Afina vs the lich (Afina)

[Ebiris]

"Back up," Afina says. "This path's a death trap. Climb around and up onto those crags five hundred feet up."

plan is to go back and climb the mountain before getting onto one of the arrow-strewn paths above.

[Anastasia]

"No shit?" Dana challenges, but follows along. The party goes back out and climbs up another 500ft, angling around. Up here you can begin to advance on what looks like path after path with excellent views below - and what must be hundreds of harpies, all oriented in your general direction. They're over a thousand feet away right now and no one's firing, but they're holding one hell of a line on the party.

"Yep, deathtrap," Dana agrees, peering ahead. She waves and gives them an obscene gesture in the meantime.

[Ebiris]

A hundred worms are still just worms! "At least this way you can run over and hit them if you like," Afina offers, starting to walk boldly forward on the path. Maybe the harpies will have an attack of good sense? Or maybe a terribly unforseen tornado will pick them up and dash them to bits off the rocks below. Only time will tell!

[Anastasia]

You begin to advance - and they come. A great hail of faraway arrows, most missing, more prayers than real shots.

> roll 1d20+20 vs all's AC, really just 20 fishing here since even Mei has cover thanks to Dana
<Rei-chan> Kotono rolled : 1d20+20 vs all's AC, really just 20 fishing here since even Mei has cover thanks to Dana --> [ 1d20=17 ]{37}

But the shots are badly errant, not a one coming close to you all.

[Ebiris]

And in reply a terribly unforseen tornado appears at the first ranks of harpies on Afina's side of the ravine!

Using Whirlwind SLA http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/whirlwind.htm
Appears 1000 feet ahead of us at the start of the harpy lines and is set to move in a zig-zag pattern crossing back and forth across the ravine to hit harpies on either side, travelling 60 feet each turn. A DC 32 reflex save prevents anything bad happening. If a save is failed they take
[19:13] <@Ebiris> roll 3d6
[19:13] <Rei-chan> Ebiris rolled : 3d6 --> [ 3d6=8 ]{8}
8 damage and have to make another DC 23 reflex save or be picked up by the tornado, which then drops them as it crosses the ravine so they fall 500 feet down.

As elemental forces ruin the archers' day, Afina continues walking forward at a sedate pace so she doesn't leave everyone else behind.

Moving 60 feet forward

Spoiler: ShowHide

Afina: 277+15/277, heroes feast (CL 20), mind blank (CL 17), fortunate fate (CL 15), planar tolerance (CL 7), greater mage armour (CL 23), moment of prescience (CL 23), see invisibility (CL 23)
AC 82, spell resistance 38, blindsense 30, immunity to fire, water, earth, cold, disease, poison, fear
Spell charges: 5/9/9/6/9/8/9/7/6/7

Smrgol: 459/459, mind blank (CL 17), fortunate fate (CL 15), planar tolerance (CL 7), greater mage armour (CL 5)
AC 56, immunity to magic, fast healing 10

[Anastasia]

There's enough rolling here that I'm just going to take averages, since the harpy reaction is also going to make this somewhat moot.

The tornado sweeps into the harpies, bird-women being taken up and tosses around relentlessly. Some are tossed into the gorge and end up broken bodies hundreds of feet below. Others are tossed about or battered down, while a few endure. Meanwhile, the rest stop firing and start running, retreating as nature's wrath savages their sisters.

[Ebiris]

Afina just keeps right on walking, her cyclone moving forward at the same pace a thousand feet ahead of her to give the harpies plenty of reason to keep up their panicked flight.

[Anastasia]

Dana whistles as your foes flee in a panic, "Save some for when we get to the real fights. The lich has to be better than this weak-ass shit."

[Ebiris]

"Don't worry, as impressive as it looks this tornado wouldn't do a thing against anything bigger than a harpy," Afina says as she continues her leisurely stroll. "I'm getting a lot of use out of my elemental powers that ordinarily wouldn't do much against our usual foes. It's quite relaxing, actually."

The whirlwind will continue for 21 more rounds so she'll maintain her current approach until it dissipates

[Anastasia]

By the time the tornado ends, the harpies are all gone. Fled into caves or dead far below, bits of gear and bodies littered about. It's several long paths with occasional caves to enter, stretching all along and above the sharp V below. They end far ahead, where a massive fortress sits, blocking the path. It's made of heavy stone and a few hundred feet taller than the highest paths, far enough away where you can't see details yet.

[Ebiris]

This is probably just a guardhouse too, but they'll clean it out anyway. Not caring enough to go climbing down to loot the dropped bows Afina continues walking bold as you please towards the fortress, practically daring anyone to try and stop her.

[Anastasia]

Up on the ledges still, back in the V or somewhere else on the walls?

[Ebiris]

We're going along the ledges

[Anastasia]

You advance. As you do, you can see great, hulking and ugly beasts manning the towers above. You don't need much knowledge to know ogres when you see them, joined by more harpies. They're readying boulders and arrows, respectively. Getting closer, you can also see murder holes all along the towers and castle, surely with more arrows ready to be fired at you.

Mei looks on and nods, while Dana just grins and readies her shield and rapier.

[Ebiris]

Maybe it's overconfidence, but shattering their morale and forcing them to flee is in the end more efficient so Afina allows their foes the luxury of the first strike as she advances, inexorable as the tide!