Mr. Agale grimaces almost as much when de Castigne falls under the chilling onslaught as he does at the poetry. Disregarding common sense, the Borcan attempts to cross the ice to the downed rabble rouser. Instead of his normally brisk stride, he ends up slipping and sliding most of the way there. He skids to an uneasy halt next to the downed poet.
"Mr. de Castigne, that was most undignified on several levels. As a Tollere, I must advise you not to attempt anything so foolhardy in the future." With a smirk, he thrusts the silver flask into Nicolas's hands and gives the bard a mild pat on the back.
Looking up, he levels his gaze once more upon Poincare and declares, "Doctor, this continued insolvency of character leaves me with no choice. I must insist upon your immediate foreclosure!"
Move Action: Skirting the edge of the ice to P18
With a 2 square start, he barely can't fail to jump over one square of water if need be
Minor Action: Handing the Potion of Healing to Nic.
If you want to drink it, it takes a minor action and expends one of your healing surges to heal you 10 instead of the normal value
Standard Action: Augment 2 Mind Thrust at Dr. Poincare
25 vs Will hits for 17 psychic damage and she suffers a -4 to all defenses until the end of Agale's next turn.
Readying to use Intellect Fortress against the first attack where it would turn a hit into a miss. Consider it readied on that same trigger for the rest of the encounter.
Immediate Interrupt when hit, Agale gains +4 to a single defense until the end of his next turn.)
"In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it must be fought by a different kind of evil."
Cyrus charged toward the water weird. His sword blazed with a steely white light.
"The valleys will bow before him," the priest murmured. "The oceans will part. All the world will recognize His law."
He raised his sword and swung at the water weird. He allowed his momentum to carry his swing and his blade cut deep into the elemental.
"The waves will be laid low! All will follow the Highest Law and become one with His Will!"
Radiant shackles rose from the ground and clasped around the weird. A small-linked chain of light connected the elemental to Cyrus like a leash. The dommer smiled in satisfaction. Their fates were linked.
Move: Move to N17 Minor: Oath of Enmity on the Water Weird Standard: Bound by Fate on the Water Weird: Hit barely with a 25.
Damage is 12 (dice) + 4 (Wis mod) + 1 (enhancement) + 2 (item) + 2 (Censure of Unity) = 21 weapon damage total
I believe only Tomas and Nick give the bonus right now.
Bound by Fate: Until the end of my next turn, the Water Weird is immobilized. The next time an enemy other than the Water Weird damages me while I'm adjacent to the Water Weird, I take half the damage and the Water Weird takes the other half.
Also, the next time an ally within 10 squares of Cyrus makes an attack against the Water Weird with a daily or encounter power and misses, Cyrus will use Divine Guidance. This gives you a second attack roll and allows you to use either result.
Didn't use it before now because I hadn't declared an oath of enmity yet.
Nicholas eyes flick open and he takes a sharp breath, his eyes wander disoriuentated for a second then spotting the giant lump of frozen water looming over him, he staggers to his feet. Just in time to accept the flask from the Borcan, downing it he recovers his compusure somewhat. "A poor vintage signore, but I thiank you for your solicitude, we shall discuss your taste in entertainment at a later juncture."
Turning back to the rather hostile crowd he offers a wave of the hand and a mocking bow. "Did I hear encore?" he asks jovially swinging the blade in circles above his head, its hum rising slowly over the battle. it would have been majestic if he hadnt caught the pommel on a stray pine cone lodged in his hair.
OOC:
Move action to stand up
Standard action: Song of the new dawn - rolled a 1 to hit the weird bleh....
Save: 12 vs slowed
"I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space..."
The nun slid backward and her foot locked into a crevice. She grimaced, and then laughed.
"I am not going to die here," she said in her own tongue.
She babbled further in Darkonese as she made a widening gesture with her hands, encircling the air. The tone rang of "This is for my [best friend, or lover, or dog, or something, that you have so unjustly violated]."
For a moment, she looked like a Vistani cradling a crystal ball before her bosom. The energy between her fingers was a mottled, iridescent and shifting color, though it was hard to call it pretty. More...wily. Then she thrust it out at the elemental.
Remember, Nerit still has +2 power defenses from Chaotic Defense.
Standard: Chromatic Orb 1 on Water Weird
16 vs DC19 Ref. REROLL: 27
Hit: 12 Radiant + Dazed (save ends). Yep, a 3d10+8.
Free Action: Until the end of the encounter, attack powers Nerit uses through her implement ignore the resistances of any enemy within 10 squares of her.
Save: 17
Petroselinum, salvia, ros marinus, et thymus. Nuray Solak
Celeste’s icy prison had once more begun to crumble around her—bad structural integrity—but her feet were still rooted in place; as such, she was unwillingly facing the lakeshore when Dr. Poincare retreated to conduct her life-transference ritual. Not that she couldn’t guess that something was going on.
“…I say! Dr. Poincare—Dr. Poincare, come back— Oh, how am I to remonstrate with such a one as will not look me in the eye? Dr. Poincare! I sense chicanery, Dr. Poincare! I am less than charmed!"
----
Meanwhile, something was happening elsewhere on the lake.
The important thing to remember about the cultist that slid into the water was that she was a lifelong smoker, and had always been a lifelong smoker.
This was, in fact, one of her salient character traits. It had always been one of her salient character traits. If one were to visit this cultist’s place of residence, for example, one’s attention would be immediately drawn to the conspicuously situated cigarette cases and ashtrays therein. If one were to ask this cultist’s close friends and relations (if any) to briefly summarize this cultist’s personality, they would say that she was an avid student, a passionate restorationist, and a lifelong smoker. Granted, some of them might pause for half a second on this last item, and look slightly confused—but then they would nod thoughtfully to themselves and say that, yes, she was the very Platonic ideal of a lifelong smoker, and had clearly always been one, for her whole life. If, as was reasonably likely, the cultist did not survive the night, the officiating anchorite at the funeral was bound to pepper the sermon with references to her unquestionably lifelong smoking habit, and how well-documented it was.
Now, as is commonly known, a lifelong smoker is never caught without several books of matches.
A brief word about the matches of the early 770’s. As the modern “safety match” was not developed until approximately a quarter-century later, the lifelong smokers of the day were accustomed to using the less sophisticated “friction match”, or “lucifer”—this last being somewhat infamous for lighting violently upon contact with virtually any rough surface. Indeed, the more cutting-edge lucifers incorporated white phosphorous into the match-head as an odor-masking agent—a mixed blessing, as white phosphorous is so volatile that the matches had to be kept in airtight carrying cases.
Thus, it was entirely natural that the cultist who slid into the water had one of these carrying cases, filled to the brim with lucifer matches. She was, after all, a lifelong smoker; ergo, she must have had this carrying case in her pocket the whole time, and for more than a few seconds. It was only logical.
It was also only logical that, as this cultist fell face-first on the ice and slid towards the water weird, her carrying case should be dislodged from her pocket and knocked open—sending thirty or so lucifer matches grinding along the ice with the momentum, sparking as they went. It was only logical that they should come to a rest right at the feet of the hulking elemental, which was currently doing battle with Tomas. Accordingly, it was only logical that they should finally ignite in a place where Tomas had shed a great deal of blood…
—WHOOOMPH—
…Which, Tomas’s physiology being what it was, was flammable.
The water weird went up like an arsonist’s Christmas tree, and the group of you were fortunate enough to witness the only conceivable scenario in which a wildfire could have started in the middle of a frozen lake. This must have been your lucky day.
The matches hit the Weird's reflex save with a 23, after taking Cyrus' bonus reroll, and create the equivalent of an Explosive Pyre with an added Singing Dagger daily item power: that's 16 fire damage and 1 thunder damage to the weird, which is dazed until the end of Celeste's next turn. The unfortunate Cultist #6 gets 1 fire damage done to her for being in the square next to the weird, and any other enemy that enters a square next to the weird on their next turn gets 1d6 fire damage done to them, too.
Celeste makes a 9 Acrobatics check to steady herself, and makes the save against Immobilization on the end of her turn (having flubbed another one that curiously coincided with the odd roll on the Explosive Pyre).
Chateau de Tarascons, Outside of Port-a-Lucine; Just Past Midnight of March 24th, 770
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Player Actions Mr. Agale: Hands Nicolas a Healing potion, Mind Thrust's Poincare for 17 damage and -4 to all defenses. readies Intellect Fortress. Tomas: Hits the Weird for 7 damage, and Sanctions the Weird and Cultist 6. Escapes the Grab. Nicolas: Stands up, misses. Celeste: Hits the Weird for 17 damage and Cultist 6 for 1 damage, Dazing the Weird and steadying herself for +2. Kerrian: Heals Nicolas for Surge+3 and Celeste for 6, also stabilizes for +6. Nerit: Deals 12 Radiant damage to the Weird and Dazes it (Save Ends). Darius: Moves, uses a Second Wind, takes 5 damage from ice. Cyrus: Hits the Weird for 21 damage with Bound by Fate, Weird is immobilized and Cyrus gives over half his damage to the Weird for the next attack. Lia: Moves and Magic Missile's Poincare for 9 damage.
Tomas wrote:"Gaak..." Tomas chokes, his eyes flashing as he struggles with the elemental; the grab twists Tomas as he's still trapped on the ice, racking him! "You think...you think its that easy...that I'm gonna let you kill me before getting your boss back for that holier than thou look of hers..."
The elemental, like all of its kind, doesn't deem to answer. Instead, with what in any other situation would've been a commendable surety of purpose, it proceeded to try and strangle Tomas once more, looping more of its blood-filled body around Tomas and crystallizing it into pink ice.
It felt rather like being embraced by a charnel house.
"Hélène, Lucie, get to safety." Poincare ordered crisply, surveying the scene before her. She planted the shadowy glaive in the ice and regarded the battle with an enviable coolness, despite her numerous wounds. "The rest of you, cover Calliste."
Calliste proved to be cultist who's lucifer matches had started the recent conflagaration. She scrambled, stiff and frozen, onto the ice, rushing as quickly as she could away from you and back to her comrades.
Poincare nodded, then turned her gaze to the central field of battle, and to Cyrus. With a whisper, she locked gazes with the young Hazlani man, and suddenly, it was as though Cyrus's mental landscape had been rearranged.
Why was he fighting this thing of pure, aquatic order? It was an element, one of the very building blocks of the world of law. It was those around him, they who defied the Lawgiver, and it was his own treacherous brother who was to blame...
Dr. Poincare observed this, then fell back to a more prudent distance to supervise her followers' retreat.
Water Weird!: The Weird is nothing if not persistent, and Tail Slaps Tomas. 20 vs. Reflex, hitting, and dealing 8-1=7 cold damage. Tomas is Grabbed.
Cultist #1 Fires a Frostbite Bolt at Nicolas. 25 vs. Fortitude to hit, dealing 10 damage and Nicolas is Slowed (save ends). Uses a Minor Action to activate Insubstantial Transformation, the Cultist is Insubstantial until she attacks or is dazed/stunned. Cultist #3 Moves a bit and fires a Frostbite Bolt at Agale. 23 vs. Fortitude to hit, dealing 13 damage and Agale is Slowed (save ends)
Uses a Minor Action to activate Insubstantial Transformation, the Cultist is Insubstantial until she attacks or is dazed/stunned. Cultist #4 Moves a bit and fires a Frostbite Bolt at Agale. 25 vs. Fortitude to hit, dealing 8 damage and Agale is Slowed (save ends)
Uses a Minor Action to activate Insubstantial Transformation, the Cultist is Insubstantial until she attacks or is dazed/stunned.
Cultist #2 Fires a Frostbite Bolt at Cyrus. 31 vs. Fortitude to hit, dealing 15 (8 to Cyrus, 7 to the Weird) damage and Cyrus is Slowed (save ends). Cultist then takes a move action to fall back. Cultist #5 Fires a Frostbite Bolt at Celeste. 28 vs. Fort to hit, dealing 4 damage and Celeste is Slowed (save ends). Cultist takes 4 damage. Cultist then takes a move action to fall back.
Cultist #6Barely makes her Move Action to get out of the water. Reduces her Standard Action to fall back.
Poincare uses Dominating Gaze on Cyrus. Cyrus is Dominated (Save Ends). Cyrus is Dazed, and he spends his actions using at-will Radiant Vengeance attacks on people, with the target this round being Darius.
Poincare then uses a minor action to use Insubstantial Transformation, and moves back out of the painful distance.
Ice! Let me organize this a little more legibly: Targets are:
Celeste (+2)- Miss.
Cyrus- Hit - 1 - Cyrus falls Prone.
Tomas- Hit - 2 - Tomas falls Prone
Nicolas- Miss
Agale- Miss
Darius- Miss
Kerrian (+6)- Crit! (I have no idea what an Ice crit does) 20 (apparently an Ice Crit lets me roll two 20s) - Kerrian is Blinded until the next turn.
Nerit- Hit 19 - Nerit falls Prone and takes 10 damage.
Cultist #6- Miss
Saves!
Cultist 5 vs Weakening: 12
Weird vs. Daze: 21
Cultist 6 vs. Slow & Ongoing damage: 17
Terrain!
Ice: I'm going to run this slightly like a trap. At the end of each turn, the Ice will make an attack roll against your Reflex Defense if you are on the ice. If it fails, nothing happens. If it hits, we roll a d20 randomly on the following table to decide what happens:
1-4: You slip and fall Prone.
5-7: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8 )
8-10: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8 ) and fall Prone
11-13: You slip into some shallow water. You take 5 Ongoing Cold Damage (save ends).
14-16: Extremely slippery ice forces you to move very carefully. You are Slowed until your next turn.
17-18: Your foot catches in a crevasse in the ice. You are Immobilized until your next turn.
19: You take a very bad fall. You take 10 damage and fall Prone.
20: You stumble, causing a spray of freezing water to splash you in the eyes. You are Blinded until your next turn.
You may take a Move Action to steady yourself (DC 5+ Acrobatics). For every 5 points you exceed the DC by, gain +2 to your Reflex defense only against the ice. So if you got a 17, you get a +6 to your Reflex defense against the ice.
Water: Anyone who enters or starts his turn in a water square takes 5 Ongoing Cold Damage and is Slowed (save ends both). To move onto an Ice Square requires a DC 12 Acrobatics or DC 12 Athletics check as a Move Action.
Forced Movement & Water's Edge: If you are, by reason of Forced Movement, knocked into the water, you can make an immediate saving throw. On a result of 10-20, you remain on the ice, though you fall prone. On a result of 1-9 you are pulled into the water. Until you make the save, I shall leave your PC in between the two squares, and then you can count your origin square for the turn based on your save result.
PCs: Cyrus Isfahani (C): 31/58, 8 HS, Oath of Enduring Wrath (+2 Saves), Slowed (Save Ends), Dominated (Save Ends), Prone
AC 18, F 18, R 17, W 19 Darius Isfahani (D): 28/60, 9 HS, Spirit (+1 NADs), Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Bloodied, Ongoing 5 Cold Damage (save ends)
AC 23, F 17, R 19, W 19 Sister Nerit Doherty (N): 5/47, 3 HS, Bloodied, Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Prone
AC 18+2, F 14+2, R 17+2, W 21+2 Mr. Agale (A): 22/44, 6 HS, Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Bloodied, Slowed (Save Ends)
AC 18, F 16, R 19, W 21 Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 17/56, 5 HS, Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Slowed (Save Ends)
AC 21, F 18, R 20, W 21 Tomas Eisenwald (T): 28/59, 10 HS, Resist All/1, Virtuous Strike (+2 Saves), Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Restrained (Save Ends), Grabbed (Water Weird) Bloodied, Prone
AC 24, F 18, R 18, W 20 Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 44/50, 7 HS
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17 Kerrian Mauganson (K): 53/53, 3 HS, Blinded
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20 Kerrian's Spirit (Purple Dot) Minion
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20 Celeste Viardot (Cv): 41/50, 1 HS, Spirit (+1 NADs), Inspire Competence (+2 to next skill check), Slowed (Save Ends)
AC 16, F 17, R 18, W 20
Enemies:
Dr. Nicole Poincare (P): -78 HP, Mark (Darius), -4 Defenses, Bloodied, Insubstantial
AC: 24 Fortitude: 18 Reflex: 22 Will: 23
First Cultist (1): -9 HP, Insubstantial, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water) Second Cultist (2): Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water) Third Cultist (3): -8 HP, Insubstantial, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water) Fourth Cultist (4): -22 HP, Insubstantial, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water) Fifth Cultist (5): -32 HP, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation, Tentacle of Ice and Water), Sixth Cultist (6): -1 HP, Recharging (Insubstantial Transformation), Divine Sanction (Tomas)
AC: 20 Fortitude: 19 Reflex: 21 Will: 19
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24 Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
And all the heretic scum are retreating, the better to make it colder. From a distance.
"Poltroons," Darius mutters, wiping his nose on his sleeve as he trudges...actually, he's moving pretty quickly, but it's a spiritual trudge...skirting the scrum and lining up a blow on the far side of the water elemental, opposite his brother, which is just like old times.
(The odd quality to the familiar fanatical gleam in his brother's eye has not yet sunk in.)
Once in position, Darius unlimbers his sword arm and swings, lightning crackling along his blade. It's not so much that he misses as that the blow he lands doesn't do anything except frighten an already terrified goose even more.
Move to M14. Lighting Lure, Int v. Fort, result 19. Failyuh. Save vs. ongoing cold damage: 8. Also failyuh.
Last edited by Nathan of the FoS on Fri Mar 05, 2010 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"Damn!" Tomas exclaims as his blood is made a deadly weapon. "...good...good thing that my bottle of flammable oil fell on it! Yes." Tomas coughs, which gets him aggressively hugged by the elemental. Again. And then slammed into the ice(His new boots save him from being totally immobile, fortunately.) humiliatingly. Again.
"Hello Cyrus, Nicholas." Tomas drawls dizzily, grabbing Cyrus's shoulder to help him up and stumbling drunkenly, "Lovely day, isn't it?"
...lo in the days before the Mists did he emerge from the waters of his first birth, a baptism of smothering cold and killing damp signaling a rebirth of the primordial torrent, the raging river, the jungle damp, that which grows and churns and drives men mad, twisted by the evil of _________ into the first and greatest of his kind. And did the Morning Lord and the Law Giver and the Quickening Bolt see the ape-headed prince arise, first and forever foremost of all his kin, and they did know the true horror of the Abyss...
"Aah!" Tomas shouts, pulling his hand away from Cyrus as though it were on fire, eyes wild. The...not a memory...gives the Weird another chance to smash him in the face. Tomas's normal dislike of water increased a hundredfold, it is, perhaps, not entirely surprising that the Lamordian turns on the handsy elemental with righteous fury, Ivorsen smashing into what Eisenwald figures is the closest it has to a face.
(MECHANICS.
Free: Use my boots's power to un-prone myself.
Minor: Fear Not on Cyrus. You can make a saving throw before acting.
Standard: B strike on the Weird. To Hit: 32. Damage: 13. Effect: 3 temp hp.
Movement: Athletics to free self: 16.
Saving Throw: 9. If I still get the +2 I'm unrestrained, if not, eh.)
"Is there anything keeping us from checking that place out tonight?" Besides sanity, naturally.
"You do not get to walk away from this!" Lia shouts at Dr. Poincare. Her voice lifts in the words of magic once again: "Sagitta magica, omne errore vacua, vole!"
Another dart of force flies across the battlefield, zigging and zagging between combatants unerringly - and slams into Dr. Poincare's body by the narrowest of margins.
"You do not get to walk away!" Lia shouts again.
(OOC: Casting Magic Missile. Attack roll: 19. Thanks to the -4 to her defenses, that should be a hit, if barely. ^^; Damage roll of 10 Force.)
Welcome to my webcomic, Sarcantasy.
You can read it here:
"Hello Cyrus, Nicholas." Tomas drawls dizzily, grabbing Cyrus's shoulder to help him up and stumbling drunkenly, "Lovely day, isn't it?"
Despite being in the depth of melee, Nicholas performs an overly theatrical double take. "Why Herr Eisenwald fancy seeing you here, why yes a perfect day for giving a jumped-up frozen puddle a lesson in proper behaviour. And if I do say so myself I believe you are just the fellow for job!"
The words might be glib but somethign about them buoys Tomas spirit.
Minor action: Majestic word on Tomas for surge + 9 hp healed
Standard action: War Song Strike on the weird 17 vs ac which misses
Move action: acrobatics 19 to stabilize on the ice.
Save: 18 vs slowed
Honestly i can roll high for everything apart form hitting things
"I had a dream, which was not all a dream.
The bright sun was extinguish'd, and the stars
Did wander darkling in the eternal space..."
Got a flight to Florida tonight, so posting the bare bones now:
Celeste stays where she is and gets +1 to AC for her turn. A small and inconspicuous rock makes an attack roll of 18 against Poincare's foot, hitting her Fort save; Poincare faceplants, on her neck. 14 Force damage (as per Spectral Claw) and Poincare is understandably immobilized until the end of Celeste's next turn. Because the rock rolled evens, Poincare also slides 10 feet downhill towards everybody, to D18.
EDIT: Just realized, since I have no particular reason to move, I can do a 15 Athletics check to stabilize myself instead
Twin lances of rime infused energy struck Agale dead in the chest. Only the numbing effect of the cold prevented him from doubling over. Lips blue from frostbite, the Borcan remained resolute in his admonishments. "Your resistance is out of order. You force me to call for a complete revocation of your elemental privileges!"
As his words fade, Agale's form does likewise, sliding into the edge of your peripheral vision. He is not exactly unseen, but extremely difficult to focus your attention upon.
Move Action: Stabilizing his footing. 24 Acrobatics, so +8 reflex vs the ice.
Standard Action: Mind Thrust at the Water Weird. Critical hit for 16 psychic damage.
Minor Action: Mind Shadow Until Agale hits a creature with an attack or until the end of the encounter, he is invisible to his enemies if he is not their nearest enemy.
Because he is bloodied, Agale's Armor grants him an additional +2 to AC and Saving Throws
Saving Throws:
Agale is slowed (save ends) twice I believe.
Agale saves against one of them, but fails the other.
"In normal times, evil would be fought by good. But in times like these, it must be fought by a different kind of evil."
Frigid water splashed into Kerrian's eyes as he took a misstep on the Ice, rendering him unable to see what was occurring in the combat. However, backing slowly from where he was wasn't out of the question. So that was what he did, trying to recover his sight.
OOC:Move to W17, spirit stays with Celeste, and full defense just in case.
Cyrus snorted and climbed to his feet. "The Lawgiver has laid down the path," he sneered at Poincare, "My course is clear. With Him as my guide, I will not stray. The infidel cannot pull me away and the heathen cannot distract me. There is only His law and His path."
The dommer nodded appreciatively at Tomas and then swung his gleaming sword at the weird. He batted the creature's liquid lash aside and cut into it again. He knocked it off balance with his backswing. "Eisenwald!" he barked, "Strike there!" Cyrus batted the weird again and left it wide open for Tomas's next attack.
Fluff in a moment.
Saved vs. Dominate thanks to Tomas.
Move: Stand up Standard: Leading Strike vs. Water Weird. Hit with a 25.
Damage is 14
Tomas receives +2 on his next damage roll vs. the weird.
Saved vs. Slow
Last edited by Kaitou Kage on Fri Mar 05, 2010 5:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
That brings the Weird down to -188 HP, which is it for the Weird. It's dead. (Or whatever passes for dead amongst elementals.)
Ravenloft GM: Eye of Anubis, Shattered City, and Prof. Lupescu's Traveling Ghost Show Lead Writer & Editor: VRS Files: Doppelgangers; Contributor: QtR #20, #21, #22, #23, #24 Freelance Writer for Paizo Publishing
