Enemy sighted! - DM Marcin d20+1=4 Tuesday March 9th, 2004 8:41:50 AM
Both Setanos and Arien take a moment to weave shielding spells. One by one two disks of force materialize protecting the casters from harm. Meanwhile Tratain readies his warhammer and shield. With his friends nearby reciting arcane phrases it is difficult for him to catch any sounds from behind the door.
Feng puts his hand on the handle and presses it. The lock opens with a click and the door is swung to the side revealing the room behind it.
A wave of stale, salty air hits the nostrils of the party. Short corridor opens into a large, round chamber. Multiple hallways and a stairway lead off in different directions like spokes from a wheel. Sound of waves comes from the wide stairway leading down into darkness. The round door the party previously used to enter the complex has been closed.
Last time the Hamleters were here the room was dark, but this time it is illuminated by several oil lamps placed in holders on the walls.
Right in the center of the room a dark, robed figure stands staring directly at the heroes. The light of Feng's flaming axe dances briefly in its huge, wet, fishy eyes. Its face is covered with scales.
A sahuagin.
A fraction of a second passes.
Then the figure drops some stuff it was holding in its hands to the floor. There is a sound of broken glass. With a shriek the stranger turns away and bolts towards the staircase, its webbed feet flapping on the flagstones of the floor.
[Feng and Sarigar, being closest to the door, can make a Dex check DC4. A character who is successful can take a standard action while the stranger is still in M10.]
[Then the sahuagin (assuming he is still alive) moves to M4. He keeps running and doesn't look back.]
[After that everyone (including Feng and Sarigar, no matter what was the result of their Dex checks) can take a round worth of actions.]
[Everyone please make a Listen check. Map coming by e-mail. Characters not shown on the plan can assume they are within 5ft of F17. 0:15.1]
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+4=16 d20+13=32 d20+3=18 Tuesday March 9th, 2004 11:21:53 AM
Sarigar dashes into the room (Dex Check 16) and attempts to trip the fleeing Sahaugin (Touch Attack AC32, Opposed Str or Dex check 18).
For the moment, partly since he's now most likely out of sight of Black Paws and he wants to try to keep this relatively quiet, Sarigar doesn't call for him.
Oops, been forgetting my spell:
Memorized: Magic Fang
ooc: I suspect that I take an AoO from that. I have Improved Unarmed Combat that doesn't provoke in normal combat, but Trip says you provoke unless you have Improved Trip.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 83/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield] d20+8=26 Tuesday March 9th, 2004 8:46:11 PM
Setanos charges into the room, moving close to the enemy and trying to block its escape.
Draax AC25, HP89 d20+3=23 d20+5=10 Tuesday March 9th, 2004 8:57:35 PM
(Listen check 23 natural 20) Draax wonders what the sahuagin dropped before bolting. He looks toward the glass to see if there are any visible effects or residue (spot check 10). When given a chance Draax will move to J11 and take a quick look around making sure he takes mental notes of the visible exits and the ceiling.
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) d20+3=7 Tuesday March 9th, 2004 9:22:52 PM
Feng sees the sahuagin and runs after him. If they can't catch him then things will get much worse.
OOC: dex check 7
Pursuit - DM Marcin Wednesday March 10th, 2004 4:55:03 AM
The robed Sahuagin turns away from the heroes and starts to flee, but he is too slow! Sarigar pounces after him and manages to catch him just as the fish-man puts his foot on the first of the stairs. Thrown off balance, the enigmatic enemy falls heavily on his face. There is a thud and a scream of terror and pain. [No AoO as the enemy was unarmed.]
Feng catches up with Sarigar, but his heavy armor slows him down considerably and there is no time for him to do anything else.
Setanos runs after the pair of his friends, but has only enough time to make it to the middle of the chamber.
Draax cautiously advances inside, keeping his back to the wall. He casts a casual glance at the items left behind by the fleeing foe and sees broken jars, a few pages parchment, and a spilled inkwell. There seem to be no other exits from the room but the six hallways, the staircase, and the round door (now closed). The ceiling is clean and unusually smooth. One can't help but wonder how it can support the weight of all that stone overhead without any pillars in the round chamber. The massive hook that the chain-wielding skeleton used to hang from is set in the middle of the ceiling.
Tratain, Arien, and Black Paws remain in the hall, moving a little closer to the open door.
The robed monster scrambles to his feet [provoking AoO] and continues its escape while jumping two steps at the time [again, provoking AoO as he moves away]. "Eeeek! They're coming! Master!" he shrieks in strangely pronounced Common. It sounds as if his mouth was full of water. [Unless his flight is interrupted, the sahuagin ends his move in B15 on the second map.]
As Sarigar and Feng look down the staircase they see that it continues deeper into the complex, only to turn to the right after twenty steps or so. The descent is very gradual and the steps are well worn. The sound of the sea echoes loudly in the tunnel. Flickering, red light is coming from behind the bend of the corridor, illuminating another robed figure standing on the stairs [B8]. The second stranger shouts with very similar accent: "No! Too early! Master! They are here! Hurry up! Master!" With that he withdraws behind the bend of the stairway and disappears from view.
[Listen checks everyone. Maps coming by e-mail. 0:15.2]
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=21 d20+13=26 d3+3=5 d20+13=28 d20+3=15 Wednesday March 10th, 2004 12:06:03 PM
Sarigar barely glances down the stairs, focusing most of his attention on his current prey. He does hear the words of the one further down (but they don't really sink in), and half listens to what happens after it disappears from sight (Listen 21, but applying a -5 penalty to myself for not paying full attention for a total of 16).
As his prey attempts to scramble to his feet, Sarigar swings for the back of his head with a noticable thump (AC26, 5HP real damage).
Assuming Feng will also take a swing as it stands up, if his blow does not take the shark man down, Sarigar will attempt to trip him again (Touch Attack AC28, Opposed Str or Dex check 15).
Realizing that stealth is pretty much not an option any longer, he barks out for Black Paws to heel (come to him in essence).
Spells Memorized: 1: Magic Fang
Draax d20+8=24 d20+3=23 Wednesday March 10th, 2004 4:46:38 PM
Seeing no immediate danger from the dropped content or from the ceiling and doors, Draax gets ready to charge after the robed monster with the others. He takes a half step towards the stair when he is sure he heard a faint sound coming from one of the doors (E9). Notices everyone's attention on the fleeing Sahaugin Draax uses his hands to indicate that something is behind the door, but does not really expect any of his mates to see him.
Letting his curiosity get the better of him and also not wanting an enemy at their backs. Draax attempts to move silently (MS check 24) towards the door and try to discern what's on the other side before trying to open it (listening check 23 natural 20).
Draax AC25, HP89 Wednesday March 10th, 2004 4:49:40 PM
(OOC: Forgot to include AC and HP for previous post)
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 41 d20+7=18 Wednesday March 10th, 2004 8:22:34 PM
Arien moves into the room and takes a look around, making sure nothing was lurking around waiting to spring out.
(Listen check 18)
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) d20+16=26 d8+8=12 d6=1 Wednesday March 10th, 2004 11:19:43 PM
Feng watches the sauhagin scramble to his feet and attempt to get away. Thing will be so very bad if that happens. Feng swings his axe, trying to bury it in the creatures back.
ooc: hit ac 26 for 12 normal and 1 fire
Tratain AC 24 HP 77/77 [Endurence; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt] Thursday March 11th, 2004 12:25:44 AM
Tratain Casts another spell upon himself readying himself for the battle to come. (Cast Spell Immunity Fireball, Lightning Bolt)
Tratain then advances as far as he can after his comrades.
The enemy is brought down - DM Marcin d20+14=31 [Sarigar's Handle Animal] Thursday March 11th, 2004 6:53:49 AM
Working in cooperation Sarigar and Feng quickly and efficiently deprive the sahuagin of his life. The body of the fish-man collapses to the floor, its back cleaved in half. Dark blood starts to flow down the stairs.
The wild man barks out, and his wolf obeys the order, jumping to its feet and quickly trotting over to its master. [For future reference: this action requires a Handle Animal check.]
Draax sneaks to the door. The noise of fight that is going on nearby conceals his moves. This door is made of old, black wood, and has two intricate locks on it. Draax puts his ear to the planks and, despite all the noises and distractions, thinks he hears somebody breathing on the other side.
Arien walks inside the room and takes a look around. He scans the chamber in the light of the lamps on the walls and Setanos' torch, but he does not notice anyone but his fellow adventurers.
Tratain, freeing his hand for a moment by holding warhammer in his shield arm, activates another spell, and is the last one to enter the room.
Low chant that some of the heroes heard coming from the staircase increases in volume so that now everyone is aware of it. It sounds like a couple of voices - human voices, not sahuagin - rhytmically shouting strange words. "Aea, Gulba, Markoth, Vele" echoes through the room.
[Friends, I would like us to be a little more careful with the flow of information. For example, if your character tries to communicate something through a gesture, it would be better to describe the gesture, not its meaning. Either that or use Bluff.] [Again, Listen checks please. Map is coming by e-mail. 0:15.3]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 83/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield] Thursday March 11th, 2004 7:53:53 AM
Setanos looks over at Draax, seeing his interest in the door.
"We ga chant'ng comm'ng round that corner, Arien, if ya got a spell that can jam that door so tha dune come up behind us, do it. Sounding like we wanna get roun that corner for tha party really gets goin."
With that he casts another spell, and moves up the hall way, stopping just before it turns so he remains in cover till the rest of the party is ready.
OOC: Cast Heroism and move up the hall
Spells Active Shield : 3 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 1 of 700 rounds.
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+14=27 Thursday March 11th, 2004 11:11:45 AM
Sarigar looks confusedly around at the others; particularly Tratain and Setanos as they chant their funny words and sees whatever visible spells effects may take place. He's unaccustomed to being around spell casters and is a little taken aback. Although he can cast some spells, most of what he can do has little noticeable effect.
Although his natural edginess wants him to move up right behind Setanos, having seen his magical display, he decides to hang back a bit. He pats his leg firmly while looking directly in Black Paw's eyes to bring and keep his brother close at his side (Handle Animal 27). Black Paws does a half-turn and takes his place at Sarigar's side, alert and ready to follow his brother.
He then looks to Feng and finally takes full note of his flaming weapon and looks on partly in awe and trepidation. Despite his unease, he waits to see what Feng does as he still views Feng as the Alpha of the group.
Draax AC25, HP89 d20+3=18 Thursday March 11th, 2004 9:13:05 PM
Hearing the breathing behind the door Draax wonders what manner of creature might be behind it. He looks at the locks and knows that it is beyond his ability to open them without force. He feels the urge to do something stupid when Setanos words remind him of why they are here and the dangers that might lurk behind the door. As he hears the chanting he moves to rejoin the rest of the party knowing that his sword will be needed and hoping that the locks will hold whatever is behind the door long enough for the group to achieve their goal. (listen check 18)
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) Thursday March 11th, 2004 10:42:19 PM
Feng pulls his axe from the dead creatures back. He raises it slightly and nods to Sarigar. He knows he would not have taken the thing down so quickly on his own. While they made some noise it was so much better than letting it sound the alarm. Feng is about to say something when he notices the others huddle near the door. Feng walks forward slowly and says nothing.
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 41 d20+7=16 Friday March 12th, 2004 1:22:32 AM
"Sadly I do not have a way to jam the door as of yet but I do think I have a way to get an edge for awhile." That said Arien casts Greater Invisibilty on himself and moves up the staircase.
A moment of hesitation - DM Marcin Friday March 12th, 2004 3:23:01 AM
Setanos drops the torch and invokes powerful mind magic. Then he starts walking down the stairs, intent on stopping just before the corner, but has enough time to traverse only about a third part of the way. [You need a free hand to cast this spell.]
Sarigar orders Black Paws to follow him. The wolf obediently comes to his side and will try to keep close. Black fur glistens in the light of the lamps on the walls.
Draax moves away from the door and rejoins the party. His companions are now quite spread over the complex: some descending down the stairs, some remaining in the round chamber.
The paladin starts to slowly walk down the stairs, paying attention not to slip on the pool of blood. The flame of his axe burns green for a moment as it cleans itself from sahuagin ichor.
Arien casts yet another spell and silently fades from view. His quiet steps can be heard descending down the staircase.
The chanting continues. A human voice comes from below. It is hard to hear the exact words because of the noise of the sea, but some phrases can be figured out.
"...accept our sacrifice..."
"...intruder, who dared..."
"...blood to give us..."
[Go ahead and take two rounds worth of actions. Map is coming by e-mail. 0:15.4]
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) Saturday March 13th, 2004 11:15:00 AM
"I think I should take the lead. Let whatever strikes against us meet my blade first. That way your magic will be more useful and the rest of you will be able to get into a better tactical position. Besides in my armor I'm not as fast as the rest of you and I don't sneak very well."
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 41 Saturday March 13th, 2004 5:32:59 PM
Arien continues down the staircase and peeks around to the corner. If he can see the group chanting Arien will measure the distance between them to decide what spell to use.
Draax AC25, HP89 Sunday March 14th, 2004 4:10:45 PM
Still holding his sword in one hand and his shield in the other, Draax moves down the stairs and follows behind Feng. He hopes that the group can get to the chanters before they finish whatever they started with the chanting.
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) Sunday March 14th, 2004 7:21:54 PM
Sarigar follows behind Draax with Black Paws by his side (or just behind if space it too tight).
Tratain AC 27 HP 77/77 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt] Sunday March 14th, 2004 10:08:20 PM
Tratain casts shield of Faith on himself then follows the rest of the group now ready for combat.
--------------------- Endurence Round 6 of 90 Shield of Faith Round 1 of 90 Spell Immunity Round 3 of 90 Minutes
Dark ritual - DM Marcin d20+1=6 [secret roll] Monday March 15th, 2004 3:14:35 AM
The paladin continues his descent down the stairs, leading the party into yet unexplored depths of the necromantic college. The stairway is well worn. The air is salty and tainted with stench of rotten fish. The odor grows stronger with every step.
Feng feels the presence of Arien by his side, though the mage is invisible and all that betrays his location are quiet breaths and rustling of his clothes. [Please refer to map for distance calculations. Each square is 5ft on the side. Also, please check if the duration of your Greater Invisibility is correct.]
Draax keeps close behind the paladin, ready to support him when the combat breaks out. The wild man is nearby, his wolf brother trotting right behind him.
Tratain fires up another protection and tries to keep up with the rest of the party. When the main group turns around the corner he is only about ten steps behind.
Setanos stands on the stairs in silence, looking around.
First Arien, then Feng, and finally everyone but Tratain and Setanos round the corner and stop. A vast cavern opens ahead of them. About half of it is occupied by a dark, underground lake. Or maybe one would think it was a lake if its surface wasn't moving up and down, obviously in conjunction with the waves beating on the cliffs somewhere outside. The water is black and murky. Dirty, yellow foam floats on its surface.
It seems that the other half of the cave has been converted into some kind of underground dock. Two wooden constructions reaching into the water bear resemblance to unloading platforms one can find on a normal wharf. It seems that some of the walls have been worked on in order to create some kind of storage area. Barrels, crates, chests, and other containers of various shapes and sizes have been left standing by the walls. The space between wall and water seems to be more narrow further down the cave. There is an opening in the wall on the far end of the cave. Red light is coming out of it as if a large fire was burning inside.
A strange machinery has been set up on the furthest end of the cavern. It is quite large and higher than a man. On the first glace it looks like a chaotic and random collection of boxes, slabs of stone, metal trinkets of all kinds, all connected one to another with tubes, wires, and ropes. Strange symbols have been painted all over it with red paint. Or at least one would hope it was paint that was used to make those symbols. More than ten oil lamps have been placed around it and lit, illuminating the whole cave. A human sized body, wrapped completely in white bandages, is strapped to its center.
Five old, yellow skeletons of humanoids, every single one armed with a black staff, stand guard in the middle of the cave, blocking the immediate access to a small group of people that attends the strange device. There are four of them, all clad in robes, all staring directly at Feng. The three closer to the party, an elf, a sahuagin, and a dwarf, all wearing dirty, brown robes, seem to be the ones who were chanting. With the arrival of the Hamleters the chant stops on a mid note.
The figure closest to the machine wears black. He seems to be a young, black haired human. The man holds a small, curved blade in his hand.
"Behold the Soul Machine reforged! Again, you came too late to stop us! Come, and join your friend in death! Such is the penalty for treps- tresap- tressaps-" The man stutters.
The lamps burn uneasily. Long shadows dance on the floor.
[Listen checks everyone.] [Please submit actions for one round. As usual, you'll find the map in e-mail. 0:15.6]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 83/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield] Monday March 15th, 2004 7:53:32 AM
Setanos runs down the hall, turns the corner and enters the room with loud warcry, pulling up a few feet after entering the room.
OOC: double move to e7 Spells Active Shield : 4 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 2 of 700 rounds
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=25 d20+3=21 Monday March 15th, 2004 1:03:57 PM
Once he has room, Sarigar will dart into the room, heading toward the sahaugin.
ooc: Full move as straight toward the sauahgin as I can. I don't have access to my e-mail (I'm not at home at the moment) so I don't have the map to give coordinates with.
If I can make it there in one round, I'll attempt to Bull Rush the sahaugin (AC25, Strength Check 21).
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 41 d20+17=22 d20+17=27 d20+17=20 d20+17=21 d20+17=28 d20+17=36 d20+17=31 Monday March 15th, 2004 2:33:25 PM
Arien notes the distance with a grin and casts one of his favorite spells, Evard's Black Tentacles. He anchors the spell in the middle of the group of oppenents. (Following the line down between R and S and across from the line between 7 and 8, the point where those two lines meet is where the spell is set. Its a twenty foot radius so it should catch everyone but the top and bottom skeletons closest to the party.)
The area is immediately filled with ten foot long rubbery, black tentacles that flail about grabbing anything in their reach.
(Ok here are some grapple checks, I'll list the square they are against to make things easier here. O8 = 22, P7 = 27, Q6 = 20, S6 = 21, S9 = 28, T8 = 36, V7 = 31)
((Also thanks for catching that, 1 round per level somehow became 1 minute per level when I was typing it in.))
Draax AC25, HP89 Monday March 15th, 2004 7:50:19 PM
Listening to the man talk, Draax wishes that he had his bow ready. He moves in a confident manner to G9 and tries not to focus on the wrapped body. He hopes that it is not Renik under the bandages, but does not have much faith in that belief. Seeing the machine and remembering what the last one did is almost enough to have him charging into the skelly to get to the speaker.
Goading an enemy is always dangerous, but most opponents will make mistakes when fighting with emotional anger. Draax decides to see if he can provoke a reaction for the speaker.
"Treps- tresap- tressaps; come on you can do it, talk a little slower or we will be here all day waiting for you to finish a sentence."
Inside he braces himself for some type of retaliation, but continues to display a calm appearance on the outside.
Tratain AC 27 HP 77/77 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt] d20+9=22 d20+9=24 Monday March 15th, 2004 11:27:49 PM
Tratain moves into the room (Double move to F8) and begins Scanning the water for signs of the Dragon Turtle the group has heard about. (Spot 22, Listen 24)
An ambush! - DM Marcin d20+1=9 d20+1=17 [cultist grapple checks] d20+6=14 d20+6=15 d20+6=12 d20+6=18 d20+6=7 d20+6=16 [Sahuagin grapple checks] Tuesday March 16th, 2004 11:04:43 AM
The warcry of Setanos resounds in the cavern as the warrior charges in. [Ending up in E8; if my calculations are right E7 is unreachable for you this round. You have to go through B8 when you round the corner and every other diagonal move counts as two.]
The wild man leaps forward, and with a few quick steps covers almost half of the distance to the strange machine. His wolf companion follows closely behind. Further advance is blocked for them by the phalanx of skeletons.
Arien chooses this moment to invoke his favorite spell. A swirling mass of huge, black tentacles springs up into being right in the middle of the group of enemies, flailing at them and wrapping around them. Strangely enough, the spell's area is smaller than usual, as if part of it has been cut off with an invisible knife. The robed elf and sahuagin struggle to get free, but to no avail. The skeletons are completely passive and let themselves be grabbed without struggle. The dwarf and the human with the curved blade are not within reach of the tentacles.
Draax steps forward and mocks the man standing by the body strapped to the device. He is not sure if his enemy is paying attention to his words, as the cultist's attention is absorbed by the mass of nightmarish tentacles that appeared right before him out of nowhere.
Tratain enters the cave and takes a position right next to Setanos, watching the dark lake.
The black robed man jumps up, drops his dagger, and panics. With a scream he darts into the nearby hallway, disappearing from sight. The dwarf follows his lead, but as he is about to step out of the cavern he shouts: "They're here! Now! Now!"
The red light of flames that was coming out of the opening in the wall starts to grow brighter and brighter. Finally, a disturbingly strange figure majestatically emerges on the dock. It looks like a half-snake, half-human, with arms and humanoid head, but long, snake-like tail. It is carrying a massive, glowing spear, and is completely shrouded in red and yellow flames. The cave suddenly grows very bright. [Marked on the map as Fire]
There is a sound of tinkling chains. The flaming man is joined by another strange figure. A man - if it is a man at all - who just appeared out of the hallway is completely wrapped around with chains and spikes of all kinds, to the point that no part of his body is visible from under them aside from a pair of red, glowing, infernal eyes. [Marked on the map as Chain]
Finally, a pair of dark elf warriors appears and takes a place on the sides of the man of flames. Each of them is wielding two blades. They look somewhat shaken; there is no telling if it is because of the Black Tentacles spell at work right ahead of them, or maybe because of being in such an unusual company. [Marked on the map as Dark]
The man in chains takes in the situation and laughs. If anyone thinked him human this idea is soon dispelled as he speaks out in a voice so black and full of malice that it freezes the marrow in the bones of the listeners. "Mortals wish to contest our might?! So be it! Aaxaran, I summon thee! Come forth and do your duty!"
Tratain, who was watching the depths of the pool, sees what he was looking for. The surface of the lake rises up sending a wave of cold water over the shoes of the heroes. Like a small island, a shell of a huge sea monster emerges from the water, effortlessly crushing one of the wooden bridges as it approaches the dock. It is dark gray, covered here and there with patches of green. A horned head sporting massive beak emerges from under it. A pair deep, amber eyes, each as large as a human head, stares directly at Setanos.
The turtle is not the only foe to emerge from the depths of the lake. The wave that has washed over the dock withdraws leaving behind a band of sahuagin. Some are immediately grabbed by black tentacles. The rest scramble to their feet. A few are armed with jagged swords and shields made of giant rosy shells [Sw], others prepare large crossbows of strange design [Xb]. Tratain sees that there are more of them in the water getting ready to climb on the shore.
Draax and Tratain hear human voices coming from behind the party, most likely from the round chamber. Sounds like spellcasting.
[Grappled enemies are marked with white dots. As some of you lack a convenient access to e-mail I will be putting maps on my web page at www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP] [0:15.7]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 83/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield] d20+13=24 Tuesday March 16th, 2004 2:11:03 PM
Setanos grits his teeth, preparing for the pain that will come. "That machine must be stopped."
Wary of the Dragons claws, he casts his spell, and with a cry of "FOR DOMI!" he steps through the newly formed doorway.
Spells Active Extended Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 5 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 3 of 700 rounds
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+4=23 d20+3=12 d20+13=18 Tuesday March 16th, 2004 4:31:33 PM
Upon seeing the Black Tentacles rise up out of nowhere, Sarigar begins backpeddling as fast as he can, struggling to keep his balance on the damp floor (Sarigar's Dex Check 23, Black Paws Dex Check 12). Seeing his brother sliding on the slick ground, Sarigar attempts to scoop him on on his run back (AC18, grapple attempt).
He runs back toward the tunnel as far as he can, barely taking note of anything going on behind him. As far as he knows, some enormous demon just jumped out of the ground and started swallowing things and he does not want to be next.
Draax AC25, HP89 d20-1=15 Tuesday March 16th, 2004 10:23:25 PM
If he was not holding a sword in his hand Draax would have hit himself on the side of his head when the dragon turtle appeared. He says to himself in a low whisper. "How in the wold did I forget about the turtle?"
Hearing what sounds like spellcasting behind the party Draax says, "It looks like we have a few behind us also. These guys must really be scared of us to give us such a warm welcome."
Moving to L8 Draax turns to face the line of sahuagin hoping to keep them between him and the dragon. He gets in a defensive stance ready to switch to the offensive when the opportunity arises. He is not sure if the sahuagin will understands him, but because talking during a fight has always made him feel better Draax tries to taunt the creatures into moving into positions that will shield him during the combat. "OK, you bloating head fish men, which one of you wants to die first? Don't everyone raise their flippers at the same time I promise that there will be enough death for all of you. So please step forward one at time or better yet everyone at the same time." Draax tries to use his voice to get his meaning across whether they understand his speech or not (bluff 15)
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 41 9d6(5+3+5+3+5+6+4+6+2)=39 d20+17=34 d6+4=6 d20+17=22 d6+4=9 d20+17=20 d6+4=8 d20+17=30 d6+4=10 d20+17=22 d6+4=8 d20+17=37 d6+4=9 d20+17=24 d6+4=6 d20+17=22 d6+4=5 d20+17=30 d6+4=5 d20+17=23 d6+4=10 d20+17=34 d6+4=6 d20+17=27 d6+4=9 d20+17=36 d6+4=7 Tuesday March 16th, 2004 10:33:48 PM
Taking a step forward and to the side (D8) Arien quickly takes aim at the Turtle and unleashes with a Cone of Cold at the draconic beast. (39 damage, reflex save 22 for half) Meanwhile the tentacles writhe and grab at the creatures trapped within them.
Tratain AC 27 HP 77/77 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 108] d20+20=33 Wednesday March 17th, 2004 12:27:11 AM
Upon seeing the Dragon Turtle rise out of the Sea with all of the Sea Devils Tratain casts another Defensive spell on himself (Cast Prot. From Energy:Fire Defensively Rolled 33 vs DC 18) and Prepares to Face the Sea Devils and The Dragon Turtle.
--------------------- Endurence Round 9 of 90 Shield of Faith Round 4 of 90 Spell Immunity Round 6 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 1 of 90 Minutes
DM Marcin Wednesday March 17th, 2004 4:00:24 AM
[Walter hasn't posted for some time now. I am delaying the next combat post until tomorrow. I will mail him, but if I hear nothing from him I will ask Jim to play Feng until Walter is ready to post again.]
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) Wednesday March 17th, 2004 11:56:39 AM
Feng is suprised to see so many soldiers. Obviously their enemy is better prepared than they are. Things don't look good but if it to be the end then so be it. Feng moves toward the closest Sauhagin soldiers.
Fire and Water - DM Marcin d20+8=28 [Dragon turtle save] d20+6=20 d20+6=25 d20+6=14 d20+6=21 d20+6=7 d20+6=14 [Sahuagin grapple checks vs tentacles] d20+6=26 d20+6=12 d20+6=24 d20+6=15 d20+5=23 d10=3 [Crossbowmen vs Draax] d20+5=18 d20+5=14 [Swordsmen vs Feng] d20+7=11 d20+7=17 d20+7=9 d20+7=8 [Swordsmen vs Draax] 12d6(3+3+3+2+3+5+3+4+3+5+5+5)=44 [Turtle breath weapon] d20+10=16 d20+10=24 2d4(1+4)+2=7 [Chain attacks vs Setanos] d20+6=25 d20+6=24 d20+6=21 2d8(6+4)+2=12 [Dark elves vs Setanos] d20+13=23 d20+8=20 d8+3=10 d6=2 d20+10=11 [Fire creature vs Setanos] Thursday March 18th, 2004 8:53:39 AM
Setanos speaks out a word of power and lets the arcane energies carry him through the bend in the fabric of the Wold he has just created. He appears right next to the strange machine, behind backs of the surprised enemies. Immediately upon arrival he feels a wave of heat coming from the towering man of flames [Troy please check your mail before posting.]
Sarigar and Black Paws, suddenly finding themselves in a tight spot, turn around and fall back, seeking refuge in the tunnel of the staircase.
Draax steps up to the line of sahuagin warriors and tries to provoke them to attack. It is not obvious if they understand his words or not, but he is successful in drawing their attention. Many pairs of lidless eyes watch him with cold calculation.
Arien, still protected by his invisibility spell, targets the dragon turtle with a cone of magic frost. A small patch of ice forms where the spell area connects with water; there is a boom and part of the wharf, affected by unnatural cold, breaks off and slides into water. The shell of the turtle seems to protect its flesh against most of damage [made Ref save].
The black tentacles continue to mangle and strangle the group caught in the area of the spell. All of the skeletons are shattered and torn into parts. Both of the robed cultists shout and take their final breaths - their necks are broken with sickening snaps. The sahuagin crossbowmen fare a little better, at least for a moment, managing to keep the tentacles from wrapping around their necks.
Tratain, putting his warhammer for a moment in his shield arm, shrouds himself with magic protecting him from fire. [Note that you need a free hand to cast most spells. It is a free action to move an item held in one hand to the other.]
Feng advances towards the line of sahuagin swordsmen. The fish-men, unnerved by the sight of the half-orc with a flaming axe, raise their shields.
The group caught in the grasp of tentacles tries to free themselves, but not even one is successful. The spell is too strong for them to overcome.
The handful of crossbowmen that avoided being grabbed by the spell raise their weapons and launch a volley of bolts aimed at Draax. Other sahuagin standing in their line of fire hamper their aim and most of the bolts just bounce harmlessly off shield and armor worn by Draax. Only one finds its mark [Draax takes 3 damage from a crossbow bolt]. The enemies start to reload their crossbows.
Two of the sahuagin swordsmen dance around Feng, looking for a hole in his defense, but find none. The remaining four surround Draax. It is not a blind charge, but careful, trained maneouver. The warriors circle him, and then descend on Draax all at the same time. Despite their skill all of their blows are deflected and parried.
Another group of enemies climbs out of the water. Some of them wield large tridents [Tr]. There seems to be still some more just under the surface waiting to come out.
The turtle looks around. All of the heroes are either engaged by the sahuagin, or protected by the walls of the staircase. All but Tratain, who is standing right in front of the monster. The turtle opens its beak and spits forth a cloud of superheated steam. Tratain finds himself suddenly in the middle of it. It feels like a dip in boiling water. The contents of one of the barrels by the wall explode from the intensive heat [Tratain takes 44 fire damage, Ref21 for half].
The group of the enemies next to the machine turn around and face Setanos. "Spared us the trouble of getting over that mess? Good!" mocks one of the elves. But the first to reach him is the strange creature wearing chains. As it flails with its arms at Setanos the chains reveal its face. It is the face of Setanos' mother. [Setanos takes 7 damage from chains and needs to make a Will save DC15 or suffer -2 penalty to attack rolls for 1d3 rounds].
Both dark elves approach Setanos from sides at the same time. The blows of their swords might be lacking in finesse and strength, but still one of them manages to land a lucky hit. The wound instantly goes numb; the numbness starts to spread through the entire body of Setanos [crit; Setanos takes 12 damage and needs to make a Fort save DC17 or fall asleep at the end of next round].
The man in flames is the last one to attack. His huge spear stabs quickly twice, while his muscular tail reaches out to wrap around Setanos' legs. One of the stabs finds its mark. The rest of the attacks are deflected [Setanos takes 10 damage and 2 fire damage].
The sounds of battle make it impossible to hear if the spellcasting in the chamber above continues.
[New map is up on my site. Grappled enemies are marked with white dots. Numbers represent damage done to enemies.] [0:15.8]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 52/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+8=16 d20+15=24 d20+12=24 d20+7=18 2d6(6+4)+11=21 2d6(4+2)+11=17 Thursday March 18th, 2004 10:19:59 AM
Setanos grunts under the attacks, looking slightly shaken from the chain attack, but easily shrugging off the Dark Elves poison.
Turning to the dark elf by the water, he lets loose with two powerful attacks.
OOC: Will Save vrs DC 15 : passed Fort Save vrs DC 17 : passed Power Attack for 2 Attacking Dark Elf in U6, switching to other Dark Elf if first attack drops 1st elf, other wise 2nd attack on same elf. Hit AC 24 for 21 damage Hit AC 18 for 17 damage
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=18 Thursday March 18th, 2004 11:53:27 AM
Having heard Draxx's announcement of enemies behind (Listen 18), Sarigar drops Black Paws to the ground and begins heading up the stairs to confront them. He wants nothing to do with the Black Tentacle Demon in the harbor.
He takes about a half move up the stairs (trying to stay out of sight of anyone up there for the moment) then casts Magic Fang on Black Paws just in case he needs that extra bit of bite.
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) d20+14=30 d20+9=20 d20+9=21 d8+8=13 d6=1 d8+8=9 d6=4 d8+8=15 d6=1 Thursday March 18th, 2004 3:17:58 PM
With all the sahuagin around Feng decides that these two are a good place to start. He spins his double axe around and across the closest fish creature.
OOC: hit ac 30 for 13 reg and 1 fire, hit ac 20 for 9 reg and 4 fire, and hit ac 21 for 15 reg and 1 fire
Draax AC25, HP86 d20+17=36 d20+17=21 d20+12=18 d8+9=12 d8+9=11 d8+9=12 d8=1 Thursday March 18th, 2004 9:45:22 PM
Draax is surprised by the damage done to him from the crossbow bolt, but does not let it show on his face. In a heart beat he has analyzed and dismissed the damage as nothing more than a scratch. A little magical healing and it will not even leave a mark.
Now that he has an attentive audience the half-elven warrior decides to prove to them that his last statement was not all boast. "OK, who will be my first victim? How about you?" As he turns toward the creature in L9 Draax begins his swing on the word How and is rewarded by solid hit and a thunderous sound. (hit AC 36, AC 21 for crit,12dmg or 23dmg and 1 sonic dmg if crit and must make Fortitude save (DC 14) or be deafened permanently). He tries for the creature again on his return swing (hit AC 18 for 12).
Catching a glimpse of more creatures coming out of the water Draax wonders how long the party will be able to withstand this onslaught.
Tratain AC 27 HP 86/86 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 64; Divine Power; Divine Favor] d20+6=10 d20+20=24 Thursday March 18th, 2004 11:38:15 PM
Tratain being Preocupied watching the legions of Sea Devils Rise out of the Ocean and seeing how his friends Faire that he doesn't notice the Dragon Turtle Using Its Breath Weapon against him until it is too late (Failed Ref save with a 10)
Tratain Turns His attention Towords the Giant Turtle and Begins Casting once again. (Cast Divine Power Defensively Rolled 24 Vs. DC 19) and in the blink of an eye follows it with a second spell (Quickened Divine Favor)
--------------------- Endurence Round 10 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 5 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 7 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 2 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 1 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 1 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage)
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield, Greater Invisibility AC 25) HP: 41 9d6(5+3+6+6+6+6+5+4+3)=44 d20+17=34 d6+4=8 d20+17=37 d6+4=6 d20+17=29 d6+4=6 d20+17=31 d6+4=8 d20+17=34 d6+4=6 d20+17=25 d6+4=9 Friday March 19th, 2004 12:58:39 AM
Seeing the mass of enemies Arien decides to help free up Feng and Draxx to combat the Dragon Turtle. Moving dangerously close to the beast (D6) Arien lines up his spell and unleashes a lightning bolt through the enemies. (Through row 6, should reach all the way down with a 120ft range) Meanwhile the tentacles continue to writhe and tear at those trapped within them.
A pitched battle - DM Marcin d20+1=6 d20+1=12 [swordsmen vs lightning] d20+4=23 d20+4=15 d20+4=15 d20+4=12 d20+4=18 d20+4=7 [trident wielders and crossbowmen vs lightning] d20+6=23 d20+6=17 d20+6=24 d20+6=20 [crossbowmen vs tentacles] d20+6=14 d20+6=11 d20+6=26 d20+6=25 d20+5=19 d20+5=24 d10=7 [crossbowmen vs Tratain] d20+7=18 d20+7=15 d20+7=21 d20+7=10 [swordsmen vs Draax] d20+6=10 [dark elf vs Setanos] d20+12=19 d20+12=14 [chain vs Setanos] d20+15=17 d20+10=17 d20+12=25 2d6(6+2)+1=9 d6=1 [flame vs Setanos] d20+12=24 [Flame vs Setanos grapple] 2d6(3+3)+1=7 d6=2 [constrict damage on Setanos] d4=1 [breath weapon delay] 12d6(6+3+3+3+2+5+5+5+6+5+5+1)=49 [breath weapon damage] Friday March 19th, 2004 4:06:24 AM
Setanos, undaunted by the number of enemies surrounding him, fights back. He skillfully strikes twice at one of the dark elves. The foe drops his weapon; the impact turns him around. His body falls into the lake with a loud splash, but he is probably dead even before he reaches the surface of the water.
Sarigar infuses the paws of his friend with magic and slowly ascends the stairs, intending to block any surprises that might come this way. The spellcasting up above continues; what was just a moment before a series sharp phrases in arcane language now sounds more like a continued, long litany. Suddenly and without a warning the stairway is blocked by a group of black furred creatures! The animals look like wolves, but there is some strange twist to them. Their fur is coal black, wisps of smoke come out of their maws, and their eyes gleam with inteligence and cruel malice. The pair closest to Sarigar resembles normal wolves as far as size is concerned, but right behind them there are another two, both bigger than a horse and totally blocking the way up. The whole group starts to move down the stairs. Black Paws growls and fur rises on his back [big ones are not yet shown on the map].
Feng executes a precise series of attacks, easily breaking through feeble defenses of the sahuagin warrior facing him. All three of his strikes hit. The shield of the fish-man shatters into hundreds of fragments and the Sea Devil falls to the ground almost cleaved in half [Walter, where does +8 to damage come from? By my count you have +6 (+5str,+1magic) with your primary hand and +3 (+2str,+1magic) with your off hand. Did I miss something?].
Suddenly there is a boom of thunder, amplified tenfold by the echo in the cavern! Draax slays one of his opponents with a single blow. The others near him shriek in pain. Some grab their ears. Draax is able to direct his second attack (which also hits) against one of the distracted sahuagin. The echoes of the crash do not want to die and resound inside the ungerground dock again and again. Everyone feels that the cave starts to shake. Dirt and small stones start to fall down from the ceiling.
Tratain, again putting his warhammer in his other hand, further strenghtens his defenses by casting two more spells. His firm voice reciting the incantations is almost lost in the din of battle [Joe, I think the amount of protection left on your character is 46, not 64].
Arien steps up dangerously close to the monstrous turtle and launches an arc of blue-white electriticy at the line of enemies. There are shrieks of pain and suddenly the air is filled with the smell of fried fish. All but one of the enemies in the path of his spell fall down as charred, smoking bodies. The single one who survived the lightning drops his smoking trident and jumps into the lake, obviously no longer wishing to continue the fight. Strangely enough, the lightning spell ends sooner than one would expect it to [in the middle of S6].
The last four Sea Devils caught by the tentacles continue their fight against the insidious spell, but none of them manages to break free. Their moves become desperate; they struggle like flies caught in the web when they see a spider approaching.
The group of the crossbowmen on the wooden platform finish reloading their weapons and fire a volley of bolts at Tratain, who is now the only one of the heroes who is not engaged in melee. The projectiles mostly bounce off Tratain's armor, but one of them scores a lucky hit [7 damage from crossbow bolt].
The death of their companion does not seem to discourage the four remaining swordsmen. "Before we are done with you, you will beg for death!" shouts one of the fish-men in deep, harsh Common. Once again they spread around Draax and try to exploit their numbers. But once again, they are unable to penetrate his defences. Frustrated, the enemies spit out curses in their native language.
Five more enemies wielding tridents climb out of the water. It seems that it is the last group of sahaguin that was waiting in the depths of the lake.
On the other end of the cavern a fierce melee is going on as three of the remaining enemies concentrate their attention on Setanos. By some strange blessing of Wardd neither the sword of the dark elf, nor the chains of the dark monster, and not even the spear of the burning snake man can reach their target. Setanos can see a hint of fear appear in the eyes of the dark elf warrior. But just at that moment the snake man strikes out with his tail with the speed of a cobra. Setanos is hit under his knees [9 damage, 1 fire damage]. The tail wraps around his waist and starts to constrict him. The heat coming from it is almost unbearable [7 damage and 2 fire damage. Setanos and the man of flame are now grappling. Your grapple maneouvers need to beat DC22 to be successful].
"And now, mortal" hisses the monstrosity clad in chains "you shall die."
The dragon turtle narrows its eyes. It is not a mere animal mind that resides in its scaly, horned head. It has seen two spells originate out of nowhere and has made the obvious conclusion. Its head moves to the side; as it launches another blast of scalding hot steam it pays attention to include the point of origin of the lightning bolt in its path. The intense heat causes several more barrels by the wall to explode [Arien and Tratain take 49 fire damage, Ref save DC21 for half].
The shaking of the cavern continues. Part of the wall on the other side of the lake cracks and slides into water. A large boulder falls from the ceiling and breaks the surface of the lake with a loud splash.
[Check out the new map. 0:15.9]
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) Friday March 19th, 2004 10:37:33 AM
OOC: the double axe is a two handed weapon. according to pg. 8 of the phb two handed weapons get 1.5 times strength bonus. The magical bonus puts it to 8.5. I dropped it to 8 so my question is do I round to 9? Because of how the weapon is weilded I failed to see how a strike from one end will be weaker than a strike from the other. How is it weaker when both arms weild both ends of the weapon?
Feng takes a step forward (J7) and brings his axe down on one of the creatures surrounding Draxx (K8). He leaves himself open to the fish creature on his left but Draxx is in far worse condition than he is.
OOC2: Since I don't know what the ruling is on his strength bonus, please make the attack rolls for me.
[Hm. I am reasonably sure that PH p.113 gives you an option of either using your axe two handed for two attacks, or as a one handed plus light weapon for three attacks, but I will check with the other DMs. By the way, are both heads of Feng's axe +1 Flaming? When you bought it only one head of the weapon was magical.]
Sarigar(AC19, HP78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20=16 Friday March 19th, 2004 11:31:15 AM
Seeing potential brothers in the first pair of wolves, Sarigar attempts to calm them and perhaps sway them to his cause. He shows them that he means them no harm by placing his hands, palms forward at his sides and looking down at their front paws. (Wild Empathy 25)
ooc: Forgot to add my level (+9) and charisma (+0) to the Empathy roll. Also, this normally takes a minute, but it does say that it can take longer or shorter time, obviously I'm trying to do it in shorter time.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+11=23 Friday March 19th, 2004 1:28:00 PM
Setanos turns over his shoulder and calls out "Just a bit lad, I'll be back ta talk bout that dying part in a min."
With that, fully embracing the grapple, Setanos takes a deep breath and shoves hard, pushing against the fire creature with all his might...pushing...north.
OOC: Move the grapple 10 feet north, taking all members of the grapple with me into square V4-5, and the water. Grapple check 23 (7BAB + 4 Str)
Spells Active Extended Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 7 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 5 of 700 rounds
Draax AC25, HP86/89 d20+17=22 d20+12=17 d8+9=12 d8+9=10 Friday March 19th, 2004 4:33:19 PM
Draax smiles when he hears the fish-man speaks, "Oh, so you do understand me. OK, have you guys heard the one about the 4 ugly fish heads that attacks the lonely half-elf and died for their troubles? No! You have not heard that one? Will, let me introduce you to the punch line."
As soon as he finished talking Draax swings at the creature in L9 (hits AC22 for 12 dmg). He loses a little momentum on his return swing and does not swing with the same precision as before (hits AC 17 for 10dmg).
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield, Greater Invisibility AC 25) HP: 17 d20+13=32 d20+17=22 d6+4=5 d20+17=32 d6+4=8 d20+17=25 d6+4=8 d20+17=23 d6+4=7 Friday March 19th, 2004 5:54:09 PM
Cursing the Dragon Turtle Arien manages to avoid a driect blast from the breath weapon. Knowing that he can't survive another attack like that Arien steps back into the stairway and casts Slow. With the spell Arien targets the Dragon Turtle and several of the combatants that Draax and Feng are engaged in. The tentacles continue to crush the life out of their victims as well.
(Slow save DC: 19 Will Negates. Arien can effect 9 creatures no two of which can be more than 30 ft apart. If I'm measuring right I'll effect the Dragon Turtle, J6-M6 and all four SWs that are surrounding Draax.
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 96) Saturday March 20th, 2004 2:00:43 PM
Feng heard alot going around but knew little. He knew Draxx was next to him but didn't know anything about the others.
"Roll call everybody. I have a nice collection of sauhagin over here waiting to be cut down. Currently I am uninjured. Anybody in trouble out there?"
Tratain AC 30 HP 104/104 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20+6=12 d20+20=26 Sunday March 21st, 2004 11:28:36 PM
Tratain Finds Himself unable to dodge the Turtles Breath Weapon a second time so he trusts in his magic to protect him from the blast (Failed Reflex Save with a 12. Starting Protection = 108(9th level * 12points per level - 44(Failed First Save) - 49(Failed Second Save) = 15 Points Remaining unless I missed something)
Again Holding his Magical Warhammer in his shield hand Tratain incants the words to another spell. (Rolled 26 vs DC 20 to cast Righteous Might Defensively) Upon Completion Tratain Grows to be almost 11 Feet tall. Tratain takes his Warhammer back out of his shield hand and prepares to face the Dragon Turtle.
OOC:The Turtle is in the spaces in Row 5 Correct? If it isn't then Tratain will also move forward stopping 15 feet away from the Dragon Turtle.
--------------------- Endurence Round 11 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 6 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 8 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 3 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 2 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 2 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 1 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Chaos and Fireworks - DM Marcin d20+14=32 d20+9=13 d20+9=20 d8+8=15 d6=6 d8+8=16 d6=1 [Feng's attacks] d20+9=10 [Turtle vs slow] d20-1=2 [swordsman vs slow] d20+4=6 d20+4=21 d20+4=13 d20+4=5 [trident wielders vs slow] d20+6=25 d20+6=21 d20+6=25 d20+6=15 [crossbowmen vs tentacles] d20+6=10 [trident vs Feng] d20+8=13 d20+6=24 [swordsmen vs Draax] d20+9=20 d20+9=25 d20+8=15 d20+8=9 d8+3=11 [tridents vs Draax] d20+5=10 d20+5=11 [wolves vs Sarigar] d20+15=26 d8+18=23 [big wolf vs Sarigar] d20+13=21 [big wolf trips] d20+2=17 [snake man swim check] d4=4 [breath weapon delay] d20+14=32 4d6(2+5+5+3)+11=26 [turtle vs Feng] d6=5 [# of boulders falling] d20=15 d10=9 d20=12 d10=6 d20=11 d10=6 d20=14 d10=2 d20=8 d10=10 [where they fall] Monday March 22nd, 2004 9:52:00 AM
Feng steps forward and unleashes a quick sequence of attacks. The unfortunate sahuagin manages to deflect one of them with his shield, but is thrown off balance with a massive blow and quickly finished off with another. The paladin calls out to his friends to communicate their situation.
Sarigar tries to calm down the group of animals who descend down the stairs but quickly realizes that these are too inteligent to be swayed by the language of the wild [for future reference: if they were not, you could do a Wild Empathy check in one round as you wanted, but with -10 penalty. See the description of Diplomacy skill].
Setanos grabs the tail wrapped around his chest and starts to push towards the egde of the wharf. Only too late does the man in flames realize what is going to happen. He desperately struggles for balance, but Setanos makes another step and, with a piercing cry of the creature, both of them fall into the dark water. This is accompanied by a sound resembling that made by a red-hot stone thrown into a barrel of water; a cloud of steam quickly rises up. Setanos feels that the grip on his waist is released [unless you want to hold on to the enemy?]. Encumbered by his sword Setanos goes down like an anchor. It is a few seconds before he feels the bottom under his boots, and by that time he already hears ringing in his ears. The equipment carried in his backpack is probably safe, but the spell component pouch dangling at his belt will require a thorough cleaning. [Setanos is now holding his breath. Swimming to the surface would require both arms free and a DC10 Swim check - remember the encumbrance penalty. Casting spells while swimming requires a DC15 Concentration check. If there is a verbal component you suffer a 50% spell failure chance if you have your head under water.]
Draax continues to taunt his enemies, killing off a wounded foe and giving a nasty, gushing wound to another almost without effort.
Arien manages to dodge the worst of the steam attack. In reply he shouts out a transmuting incantation. The spell sticks; the turtle, one swordsman, and three trident wielders slow down considerably and are now moving as if they were wading in a vat of molasses [the furthest swordsman was out of range]. The invisible mage withdraws into the corridor. The field of black tentacles has almost claimed the lives of its victims. The struggling is now sporadic and the shouts have stopped.
Tratain finishes his magic combo with a final, spectacular spell. Suddenly he grows much taller and his weapons increase in size [Your calculations for protection left are right, my mistake! The turtle indeed starts in row 5 (and fills the whole area shown on the map as a black rectangle)].
The trapped crossbowmen struggle some more, but they are again unable to throw off the grasp of tentacles. The whole scene brings to mind an insect-eating plant feasting on some flies.
There is some shuffling in the group of Shark Men facing Feng and Draax. The swordsmen, infuriated by taunting, launch themselves at the warrior with a bloodthirsty abandon. The tridentmen enter the fight a bit more orderly, with one of them fending off Feng and the rest trying to surround Draax. The sheer number of the enemies starts to take its toll and Draax is unable to parry one of the trident blows [11 damage from trident].
One of the archers on the wooden platform shouts out a command and the whole group drops their crossbows, quickly swims closer to the melee, and climbs up [two closest to Feng provoke an AoO from him].
Two smaller wolves run down the stairs, trying to sneak past Sarigar and Black paws [the first one provokes an AoO from both of you, the second one from Sarigar only]. They snap their maws at the wild man, but he manages to avoid their teeth. The big wolves follow in the patch of their smaller cousins, jumping down the stairs two at a time. The leading one snaps at Sarigar and bites a good chunk of flesh out of his arm. The impact of the attack throws the wild man to the ground [23 damage and Sarigar is tripped].
The dark elf mutters something under his breath, runs up to the shore, and starts to intently look into the rippling lake, sword at ready. Its surface is soon broken by the emerging head of the snake man. His flames are gone and in other circumstances he would be a pitiful sight. He let go of his spear and now barely manages to splash his way to one of the tubes hanging from the machine. He stops there, whining and gathering strength.
The monstrosity clad in chains turns to the other side of the cavern, takes a step in that direction, but then takes a look at the inviting field of tentacles and reconsiders. Instead it looks into the hallway it came from and shouts: "Aaxaran, I have summoneth thee! Where art thou?"
The dragon turtle pulls itself a few feet forward. Suddenly its head strikes out with speed only barely reduced by the slow spell. But its target is not the threatening figure of Tratain, but Feng, who is occupied by the Shark Men and has its back turned to the turtle. The massive beak crushes through the armor of the paladin [26 damage].
A few more explosions come from the side of the dock. Some of the goods stockpiled there are on fire. A cloud of steam created after the bath of the man in flames starts to spread [providing concealment to those within it]. The light of the lamps on the machine gets dimmer; most of the illumination is now coming from Feng's axe.
The rumbling and shaking continues. A crack appears on one of the walls. The sides of the cavern grunt under the weight of tons of stone above them. The rain of boulders falling from the ceiling gets more intensive. There are now large chunks of rock in it as well. One of them splashes in the water. Three land in the field of tentacles. One breaks the floor only feet away from Draax [The broken floor counts as rough terrain].
[A new map is on the site. 0:16.0]
Tratain AC 30 HP 104/104 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20+23=25 d20+18=21 d20+18=38 d20+18=26 2d6(1+3)+14=18 2d6(2+6)=8 2d6(2+3)+14=19 4d6(5+5+5+6)+28=49 2d6(5+5)=10 Monday March 22nd, 2004 12:42:33 PM
Tratain swings his Warhammer at the giant Dragon Turtle. His First attack Strikes the giant turtle but Tratain is unsure right away if he actually manages to hurt the great beast (Hit AC 25 for 18 physical damage 8 Holy Damage) Tratain's Second attack starts out looking very ill-placed but useing a little trick taught to him at the War Cathedral manages to turn it into a very solid Hit (Rolled To hit AC 21, Used Hero Point to Reroll Hit AC 38 Crit chance, Roll to confirm crit Hit AC 26. Damage is 19 Physical 10 Holy if Crit is not confirmed 68 Physical 10 Holy if Crit is confirmed)
--------------------- Endurence Round 12 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 7 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 9 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 4 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 3 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 3 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 2 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Sarigar(AC19, HP55/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=29 d3+3=6 d20+13=17 d3+3=6 d20+3=7 d20+13=20 d20+11=28 d3+6=8 d3+3=6 d20+6=23 d3+1=4 d20+11=29 d3+3=5 d20+6=13 d3+1=4 d20+3=8 d20+4=10 Monday March 22nd, 2004 1:35:41 PM
Regretfully, Sarigar swings down on the wolves attempting to pass him. The first one, he hammers solidly (AC29, 6HP). The second he clubs less accurately, but just as hard (AC17, 4HP). Black Paws nips at one of the wolves attempting to slip past, but only succeeds at snatching a small tuft of fur (AC7, miss).
Sarigar attempts to resist the large wolf's pull at his arm (Dex check 10 to avoid the trip, most likely failed).
To avoid being surrounded, he attacks the wolves behind him, commanding Black Paws to fight the same one as himself (Handle Animal 20). He then turns and unleashes a flurry of blows upon the wolves that slipped past. Should one or more fall to his attacks, he will immediately turn on another one. His hands flail about wildly, bashing the wolves (AC28, HP6 (oops on the d3+6 roll); AC23, HP4; if he didn't have to stand back up add in AC29, HP5; AC13, 4HP). Black Paws wades in on Sarigar's target, biting visciously at it, but missing (AC8, miss).
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+11=13 Monday March 22nd, 2004 2:45:17 PM
Setanos tries to clamp on to the fire creature, holding him underwater and bringing him down with him.
OOC: Opposed Grapple check to hold 13 (bleh!)
Spells Active Extended Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 9 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 6 of 700 rounds
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 70) d20+16=29 d8+8=15 d6=6 d20+19=24 d8+18=24 d6=1 d20+11=19 d8+8=15 Monday March 22nd, 2004 6:53:08 PM
OOC: hit ac 29 for 15 damage and 6 fire on the AoO
Feng roared to drowned out the intese pain from the dragon turtles massive jaws. He summoned forth some of the holy energy that coarsed through his body and lashed out at the turtle as it pulled its head back. Angered he brought his axe around and slashed the shark man next to him.
ooc: smite evil on the first attack. hit ac 24 for 24 damage and 1 fire. second attack hit ac 19 for 15 damage. This round the axe was used as a two handed weapon.
Draax AC25, HP75/89 d20+17=28 d20+12=19 d8+9=14 d8+9=16 Monday March 22nd, 2004 10:44:33 PM
Draax does not answer Fang, he figures with all his senseless talking everyone in the room probably knows where he is. He feels the bite of the trident and does not like the feeling. His only reaction to the wound is to adjust his shield to protect the spot. Looking at the way they crowded around him, Draax thinks that he is better at irritating his enemies than he thought. For some reason the thoughts 'no wonder I cannot keep a girlfriend' floats in his head. Turning his attention back to the combat, Draax directs his next comments to the wounded sword holding fish. "Ya know! I had a pet frog that looked just like you. Isn't life ironic? He got wounded and I had to kill him too." He thrust his sword through the belly of the wounded fish-man (L9) (AC 28, 14dmg) and will try to hit him again if the first one does not kill him or if the first one kills him the second hit will be directed at other sword fish (K8) (AC19, 16dmg).
The instability of the cavern does not give Draax warm feeling on the inside. If it does come down on them he hopes that it also takes out the machine.
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield, Greater Invisibility AC 25) HP: 17 9d6(5+5+6+5+3+3+3+3+6)=39 d20+17=27 d6+4=5 d20+17=23 d6+4=8 d20+17=31 d6+4=8 d20+17=19 d6+4=8 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 2:05:12 AM
Seeing the wolves coming down the stairway Arien does his best to aid Sarigar and prevent the rest of the group from being flanked by these beasts. Arien launches a lightning bolt straight through the pack hoping to slow them down if not kill a couple. (Column A is where the spell is going through)
Making turtle soup - DM Marcin d20+13=24 [turtle vs massive damage] d20+5=20 d20+7=17 d20+7=25 [wolves vs lightning] d20+6=13 d20+8=15 [sahuagin vs Feng] d20+8=17 d20+8=20 d20+8=20 [sahuagin vs Draax; aid another] d20+7=20 ["swordfish" vs Draax] d20+8=28 d20+8=9 d8+3=6 d20+10=22 d20+11=27 d20+11=28 d8+3=11 d8+3=7 d20+8=27 d20+8=28 d20+8=15 d4+1=5 d4+1=2 [sahuagin vs Draax] d20+8=24 d8+17=22 d20+8=10 [wolves vs Sarigar] d8=8 [# of boulders falling down] d20=1 d10=5 d20=6 d10=10 d20=17 d10=8 d20=7 d10=7 d20+3=18 [sahuagin ref to avoid boulder] d20=18 d10=5 d20=3 d10=6 d20=12 d10=3 d20=17 d10=6 [where they fall] Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 11:12:48 AM
Tratain's warhammer descends crashing down on the dragon turtle's shell. The first strike leaves a crack; the second smashes it open! A jet of steam and flame escapes through the newly smashed hole. The monster shrills in terrible pain. It certainly did not expect such punishment to descend on it! The sheer force of the massive blow threatens to quench the life of the dragon turtle, but the sea creature somehow manages to survive the attack. Nevertheless, the huge monster is on a verge of death. Its head slides into its damaged shell and it starts to back away from Tratain and submerge!
Sarigar punches at the smaller wolves as they race past him, breaking a few ribs. Black Paws does not have that much luck and his teeth are not able sink into the nimble opponents. Just then the wild man is brought down by one of the larger predators. Still prone, he reaches out, grabs paws of the smaller wolves, and twists. Three of his blows find their marks. Bones snap with sickening cracks; one of the black creatures falls down dead, the other yelps in pain as its paw is dislodged. The defeated wolf falls to the stairs and, instead of just lying there, fades away without a trace! There is nothing left of it, not even a stain of blood. Black Paws tries to help out his master, but is unable to hurt his opponent. [Philip, are you adding in +1 to damage from your amulet? How about Black Paws, I have his to hit listed as +5+Magic Fang? Not sure if you wanted to stand up; then you would get only one attack, not two, and enemy would get an AoO. Sarigar is still prone. You don't roll when you are being tripped, grappled, disarmed and such; instead we assume you rolled a 10. Woldian house rule.]
Setanos fails to hang on to the tail of his enemy, which now became as slimy as a snail. He ends up on the bottom of the lake. Complete darkness surrounds him. Muffled sounds of battle can be heard above. [Since Setanos was grappling underwater the amount of rounds he can hold his breath for is halved.]
Feng, hurt by the turtle, takes a step closer to the beast and retaliates with a powerful swing of his axe. Strange are the decrees of Wardd! If the beast's movements were not slowed down by Arien's magic this strike would have missed its mark. But Feng's axe manages to connect and smash through the shell, reaching vital organs inside! The turtle's head shots out of the shell, its eyes blank, black blood flowing out of its beak. It gives out one final roar and then its heart stops beating. Its head splashes into water. The dark shell of the huge animal starts to slowly float away from the wharf, gently bobbing sideways. Feng does not see that because he is busy delivering death to another sahuagin who falls cleaved under powerful strike of his axe.
Draax has his hands full fighting against signifficant odds. His sword delivers oblivion to another sword wielding Sea Devil ending its rage. The last remaining sahuagin swordsman receives a mighty slash on its chest. As he continues his taunts the enemies grunt in frustration and curse him in their strange aquatic dialect.
Arien launches another bolt of lightning. The remaining small wolf is blasted out of existence and instantly fades away. Both big wolves are affected as well, but the damage does not kill them outright. The smell of burned flesh and fur fills the stairway.
The black tentacles finish off the remaining four souls who were unfortunate enough to be caught in their reach. The field of death becomes deceptively still, the tentacles gently bobbing to the sides like a patch of strange, black grass.
The cloud of steam created by the unexpected bath of the man of fire slowly spreads, filling the further end of the cavern and obstructing view.
With the arrival of the last group of sahuagin the Sea Devils become more organized in their tactics. It is strange how they keep pressing the attack after taking so many losses; it is almost as if they felt no fear of death. Two of the warriors engage Feng, one trying to distract him, while the other tries to score a hit with his trident. They fail.
Meanwhile, Draax finds himself completely surrounded. The sword wielder just slashes at him in rage, but is unable to overcame the armor of Draax. The remaining fish-men are more methodical in their attack, the ones without tridents working on distracting him, while the ones armed with weapons are waiting for an opening. This strategy proves successful. Three of the tridents find the cracks in the armor of Draax [6 + 11 + 7 damage from tridents]. The warriors who are not affected by the slow spell find enough time to try to bite into the arms of the warrior. Draax is certainly going to carry many new scars out of this battle [two bite attacks hit for 5 and 2 damage]. "Weak man-thing!" shouts the crowd of aquatic pirates. "Feel our stings, feel our strength! Your death comes, shark-food! We shall feast on you today!"
Meanwhile, Sarigar has his own problems. The big wolf standing over him snaps its maw on his side, leaving punctures in his armor [22 damage]. Then it jumps back [provoking AoO] and is replaced by its companion. It seems that good fortune smiles on the wild man today, for he manages to roll out of the way and the second wolf misses. This certainly seems to be a strange and unusual combat tactics for a pack of wolves.
The snake man, having rid himself of the weight of Setanos, starts to look for suitable handholds that would allow him to climb out of the water. More steam is coming from his corner of the lake; obviously his heat is not yet entirely gone.
Some kind of unknown shadow slowly emerges from the mysterious hallway. It is big, dark, and round like a large rock, but other details are still impossible to discern because of the cloud of steam.
For some unknown reason the field of black tentacles suddenly is no more!
The dark elf and the stranger clad in chains spring forward towards the melee. "Out of my way, curs!" shouts the evil warrior as he tries to push his way through the crowd of sahuagin. The chained thing simply starts to slowly walk straight towards Draax, obviously enjoying the moment. "The depths have claimed one of thee, but the rest shall not find it as easy to escape my grasp!"
The shaking of the cavern continues. Three boulders splash in the water, one almost on the top of Setanos. Two crash to the floor near the newly arrived enigma. Another three land around the melee, one of them almost on the head of the sahuagin with trident facing Feng. The fish-man manages to jump away in the last second.
[Seems that my posts are slipping into the afternoon. A new map is on the site. 0:16.1]
Tratain AC 30 HP 104/104 [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] 9d6(5+5+1+4+2+4+1+6+3)=31 d20+9=12 d20+9=26 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 12:56:27 PM
Tratain glances around the battlefield quickly and then swaps his Warhammer to his shield hand and incants the words to another spell. Upon completion a Collum of Fire and Divine energy decends and engulfs the Dark Elf, The Chain Creature, and Three of the Sea Devils (Cast Flame Strike Centered on Square O-8. That Should Hit them all. 31 Damage Reflex DC 20 For Half Damage. Rolled 12 to beat SR vs Drow 26 to beat SR vs Chain Creature if needed)
After casting Tratain swaps his Warhammer back and Advances towords the Remaining Sea Devils. (Move 15 Feet forward)
--------------------- Endurence Round 13 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 8 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 10 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 5 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 4 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 4 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 3 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Sarigar(AC19, HP33/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=26 d3+4=7 d20+13=14 d3+4=5 d20+6=12 d20+3=9 d3+3=6 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 1:06:04 PM
Sarigar involuntarily lets out a muffled yaulp as the wolf's fang sink in to his side. Despite this, he attempts to scramble to his feet, taking a swing at the one that is retreating and hits quite solidly (AC26, 7HP).
After getting to his feet, he take another swing at the large wolf looming over him, barely grazing him (AC14, HP5).
Blackpaws launches himself at the Large wolf in front of Sarigar, biting at it's front paws but again, not able to sink his fangs in deep enough (AC12, 6HP, oops on that d20+3).
Sarigar Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 1:08:52 PM
That Woldian rule really needs to be looked at again. If that is the case, it makes absolutely no difference how strong of dextrous the defender is.
Also in the case of a large creature (such as these wolves), they get +4 against anything smaller and will win the trip pretty much every time.
That is completely unfair to the PCs. The PCs will nearly always be at a disadvantage since they are rarely, if ever large enough to prevent such a bonus as many creatures will get for size.
Philip [Well, that makes sense. I'm forwarding your feedback to the DM board. This rule is still relatively new and changes might still be made to it. Marcin]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+6=20 d20+6=23 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 1:19:43 PM
Cursing himself for not being able to hold on, Setanos stows his weapon in its holder and tries to swim up and pull himself out of the water
OOC: Store and swim up : 20 Climb check: 23 I wasnt sure if I could swim and climb out in the same round, but I rolled the checks just in case
Spells Active Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 10 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 7 of 700 rounds.
Draax AC25, HP44/89 d20+17=23 d20+12=23 d8+9=11 d8+9=12 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 6:52:58 PM
No amount of false bravado could hide the fact that Draax was hurt by sharkmen's last attacks, so he does not even try. "Hey guys, if you wanted to get my attention all you had to do is raise your hand and get in line. I will be with you as soon as I take care of this fish over here." He swings at the sword fish again (K9) (hit AC23 for 11 dmg) and will hit him again if the first one does not kill him or if it does kills him the second hit will be directed at one of the sharkmen (L9) (AC23, 12dmg).
Draax is surprise when he is bitten by the sharkmen, but recovers quickly. "Didn't your mother shark teach you not to bite out of the water. But since you did can you answer a question for me? Does elf really taste like chicken? I guess the human side of me can make it a little salty but, if I remember right all of the shark that I have eaten tasted kind of salty so you guys probably like the salty taste. Am I right?"
Before he can think of anything else to say Draax catches a glimpse of the Dark elf and the chain creature coming his way Draax presents each of them with a big smile making sure the fear he feels is not displayed in his eyes. As he braces himself for the damage that he knows is coming he is surprised again when he notices the flames that came out of nowhere.
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield, Greater Invisibility AC 25) HP: 17 9d6(1+5+5+6+3+1+2+2+6)=31 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 8:39:47 PM
Knowing his invisibility was about to give out Arien decides to try to get rid of the wolves as fast as possible, by using an old fall back, fireball (31 dmg, Ref DC 20 for half). He targets the spell just in front of the back wolf so that the spell will hit both the beasts but leave Sarigar and Blackpaws untouched.
Feng (Ac 23 Hp 70) d20+16=34 d8+8=16 d6=4 d20+11=28 d8+8=10 d6=5 Tuesday March 23rd, 2004 8:45:57 PM
Feng takes a step forward so he can dispatch the fish creature on one side of Draxx. That way he only faces an opponent on three sides.
"Hold on Draxx. Give me a moment to clear away some of the trash."
ooc: Feng moved to j8 and attacked k8 with his axe as a two handed weapon. hit ac 34 for 16 reg and 4 fire, hit ac 28 for 10 reg and 5 fire
And then the magic was gone - DM Marcin d20+4=13 d20+4=23 d20+4=13 [sahuagin vs flame strike] d20+4=20 [dark elf vs flame strike] d20+8=9 d20+8=16 [chain and one of its weapons vs flame strike] d20+6=9 [wolf's AoO vs Sarigar] d20+7=23 d20+7=27 [wolves vs fireball] d6+3=7 [rerolled BP's damage - makes a difference] d20+9=17 d20+9=23 d20+9=22 d20+9=22 d20+8=15 d20+8=16 [sahuagin aid another] d20+20=34 d8+1=3 [dark elf vs Draax] d20+12=18 [chain vs Draax] d20+8=11 [wolf vs Sarigar] d20+17=23 [tentacles vs the death eye] d10=4 [# of boulders] d20=3 d10=7 d20=19 d10=3 d20=2 d10=10 d20=12 d10=9 [where they fall] Wednesday March 24th, 2004 7:34:33 AM
Tratain calls upon the divine powers and brings down a column of holy fire. The flames engulf the group of enemies concentrating on Draax [you actually need to aim it a little to the left of the center of O8, but the description of intended targets works for me]. Strangely enough, the spell does not fill the whole area it was intended to occupy. Part of the column did not appear at all, but fortunately all of its intended targets are affected by the magic. Two of the Sahuagin are slain outright, the third, engulfed by the fire, shrieks in pain. The dark elf somehow manages to avoid the worst of the attack. The creature in chains stands for a moment flaming like a candle. The energies of the spell flow through its body burning out the evil spirit contained within it. Wisps of black smoke start to rise out of its body. The fire does not seem to be very effective against it, but the metal of its chains turns black from the onslaught of the holy power. One of its long, spiked weapons breaks off and falls to the floor with a clang [rolled 1 on save and lost a weapon]. The towering figure of Tratain moves closer to the group of enemies.
Sarigar manages to score a hit against the wolf creature as it jumps back. As the wild man stands up the other wolf snaps at his head, but Wardd smiles at Sarigar and the attack fails to connect. Both Sarigar and his companion lash out at the beast and both manage to inflict some pain on it - Sarigar putting his fist to its nose, Black Paws by snapping at its massive leg [it charged last round, so its AC was lowered - BP hits after all. Shouldn't BP do 1d6+3 damage?].
Setanos sheathes his sword and swims up to the surface. It is a good thing that most of his equipment is stored in the backpack and does not encumber his moves. His head emerges from the surface of the lake and he is able to take in the situation. The snake creature is clinging to the shore close by and seems to be unaware of his presence, at least for the moment [It would take a move action to climb up the shore. The Climb check would be not neccessary. Btw, do you get +6 or +4 on Swim checks?].
Draax finishes off the last sword wielding sahuagin with a neat, quick strike, and gives a deep wound to another foe armed with a trident. His calm, emotionless words stand in total contrast with the rage on the faces of the enemies around him.
Meanwhile, back in the stairway, Arien continues the fight against the wolves. Both of the big creatures are engulfed by the flames conjured up by the mage. Both manage to avoid the worst of the attack, and the blazes that reach them seem to be only somewhat effective against their dark natures. Nevertheless, the wave of flame is enough to blast the wolf standing higher in the stairway out of existence. It winks out and is gone without a trace, just like its two smaller companions.
In order to reach his selected target Feng has to literally push himself into the enlarged Tratain, but once he is within reach he manages to slay the Sea Devil with two well timed strikes. The creature drops to the floor. Soon it will become difficult to keep balance with all the sahuagin blood spilled on the flagstones.
The dark elf shouts: "One at a time! Bring them down one at the time! Get ready! Now! Now! All together!" The Sea Devils dance around Draax [one of them provokes an AoO from Tratain]. It is not obvious whether it is magic that helps them fight so orderly or just lots of experience and training. Draax is surrounded once again. Then, at the same time, all of the fish warriors strike out at him trying to distract him and create an opening for the dark elf to exploit. A nasty, dirty trick! With the warrior's attention focused on others, the elf manages to stick the tip of his dark blade into Draax'es hip. The wound is small compared to these left by tridents [3 damage] but more insidious. Draax starts to feel numbness spreading through his body and trying to overcome him [Fort save DC17 or fall asleep at the end of the next round].
The chained monstrosity advances on Draax. As it catches warrior's gaze the chains on its head part revealing the face of Draax'es fist love [Draax should make a Will save DC15 or suffer -2 to attacks for 1d3 rounds]. The monster rises its only remaining chain and slashes at the warrior, but the attack is badly timed and misses. The chains covering the body of the creature start to readjust and return to their original positions, shaking off the shock of the flame strike.
The snake man scrambles with great trouble out of the lake. For a moment he stands on the shore, violently shaking and dripping with water, and then starts to climb on the strange machine, reaching for the oil lamps placed on it. The cloud of steam makes it hard to spot fine details, but the creature looks like a huge snake with human head, torso, and two hands. Its skin is now dirty brown and cracked like dried up mud.
The last wolf that remains standing in the stairway snaps at Sarigar, but the nimble wild man manages to dodge out of the way of its maw. The creature howls in anger and red fires light up in its eyes.
The litany of spellcasting coming from the room above resumes. It draws on for several seconds, and finally another group of wolves appears out of thin air at the top of the stairs. This four look deceptively like the pack that Sarigar and Arien have almost finished fighting - two small wolves on the front, two big ones at the back, all with pitch black fur and blood red maws. The fresh group of enemies starts to move down the stairway [the pair of big ones is not yet shown on the map].
The cloud of steam starts to dissipate into wisps of fog revealing the newly arrived creature. It looks like a huge disembodied head of a giant cyclops, easily as large as a human. Its central, blood shot eye is staring straight ahead with grim determination, while a multitude of smaller eyes on top of multiple eyestalks keeps frantically looking around. Its huge, half opened maw is full of needle sharp teeth and dripping with saliva. Its body is black with strange yellow patterns, giving the creature a disturbing insect-like quality. As it slowly turns around the corner some of the Hamleters experience unpleasant effects. Arien suddenly becomes visible, Tratain shrinks to his normal size, Feng's axe stops flaming, and the sword of Draax suddenly feels less wieldy [all magic in possession of these four characters stops working].
Suddenly, the field of black tentacles, no longer suppressed by the creature's powers, springs back into existence! Black appendages reach for the bulbous monster and manage to catch and restrain it, albeit with great difficulty. The thing gives out a piercing shrill as this trap catches hold of it. "Hhhhh! Sssss!" it hisses, trying to figure out where did this strange things come from [the spell will end when its normal duration expires].
Setanos suddenly finds himself right on the edge of a dangerous field of death.
Several more boulders fall from above, two near the entrance to the stairway, one in the water near Setanos, one near the creature of chains. Judging by the cracks appearing and widening on the ceiling something larger might be about to fall down.
[A new map is at the usual place: www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP . 0:16.2]
Sarigar(AC19, HP33/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+11=27 d3+4=5 d20+6=20 d3+2=4 d20+11=31 d20+11=23 d3+4=6 d3+4=5 d20+6=8 d3+2=4 d20+5=12 d6+3=6 Wednesday March 24th, 2004 11:30:43 AM
Realizing finally that these wolves are completely unnatural, Sarigar goes completely feral and tears into the last one with Black Paws joining in the fray.
With flailing arms, Sarigar swings his right hand, crashing across the jaw of the massive wolf (AC27, 5HP), followed by a quick left (AC20, 4HP), then another crushing right hand (AC31 crit, 6+5HP), but the sheer force of that last right throws him just offblance enough that he can't get the next left to connect (AC8, 4HP).
Black Paws, faithful brother that he is, leaps in, teeth flashing for the throat of the wolf, but the think furr of the area blunts his attack (AC12, 6HP).
Should the wolf fall at any point, Sarigar will continue to try to swing at it until it disappears, then moves 5 feet up the stairs. He's lost in his frenzy, almost frothing at the mouth. He wants blood and he knows there is more blood up those stairs.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+15=32 d20+13=21 4d6(2+6+3+3)=14 Wednesday March 24th, 2004 12:44:25 PM
Setanos climbs up on shore, avoiding the black tentacles.
He growls "I'm na finished with ya yet" and wary of attack, begins an ominous incant that causes his hand to be enveloped in a black glow. He reaches out and tries to touch the fire creature.
OOC: The swim check was +4 from str, +2 from Heroism Move to W6 (next to snake guy) Cast Defensively : 29 passed Cast Vampiric Touch Melee Touch on snake creature : touch ac 21
Spells Active Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 11 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 8 of 700 rounds.
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 17 9d6(6+1+6+5+4+6+1+6+1)=36 d20+17=35 d6+4=7 Wednesday March 24th, 2004 6:55:34 PM
Seeing his spells go down Arien looks around quickly to see the cause. Seeing the large floating eye creature Arien remembers something he read once about Beholders and their anti-magic abilities. Trying to remove himself from the area of effect Arien steps forward and to the side so he is by the wall (B9). Hopefully freed from the effects Arien notices the fresh batch of wolves coming down the stairs. Arien plants another fireball in their midst to slow them down. (Between A and B, and 16 and 17) Meanwhile the tentacles spring back into life and attack the creature in its midst.
(Fireball damage = 36, DC 20 reflex save for half; Tentacle Grapple = 35, 7 damage.)
Draax AC17/25, HP41/89 d20+12=18 d20+6=26 d20+15=27 d20+10=30 d20+10=11 d20+13=31 d20+8=24 d8+5=6 d8+5=10 Wednesday March 24th, 2004 7:21:22 PM
On the inside Draax gets a little nervous when the dark elf barks out a strategy, but then a big smile is displayed on his face when he remembers that this was his plan all along. He tells himself that he will only have to keep their attention on him for a little while longer.
Draax dismisses the little scratch that is inflicted by the dark elf until he remembers what the dark elf was holding. He barely fights off the effects of the dagger (fort save 18) and decides to turn his words toward the dark elf. "Hey darky, I can call you darky right? Because we been through so much together, I feel like you and bonded in some way. Which reminds me, have you ever been with that sensual dark elven priestess that we captured? Man she was hot! By the time I was through with her she was wanted to tell me everything she knew. How do you think we found this place so easily? But then you know what they say. Once they had Draax they can never go back. (gives a small laugh). I can see why you guys seldom come to the surface, with woman like her I would probably stay inside too. You know she wanted to come with me, but it just would not work. The two of us coming from different worlds. Oh, that's right you bottom world elf men are inferior to your women. Now I see why she wanted me so bad."
As he look at the dark elf for a reaction he catches sight of the chain creature that looks exactly like his first love. It has a very minor effect on Draax as he remembers that she broke his heart which eventually turned the love he felt for her to hate (Will save 26 natural 20).
He blows the image a kiss before striking out at dark elf (hit AC 31 for 6dmg) and attacks the elf again with his second swing (hit AC 24 for 10 dmg). The weakness of his attacks lets Draax know that for some reason his magic items are not working.
OOC: I rerolled the rolls of 27, 30 and the critical check of 11 because I forgot to remove the magical plus bonus of the sword.
Feng (Ac 18/ 23, HP 70) d20+18=37 d20+18=33 Wednesday March 24th, 2004 11:19:37 PM
Feng sees the creature and puts him as the greater threat. The fish monsters would wait and Draxx was in real trouble. Feng moved around the creatures and brought his axe forth, summoning the holy strength within him.
OOC: moves 4 squares, which I assume is 20', to L 10. I couldn't see anything on the map indicating what those lines are so I hope its not anything big. Feng scored a critical hit on his smite evil and rolled a 33 for the confirmation. I am not sure if he is evil or if the weapon will hurt the creature so I did not roll damage. Without the magic he would roll 1d8+17 if the creature is evil.
Tratain AC 30(21) HP 104/104(59/59) [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20+23=43 d20+23=24 2d6(2+6)+14=22 2d6(2+5)=7 d20+11=15 d20+6=12 d8+3=11 d8+3=6 Thursday March 25th, 2004 12:15:50 AM
As the Sea Devil Move around to surround Draax, Tratain Lashes out With His warhammer Catching one Solidly (AoO Hit AC 43, Crit chance Fails with a 1 :) For 22 Physical Damage and 7 Holy Damage).
Tratain smiles at his Handywork for a moment before he abruptly shinks down to his Normal Size. Looking around he easily spots the Beholder.
Tratain Takes a Step forward, into the space that Feng just vacated and Swings His Warhammer at the Remaining Sea Devils. (Hit AC 16 for 11 Damage, and AC 13 for 6 Damage. Forgot that Magic Weapons Count as Masterwork In my Calculations)
Tratain's AC is 21 when in the Anti-Magic Field --------------------- Endurence Round 14 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 9 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 11 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 6 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 5 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 5 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 4 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
By skill and steel - DM Marcin d100=48 [concealment: Setanos vs Snake] d20+5=17 d20+5=17 d20+7=16 d20+7=15 [wolves vs fireball] d20+6=21 d8+3=4 d20+7=24 d8+3=4 d20+6=16 d20+6=14 [sahuagin AoO vs Feng] 3d8(8+5+7)+51=71 [Feng's damage] d20+15=26 d8+18=22 [wolf vs Sarigar] d20+13=26 [wolf's trip vs Sarigar] d20+12=18 [death eye vs tentacles] d12=10 [# of boulders] d20=11 d10=2 d20=13 d10=8 d20=13 d10=6 d20=1 d10=5 d20=15 d10=6 d20=3 d10=5 d20=1 d10=3 d20=17 d10=5 d20=5 d10=2 d20=11 d10=8 [where they fall] Thursday March 25th, 2004 1:16:00 PM
Sarigar, launching himself at the wolf in fury, punches his opponent one by one three times. The animal does not have enough strength to withstand such a determined attack; it collapses and fades away. The wild man steps forward, ready to take on the next challenge.
Setanos climbs up on the shore with ease and stands up, water sloshing in his boots. Then he locates the shape of the fire snake in the fog and touches him with a hand of death. Life force is instantly sapped away from the unfortunate creature. Setanos feels a pleasant, warm influx of energy. The enemy jumps up as if pierced by a spear. [Yes, its +6 to swim. I forgot Heroism! Rolled concealment for your attack. Do you get 4 dice of damage on this spell? If its 3, you get 11 temporary hps. Otherwise its 14. Every square of the machine counts as three for the purposes of movement.]
Arien steps away from sight of the trapped creature. His predictions prove correct: the spells he has active on his person come back! The mage has enough time left to toss another blast of fire at the descending group of wolves. The expertly aimed spell envelopes all of the remaining furry beasts. This time none seem to escape the intensity of its heat. The two smaller ones dissolve in the flames in an instant. Their bigger cousins, though badly burned, remain on the stage. Meanwhile, the black tentacles continue to caress the bulbous monster with their embrace.
Draax directs his attention to the dark elf. His little speech fills the eyes of his enemy with deep, bottomless rage. But before the foe has a chance to reply the sword of Draax plunges deeply into his innards - twice. The dark elf opens his mouth as if to say something, but all that comes out is a thin streak of blood. He collapses to the ground like a felled tree. Unfortunately, Draax has little time to celebrate his victory. The feeling of numbness takes him over and the warrior gently slides to the floor, fast asleep [the Cloak of Protection doesn't work in an antimagic field...].
The orc paladin selects the creature of chains as his target and, ignoring the Sea Devils, moves around the melee to reach the foe [broken tiles count as rough, i.e. it takes two moves to enter them. But you can reach L10 anyway by going through J9 and K10]. Tridents and talons strike out at him, but even without magic to enhance it, a plate is a plate, and Feng's wounds are relatively minor [2 hits 4 damage each]. As soon as the paladin is out of sight of the death eye [K10] his axe once again flashes with a bright flame. The magic is back! The paladin summons holy powers to guide his hand and is rewarded with a clean, precise, deadly swing. There is a flash of light and the chain clad creature is no more, having fallen down in a heap of black, smoking chains.
Tratain, while still large in size, manages to squash one of the fish-men as flat as a pancake. Now, forced to rely on steel alone, he is still able to inflict a serious wound on one of the remaining sahuagin, even though his second swing is blocked.
Feng notices that the chains start to move like a pile of black worms. It looks like the creature is trying to reform.
The remaining five Sea Devils, badly wonded, deprived of command, and threatened by the falling boulders and shaking cave, finally decide that they have had enough. The warriors drop their weapons and flee jumping into the lake. All that is left of them is the foul stench and traces of blood left in the water by the wounded ones.
The multieyed monster struggles trying to turn its central eye to the point of origin of the field, but the tentacles hold fast. It remains trapped as it was.
The cloud of fog finally dissipates. The snake man gives a series of strange shrills and yelps, and, panicked, scrambles up the machine, trying to escape as far away as he can from Setanos. In the process he topples a good part of the construction. Several of the lamps fall and shatter on the floor. A lit pool of oil starts to spread on the flagstones while the cornered foe pushes his back into the wall of the cavern. Soon the machine is being licked by the flames. The body strapped to it starts to struggle. Setanos is able to spy by the corner of his eye the place the short corridor was leading to. The room has crude beds standing by its walls.
Meanwhile, on the stairway, Sarigar continues to hold the fort against the onslaught of black wolves. The remaining two descend on the wild man. The first one to approach sinks its teeth in Sarigar's shoulder and topples him to the ground [22 damage and Sarigar is tripped].
The boulders are now falling unceasingly one by one. Clouds of dirt descend from above making breathing difficult. A multitude of stones comes crashing down; some fall in the water, some on the wharf, a few pierce the shell of the dead turtle letting out the last jets of steam. The rumbling and shaking becomes much more violent [profession:miner anyone?].
[Note that "shattered" squares count as two for the purposes of movement. www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP 0:16.3]
Draax AC17/25, HP41/89 Thursday March 25th, 2004 4:26:23 PM
Draax falls to the floor and lays there asleep.
OOC: Was not sure if the dark-elf's attack happened before the anti-magic field or at the same time.
[I have the poison listed with the onset time of one round, so the save was made after the field was on. Marcin]
Tratain AC 30(21) HP 104/104(59/59) [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20=18 Thursday March 25th, 2004 11:19:16 PM
Tratain takes a step Forward switches his Warhammer to his offhand and attempts to pull Draax down past Feng out of the Anti-Magic Aura and sight of the Beholder. Tratain will also attempt to Intercept an attack Directed at Draax while he is in Range.
He says to Feng "Can you get That Beholder? I can take care of that Chain Creature if it reforms itself. We need to Kill that beholder and Find out who's on that Alter, and quickly too. I'm not an expert but I don't like the way these Rocks are falling all over the place." (Rolled 18 on a knowledge Check to determine how safe it is in the cavern.)
Tratain's AC is 21 when in the Anti-Magic Field --------------------- Endurence Round 15 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 10 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 12 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 7 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 6 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 6 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 5 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Sarigar(AC19, HP22/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+11=31 d20+11=30 d3+4=5 d3+4=7 d20+6=20 d3+2=3 d20+11=15 d3+4=7 d20+6=21 d3+2=4 d20+6=20 d6+3=7 Thursday March 25th, 2004 11:29:28 PM
Feeling his wounds and knowing that should he rise to his feet he will leave himself open to attack, Sarigar chooses to do as much damage as possible to the wolf within his reach. His first swing crashes solidly against the monster's knee (Nat20 AC26, crit, 5+7HP). His left hand swing up at the wolf's chest, connecting rather meekly due to his position (AC16, 3HP). Rolling to avoid being stepped on and to try another right hand attack, he throws himself off and missing anything vital (AC11, 7HP just in case). And finally he rolls into just the right spot to allow his left hand to connect solidly in the wolf's wounded leg again (AC17, 4HP).
Black Paws leaps up and chomps down on the wolf (the other one if the first falls to Sarigar's attacks). Finally, his teeth get the chance to sink deeply into his prey (AC16, 7HP). Smelling his brother's blood flowing quite freely, Black Paws attempts to hold off the attackers, barking and growling furiously trying to garner their full attention.
Feng (Ac 23, HP 62) Friday March 26th, 2004 12:25:20 AM
"I will do what I must." Feng says as he turns and looks at the beholder. The creature was evil and would be killed one way or another. Feng quickly moves toward the beholder
ooc: full movement to get to the beholder. I assume the shadowy area is the area effect of the spell. Feng will make sure not to get grappled himself.
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 17 d20+17=32 d6+4=7 Friday March 26th, 2004 1:40:54 AM
Seeing how badly injured Sarigar was becoming Arien makes a quick decision to get them out of that area and back to near where the party was. Arien moves up behind Sarigar and next to Blackpaws, then visualizing the area where the beholder came from Arien casts dimension door and takes all three of them into the room, making sure to stay out of the area of his own spell.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] Friday March 26th, 2004 7:41:20 AM
Setanos steps up to the struggling body and tries to pull it off the 'machine' and put any fires that have reached it.
Spells Active Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 12 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 9 of 700 rounds
Shaky situation - DM Marcin d20+12=26 [death eye vs tentacles] d20=8 [# of boulders falling] d20=16 d10=3 d20=8 d10=9 d20=13 d10=7 d20=3 d10=5 d20=20 d10=6 d20=16 d10=8 2d10(5+3)=8 [death eye damage] d20=10 d10=8 d20=18 d10=6 [where they fall] d20=19 d4=1 [where the crack opens] Friday March 26th, 2004 11:44:31 AM
Tratain decides that removing his friend from harm's way is the highest priority. He runs over to Draax and, having only one arm free, reaches down, grabs Draax'es boot, and starts to drag him away, trying to shield him from an attack. Fortunately, no attack comes, at least for now. [Knowledge can't be used untrained.]
Draax groans in his uneasy sleep. The elven part of his nature tries to resist the state that is alien to it. Being tossed around by Tratain also helps him to come back from the realm of dreams. [Make Fort save DC17 to wake up. If Draax regains consciousness he is fatigued. Also, he needs to make a Will save DC15 or on the next round he will be disoriented (and will probably think that the combat around him is one of the battles the party has already fought in the past). His sword has dropped out of his hand on the square he is currently in.]
If the wolves thought that Sarigar would be an easy prey they were terribly disappointed. Even while prone the adventurer can fight with deadly ferocity. The wolf nearest to him is repeatedly smacked three times. The growling companion of Sarigar jumps at the creature's throat and for a moment hangs on it with all his weight, tearing it slowly open. The huge animal doesn't even have time to yelp. In an instant it ceases to exist as if it was never here before. [Aren't Sarigar HPs at 11?]
Feng, left alone to contend with the multi-eyed monstrosity, picks his way through the rubble that is now littering the surface of the dock. His armor slows him down, but he manages to approach within touch of the creature without slipping and falling down. The paladin sees the small eyestalks turn and try to point at him, but Arien's spell has the creature thoroughly wrapped with massive, rubbery tentacles. A foul, birdlike stench hits the nostrils of Feng. The eye thing reeks! [Shaded area is indeed the part of the map affected by the tentacles.]
Arien decides it is time to make a tactical redeployment. Stepping forward closer to Sarigar and his wolf the mage touches both of them at the same time and speaks out a word of command. In a blink of an eye the scenery changes. The trio is now right in the middle of a small room, Sarigar still prone. The chamber, with its long row of filthy, crude beds, looks like a sleeping room of some sort. It smells of Sea Devils in here, though they of course prefer to rest under water. There seems to be no other exit aside from the doorway leading to the dock, now blocked by tentacles. Two robed figures - the human and the dwarf seen before by the machine - are crouching by one of the walls. When the newcomers faze in the pair yelps in fear and surprise.
Meanwhile, the tentacles continue to harass their largest prey to date. Arien is certainly getting lots of mileage out of this spell today.
Setanos, ignoring the creature in the corner, quickly removes the bonds holding the unfortunate victim on the contraption. As soon as the stranger regains his footing he starts to pull the wrappings off his face. [The V column is under effect of the tentacles spell.]
The movement continues in the pile of chains as they knot together and wrap one around another.
The snake creature cowers in the corner trying to make itself as small as possible, which is not easy at all given its size. It doesn't seem to mind smoke and the pool of flaming oil it is standing in.
An approaching patter of wolf's paws can be heard coming from the staircase, followed by a howl. But suddenly both - the howl and the sound of paws on the stairs - stop as if the wolf was gone.
The round monster almost manages to pull free. Almost! Seems that Wardd's blessing is with the Hamleters today!
The young man in the black robe looks at Arien and Sarigar, falls to his knees, rises his hands, and croaks out: "Spare me!" The dwarf, more calm, glances at him with disgust. "Silence, fool! Mighty Aaxaran is about to destroy them!"
Boulders and stones of all sizes are now falling down as densely as drops of water in the rain. A good time to be wearing a helmet! Particularly large ones smash into the floor near Draax, in the field of tentacles, on the machine, shattering a big part of it, and right on the death eye, who is unable to dodge out of the way and is hit squarely on the head.
Setanos feels the floor move and suddenly a crack opens right next to him, instantly filling with black, foaming water.
The stairway, the room with beds, and the part of the cavern where the crates are stacked all have lower ceilings and seem to be relatively protected from the boulders falling from above - at least for now.
[www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP 0:16.4]
The Bandaged Man Friday March 26th, 2004 4:55:52 PM
Freed from his bonds, the emaciated figure who had lain upon ramshackle machine tears the sweat soaked bandages from his face and body. He stands, the tattered fronds falling from him, and the face revealed is instantly recognizable to Setanos; it is Renik Dacour.
But it is a Renik greatly changed from when last you saw him. His face is palid, drawn and haggard, his hair lank and greasy. His eyes are sunken and dark, his skin grey, pockmarked and covered in a sheen of sweat. He seems to have lost a considerable amount of weight, far more than should be possible in the short time that has elapsed since his disappearance. The shaking hands that rip the last wrappings from his body are almost skeletal.
But there is one thing that remains unchanged. The look of terrible, barely restrained fury in his eyes tells Setanos instantly that though his body may have been tortured and abused, his fighting spirit is far from broken.
Renik takes in the chaotic scene before him, registers the sights and sounds of the battle, and the seismic shocks that seem to be tearing the cavern apart. Then he turns to Setanos and as he recognizes him the rage in his face abates. "My friend..." he croaks, and tears of relief and gratitude begin to well up in his eyes. He blinks them back, and his face hardens once more as he spots the cowering Snake-thing in the corner. "My friend, I find myself in need of a weapon."
If Setanos carries a ranged weapon Renik will indicate that.
Feng (Ac 23, HP 62) d20+16=20 d20+11=26 d8+8=12 d6=6 d8+8=9 d6=4 Saturday March 27th, 2004 12:53:11 AM
Feng shortens the grip on his weapon and brings the flaming head down upon the nearly freed creature. He can only hope that he kills the monster before it gets free.
ooc: didn't see that his equipment winked out again so I assumed it still had its magic. Hit act 20 for 12 red and 6 fire, and hit ac 26 for 9 reg and 4 fire
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 17 5d4(4+4+4+2+1)+5=20 d20+17=34 d6+4=8 Saturday March 27th, 2004 2:42:56 AM
Arien looks up to see the Beholder and quickly reviews the spells left in his memory, unfortunately the most powerful one he had was a cone of cold spell and that would hit at least one party member in this current situation. So Arien goes back to an old stand by, Magic Missle. Five bolts of energy arc from his fingers and streak at the beholder hitting it for 20 points of damage. As the duration runs out on the spell the tentacles continue to grapple the beast this one last time. (Grapple = 34, 8 damage)
Sarigar(AC19, HP11/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=24 d20=15 Saturday March 27th, 2004 1:23:13 PM
Having never been the subject of such transportation magic, Sarigar finds himself dazed and comfused for a moment. Spinning around looking for the "wolves" he was fighting, he spies the human and dwarf. Noting the human's reaction of surrender he passes his gaze on the dwarf who obviously does not wish to surrender.
In his wounded state and not knowing what the dwarf can do or has prepared, Sarigar only takes a few steps toward the dwarf (move to V14) and points Black Paws to guard at a spot a few paces away from him (U12, Handle Animal 24).
Despite his wounds, Sarigar begins to growl lowly in his throat and bares his teeth at the dwarf (Intimidate 15).
ooc: Sarigar is not attempting to intimidate him into surrender, but to scare him into doing something stupid (demoralize).
Draax AC17/25, HP41/89 d20+9=23 d20+3=11 Sunday March 28th, 2004 7:00:42 PM
Draax gets up (made fort save 23) but is disoriented and not exactly sure what is going on(failed will save 11). He takes a moment to let his thoughts clear and then he sees the bodies of the dead sahuagin and it all comes back to him. He and the party members are on the beach fighting to protect the head of the Sentinel.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33+11/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] Monday March 29th, 2004 7:24:06 AM
Setanos smiles a bit, the first good news he's seen all day. Reaching into his backpack, he retrieves a longbow and quiver, and hands them to Renik.
OOC: 2 move actions to retrieve 2 items from the Hewards Handy Haversack.
Spells Active Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 13 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 10 of 700 rounds
A race with time - DM Marcin d20+2=20 [dwarf vs intimidate] d2=1 d6=6 d6=1 d4=1 d3=2 d2=2 [who gets what ray] d20+9=14 d20+9=21 [rays vs Draax] d20+9=16 [ray vs Tratain] d20+9=12 [ray vs Feng] d20+9=26 [ray vs Setanos] d20+9=20 [Ray vs Renik] d20=9 [# of rocks falling down] d20=16 d10=1 d20=2 d10=5 d20=5 d10=5 d20=11 d10=7 d20=12 d10=10 d20=13 d10=7 d20=5 d10=7 d20=10 d10=4 d20=20 d10=4 [where they fall] d6=4 [speed of collapse] Monday March 29th, 2004 1:20:36 PM
Renik, finally able to free himself from the bounds that held him, stretches his limbs. There is work to be done!
Feng, positioned right next to the creature, slashes at the beast with his axe, which, the moment it is about to strike, bursts into flames. The fact that the monster is being held down by the tentacles makes it easier for the paladin to aim his blows. One of his attacks scores a hit against the softer underbelly of the death eye [it was, of course, my mistake not to describe magic going away. The only way to approach the creature was inside the antimagic field, otherwise Feng would be held by the tentacles himself. You do however get bonuses to damage from magic - the axe is out of the field when it strikes].
Arien contributes to the punishment rained down upon the death eye by launching a streak of blasts of force, which speed unerringly at its target and slam into the beast. The tentacles strangle their foe for the last time and then, as suddenly as they have appeared, are gone.
Sarigar moves closer to the pair hidding in the corner of the room and tries to scare the bravado out of the dwarf. Without much success - the robed cultist growls back and, pointing at Sarigar, shouts: "Behold the power of the Master! There's one whom fright already deprived of his mind!"
Black Paws would obey his master and guard the spot he chose, but Arien is already standing there, so the wolf just crouches next to the mage, watching diligently the pair by the wall.
Draax gets up, somewhat disoriented, and, after shaking off the remains of his dream, is able to get back in touch with reality. His thundersword rests at this feet.
Setanos passes his longbow and arrows to Renik. The freed would-be victim takes the weapons in his hands.
"Hsss!" The sphere of death rejoices when the trap it has fallen into suddenly lets go. Not comfortable so close to the armed and armored paladin, it floats away [provoking AoO from Feng, at full magic bonuses], stopping over the lake. Its central eye is aimed at the dead turtle. As it moves away it fires off a broadside of magic rays aimed at all enemies it can see. Draax, closest to the monster, is the worst off, being hit by two spells. Tratain, Setanos, and Renik suffer one hit each. Only Feng manages to jump out of the way of creature's sorcery.
[All attacks are at CL13 and have a save DC17. Draax: Disintegrate and Fear. Tratain: Finger of Death. Setanos: Charm Person, take +5 bonus on save, if charmed Setanos will try to restrain others from attacking the monster, but without using lethal force. Renik: Flesh to Stone.]
The chains continue their dance on the floor, twisting and knotting and gathering into a pile. A black hand springs up from the chaos of chains, its fingers outstretched.
The snake man shrieks and, seeing his chance with the disappearing of the tentacles, starts to run away past Renik and Feng. The pair of cultists sharing the room with Draax and Arien have the same idea and suddenly bolt for the door, sliding and barely keeping their balance on the rubble outside [both provoking AoOs from Sarigar and Black Paws].
As soon as the gaze of the central eye of the monster is shifted from the stairway, a single, large wolf appears in it. It is badly burned by Arien's fire. The animal, somewhat confused, trots out of the corridor and into the cavern, but it soon spots new prey and flames light up in its eyes.
The continuous staccato of falling rocks reaches a booming crescendo. The walls on the far side of the lake give in under pressure and collapse! The ceiling starts to fall down into the water!
[www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP 0:16.5]
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33+11/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+13=20 d20+11=26 2d4(1+1)=2 Monday March 29th, 2004 2:48:39 PM
Setanos growls, but shakes off the effects of the ray. He calls out "Back up ta stairs or inta ta back room? Someone make the call befor this damn roof falls!". He then reaches into his backpack for a third item, a small pouch. Quickly pulling the pouch out, he incants a spell, sending a arrow of acid at the beholder.
OOC: Move action to retrieve spell component pouch from HHH. Cast Melfs Acid Arrow at Beholder : Touch Ac 26, 2 acid damage Spells Active Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 14 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 11 of 700 rounds Melfs Acid Arrow: 1 of 3 rounds
Renik (HP 71, AC 19, 20 vs Beholder) d20+5=24 d20+14=17 d8=6 Monday March 29th, 2004 4:29:21 PM
As the rogue draws on the bowstring and takes aim he begins to smile. "Aah, it's good to be back!"
Then, without warning, he is hit by the ray, and feels his limbs begin to stiffen and solidify. A thin skin of stone begins to spread across his bare chest and arms, and panic flares in his eyes. "No! No! Not again, I won't be trapped again... I WON'T!"
Fighting off the magical effect through sheer terror and frustration (Fort 24) the rogue unleashes a wayward arrow towards the eye-horror (AC 17, 6HP) and then dashes to the relative cover of the doorway (T10, +4 AC).
The cavern is coming down around their ears, and it looks like they have only moments to act. It is a calculated risk, but if they do nothing they will surely be crushed. Hopefully the low chamber will afford them some protection against the collapse.
"Fall back! Fall back to this chamber!" yells Renik over the deafening crash of falling rock. "Fall back or you'll be crushed!"
Sarigar(AC19, HP11/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) d20+13=24 d3+4=7 d20+6=25 d6+4=5 d20+2=22 d20+13=24 d20+3=15 Monday March 29th, 2004 4:33:07 PM
Seeing the robed figures attempting to escape, Sarigar swings his arm straight across the human's chest (AC24, 7HP). Instinctively, Black Paws attacks the same "priest", clamping down hard on the human's leg, twisting his large neck and bringing the human unceremoniously to the ground (AC25, 5HP, Trip check 22 crit).
I know no fear of you, meat. Sarigar snarls at the priest as he reaches down to pick up and throw him back toward the corner from which he just left (AC24, 15 Strength check for the throw attempt).
Wanna talk about fear now? Sarigar growls to the priest, looming ominously closer, a look of fury in his eyes.
Draax AC25, HP41/89 d20+12=15 d20+6=20 Monday March 29th, 2004 5:04:54 PM
Draax picks up his sword as he comes back to his senses. He turns to find the closest enemy and is hit with pain far beyond anything that he could have imagined (rolled 15, failed save against Disintegrate). A loud scream is heard coming from his lips as he sinks to his knees in agony. The pain is so great that he does not even notice the fear spell that was sent against him (rolled 20 saved against fear).
Feng (Ac 23, HP 62) d20+19=26 d8+18=20 d6=5 Monday March 29th, 2004 11:34:19 PM
As the death eye flees, Feng once more summons the good within him. He feels the energy flowing into his weapon as he brings it down into the creature once more.
His desire to destroy the evil creature was suspended by the warning cry and the falling debri. Feng contemplates going after the creature but instead moves back to the lower room.
ooc: AoO smite evil hit ac 26 for 20 normal and 5 fire
Tratain AC 30(21) HP 104/104(59/59) [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20+16=27 d20+16=34 Tuesday March 30th, 2004 12:12:10 AM
Being out of the Death Eye's Anti-Magic Cone Tratain grows back to his Larger Size in an instant. As the Green Ray Shot from the Death Eye speeds towords Draax Tratain attempts to throw himself in the way of the Disintigrate spell. (OOC: The Protector Interpose Ability allows the Protector to Intercept Obvious Targeted Magical Attacks as well as Melee attacks, as of My last post I was Attempting to Intercept an attack For Draax. Sent an E-mail but didn't get home from work until late.)
Tratain Grunts as the Green Ray hits hit (Made Disintigrate Save with 27) and Is Further Rocked when the spell aimed at him hits. (Made Finger of Death save with a 34.)
Tratain Contemplates running to the Edge of the dock and trying to finish the Death Eye but thinks better of it and Heads as Fast as he can to the Room now occupied by Arien and Sarigar. Carrying Draax if need be.(Tratain is almost 12 feet tall and Has 30 Strength Until my spells wear off or am in the Anti-Magic Field again.)
--------------------- Endurence Round 17 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 12 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 14 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 9 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 8 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 8 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 7 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 17 5d4(4+4+4+3+3)+5=23 Tuesday March 30th, 2004 2:30:51 AM
Adjusting so that he can see the beholder still Arien casts another set of magic missiles at the floating beast.
(OOC: Not sure what happened there with the posting, my browser froze for a minute then the next thing I saw was the thank you for posting page, so if someone would delete those I would be happy.) [Done- M]
An avalanche of stones - DM Marcin 5d6(1+5+6+2+4)=18 [damage from Disintegrate] 3d6(5+4+4)+13=26 [damage from Finger of Death] d20=15 [# of boulders falling] d20=17 d10=4 d20=5 d10=3 d20=13 d10=7 d20=13 d10=2 d20=1 d10=1 d20=7 d10=10 d20=6 d10=9 d20=6 d10=4 d20=1 d10=5 d20=17 d10=6 d20=7 d10=8 d20=15 d10=3 d20=13 d10=1 d20=3 d10=4 d20=15 d10=1 [where they fall] d6=3 [speed of collapse] Tuesday March 30th, 2004 10:02:09 AM
Setanos, remembering that his component pouch got completely soaked through, digs a spare one out of his backpack, fumbles in it for an adder's stomach, and, finding the component he needs, shoots acid at the death eye. The beast is hit; smoke starts to rise from its body as the acid works its way through its tough chitine shell. Even as he is finished with the spell Setanos calls for the party to remove itself from the cavern.
Renik's arrow buries itself in the tough protective shell of the monster, unable to reach vital organs. Not wishing to be struck by any more rays Renik seeks cover in the doorway to the room.
Sarigar and Black Paws throw the human off his feet as he runs by them. The wild man casts him back into the corner and taunts him, but no reply comes. The man is still. The wounds inflicted on him ended his life.
Draax picks up his thundersword and, just as he is about to jump back into action, is hit by a green ray - almost! At the last possible moment Tratain's hand interposes itself in front of the attack. The metal of Tratain's gauntlet turns black and starts to smoke.
Feng takes a wide swing at the beast as it passes by him. Once again he calls upon powers of the Gods of the Wold, and once again the flames of his axe start to burn with blinding white. There is a crash like a strike of a thunder and the beholder escapes the presence of the paladin leaving behind a trail of green ichor. Feng contemplates following it, but given the circumstances decides instead to join others in the small room.
Tratain, having intercepted the disintegrating attack [on which you do not re-roll the save], is struck himself by another death spell. Even though the manages to stay alive from both attacks, the sheer amount of physical trauma leaves his body seriously weakened [18+26 damage]. Willing to follow Setanos' advice, the enlarged human grabs the hand of Draax and urges him to follow [Draax, if he wishes, can oppose that and stay in L10].
Arien launches another volley of force missiles at the badly wounded eye monster. The combined attacks of the heroes are enough to end the existence of the monstrosity and send its foul spirit to the hells it came from. The orb of eyes screeches for the last time, starts to spin, and, seconds later, explodes with a <splat>. Draax and Tratain will have to clean beholder goo off their garb.
The snake man and the dwarf continue to run away in blind terror, not paying attention to the presence of the Hamleters, wishing only to get out of the cave before they are buried alive by tons of rock [both provoke AoOs from Tratain and Draax].
The hand made of chains is joined by a second one. Both grasp black metal links and start to knot them. It almost looks as if the creature was weaving itself into being.
The falling ceiling does not seem to faze the wolf, proving without doubt that it can't be an animal mind that resides in its head. The beast, sliding on the rubble, follows the party as the heroes seeks shelter in the room. Draax can feel its hot, foul breath on his back.
Ground shakes and boulders fall! The wooden platform is crushed by a huge stone. A rain of rocks, pebbles, and clods of earth has already turned the lake into a mud puddle. The cave in progresses at lightning speed - the machine is crushed by falling mass of rocks. Setanos finds himself within hand's reach of certain death. A wave of water rises from the lake and washes over the shore. It seems it will be only seconds before the entrance to the small room is caved in!
[People not in the room need to make a Balance check DC10 or slip and fall prone.]
[www.auburn.edu/~kulczmc/map.BMP 0:16.6]
Tratain AC 30(21) HP 60/104(59/59) [Endurence; Shield of Faith; Spell Immunity:Fireball,Lightning Bolt; Pretection From Energy Fire 15; Divine Power; Divine Favor; Righteos Might(DR 5/Evil)] d20-4=7 d20-4=11 d20+23=35 2d6(6+6)+14=26 2d6(5+1)=6 Tuesday March 30th, 2004 12:37:50 PM
As the Snake Creature attempts to run by Tratain Lashes out with His Warhammer Catching It solidly (Hit AC 35 for 26 Physical Damage and 6 Holy Damage.)
Tratain keeps going towords to Rapidly closeing Opening and almost losses his balance but manages to stay upright somehow (Balance Check 7, Hero Point Reroll 11) Still attempting to Drag Draax along if he is still confused. If anyone Outside Falls Tratain will attempt to Help them into the room before it closes.
--------------------- Endurence Round 18 of 90 (+4 Enhancement Con) Shield of Faith Round 13 of 90 (+3 AC) Spell Immunity Round 15 of 90 Minutes Protection from Energy Round 10 of 90 Minutes Divine Power Round 9 of 9 (BaB Equal To Level, +6 Enhancement to Strength, 9 Temp HPs) Divine Favor Round 9 of 10 (+3 Luck Bonus to Hit and Damage) Righteous Might Round 8 of 9 (Lage Size, +8 Size Bonus to Str, +4 Size Bonus to Con, +4 Enhancement to Natural Armor, Damage Reduction 5/Evil)
Sarigar(AC19, HP11/78), Black Paws (AC17, HP33) Tuesday March 30th, 2004 2:01:48 PM
Seeing that his prey is dead, Sarigar steps to the door to assist anyone within or that moves withing reach into the room.
Knowing the danger outside the room, Black Paws stays back from the door.
Setanos (AC 23 HP 33+11/83) [Extended Mage Armor, Shield, Heroism] d20+6=18 Tuesday March 30th, 2004 2:19:43 PM
Setanos twists and weaves as the floor shakes, managing to keep his balance. He eyes the chain creature for a second, but thinks better of it and dives into the room after Tratain and Draxx.
Mage Armor : 14 hours Shield : 15 of 70 rounds. Heroism : 12 of 700 rounds Melfs Acid Arrow: 2 of 3 rounds (irrelevant I think)
Renik (HP 71, AC 21) Tuesday March 30th, 2004 2:28:23 PM
Seeing the approaching forms of Draax and a giant Tratain, Renik ducks back inside the room, yelling:
"Setanos! Get out of there! The whole place is coming down! Draax, Tratain, when you get in here move into the room so we can surround any pursuers on three sides!"
It seems that a day or so wrapped in bandages and subjected to dark tortures has done nothing to impede the party leader's natural bossy tendancies.
"Feng! Arien! Good to see you again my friends! What's been happening while I was captured? What's going on here?"
He retreats to find cover in the corner, where he kneels down and trains his bow on the chamber entrance (Move to Q14, +4AC cover, +2 kneeling), adrenaline pumping through his wasted frame.
Draax AC25, HP41/89 d20+17=22 d8+9=11 d20+8=25 Tuesday March 30th, 2004 7:40:38 PM
Draax feels the force of the beam that was aimed at him and thinks to himself that he thought death would hurt more than it did before he realizes that he is still alive. He looks up at Tratain's smoking gauntlet. "Wow, thanks Tain. Some day you will have to show me how you did that." Finally grasping the situation that is becoming very dangerous, Draax follows Tratain to the others. He also follows Tratain's example and takes a swipe at the snake creature (hit AC 22 for 11 dmg) as it passes him.
Feeling the hot breath of the wolf behind him Draax decides that they will face the thing once the group is in a safe place away from the falling rocks. Following Renik's instructions Draax moves as far as he can into the room before turning around to face the enemy (balance check 25).
Arien (Mage Armor, Shield AC 25) HP: 17 Wednesday March 31st, 2004 5:11:31 AM
"Not exactly the best time to catch up Renik," Arien says dryly. "But it is good to see you are at least in one piece." That said Arien retreats to the center of the room and waits to see what happens next.
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