Random DM nagging.

[Anastasia]

It's level up time! Make sure I'm around on IRC before you begin so I can see HD rolls and shit. Make sure to post a brief summary of your gains either in chat when I'm around or in here, whichever you prefer.

As this is your last pre-epic level, there are several considerations to bear in mind. If you want to dip for a save boost this is your last chance. If you need to dip to get a class feature or bonus feat for an epic feat or prestige class, this is likewise the time to do it. By now you should have a good idea of what you're going to do in epic, not to mention if you'll need any custom content. I'm more than willing to help you guys with that and give advice. If you need something custom or want to make something, I'd recommend doing it before level 21. No need to rush it at the last minute.

I'll begin NPC level ups shortly.

[Anastasia]

Adrian levels up.

- Fighter 9 and Dragon Devotee 3.
- Rolls 10 on a d10 for a total of 18 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of +19.
- +2 con from Dragon Devotee for a total of 26. Score.
- Ignore Spell Failure and 1st level sorcerer casting from Dragon Devotee. Nice. Adrian selects Arcane Mark, Detect Poison, Mending, Prestidigitation, Golem Strike and Lesser Orb of Cold.
- +1 ref and will saves.
- Adrian dumps all his SP into concentration.

Pretty decent level. Adrian picked up some utility options with his magic plus +2 con. That's a solid level up.

[Anastasia]

Misalea levels up.

- Arcane Duelist 9 and Sentinel 8.
- Rolls 8 on a d10 for a total of 12 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of +19.
- Corrected a typo in her attack routine. She was short a few points, think the enhancement bonus from Sylis was lost.
- +2 bluff checks from fey bloodline. Eh. She's not much of a bluffer so it's wasted.
- Mirror Image from Arcane Duelist. Free MIs isn't a bad thing at all, even if it's obsolete by now.
- Dispel evil 1/week from Sentinel. Hey, it's better than remove disease.
- +1 fort.
- Skills go up as normal. Fixed an error in Misalea's survival skill. 74? What the fuck happened last time I updated her?
- Extra Smiting(S8) as a feat. This frees up her level 12 feat, which is retrained into Divine Fervor.

Solid level. It isn't top tier, but Misalea picked up a lot of little things.

[Yuthirin]

[22:14] <Muirfinn> I want to talk to you about Fires of Purity.
[22:14] <Muirfinn> IT's a great spell
[22:14] <Muirfinn> Capable of dealing good damage
[22:14] * @Kotono nods.
[22:14] <Muirfinn> But it allows for SR on every creature attacked.
[22:14] <@Kotono> Link me to it?
[22:15] <Muirfinn> And that's damned cumbersome when you've got 5 attacks.
[22:15] <Muirfinn> http://dndtools.eu/spells/complete-divine--56/fires-of-purity--702/
[22:16] <@Kotono> Oh that one. I think Alicia used it, it's ringing a bell. Lemme go check.
[22:16] <@Kotono> I may have already ruled on it/.
[22:16] <Muirfinn> Sure
[22:21] <@Kotono> I can't find a ruling, though she did use it. Anyway, what were you asking about?
[22:23] <Muirfinn> The constant SR checking.
[22:23] <Muirfinn> Is there some way to circumvent that?
[22:23] <Muirfinn> Maybe roll SR when cast, and then it applies to all uses thereafter?
[22:23] <Muirfinn> I'm asking for the expedience of combat.
[22:24] <@Kotono> Uh, lemme get back to you on that. To be honest I'm sorta fading here and that's a DMy decision. Could you post it in nagging?
[22:24] <@Kotono> I'll get to it tomorrow.
[22:24] <Muirfinn> Righto.

The whole point is that I wanted to make sure it was cool with you if I rolled the CL check at the time of casting, then whoever that spell was cast on used that CL check for the remainder of the time the spell was in effect to determine whether or not it could pierce spell resistance.

This would prevent the worst-case scenario of me rolling SR every time an attack was made. It would be doubly-so inconvenient if it were cast on someone else, like Jaela of Afina. Nobody wants me rolling SR in the middle of their combat round.

[Ebiris]

SR is only rolled on the first attack. If it fails then the target is immune for the duration of the spell. If it succeeds the target can be affected for the duration of the spell.

[Anastasia]

Dana levels up.

- Fighter 9 and War Mind 4.
- 5 on a d10 for a total of 13 hit points.
- Corrected Dana's CMD, which is obscenely high thanks to her stupidly good touch AC. I forgot to factor it past BAB. Also added dex to her armor class. I thought I had her done, but I think I forgot the last sweep. Oh well.
- +1 BAB for a total of 19.
- Power points rise by 15 to a total of 174.
- Gains a new power. Dana selects Inconstant Location.
- Dana's fort, ref and will rise by 1.
- Skills go up as normal.

Nothing much this level, though the rebuild hogs attention anyway.

[Anastasia]

I'm holding Tannin's level up until he gets back. There's a note on his sheet so I won't forget.

[Anastasia]

Arrel levels up.

- Giant Eagle 10 and Fighter 5.
- 10 on a d10 for a total of 18 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of 17.
- Spell resistance rises by 1.
- +1 to all saves.
- Skills rise as normal.

Eh.

[Anastasia]

Elder Magi Tepen levels up.

- Wizard 19 and Paragnostic Apostle 1.
- 1 on a d4 for a total of 9 hit points.
- Holy texts is gained, which is worthless to Tepen has he has no turn undead to stack with. I suppose if he ever decides to go into Sacred Exorcist this is nice. Which actually might not be an invalid option with him. Hm. Must think about that.
- He grabs Manifest Ethos from Paragnostic Apostle. Should he be required to take up a more warlike spell selection in the future, this will aid him greatly.
- Gained lore. His int mod makes it suck less but it's still not great. But hey, utility.
- Tepen gains a 7th level and 9th level spell slot. He selects Greater Teleport and Gate.
- +2 to will saves.
- Skills go up as normal.

Pretty decent level. Lots of little things.

[Anastasia]

The Jarl leveled up.

- Cloud Giant 19 and Healer 19.
- 3 on a d8 for a total of 12 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of 14.
- Turn undead rises by 1d6 to 10d6.
- Gains another 8th and 9th level spell charge.
- Skills go up as normal.

Empty level, but 20's better then he starts dipping.

[Anastasia]

Lief leveled up.

- Fighter 9 and Avenger 1.
- 8 on d10 for a total of 16 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of 17.
- Gains 1d6 of sneak attack for a total of 6d6.
- Got poison use. Not his thing, but it's an option.
- Learns paralyzing attack. This is death attack but with the death option removed. The melee aspect of it hurts Lief, but if he has three free rounds I figure getting close isn't that big a problem.
- Gains avenger spellcasting. Note that I'm allowing splatbook access to assassin spells that aren't at odds with the avenger, as this is really just a very mildly altered assassin anyway. He chooses Ebon Eyes and Critical Strike.
- +2 ref saves and +1 will saves.
- Gains Woodland Archer(18) as a feat. Nice pickup, it's a solid feat.
- Skills go up as usual.

Nice level. SA advancement, a few new spell options and a good feat combine nicely. Paralyzing attack blows for him, but what can you do?

[Corwin]

Coded notebook: This notebook is written in code. Several hours and a Decipher Script check could undo the puzzle. <-- time for Sylvie to earn her keep?

[Anastasia]

Sure. I'll do it once I'm done with Crystal's level up.

[Anastasia]

Crystal leveled up.

- Ranger 15 and Defender of the Natural World 5.
- 9 on a d10 for a total of 14 hit points.
- +1 BAB for a total of 19.
- +1 spell resistance. Also boosted Lief's since I always fucking forget to do that.
- Crystal gains a 4th favored enemy. She chooses dragons. She also chooses to raise her favored enemy bonus against evil by 2.
- Adjusted ranger spells up for new wisdom.
- Crystal gains 1 1st, 1 3rd and 2 4th level ranger spell slots. She selects Lesser Restoration, Heal Animal Companion, Freedom of Movement and Sunmantle.
- Gains natural blessings. Awesome.
- Gains a 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th level spell slot. She selects Lesser Restoration, Fell the Greatest Foe, Righteous Fury and Holy Sword.
- Will save rises by 1.
- Skills go up as normal.

Nice level and she had a whole lot going on.

[Anastasia]

Coded notebook: This notebook is written in code. Several hours and a Decipher Script check could undo the puzzle. <-- time for Sylvie to earn her keep?

Okay. Note I'm using her leveled up stats, even though I haven't done them. It's +1 for another DS rank and +1 to the factotum skill booster. It's possible the factotum capstone could grab her another boost, but I'm not going to dig for it.

Base roll is +40. Sylvie will slot her floating feat into Skill Focus(Deciper Script) to raise it to +43. She'll mimic Jaela and prep Divine Inspiration for another +15 for a total of +58. She'll spend an inspiration point to boost it up by +19 for a total of +77.

> roll 1d20+77
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+77 and gets 83." [1d20=6]

Sylvie reports the book is coded in an ascending code - each part has to be deciphered in order and leads to the next. It's extremely complex and really it's a work of art. There are several segments, but Sylvie decoded them all. From inferences she suspects that Prince Lixer wrote this, though absolute certainty is impossible. The contents involve the First Vampire and Aurora. A summary of each part's salient point(s) follows as well as Sylvie's comments in the margins.

- The First Vampire has been gone for eons, though several of his children remain. He notes Annalise by name. - Ties into the correspondence taken from Lixer's room nicely. It also fits what Annalise said.

- The First Vampire has no weaknesses, even sunlight. Further, he is so resistant to positive energy as to be effectively immune. - Good lore to keep in the back of our minds, Sylvie makes a note of it.

- The First Vampire fell into a deep, restless sleep eons ago. - Lines up with what Annalise said before. At least he's not out raising trouble.

- The First Vampire went to sleep by choice. - Unlike Annalise, Sylvie supposes. An interesting but likely irrelevant parallel.

- The First Vampire is said to be due to awaken. Of note, next to that is Aurora with a question mark next to it. - Why is he due to awaken? Signs and portents? It doesn't say. Based on his letters, the devils suspect he's involved with Aurora due to Annalise. Either they know something we don't or they're speculating. Based on the letters, Sylvie leans towards speculation.

- While Orcus has often claimed the First was his work, ancient lore constantly contradicts this. - Good to know, and considering how Annalise and Orcus didn't like each other, it fits.

- It notes here there is no direct evidence connecting Orcus to Aurora. - Oh good. That row with the Father was bad enough.

- The awakening of Annalise and her disagreements with Orcus suggest another player is moving. It is most likely the First. - Oh great, just what Creation needs. Another impossibly powerful horror from the Hells! More seriously, this could be a problem if he is awake and takes offense over what happened with Annalise.

- The First Vampire cares nothing for order, yet nothing for Orcus or demons as well. - So he's a creature of chaos or at least akin to the yugoloths? Based on how the devils are treating this, he's probably a creature of chaos.

- The First Vampire is an abomination, possessing a fragment of divinity. - Wonderful. So he's the God of Vampires? Some cast off spawn of a true deity?

- The First Vampire desires to sate his lusts - blood and far more carnal things yet. This is his ultimate motivation. - So he's a slave to his desires. Sounds demonic. He cares for nothing about himself and his own pleasure.

- The First Vampire can be wounded by holy, axiomatic weapons of the highest magic that have been blessed by a deity of life, such as Lathander. - Good to know. Let's hope we never have to use this information.

- Typical wards to protect the mind are useless against the First Vampire should he will it to be so. He can even command mindless creatures, with only deities and powers being safe. - So we have Baleruk eat him then? Unstoppable mind control is terrifying to fight against.

- The First Vampire regenerates any wound in approximately six seconds. Even true wounds by holy magic or the proscribed weapon above, heal fully. The First Vampire must be slain decisively and within mere seconds or even the greatest effort is for naught. - If we do fight him, 21 sounds like the best option to bypass that.

- Through an ancient pact, the First can summon Ubalukk obyriths. - See below.

- In conclusion, the threat level of Medicant combined with the power of the First Vampire is a 9th circle threat to Order. The full complement of the Spark Hunters to eliminate complicit mortals and the Ashmaida to slaughter the leaders of Medicant is recommended, or other equivalent levels of force. - See below for information on both groups. This doesn't really change anything, but if this is happening, traveling out of Aurora alone is now even more dangerous. As a thought, the evidence of such direction action by Asmodeus could be useful to rally added support from our allies. Of course, this all assumes that Asmodeus agrees with what Lixer proposed. We haven't seen any sign of them yet, and odds are this at least a few weeks or months dated.

> roll 1d20+57
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+57 and gets 69." [1d20=12]

Ubalukk obyriths are fiends of 'Blood Madness'. They destroy the 'sanity of blood', causing horrific nightmares to be born. None have been recorded in eons, but that doesn't mean much in the Abyss.

> roll 1d20+53 Spark Hunters
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 Spark Hunters and gets 61." [1d20=8]

The Spark Hunters are a group of advanced hamatula mortal hunters that serve Asmodeus. They eliminate troublesome mortals that must be slain to further Hell's machinations. They resided within Nessus and Malsheem, the vast fortress of the Lord of the Ninth. The most powerful of the Spark Hunters are worthy to become pit fiends and gain great accolades, but they instead turn down promotions to personally serve the King of Hell. This is due to the immense prestige and freedom given to them as long as they succeed. The members are shrouded in secrecy and it is known there is turnover in the lower ranks of the Spark Hunters, so further details are difficult to find.

> roll 1d20+53 Ashmaida
* Hatbot --> "Kotono rolls 1d20+53 Ashmaida and gets 72." [1d20=19]

The Ashmaida are the Executioners of Hell. They serve to destroy those who have personally offended Asmodeus. They are nine Nessian Pit Fiends of the highest stature lead by Aesmadeva, the personal bodyguard and confidant of the Lord of the Ninth. They have slain arch-devils, demon princes and even the occasional high celestial or slaad. They are direct, immensely powerful and a threat of the highest caliber. In addition, each carries a shield made from one of Tiamat's scales. Except for Aesmadeva, they are identified by the color of the shield they carry. The Azure and Sapphire Ashmadia, the Emerald and Jade Ashmadia, the Ebon and Onyx Ashmadia and the Ashen and Sallow Ashmadia.