is just silly))
Code:
HP: 45/64
AC: 23 + 1 = 24
((If anyone needs to pull back after taking too much damage at some point I think I can try and taunt again, if I understand the feat right the only situation I couldn't is if if you decide to attack in the same round or he resists one of the taunts. Could be wrong though. And damn, you got robbed on that fort save KM. Also I like the new art by the way, it looks awesome.))
You are allowed to declare a Retreat against a single enemy without provoking an opportunity attack. Tell me how far you're retreating though, in feet.
I'm not sure that is ideal since it's a full action therefore Sarm won't be able to get back into combat until two turns later. Even with the strength penalty he could do 5-11 damage.
Val lifts himself off the ground, injured no worse than a bruised ego for his decided lack of grace.
The same cannot be said for Sarm, who has become the most recent target of the unholy beast's attention. Fortunately, Val has wound up within striking range, and whatever aura of dread that cloaked the demon seems to have evaporated like so much fog in the noonday sun.
Under the effects of Quintus' hastening magic spell, he notices that the flames consuming the remains of the detonated manse have slowed their ravenous dance somewhat, and the motions of bony horror seem to be made as though he were underwater.
Firming his grip on his trusty rapier, Val lets a flurry of jabs fly.
((not a big deal, but normally when you crit, you roll the damage twice instead of just double the damage of the first dice. what is a big deal though, is that when you crit, you do double your flat damage bonuses, including STR and Magic weapons enchantments))
((if the creature doesn't have reach(i haven't seen it mentioned yet anyways) you can take a 5 foot step for free and do anything else with your turn, except move))
((haste does not give damage, sarm's prayer does though))
Suddenly, something dons on Quintus... he may not be able to use magic on the beast directly, but he can surely change the environment around him! Quintus casts Grease directly under the beast.((Reflex save DC 18 and no SR ))
((not a big deal, but normally when you crit, you roll the damage twice instead of just double the damage of the first dice. what is a big deal though, is that when you crit, you do double your flat damage bonuses, including STR and Magic weapons enchantments))
((You also have to roll another attack roll (with the same bonuses as the attack that crit) to even get the extra damage, so it's really more like an extra attack than straight up extra damage.))
((if the creature doesn't have reach(i haven't seen it mentioned yet anyways) you can take a 5 foot step for free and do anything else with your turn, except move))
((Unless I'm mistaken, a five foot step wouldn't work because of it being a large creature which gives 10ft. reach.))
((I think... If Grease works I can stay and fight (and if ThLunarian requires me to I can delay my turn until after Quintis) or if it doesn't I can Withdraw, and if it wants to chase it would have to eat three provoked attacks.))
((I'm gonna have Suvne attack either way, because even with haste she wouldn't be able to get to Sarm without provoking.))
((I went ahead and rolled to confirm Tarkus's critical hit. The confirmation roll was a 31 (and by the way Tarkus, remember in the following rounds to add in the bonuses to-hit from Haste and Prayer), so the crit stands. I also rolled 2d10 and added in the doubled Strength and Prayer bonus, and wound up with exactly 20 damage again, so that worked out well.
Bone Devil fails his Reflex save and slips on the grease. Since Sarm was waiting to see whether that happened or not, and indicated that he wants to keep attacking if it worked, I will go ahead and roll Sarm's attacks for him.
He has no choice but to stand up, incurring Opportunity Attacks from Suvne, Sarm, Val, and Tarkus, which I will roll for you guys:
Val: Natural 1, misses
Suvne: 28 to hit, 5 damage
Tarkus: Natural 20 (WTF), 24 to confirm another critical. 27 damage.
Sarm: 21 to hit, 9 damage.
Bone Devil activates special attack. I need Reflex saves from everyone except Quintus (I'm assuming he's keeping his distance), DC 17.If you pass the save, take 13 Negative Energy damage. If you fail the save, take 26 Negative Energy damage.))
Quintus continues to augment his strategy and conjures a layer of slippery grease under the Bone Devil's feet, causing it to awkwardly topple to the ground; Tarkus, Val, Sarm, and Suvne all take this opportunity to wail on it mercilessly. Tarkus, enraged by the fact that his first flurry of attacks didn't seem to do much at all, channels his fury into his blade, and this time manages to make a series of deep gashes in the beast. Val has also been paying close enough attention to this creature's movement patterns to discern some key chinks in its armor, deftly stabbing into those weak points to great effect. Sarm is feeling the effects of whatever foul poison that the Devil has afflicted him with, managing to connect with a few blows but unable to hit particularly hard. Suvne's blows no longer seem to carry the righteous might that her initial strike did, and are unable to penetrate the creature's skin, despite landing direct hits on it.
The creature, battered but not beaten, finally struggles up to a standing position and opens its mouth, uttering profane, incomprehensible words not meant for mortal ears. Suddenly a barrage of blackish-purple energy lashes out from the center of the Devil's body, assaulting all living things around it and causing the grass within a 20-foot radius of it to immediately wither and die. As it sucks the life out of its surroundings, some of the wounds that the party has created in the Devil's body begin to heal themselves.
I am the Reaper of Souls, come to inflict judgment on man's worthless existence! the beast telepathically bellows, as the mayor's mansion continues to burn in the moonlight.
Not liking what ever the hell that was that just came form the beast, but not having much he can do about it, he decides if nothing else he can reduce its ability to make those nasty looking physical attacks and casts Glitterdust right in its face.
((Will save DC 19, no SR check. Conjuration school is so boss right now. Also, just realized I can dismiss my grease spell... will be having fun with that later.))
((Because this thing is so tall, you will be able to center the Glitterdust somewhere above it so that it hits the Devil without hitting the rest of the party. Just remember that for future battles where the enemies aren't 10 feet tall, this spell has a pretty decent range and can affect your allies too.
In case the outcome of the spell affects other peoples' turns, he passed the Will Save and is not blinded))
When the creature bellows scathing words in his head criticizing his use of the rod, he braces himself to ward off the swift swipes of the creature's claws only to be taken by surprise by a powerful stinging sensation. Suddenly, his armor and shield feel much heavier, allowing the creature to easily tear into flesh and bone. Despite this, Sarm hoarsely speaks against the creature's words, "I have lived my life incurring pain much greater! Your so-called despair means nothing to me!!"
Finally able to shake the creature off he is still able to muster himself up in spite of having become a weaker person. His breathing face stares up at its tall form that is ready to finish what it had started, but he only looks up coldlessly and fearlessly, then smiles knowing what is about to happen. The creature then falls over from the grease almost comically and humiliatingly for what it is. Everybody then rushes forward to brutally murder an office printer strike down on its proned body. Even with Sarm's weakened state it only brings him down to being as strong as an average, capable man.
((Sorry you had to roll for me ThLunarian, I was asleep.
Also I have to use a different dice roller today because the one I usually use is giving a 403 error.))
Sarm
Reflex: Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +6 >= 17" : 14 + 6 = 20 ... success
Suvne
Reflex:Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +8 >= 17" : 4 + 8 = 12 ... failure
(26 damage would have left Sarm at -1 HP but thankfully he saved, and Suvne is almost one-shotted but left at 2 HP).
Sarm soon senses a powerful energy from the creature's body, and stops mid-swing to quickly hold him his shield to block the blast from hitting most of him but still incurs much scathing towards his legs and arms. Suvne is not so lucky, and she is nearly engulfed by the dark flames.
They both are forced to Withdraw (Suvne at 40 ft. and Sarm at 60 ft., 50 and 70 if Haste is factored in for Withdraw) Sarm promises to return, and Suvne apologizes about not being more useful.
((Dang we really need some healing action. Someone with free movement but low AC may want to break out some healing potions. Tarkus sadly doesn't have any because I neglected to stock him with some (DOH). Also what's the story with Songbird? I still see him post plenty around the board. Did he just get bored with the game or what?))
((Gah, amateur hour on my rolls there. Sorry about that guys. I'm still a bit confused about how criticals work but thank you for the advice, I will look over it more. Tarkus is blowing up the dice in here though! As far as the bonuses go, I actually had Tarkus' Shaken status cancel out the +2 from Haste and Prayer, but I'll make sure to go ahead and notate out the entire equation to avoid confusion in the future.))
Tarkus grits his teeth and steps forward once more into the fray despite his fear. He contributes to a coordinated attack on the hellish creature after it slips, heartened by the strategical strength of his companions and Sarm's and Suvne's holy discipline.
Just when he thinks they are making good progress the demon howls and emanates some kind of dark energy whilst promising to inflict judgement.
The blast nearly takes Tarkus off his feet as it ripples through his body, seemingly burning him from the inside out. Despite the burns threatening to soon collapse his waning muscles, Tarkus does not want to see the creature fully heal and covers the priest and paladin's retreat with another round of attacks.
((Looks like I spoke too soon about the lucky rolling. Someone with less AC like Quintus or Val might make sure they use one or administer to one to whoever needs it especially Val fails the reflex save. Also setting the grease on fire is an option.))
Since I'm apparently allowed to I'm going to be overpowered in this post.))
