[Game Thread] Part I • Chapter 2: A Dangerous Business

[GrandCommander13]

Scabbard of Iron The stump creature was weakening quickly. Whatever matter of predation they had stumbled upon, this thing was not strong enough to stand up to so many capable fighters. It was not resigned to its fate, however; the monster lashed out violently, and while Scabbard of Iron was able to deflect the worst of its attack away from his core he was still shoved back a few feet and felt what would soon be bruises on his body. Not yet bloodied, however, the monk kept his stance. The mage called Breeze charged in with a spell, freeing the camper what would have been its prey. That wasn't the only magic the monk could feel, however. Some lingering effect tied to Bazziox still clung to the monster. Closing his eyes, Scabbard of Iron took that magic into his fist and lunged forward again, striking the thing and chilling it to its ravenous core.

OOC: Scabbard of Iron hits with Silver Warrior Advances using Bazziox's trick die. With the 14 as his roll he hits an AC of 22 or under for 20 damage and the stump takes 10 ongoing cold damage at the end of its turn. Since he has used a Flow attack Scabbard of Iron now gets a +2 AC until the start of his next turn, bringing him up to 21 AC.

[Grenadier]

There came a crack like a peel of thunder, but it was not the electric discharge of Telephus's magical ward. Rather, it was lashing of one of the stump's thorny vines across the sorcerer's body. The tendril-like appendage snaked around Tel's leg and coiled around his torso. He could feel the thorns biting into his flesh as the constricting vine impaired his breathe.

The world around Telephus was a blur as the stars flashed before his eyes. He felt himself slipping away for a moment, and he slowly closed his eyes. Just as a darkness set in about him, a beam of light pierced through, and his spirit was renewed. Nevertheless, he continued to struggle against the vine, which rooted him fast to the ground.

The gloom of twilight seemed to shift around them as they wrestled, which must have disoriented the vacant-eyed rabbit. Tel was able to unwind the coil from around his chest, and it chased his shadow instead of him. Tel's wand was at the ready, and with a slinging motion he fired a surge of magical energy down the length of his wand. A blue-white bolt fired from the tip, streaming a trail of snowflakes behind it as it went. The bolt only glanced off the marred stump, but Telephus paid that no mind.

The abomination still had him by the leg, yet there was no question that was his opportunity to escape. He did so without word or gesture. His physical form evaporated into a crackling sphere of energy that sprung through the air in a flash like a bolt of lightning.

"Confounded shrubbery," Telephus mumbled meekly as he reappeared in a flash of light some distance away. The fearsome monk was now between the sorcerer and the monstrous stump. Babble bleated madly and fled to his master's side.

OOC Cold Bolt does 4 cold damage, and Telephus uses Highblood Teleport to move far away. Definitely, use shield if I get hit.

[Grimbreath]

Kerr The air seemed to crackle with magic as the members of his group attacked and withdrew from this strange abomination. Kerr Ironheart's fighting style had always been to stand his ground, shield up, toe to toe with the enemy. Alas, with the chaotic nature of this fight, and vines flashing everywhere, he found it difficult to stand toe to stump with his enemy. He brought Divine Providence down again on the creature, taking a cue from the Dragonborn and aiming for the rabbit "decoy" on the top of the stump. The iron-shod club again smashed into the creature with a power that radiated up Kerr's arm. A veteran of many a fight, the holy warrior could feel the tide of battle turning in their favor. As the battle-fire burned in his soul, he roared the war-cry of "Grasp the Wolf by the Ears"Order of Wayfarers, "Aureus teneo Lupum!"

 

Hit for 14 damage.

[Roekahs]

The mace in Bazziox's hand hovers steadily as the great scaled hand withdraws the weapon, preparing for the next strike. Then the aberration is gone, Breeze is before the dragonborn, then empty air. It takes a moment as the scaled head twists around, but the stump has not gone far. Scabbard and Kerr rush in. The area around the tentacled creature had been crowded, barely room to swing weapons, but Bazziox starts forward anyway. Then there is something else that catches the dragonborn's attention. Faint glimmers. Voices. Many voices. Bazziox concentrates, a hand weaving through the air. These are always strange moments. These are the times that he hopes to gain insight from the gnome. But not now. Now requires his full attention. Suddenly he is there. No, they are here. Somewhere between the magic that courses through his veins and the ever-tumultuous path of time is really where the dragonborn has landed. He can see the battle clearly, a huge foray. Armorclad warriors clashing with beasts of hideous design. They are fighting over the same ground he and his companions occupy now, but when? When is the question that the dragonborn can't ever answer when he feels this pull. It could be a battle from long eons past, recorded in a tome in a deep library, or it could be some future tilt that he is glimpsing for the first time. Regardless, Bazziox focuses on a few of the combatants, grasps the magic tightly, and pulls. Bazziox is abruptly witnessing the current time again, the glimmering outline of gilded warriors suddenly surrounding the stump. The hack and slash of weapons seem pointless, aimed at some invisible foe, yet some of them strike the stump, brought to life by the dragonborn's magic they bite into the creature. A pair of nearly translucent forms appear flanking the elf as well, shields raised and strong backs braced for a blow that seems about to land in another time and place. Bazziox stares in wonder, struggling against the magic and the pull of time. He can only hold this for a moment, but he feels the wonder pulse through his blood for that entire moment!

OOC Active Invocation: -nil- Action: Spirits of the Righteous - 21 damage and gives Tel +4 AC for the round. Quick Action: Heal (Tel can heal w/ a recovery)   Bazziox the Enigma Bazziox, Imperial Advisor, Princess Protector, and Otherwiseawesomedood HP: 60/60 AC/PD/MD: 22/17/17 Skill Check to Nat 20: 1/1 daily Recoveries: 8/8; 4d8+3 Quick Actions Invocations, 1/battle: (first round only)Roll a d6; as a free action after the escalation die equals, allow ally to reroll a single attack roll with a +2 bonus.Invocation of Knowledge As a free action, at some dramatic moment, you or an ally of your choice can roll for one icon relationship that might have an effect on the battle.Invocation of Love/Beauty This battle, attacks against you by enemies that moved to engage you during their turn miss on natural odd rolls.Invocation of Trickery Spells/Other: Someone nearby heals using a recoveryHeal (1/2 battle) Someone nearby heals using a free recoveryCure Wounds (daily) 1 nearby gains 40 temp hp; 3 nearby gain 20 temp hpDivine Endurance (daily) When engaged, roll d20; assign to any attack before end of next turnTrick Die (0/1 battle) +8 vs. PD, 4d6 fireBreath Weapon (1/1 battle) Actions! : +7 vs AC, 4d6+3 (4 miss)Mace Bash! Anyone nearby can make "save ends" roll (crit melee=auto success)Combat Boon (At-will) : +8 vs PD, 3d6+4 (+1d6 vs undamaged)Javelin of Faith (At-will, Ranged) : 1 nearby spends recovery, heals 2x; 3 nearby heal with RecoveryMighty Healing (daily, Ranged) : +8 vs PD, 7d6 dmg, lowest hp=+4AC; Miss: lowest hp=+2 ACSpirits of the Righteous (0/1 battle, Ranged)

[AwesomeEllie]

Emak the Meek and Guythraxix the Hungry Another sequence of notes came from Emak as she unleashed more power, the impressive tones once again resonating right into the dirt once more. Her tail swiped violently to the side, her frustration demanding an outlet at her continued existence as dead weight. The magical runoff continued to overflow, this time coiling around the barehanded warrior whose blows had yet to miss his mark, but that was an accidental byproduct that even then felt... half-baked, empty, futile. Her claws were scrabbling against smooth stone and finding no traction, as much as it irritated her.

 

Emak the Meek Emak the Meek HP: 54/54 AC/PD/MD: 18/16/17 Recoveries: 8/8 (4d8+2) Battlecries Hang Tough! (temp hp) Pull it Together! (2/2 per battle, recovery) Take Heart! (early end condition) Spells At-Will: Battle Chant (L3, attack at range with battlecries), Crescendo (close range escape attack) Recharge: Vicious Mockery (damage and damaging debuff), Song of Heroes (Attack bonus and save bonus for everyone) Daily: Charm Person (duh), Song of Thunder (song for many attacks) Expendables: Healing Potion (1) Effects: Circlet of Approachability (looks as if she belongs here) Action: Use Battle Chant on the sheep! Dice Battle Chant (+5 Cha + 4 level + 1 Wand + 1 ED) VS MD, damage (+5 Cha + 1 Wand): 1d20+11 (3)+11 Total = 14 2d4+6 (2, 1)+6 Total = 9 On the natural odd roll, Emak uses Hang Tough! to grant Scabbard 5 temp hp

OOC Scabbard gets 5 temp HP

[Aethera]

Until now, Breeze had been a nexus for oddities, but that was about it. Only Bazziox knew his ability with magic, but even the dragonborn didn't fully understand how magic lived and breathed for the gnome. Popping in and out of sight, the gnome swapped places with the stump, breaking all the ties its tentacles had with the sorcerous half-elf, and then one more blink of the eye and Breeze was back where he started, all in the space of a few moments. Scabbard of Iron took the opportunity he was handed to strike at the stump-like creature, and it definitely felt that; it screeched its out of place squeal that jarred the ear like nails on a slate.

Suddenly relieved of his entangling tentacle, Telephus attempted to strike back at the creature, but the snowflake-scattering bolt of magic bounced off the tough outer "bark" and did little to impede the creature. Just in case, however, Tel teleported much further away, placing the monk between himself and the stump. His goat companion hastily fled over to his master's side, obviously preferring to be further from the stump that had surprised them both. Kerr had to readjust his position to better strike at the stump which had moved a short distance due to the gnome's curious hopping about, but his club came down hard on the decoy rabbit at the top of the stump, shredding the rabbit's corpse and taking several green tendrils attached to the stump with it.

Now squeeing in pain, the stump could do little to flee, not at the speed it could move. Bazziox brought his vision of past or future battle to bear on the creature and ethereal blades come slashing down, invisible to all but the dragonborn. Yet the oozing of greenish goo from the chips the invisible weapons made in the creature's bark was very real. A flicker of light, hard to see but enough to suggest something at work, came to fill the space by Tel, protecting him further, though the healing magic sent his way from the cleric made him feel whole again. At almost the same time, healing magic flowed from Emak into Scabbard of Iron, protecting the front-liner from a bit of damage, and just in time. Sensing its imminent demise, the creature struck out with tentacles that flailed madly in the direction of both Bazziox and Kerr without success, but the monk's proximity meant the creature could shove its limited underparts against the ground just hard enough to bury its sharp teeth in the 40 damage, KO's Scabbmonk's leg. A cry of surprise from Scabbard of Iron was all the warning the group got before blood spurted and the monk fell, unconscious from rapid blood loss. And then it squealed again, feeling the repercussions of the monk's earlier attack weaken it further.

GM Scabbard of Iron is down, but the stump is very ready to die (6 HP). Go ahead and take it out, might as well give us an epic post. I assume the first person to get to it will kill it unless they miss. Sorry this post took so long! Escalation: +2

 

Characters	Hit Points	AC (PD / MD)	Recoveries	Tokens	Icons	Conditions
Telephus	48 / 48	+4 AC UEoNT19* (16 / 14)	4d6+26 / 8		Elf Queen5	+4 AC UEoNT from Baz, Shield cast at level 4 if hit AC under 75% health (36) or crit, force reroll attack with +2 AC, must accept new resultAegis
Kerr	60 / 60	24 (16 / 17)	4d10+2 (Strong Recovery)9 / 9	W	Diabolist5	Ring of Defense, prevent 10 damage IF the attack does seven or moreRT 7
Bazziox	60 / 60	22 (17 / 17)	4d8+38 / 8	W	-	nil
Scabb	-5 / 48	+2 AC USoNT21* (17 / 17)	4d8+19 / 9	W	-	+2 AC USoNT
Emak	54 / 54	18 (16 / 17)	4d8+28 / 8	W	The Three6,6,6,Wyrm cursed2	nil
Breeze	42+12 / 42	+2 vs Opportunity Attacks15 (15 / 16)	4d6+18 / 8	WW	-	Ring of Defense, prevent 10 damage IF the attack does seven or moreRT 7, flies UEoNT, no damage from missed attacksAir Warp
Maelona	52 / 52	20 (Resist all 12+16 / 17)	4d8+18 / 8	-	-	nil

Enemy	AC (PD / MD)	HP	Conditions
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing	20 (14 / 18)	6/180	bloodied; engaged with Scabb, Kerr, Baz, 10 ongoing damage

[Grimbreath]

Kerr Ironheart Kerr saw the Monk go down fighting, taking tremendous damage from the foul creature. The paladin shifted his stance again, trying to position himself between the creature and the fallen Scabbard of Iron. As he stepped, he swung his iron-shod club in front of him, Boy I whiffed that one!missing the beast but managing to clear away the tentacles for a brief moment. He stood resolutely in the path of the monster and raised his shield, hoping that the beast would attack him rather than his comrade; and also hoping that one of the powerful members of his team around him would kill the creature before that!

 

Great to have you back Aethera! Hope you're feeling well!

I didn't know if a Paladin's challenge could be issued after any hit on the enemy or only after a hit this particular round, so I figured Kerr, as the tank of the group, would just put his body in the way. I should have used it sooner!

[CharlesM]

Breeze Breeze sees Scabbard fall in a spray of blood and the danger inherent to the groups' undertaking is driven home in terrifying fashion. Fear and anger build inside him in the blink of an eye and he lashes out at the creature with a burst of energy fueled by the power of his emotional state. The turbulent emotions leave him along with the burst of energy and it is only then that he realizes that he has risen fifteen feet or so in the air. His attention abruptly shifts from the creature to the ground that is rapidly rising up beneath him. He is only able to wonder about what was happening to him for a moment before he hits the ground, (or the ground hits him, he's not sure which) in an unceremonious heap of bruised gnome.

 

20 to hit PD, 20 damage
Link to dice thread

[Aethera]

GM And thus the stump collapsed. 20 damage when you only needed 2. I'll work on getting a post up after I write some overdue words, but you can all help each other out, RP meeting Tel, whatever you like.

[Grimbreath]

Kerr Ironheart As Kerr braced for a blow from the monster, the strange stump-abomination seemed to vaporize into chunks of green ichor. In those moments of clarity that come during battle, he was thankful that he had not drawn his sword; for there would have been no blood spilt with this beast and the sword would have needed to have draw if from another source. Never again, he vowed. Shield still up as small bits of tree-monster rained down on him, the paladin noted the gnome called Breeze out of the corner of his eye. The last prodigious blast of magic had come from him, and whatever agitation that had brought it on had left the gnome suspended in air. Kerr's eyes quickly strayed toward Scabbard of Iron, however. Realizing that the danger had past, Kerr knelt down beside the monk and began to apply the skills with wounds he'd learned as a Templar to keep the monk from Stabilization roll 15bleeding further. Kerr called out grimly to Emak and Bazziox, "I have no healing abilities. He should not worsen, but he is still seriously wounded."

 

Rolled 15 for stabilization check for Scabbard, 13A manual states DC of 10 so should have made it even without bonuses.

[AwesomeEllie]

Emak the Meek and Guythraxix the Hungry As the creature or...whatever it was, finally gave up the ghost, Emak froze for a moment, eyes and whole head swiveling back and forth across the field. She didn't know if there were more very aggressive stumps or if there was something else or what to do exactly, but after a few seconds, she tilted forward and hurried up the field towards her fallen ally. "Is anyone else injured?" she asked the field, tilting her head to do a quick survey of her own. She was as uninjured as if she had just stayed back, which really would have had the same influence, she thought to herself. Unfortunately, she didn't have any healing abilities either, but that didn't stop her from moving up to Scabbard and checking to ensure he was still of this earth. "Ma'am, if you could?" she asked, again looking up but this time at Maelona. She had some level of healing magic, Emak was pretty sure, but even now Emak was busy patting down Scabbard looking for the potion she was pretty sure he had. Her fingers were fumbling over themselves though, and not just because her work in the moment was maybe a bit scandalous - another thing could pop up at any moment, and given her own evident ineptness, they needed Scabbard to be up and on his feet immediately. Or worse, something could happen to him directly, while he was vulnerable. As she was flailing, she did nod at the stranger, her snout nipping low. "Um, are- are you ok? Safe? Is there anyone else nearby that you were with?" He had been getting attacked, after all, so ensuring that he was alright was important. But that did not get rid of their own task, to deliver the princess safely, and that also meant assessing any newcomers as potential threats. And if she were to set a trap, this seemed like to the kind of situation to do it in, if the books she had read were any indication....

 

Emak the Meek Emak the Meek HP: 54/54 AC/PD/MD: 18/16/17 Recoveries: 8/8 (4d8+2) Battlecries Hang Tough! (temp hp) Pull it Together! (2/2 per battle, recovery) Take Heart! (early end condition) Spells At-Will: Battle Chant (L3, attack at range with battlecries), Crescendo (close range escape attack) Recharge: Vicious Mockery (damage and damaging debuff), Song of Heroes (Attack bonus and save bonus for everyone) Daily: Charm Person (duh), Song of Thunder (song for many attacks) Expendables: Healing Potion (1) Effects: Circlet of Approachability (looks as if she belongs here) Action:

[Grenadier]

"We're no worse for wear, which I dare say is a far sight better off than we would have been if you lads hadn't shown up," Telephus called back to the others and then started making his way towards them. He was an averaged size fellow with broad shoulders, dressed in rugged clothes and traveler's boots. His long locks of copper hair were a bit unkempt, a testament to the fact he was still reeling from the nasty shot he had taken earlier.

An excitable kid goat with a white coat and stubby horns, Babble, ran on ahead of the sorcerer to the fallen monk's side. The kid was quick and crafty, and he was soon licking at the man's face and bleating in his ear.

"Right fortuitous timing. For me, at least. I'm not sure your companion would agree." All things considered, the man seemed to have stabilized in the care of the two scaleys. He recognized one of them as a dragonborn, but he did not recognize the other save that it distinctly was not a dragonborn. He was also certain that it was not a troglodyte, so he paid it no further mind.

Instead, Telephus went over to where the gnome had fallen to the ground. He crouched down and offered a hand to help the fellow up. "That was a big spell for such a small sorcerer," he begrudgingly complimented the magician, "Well done!"

As he pulled the gnome up, he leaned in and asked more quietly, "Did I hear you have a lady with you?" In that moment, the twilight was thick upon his countenance, and in the gloom his eyes were murky except for twinkling spots of light that mirrored the stars that hung over his head.

[CharlesM]

Breeze Breeze accepts the hand up from the man they have rescued, but his attention is focused on Scabbard. After a moment he realizes two things almost simultaneously. One, Scabbard is going to be ok, and two, the fellow that helped him to his feet has been talking to him. The man's gaze is unsettling and he is transfixed for a moment before he mumbles in response, "A lady? Let's see. I think - I mean, I haven't checked, or anything, but I think that Emak is a girl," he says. "The one with the book," he continues as an afterthought. "Oh! And the...uh..." he pauses, realizing he doesn't remember who the Princess is supposed to be. "The, um... Her," he points. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure she's a lady. And, um..." he quickly looks over the rest of the group. "I think that's all, though. What was that thing," he asks? He's trying to divert the conversation.

[Aethera]

For the group of mismatched adventuring folk, the combat was going fairly well up until Scabbard of Iron went down. Then it all suddenly hit them, they were in real danger. If the monk could be taken down, couldn't each of the others? While others blinked at the sight of their fallen comrade, Breeze's grip on chaotic energies exploded with his emotions, lancing into the tree-stump-like creature which had caused the grievous injury. It was the final straw that broke the metaphorical camel's back; suddenly the stump was a rapidly disintegrating pile of green goo. It looked like it was melting and evaporating at the same time, leaving only a hand-sized greasy smear on the grass when it was finally gone.

Once it was no longer a threat, the paladin knelt by the fallen man, bandaging his wounds with first aid skills learned over time with the Templars, a useful skill to have. He stabilized the monk and looked for other aid in order to heal the man further. The lizardwoman was quick to kneel down and look for the potion she thought Scabb had, but looked to the simply-dressed young woman who had attacked the stump with a wand a couple times in hopes she might have additional healing to offer.

"I'm sorry," the young woman replied, shaking her head. "I can't do that very often, and I just used it when the... uh, when he looked awful early on." She nodded at Telephus, indicating to whom she was referring.

When Kerr concluded the monk wouldn't worsen, both Emak and NPC is Maelona, Imperial Princess, using name Jolene since before meeting Kerr, Breeze, and now TelJolene relaxed somewhat. There did not appear to be other dangers present at the moment, so in theory it might be worth letting him get some real rest.

Freed of obligation to Scabbard of Iron, Emak's focus shifted to the sorcerer and goat, querying his status and whether there were others nearby who might have been injured. Luckily it seemed that their rescue had succeeded, he was in good shape compared to his rude awakening wrapped in the vine tendrils of that creature. The sorcerer helped the gnome up from where he'd fallen back to earth after floating for a few seconds, and quietly they exchanged a few words about the nature of the party; Breeze answered the question as best he could, but diverted the conversation back to everyone. The creature they'd killed was strange and new, and though they could not investigate its corpse for clues about its origins or nature, it was rather hard to forget.

GM Apologies for disappearing again, but I am now free! Now that I've completed fifty thousand words of a novel for NaNoWriMo I can relax and slow down to a more regular pace, namely one that allows me to post on time. We are coming up on the holidays, so I anticipate some natural slowing down from everyone, but otherwise we should be ready to go, party is at full strength!

[GrandCommander13]

Scabbard of Iron When Scabbard of Iron's eyes opened the first thing he was conscious of was that he was lying on the ground. It didn't strike him as odd that he had no memory of being knocked out—this wasn't the first time he had been taken out of a fight with a heavy blow, so the accompanying loss of the memories of a crucial moment of time was normal to him. He instinctively pulled his arm to his side and he found himself feeling a sharp pain through his entire torso and the particular slick sensation of blood on his hand. The monster's vines couldn't have caused such a wound—he must have allowed himself to be bitten. Likely he had gotten careless in his zeal to test himself against a new foe. Thankfully due to his training his wounds healed unnaturally quickly and his bleeding had already ceased; such a bite would be fatal to a wide range of would-be heroes, and the only sensible way to deal with such an attack would be to avoid it entirely—something, again, perhaps at odds with the mindset of a monk always striving to push himself to the limit. This mission was, perhaps, not the best place for such tests. With so many lives depending on the continuation of the Dragon Empire as a political entity should some disaster befall the capital, bringing the Princess to the Priestess called for a more practical approach. Surely his monk discipline would serve him well in the end, but his monk love of battle would still hurt to temper. He sat up, then slowly rose to his feet. Surveying the others, he saw that he had got the worst of their encounter; once he was ready to fight again, the group should by then be ready to defend itself at full strength. "Such a creature," he said. "Just a mile from the Archmage's city." Yet another sign of the dire state of the Empire, if the Archmage could not heep the area around Horizon protected.